People Skills (creativity, social networking, collaboration) are set to continue increasing their relevance within work contexts in with Artificial Intelligence is rapidly going to take over many of the tasks currently part of management today.
Technology shaking work as we see it
#Technology is shaking the context of #work at a faster and faster pace; it seems that this is shutting down many work opportunities yet the key variable is #change and the way we adapt to it.
An in depth qualitative and quantitative analysis is quite intriguing in lighting-up this way…
The Scuderia Ferrari F1 and the ‘high potentials’ organisational philosophy: roots to its current successes
A few hours ago Scuderia Ferrari has achieved a historic first and second place at the Monaco GP showing technological superiority compared to its competitors. The two read F1 in front of the podium looked like beautiful spaceships resting after a nice stroll around the twisty circuit. Last season Ferrari’s struggles appear to be ages ago and even the reigning F1 World Champion, Nico Rosberg, after the race was wondering how it has been possible for Ferrari not only to close the technological gap to Mercedes but also to surpass the competition.
A key reason for the turnaround
Motorsport’s magazine writer, Mark Hughes, has an answer to the question Nico just asked featured in the May Issue of the magazine. The title of the article is “The Scuderia fights back” and its goes to the very core to some fundamental organisational changes that Sergio Marchionne, Ferrari President wanted to set at mid season last year by letting go the top designer James Alison (next to begin to work for the Mercedes F1 Team).
Marchionne, after talking to several people at various level of the Scuderia about their straightforward perspective on the lack of results, has decided to take a new course with a fresh managerial and organisational philosophy that runs behind the scenes and that sets managerial innovation on the same level of effective technological innovation in order to achieve success.
No longer a ‘game of egos’
Traditional F1 has been a sport made of strong egos that use to lead teams driven by marked visions and decisiveness in their actions inspired and inspiring by showing strong leadership characteristics and at the same time a tightfisted managerial style quite stern and direct to push people to perform; Enzo Ferrari, Bernie Ecclestone, Ron Dennis, just to name a few of them among many. Marked hierarchies characterise companies run this way. Most of the decisions happen top-down and a culture ‘no errors allowed’ shapes-up as a direct consequence. They are able to achieve success by the vision and drive of their founders and top leaders but what happens when such visions become offset respect to increasing complexities of fast paced changed originating from several directions?
Marchionne himself has a management style quite direct and decisive, yet with the Scuderia, has realised that something different needed to be done. He has opened a new managerial course, a new philosophy in managing at best the overall know-how present within the organisation: maximising its utilisation, not simply letting the know-how of the few come-up with ideas and have the others executing them. Companies organised this way need a marked sense of direction, of overall vision (what is the overall project, the overall unique inspiring goal that gives a sense of meaning and inspiration to the entire organisation?) yet this is not the only characteristic that is essential.
Managerial innovation driving technological innovation
As Mark Hughes observes (by utilising several examples of original technological innovations featured in this season F1 Ferrari) they also need to clarify and put in practice what is the difference between ‘managing high performers’ and ‘managing high potentials’. Managing ‘high performers’ means to measure achievement only in terms of performance: what the company is able to reach or not reach. Managing ‘high potentials’ means to measure achievement not only by performance expressed, better yet by past, present and future learning curves: it is much more dynamic way to manage people and situations. Top performers that take control of the entire situations might not be the most suited one to drive effective performance within highly complex environments subject to continuos change. Knowledge and ideas need to be further widespread and utilised, help needs to be sought after all over the organisation: a company needs to become aware of untapped know-how of its people. Original ideas and solutions originate from this kind of flat hierarchies in which groups have much more room for shared decision making. People are stimulated to share their ideas freely with no fear to subject themselves to judgement for errors that might ensue. It is a matter of fact that through this process, no matter what, learning is stimulated concretely in individuals, groups and the overall organisation.
An empowering organisational culture
All of this generates a new organisational culture in which know-how needs to be fully identified inside the company and released in a methodical way in order to achieve the performance and goals set. Once again this need to be done not simply by utilising the ‘high performers’ perspective but also the dynamic one ‘high potentials’ because challenges and complexities keep on raising.
A call for Motorsport SME action
All of this represent a case study that exemplifies the way that we support Motorsport Small and Medium Sized Organisations to value and utilise at best all of the know-how they already have, leverage at best on their people, in order to leverage on it for growth on global markets. The way to proceed about this is:
- set a dynamic vision for the future suitable to inspire and give a sense of meaning to the people working at the organisation while communicating a sense of unique value added they can generate for their clients (even beyond the Motorsport field);
- recognise the talent of the people as from a dynamic ‘high potential’ perspective that goes well beyond the one simply measuring performance: there is a continuos methodical projection towards taking advantages of new opportunities leveraging at best on know-how;
- project all of this towards markets and contexts where such value adding potential is fully expressed and recognised.
The fans global biggest’ sports survey: feedback to F1
#ZacBrown #McLaren and #MotorsportCom boss is rightly proud to present the largest sport survey conducted with fans to learn about their perceptions in order to improve the overall organizational system. In #F1 . The #Formula1in2017 #report deserves to be read for its data and information, hopefully next it will be utilized to implement actual improvement changes.
The concept and practice of methodically gaining feedback from sports’ fans is a relevant and constructive initiative. Now the actual evaluation and follow-up to it will be crucial to increase #F1 enjoyment and credibility perceived by fans. #fasttrackbook at this link the downloadable report .
Digital organizational disruption
Organizational #visions are impacted by the #disruptive forces of pervasive #digital challenges and change. Increasingly they need revisions, upgrades, new directions. This is all because digital challenges unavoidably affect any level of management #decisionmaking . #Volvo represents an interesting case study on the subject matter. #innovation #Fasttrackbook
A very interesting article on the topic.
Is Tesla’s bubble ready to burst?
It comes to no surprise that the #tesla #businessmodel begins to revive some sound questioning; after many creative ideas (some materialized into innovations, some still wacky) and too much outlandish PR boosting, now it needs to be reached the next step of concrete sound industrial development.
It could represent a sound turning point for the better, yet there are more doubts than certainties on this…
Artificial intelligence, big data and people: basis of economic and social progress?
#bigdata #artificialintelligence #automation ; they all represent processes set to have a marked impact on business development, organizational as well as socio-economic level.
Various technological and mindset forces are integrating in synergy. Hopefully this will generate progress that is not only relevant to increase productivity and efficiency in manufacturing by delivering product and services; actual social progress for the betterment of the human condition needs to be part of this as well.
Storytelling and entrepreneurship
Within contexts of continuos #change generating problems and therefore #opportunities to solve them;
the foundations of active #entrepreneurship need to come from real life experience and #experientiallearning
Africa upcoming manufacturing mighty?
#Africa is just about to show all of his mighty and potential linked to a workforce with standards of skills and know-how rapidly rising. Yet the drive to these developments is still foreign: #Chinese .
Quite an interesting overall case study from an economic and societal point of view, interesting article… “The world next great manufacturing center”.
Riccardo co-autor of an academic paper on Solar Mobility
The Paper by the Title:
Market Growth and Perspective for Solar Mobility: The Case of India
By
Vikas Badiger, International MBA University of Pisa, Italy
Riccardo Paterni, Synergy Pathways, Italy
Cristiano Fragrassa, Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorium University of Bologna, Italy
Abstract. This research aims at exploring and tapping the emerging market of solar powered technology as a way to fuel the transport industry in a vision of modern and sustainable mobility. It is based on three main aspects: an overview of solar powered vehicles and their recent developments; the current market research and analysis, including industry analysis, country analysis and market trends in the specific case of fast developing country as India; the assessment on potential investment opportunities and strategies toward an active role on the developing solar car market.
Keywords: Sustainable mobility · Solar powered vehicles · Market research · Developing countries · India
Book “Sustainable Design and Manufacturing 2017” Springer Publisher
Selected papers on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing
Editors: Campana, G., Howlett, R.J., Setchi, R., Cimatti, B. (Eds.)