I was impressed reading that MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita , is reskilling himself in the digital Age by going to “night school,” to understand more Artificial Intelligence software.
I am wondering how many CEOs across the continent are doing the same.
The global village has become so complex, technical and sophisticated that we are learning new things every day. And most importantly, it matters not who you are, how much money you have, or your position in life. The message is simple: take time to learn and adapt.
From a management perspective, which is where Ralph belongs, you don’t always want to be told everything. With knowledge, you are able to contribute to management discussions and decision making processes from an informed perspective.
This world is no longer largely about numbers, and financial results which most executives in the corporate sector understand too well.
Most of them are Chartered Accountants, number crunchers whose mathematical and corporate management skills are second to none. But the current elephant in the corporate room now is Digital Age, and in particular AI, and its ramifications to business.
The financial results may look good, for the time being, but the slow and lethal impact of AI on the same figures can have an insidious underhand long term effect.
Which explains why it’s important for those in management to take private lessons and avoid inevitable ‘Kodak’ moment digital pitfalls.
The effect of technological changes is slow, hardly noticeable, and easy to avoid and possibly neglect. But when its technical effects are not taken into considerations and adopted to suit the management approaches, the company may be simply overtaken by events and relegated from the apex to the pavement.
Here is why private lessons are important: AI has a huge impact on business, it can increase efficiency, facilitate data-driven decision-making, spur innovation, and augment supply chains.
Furthermore, the outcomes can be high or low reduced costs, productivity, and competitive advantage, among other potential upside effects. Understanding the dynamics of AI cannot be left to the marketing department, and or risk and compliance department.
Even the most level headed and intelligent employees can make a disastrous decision if unguided by experienced personnel in the management. And they can’t be guided properly if the management is unschooled in AI and the accompanying technological innovations. This is why Ralph’s approach is pragmatic and necessary.
It matters not your position. You just can’t be hostile to progress and education. You don’t need it just for yourself, but the people around you and the country to make better informed decisions. You just can’t be squatting on your rocking chair analysing figures and when the world around you is fast changing. You got to learn, and learn fast and adapt.
This will definitely help you to lead your workforce towards higher-value strategic innovative work, with care being taken to avoid haphazard adoption of AI-driven processes without due regard to efficiency relevance business frameworks. AI integration with existing management systems requires careful considerations.
Besides, AI is driving business to new productivity heights, and positively altering established standards.
All the same, human capabilities and machines overall efficiency must be balanced to avoid excessive reliance on AI where human capital could have done the same without compromising downstream labour role in family societal welfare. Hence, as earlier indicated, this requires constant learning and interaction with new innovative technological tools.
This can make you an effective CEO. And the company, if it has the Makate like creative minds, they can be helped make themselves, and the company prosper, without compromising innovation. The message is simple: we cannot be left behind in the Digital Age.
Mupita's warning is apt: “If the continent failed to keep up with AI advancements, there is a huge risk of creating a “digital underclass” of Africans. The message applies to those in management. It would appear, we continue to learn and forget nothing on history.
Historical corporate blunders that CEO of top companies made in failing to learn and adapt to the changing world around them left permanent psychological scars of the workers who woke up to the sudden demise of their companies.
CEOs of both Kodak and Nokia, among many others missed such digital opportunities. Both companies sunk. They represent the worst corporate blunders of the digital age. Both companies were slow to adapt, resulting in strategic missteps, and missed opportunities.
Nokia dismissed the threat of iPhone; likewise Kodak dismissed the threat of digital photography. Some CEOs may refuse to learn, and dismiss the AI threat to their own company detriment. So go back to school and learn fast. It pays dividends in the long run.
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