Steve Brown - The Innovation Ultimatum

7 Acknowledgments

8 About the Author

9 Index

10 End User License Agreement

1 Chapter 1 Figure 1.1 A simple neural network.

2 Chapter 5Figure 5.1 How might Bell's Law apply going forward?

3 Chapter 7Figure 7.1 A hierarchy of business goals for automation projects.

1 Cover

2 Table of Contents

3 Introduction

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Would you like to know a secret about the future?

The future isn't fixed . There is not a single future that we are all running toward, helpless to do anything about. The future is built every day by the actions of people and organizations. This is why it is so important to be an active participant in the future. People should not be passive. No organization should sit back and let the future happen to them—that never ends well. The first step to becoming an active participant in your future is gaining knowledge, and this book is a great place to start.

All too often when people learn about the future it is cloaked in a shroud of fear and dread. Artificial Intelligence. Blockchain. Augmented Reality. The Internet of Things. 5G networks. Autonomous Machines. Each of these advances will reshape the world. No industry will be untouched. But these changes are not organization-ending events. These transformative technologies don't mean the end to your business or organization. They will however mean that you will need to adapt and to prepare your teams for change. By learning about these technologies today, understanding their possible and potential impact, you can prepare for tomorrow.

Once you have done this, then you can ask yourself and your organization: What is the future you want to build? What is the future you want to avoid? If you are reading this, I believe you know that you will have to do something . Organizations that ignore the future are the ones that find themselves disrupted, rudderless, and obsolete. This informed, active participation means that you get to decide your own future and then begin to stake out the prudent and pragmatic steps to get there.

Would you like to know another secret about the future?

Fear makes you stupid. When humans are fearful, their brains can only make one of three decisions: Fight. Flight. Freeze. We have all seen really poor business and life decisions that have been made during these three paralyzing states. Knowledge and informed commentary about the future can help to dispel this fear.

Beware of anyone who tells you that you should be scared of the future. Instantly be suspicious of anyone who tells you that because of some technology, the world will never be the same again and that you are powerless to do anything about it. Ultimately, what this person is trying to do is disempower you, to scare you into making poor decisions, or worse … to frighten you into inaction.