We often think of the future as a very distant time in which cars fly, houses talk and our robot colleagues are as efficient as they are fun to be around. However, we don’t realise that we are already part of that change, that today is also part of the future and that there’s not one day in which we don’t move forwards towards that reality we have imagined.
The implementation of technology in companies has been a quiet process, but also a very efficient one, and it has been transforming jobs at a blistering pace. If we don’t want to fall behind, it’s important that we learn to adapt to an ever changing environment, developing our skills to keep up with the changes.
And how could you achieve this? With training. Professionals must constantly upgrade their knowledge and capabilities if they want to stay relevant for the jobs that will be in higher demand in the future.
In fact, studies like the World Economic Forum (WEF) report estimate that, in the next five years, 40% of the core skills will change due to the growing and permanent digitalisation. Almost all of the managers (94%) expressed that they expect their employees to develop the skills needed to meet the new demands of the market.
On this occasion, we will discuss the future with a great expert in new technologies, business models and innovation: Marc Sansó — Founder and CEO of the strategictechnological consulting firm, Elsebits, and Director of our Master in International Business.
Let’s open with the million-dollar question: Is digitalisation our new colleague or is it here to replace us?
Digitalisation makes life easier —no doubt about that— and it’s here to stay. The combination of AI and robotics will deeply change the working environment: some jobs will be lost, some will be created and others will be transformed.
It’s clear that we are witnessing an unstoppable trend that has sped up since the pandemic started and to which companies will have to adapt if they intend to survive. But, what’s the first step to take in this digital race?
Set goals, get training, surround yourself with a good team and focus on execution.
Do new technologies foster a labour market polarisation? What are the consequences of having a polarised labour market?
Yes. In fact, it’s already evident that the gap between workers —in terms of technological specialisation and the type of jobs available— is getting bigger and, in the coming years, this trend will only continue to grow. The most clear consequences are inequality —as it produces an elite of well paid workers— and the virtual extinction of full-time jobs in favour of the ever growing trend to go freelance
Which will be the key technologies in 2021?
Energy related technologies, AI, virtual currencies and blockchain technologies.
What kind of technology do you use the most in your job? And in your day to day?
Cloud y streaming.
Apps that you couldn’t live without:
Filestream, WhatsApp, Gmail, Netflix.
Is technology an essential tool for creating a good business model?
Yes. It’s an essential element that has an impact on every aspect of the business model —monetisation, competitive variables, costs, scalability and more—.
Should digitalisation be a key goal for any type of business?
Digital transformation rather than digitalisation. The former involves a business model change; the latter, an incremental improvement of the processes.
You’re an expert on business innovation and also a writer. In your book, The Value Trail, you introduce a new strategic analysis model based on the threedimensionality of value. Which are these three dimensions?
In the book, you can find the keys to the creation of successful business models, based on the Three Dimensions of Value in a competitive context: Appreciation (determining value propositions that appeal to the business agents), Concentration (accumulation in gravity centres of the value chain — the so-called benefit pools) and Predation (the wrong processes and approaches that erode the margin)
The question of which will be the jobs of tomorrow is always on the table. And, for many, the answer is STEM profiles (science, technology, engineering and maths). Is this future already written in stone?
I don’t believe in deterministic approaches — especially not in business. I think we need more specialised profiles, with a multi-dimensional training (and the humanist must be one of those dimensions). There are many ways to train and grow, and not all of them belong in the traditional educational sphere. Besides the specialised content —that is essential—, we need professionals that are resilient and that adapt easily; we need good communicators but also good listeners
If you could take a look at the “very distant future”, do you think you’d see any job that remained undigitalised?
I don’t. I think that, in one way or another, all jobs will have a digital component — some much more than others, of course.
It would be nice if one day a “success scanner” is invented. One that reveals the elements that make a business rise to the top. What’s your secret to detect them?
With the years, you learn to identify three essential characteristics that successful entrepreneurs and good professionals have: persistence in the effort, quality in the job and passion in what they do.
Albert Camus once said: “You cannot create experience. You must undergo it”. In the same way, we can’t create a time machine to peep into the future, we must undergo the experiences that will take us there. We can only hope to adapt to it, learn something every day and live with the intensity that is required.
After all, we may not control algorithmic language and our memory may not be measured in bits, but thanks to Marc Sansó, we have the magic formula for doing a great job:
Effort + Quality + Passion = Success.