Ideation Equals Progress: Navigating the Future through Collective Ingenuity

The label of an 'idea factory' bestowed upon our TCS Future of Business team is not just a compliment; it's a testament to the power of innovative thinking that has historically shaped civilizations and will continue to mold our future. Every monumental leap, from the pyramids of Egypt to the digital revolution, began as a mere idea. Ideas are the seeds of progress, be it sending astronauts to the Moon or deploying AI to solve climate change.

During a recent interaction with executives, one asked, "What new ideas are you bringing to the table?" This is the modern Socratic question. It echoes the inquiries that led to great historical discoveries, whether in the ancient Agora or the Renaissance courts. 

Futurist Gerd Leonhard's words resonate profoundly: "Idea evolution is like biological evolution on steroids." In our digital era, ideas metamorphose at a dizzying pace, propelled by the collective intelligence accessible through the internet. As Frank Diana eloquently puts it, we are not just consumers of ideas; we are participants in the 'combinatorial' dance of innovation, where the melding of existing concepts often yields groundbreaking results.

Launchpads and Convergences

In my last article, I wrote about the concept of launchpad technologies and their ability to shape our future.  These are technologies that fit the following criteria:

1. Broad Applicability: Technologies that can be applied across a wide range of industries and disciplines.
2. Potential for Disruption: Technologies that challenge or revolutionize the existing way of doing things in significant areas (like communication, energy, transportation).
3. Scalability: The potential to be scaled up efficiently and economically to serve large populations.
4. Foundation for Further Innovation: A technology that serves as a foundation on which other technologies can be built.
5. Addressing Fundamental Needs or Problems: Technologies that solve fundamental human problems or needs (like health, safety, communication).
6. Interconnectivity: The ability to connect with and enhance existing technologies or infrastructures.
7. Economic Viability: The potential for economic sustainability, profitability and with widespread adoption and development.

These are not the only criteria for identifying launchpad technologies, as societal, geopolitical and economic influences can also impact whether a technology becomes a superpower, but these are a good place to start.

Although our team tracks 350 plus trends, developments and emerging technologies, here are a few "launchpad technologies" that are front of mind for me in 2024:

• 5G/6G
• Sustainable Energy
• Internet of Things
• Artificial Intelligence
• Drones
• Mixed/Extended/Augmented/Virtual Realities
• Blockchain/Distributed Ledger
• Precision Foods - Farming/Fermentations/Lab Grown/Vertical/Plant Based
• Robotics
• Synthetic Biology
• Genetic Engineering
• Genomics
• Precision Medicine
• Nanotech
• Quantum Computing

*I use generative AI to assist in all my work.

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Kevin Benedict

Futurist at TCS

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***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Launchpad Technologies

In TCS's Future of Business team, we closely track over 350 trends, technologies and developments.  While all are interesting and important, not all of them will equally shape our future.  Some innovations are useful improvements, but have limited impact on human history.  Others, like the wheel, are force multipliers and have value and utility that extends over thousands of years and offer a wide range of uses.  I propose we call these highly impactful innovations, launchpad technologies, as they have a tendency to launch and support many additional technologies.

How do we know if an emerging technology is going to be a low impact innovation, or a launchpad?  I propose we consider the following key attributes as criteria:

1. Broad Applicability: Technologies that can be applied across a wide range of industries and disciplines are more likely to become launchpads.
2. Potential for Disruption: Technologies that challenge or revolutionize the existing way of doing things in significant areas (like communication, energy, transportation) have launchpad potential.
3. Scalability: The potential to be scaled up efficiently and economically to serve large populations.
4. Foundation for Further Innovation: If a technology serves as a foundation on which other technologies can be built, it's a strong candidate.
5. Addressing Fundamental Needs or Problems: Technologies that solve fundamental human problems or needs (like health, safety, communication) are likely to be foundational.
6. Interconnectivity: The ability to connect with and enhance existing technologies or infrastructures.
7. Economic Viability: The potential for economic sustainability and profitability can often drive widespread adoption and development.

So what are some potential candidates today that meet the above criteria?

1. Quantum Computing: Leverages principles of quantum mechanics to process information at unprecedented speeds. It could solve complex problems beyond the reach of classical computers, impacting cryptography, material science, and pharmaceuticals.
2. CRISPR and Gene Editing: A technology for editing genomes with high precision.  It could be revolutionary in healthcare and agriculture, with the potential to cure genetic diseases and improve crop resilience.
3. 5G and Advanced Wireless Technologies: The next generation of wireless communication offering higher speed and lower latency. It could enable a more connected world, crucial for IoT, autonomous vehicles, and smart cities.
4. Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies: A decentralized digital ledger technology. It has the potential to transform financial transactions, supply chain management, and data security.
5. Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Machine Learning: AI encompasses systems that can learn, reason, and make decisions. Applicable across industries, from healthcare diagnostics to autonomous driving and personalized services.
6. Renewable Energy Technologies (like Advanced Solar Cells): Technologies harnessing sustainable energy sources. It's key to addressing climate change and ensuring energy security.
7. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR): Technologies creating immersive digital experiences. Transformative in gaming, training, education, and remote work.
8. Nanotechnology: Manipulating matter at an atomic or molecular scale. It promises breakthroughs in materials science, medicine, and electronics.
9. Autonomous Vehicles: Vehicles capable of navigating without human input.  It has the potential to revolutionize transportation, logistics, and urban design.
10. Biotechnology (including Synthetic Biology): Technology based on biology for industrial and other purposes. It could lead to medical breakthroughs, sustainable manufacturing, and new materials.
11. Edge Computing: Distributed computing paradigm bringing data storage and computation closer to data sources. Enhances IoT efficiency, supports AI applications, and reduces latency in computing.
12. Advanced Battery Technologies: Innovations in energy storage, such as solid-state batteries. Critical for electric vehicles, renewable energy integration, and portable electronics.
13. Internet of Things (IoT): Network of interconnected devices collecting and sharing data. Enabling smart homes, healthcare devices, and industrial automation.

Which ones would you add to this list?

*I use generative AI to assist in all my work.

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Kevin Benedict

Futurist at TCS

View my profile on LinkedIn

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the Linkedin Group Digital Intelligence

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Covid-19 and the Value of Ideas

I was recently on a call with a client who asked, “In addition to your standard services, what new ideas are you bringing to the table?”  The client obviously placed a high value on ideas.  

Competitive advantages first start as ideas.  A single competitive advantage can open doors to a tsunami of additional advantages and economic benefits (Advantages=A²).  For example, innovators and leaders always see data that laggards can’t.  That data can be used to guide new product roadmaps, marketing opportunities, sales, improvements and innovations.

The value of new ideas, however, can only be realized if acted upon.  I have personal journals full of good ideas with little to no value.  I never acted.  I can’t tell you how many times I have exclaimed to my wife, “That was MY idea!”, after having read about another company acting upon my latent good ideas.

Why hadn’t I acted?  Most often it had to do with time and focus.  My work at the time was not focused on “acting upon” that particular new idea, and my KPIs did not include acting on it.

What if companies were to recognize how valuable new ideas are to their future success?  I recently interviewed a successful entrepreneur, Richard Skellett, about his views on workforce productivity and management.  He said the business value of an employee should not be associated with a pre-defined position or pay scale, because even a junior employee could contribute highly valuable ideas to the company.  Skellett believes every employee should have a balance sheet where their personal asset and liability curves could be recognized by all in a transparent manner.  The more ideas and value a person brings to the company, no matter their position, the higher their reward.  

In this age of the global pandemic, many changes and restrictions are being imposed upon us by the Covid-19 coronavirus.  These changes, unwelcome as they are, are forcing many companies to experiment and test new processes and strategies.  These are prime opportunities to consider new paradigms and to come up with new ideas.  Use these unwelcome times to act upon your good ideas.

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Kevin Benedict

Partner | Futurist | Leadership Strategies at TCS

View my profile on LinkedIn

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the Linkedin Group Digital Intelligence

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Technologies Without Strategies

Layers of GIS Maps

Fingerspitzengefühl: The literal translation of this German word is finger tip feelings.  It is used to describe one's ability to maintain situational awareness by receiving real-time data. 

The problem with fingerspitzengefühl, in addition to difficult pronunciation - is knowing how much data a person needs in order to maintain situational awareness without it being too much.  Today we have data coming at us from every direction.  In fact, as I am writing this article I was notified that my security camera detected humans at my front door.  I now have situational awareness, but at the cost of distraction.  What is really needed is not just any information, but information that will materially impact one's ability to succeed.