New thinking is what the current digital economy requires for proper business management that will guarantee sustainable development especially now that doing business is getting tougher by the day.
The goal post has been moved severally and the only sure-fire way to be in competition is develop the habit of new thinking that is hinged on a well thought out integrated thinking.
How do you know you are applying the ‘new thinking’ concept?
You know you are a new thinker when the 10 headings below describe you:
- …you quit old school paralytic analysis: new thinkers don’t wait for the light to go green before leaving the house. They leave the house, get to the traffic light and then wait for the green light. Start ups founders understand this concept very well. Take Tech Company start-ups for like Facebook for example, it was launched at beta stage and a whole lot of work has gone into the venture to bring it to its current stage.
- …you understand that data is the currency of the new economy: simply put; new thinkers are data driven leaders. Unimaginable connections are established simply by analysing data. The likes of big data, IoT, data science, machine learning, Blockchain, etc are all dependent on data of all kinds. New thinkers see the world through the lenses of big data.
- …you aim with the result in mind: my default standard is ‘don’t venture into it if you have no idea of what the end result will look like – No matter how vague’. A vital component of good strategy is that it must have an exit strategy. New thinkers will not undertake a project without knowing what to expect. The good news now is that there are numerous tools that help decision makers perform quality due diligence that will most likely expose the unanticipated.
- …you understand that business technology has forever changed the rule of the game: take it or leave it; business technology has come to stay and will forever continue to refine the way things are done in the business ecosystem. A new thinker sees the opportunities surrounding business technology and ensures that strategic steps are taken to position the company they represent for the possibility of bumper harvest. Managers need to know when to acquire business technology and this knowledge only come to the new thinkers.
- …you realise that there are no boundaries anymore: geographical boundaries have long become ceremonial and new thinkers have always realized this thereby making outstanding impacts from almost nothing.
- …you come up with what many will term ‘crazy idea’: new thinkers in this digital world are known for coming up with what people initially see as crazy but over time those ideas become reality. To withstand the digital age competition, business leaders must sometimes follow the less travelled road in their decisions.
- …you understand the importance of integrated thinking: this is more like being a system thinker in the sense that all thinking exercise are connected at the value adding point of the business processes. The whole idea of integrated thinking is to ensure that all actions lead to goal congruence which will in turn lead to helping a company achieve its stated objectives. The bedrock of meaningful innovation lies on the ability of industry leaders to think in an integrated manner.
- …you embrace lifelong learning: ‘all the good things of this world belong to learners’ is one of my favourite sayings. This is one thing that makes the difference between those that are trying and those that are excelling. The digital economy requires that one keeps expanding his or her horizons of learning.
- …you see and embrace the transformative power of IT: the transformative nature of technology continues to grow and expand into all facets of business processes. New thinkers identify the trend very early and jump into the bandwagon. Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Computing were once seen by many as a fairy tale kind of wishful thinking but today no one can stop the movement of AI and CC.
- …You become a positive disrupter: note the emphasis on the word positive. I have a lot of people commit to all sorts of dislocate-ive activities all in the name of trying to be disruptive. I will say that I am fortunate to be a disruptive accountant; so I understand what it takes to successfully disrupt already established industry. New thinkers spend time to really understand how to be disruptive and not dislocate-ive.
New thinking does not necessarily mean that one automate business processes. New thinking goes beyond that.
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