This document was produced as an input to the European Commission (via the European Internet Foundation) to suggest a review and renewal of policies in the field of digital technology and digital media. It is a contribution to a discussion at a European level, and readers are invited to provide their comments on those subjects that they consider as important for shaping the future of Europe.   Technology Centric World View   When it comes to the discussion of our digital future the world-view of the European Commission is too

Most everyone now has heard one of the hottest terms today—big data. Big data is a big deal, especially in such data-intensive industries as cybersecurity, finance, healthcare, marketing, transportation, energy, and others. And, many of us are already familiar with the 3V’s of big data-volume, velocity, and variety of data. But, the key question is, “How do we extract big knowledge from big data?”   The answer to this question is partly through analytics, which is also a growing field within various sectors. Some people look at data analytics, in

The devastating effects of overblown short-termism and profit maximization are increasingly recognized as key issues for our societies at large and their importance and urgency is felt by all stakeholders. There is a fundamental issue though – most commentators and experts would strongly agree on the diagnosis, but nobody has yet come up with a viable alternative model that would be broadly accepted.   The agency theory (as conceived by Jensen and Mecking) that spawned the shareholder value model conveys the illusion of a scientific type of approach; it provides

This is the full text of the opening keynote by Prof. Helga Nowotny at the 5th Global Peter Drucker Forum.   1.   The embarrassment of complexity begins when we realize that old structures are no longer adequate and the new ones are not yet in place. Currently we are in a transition phase. The old never yields to the new in one precise moment in time and this is what makes transition phases exciting, risky – and sometimes embarrassing.   The sheer multiplication of networks of various kinds and

 I am honoured to have been invited to address this opening session. The subject that you are going to discuss during the next two days is not an easy one and the Organisers are to be complimented that they have succeeded in putting a program together that has attracted so many participants from different walks of life and of such diverse experience. Such a varied group of participants should help to ensure that at the end of the conference we will know what we are really talking about and what

Welcome to all of you to the 5 th Global Peter Drucker Forum  – welcome to you here in the auditorium and welcome to all those on our live stream. In addition to the 350 present in the auditorium we have some 1000 participants registered for the live stream.   It is with quite some emotion that I am addressing you – almost by the day 5 years ago we began something which we hoped would become a journey – exactly in this place. Today I can confirm that the

Presentation to the 5th Global Drucker Forum 2013   The complex and ambiguous conditions of this century are unlikely to respond to the old school of leadership. Old norms were honed in a different environment – one in which it was perhaps easier to view one position as right and the other wrong, easier to predict, to forecast, to control.  But despite today’s complexities, many notions of leadership remain deeply embedded in the conditions and assumptions of the last century.   What perspectives and skills are needed to lead organizations

  Transcript: Good morning. And greetings to all of you. I am honored by your invitation to present some ideas related to the theme of this year’s Drucker Forum, “Managing Complexity.” However, when I was approached and asked to talk to you, my first thought was:   How can I possibly add anything to a Forum featuring so many worldwide experts on the subject? Then, on second thought, it occurred to me that we are missing one big ingredient in our increasingly complex world: leadership. More and more, we are

Resilience will receive a lot of attention as the complexity of our world increases. Below is a brief description of the logical correspondence between complexity and resilience, followed by a succinct primer on mechanisms of resilience. But first, a bit of history is in order.   Before the Industrial Revolution reliability wasn’t a granted thing. The whole concept of craftsmanship was intrinsically tied to the idea that the quality of the output varied widely with each individual. This lack of uniform standards meant that the benefits of scale economies were

Or Be Like the Borg Collective and eliminate viruses   Organizations around the globe in all sectors continue a trend of increasing size and complexity that began over 100 years ago with the business strategies of the likes of Carnegie and Rockefeller. New and emerging technologies for communication and data sharing have accelerated this process in recent decades. We view this process as a natural and inevitable occurrence due, if for no other reason, to simple economics. Expenses will rise through time in many ways that management cannot prevent no