After the most dramatic global upheaval in generations, it’s time for corporations to look ahead. The last 17 months have necessitated the futureproofing of Canada’s economy, both at the local level and globally.
To begin that discussion, we partnered with Financial Executives International Canada (FEI Canada) to produce a webinar with Georgina Blanas, Executive Director at FEI Canada, and Nikolas Badminton, a world-renowned futurist who has advised some of the most impactful companies across the globe, from NASA and the United Nations, to Google and American Express. Badminton, whose writing can be seen in the opening chapter of the new book, The Future Starts Now, is writing a new book to equip world leaders and executives with the tools to imagine futures, see unforeseen risks and strengthen strategic planning.
On May 20, Badminton joined Blanas virtually from Toronto and began the webinar by encouraging a shift in mindset. To best prepare for an unknown future, we must change the way that we look at the world. Think beyond quarterly or yearly cycles, imagine a different future and question creatively where the world might go next. We’re already in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, he said, with information traveling faster today than it has ever before. But it’s a delicate environment, he added, that requires bold innovators to think toward a better future. “It’s taken a pandemic to see the fragility of our system,” he said.
Badminton’s key talking points from Part 1 of the webinar included:
- Among the next challenges facing humanity is the instability of the global supply chain and our natural resources of food, water, and energy.
- We have been in a state of collapse for the last 280 years. Jim Dator’s concept of the “four futures” can help businesses change the game and transform: Continuation, Limits and Discipline, Decline and Collapse, and Transformation.
- There is a great economic shift occurring across the globe, with China and India expected to take over as the top global economic powers by 2030 and major investments will be made into other economies, including Africa.
- We must think about “infinite humanity,” or adding an extra dimension to the way we work, from wearable technology and artificial intelligence, to mRNA vaccines.
GB: How would you recommend we shift our thinking with innovation and the Canadian economy in mind?
NB: First, businesses must have a mastery of data. It’s fundamental that every organization have some kind of analytics strategy. Beyond data, what platforms can we put in place to help us streamline and automate our operations? So, things like accountancy and expenses, the administration of any business can be greatly helped by technology and the people that know how to use that technology. I start with the technology, but we also must consider culture. We need a culture that's willing to learn, unlearn, re-learn and step into a new world, try new things, be experimental and innovative.
GB: There has been a major geopolitical shift over the last 50 years. How can we learn from that to prepare for the next 50 years?
NB: We ignore the future at our own peril. The signals exist today to give us indications that the world is changing. We're going to see a power shift start to have a global impact. Look at India and China—these are countries that are going to heavily invest in places like Africa and South America. In the U.S. and Canada, we’ve been asleep at the wheel. We're not really getting involved in those places as much as we can. Beyond that, as resources like water, energy, and food become more important than ever, Canada is in an advantageous position with 20 per cent of the world’s fresh water. I think there’s a future where oil tankers are replaced by water tankers.
GB: Do you think we have started to pay more attention to supply chain issues?
NB: I absolutely believe that supply chain has been in the front of mind for almost every single business and every home as well. It's also shifted us back to hyper-local supply chains. I live just a few minutes’ walk from a brewery in Toronto that successfully pivoted their business at the start of the pandemic to delivery to any home in the Greater Toronto Area. Their business has tripled over the last 15 months. Not everyone has had that great success story, but the people that can really get on top of the supply chain and start to look within our borders or within our cities and make their businesses work in a hyper-local fashion are going to survive.
Click here to read Part 2: Digital transcendence and ‘bionic businesses.’
DISCLAIMER:
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion on any issue. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the individuals involved. It should not be regarded as comprehensive or a substitute for professional advice.
Any companies/people mentioned in this article were done so by the speakers and don’t represent the opinions of American Express.