2024 - Global Peter Drucker Forum BLOG

November 15, 2024 2024

AI revolutionizes biology
by Matthias Berninger

As a guest at the 16th Global Peter Drucker Forum, I had the honor of talking about recent developments in the global political landscape and their effects on society and the economy. The era of globalization as we have known it has ended and, unfortunately, we are not only being confronted with a new geopolitical situation, we must also simultaneously face the challenges of climate change and increasing biodiversity loss. In other words, globalization is over; global problems, however, will become ever more pressing. Against this background it is clear that we will only be able to feed and provide health care for a growing world population if we find new, uncommon ways to collaborate.[…]

November 15, 2024 2024

Thinking Across Different Time Horizons for Sustainable Value Creation
by Roger Spitz

Thinking across different time horizons is a crucial skill for driving impact and sustainable value creation. We can choose our own perception of time to exercise our long-term thinking muscles, to bring our future vision into focus, and to spot opportunities.

Our expanding liminal present

Today, few can focus beyond the next news cycle. But looking farther into the future is necessary for survival. As the world will be radically transformed over the coming years, there is no alternative but to understand what key features to look out for, what fragments of the future are emerging today – sometimes prematurely and unannounced. Thinking across different time horizons provides an opportunity to explore these possibilities.[…]

November 14, 2024 2024

Can Machines Act With Integrity?
by Hamilton Mann

In Alan Turing’s seminal paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence”, he posed the now-famous question, “Can machines think?”—an inquiry that laid the groundwork for exploring the cognitive potential of machines.

Today, as we witness AI systems moving beyond narrow tasks into increasingly autonomous roles, this question evolves into a new, urgent line of inquiry: “Can machines act with integrity?”

Just as Turing’s work invited us to ponder the boundaries of machine cognition, the rise of advanced AI compels us to ask if machines can be equipped to uncompromisingly act ethically and responsibly.[…]

November 14, 2024 2024

Shaping the Future of Knowledge Work – What’s Left for Humans?
by Pierre Le Manh

When we talk about the future of the knowledge economy, the first question that comes to mind is whether we should still call it that. Relatively soon, all knowledge, expertise, and the know-how to apply them – accelerated by the combined explosion of AI and robotics – will reside with machines.

We tend to downplay the impact of AI on work, focusing on the automation of rote tasks while humans would focus on those that demand “human qualities” like creativity and empathy. That’s comforting; it helps us overcome the fear of the potential loss of jobs. Fear is a natural reaction.[…]

November 11, 2024 2024

The Next Management – The future of management education
by Peter Paschek

“Managers probably need financial and accounting, marketing and strategic skills more today than they ever have done. But they also need something else. They need grounding in the messy realities of the human condition, an understanding of politics and culture and an awareness of the historical forces that have shaped the world in which we live. …and they need role models from whom to learn.”

(John Hendry)[…]

November 8, 2024 2024

The Competition Between Knowledge Workers and GenAI
by Alex Adamopoulos

I just came back from attending one of the world’s largest technology conferences where the sarcastic comment of the week from speakers was to promise they wouldn’t bring up the term ‘AI’. We have a huge problem looming that’s related to AI. It’s already become a confusing buzzword that most can’t define or explain. When asked, the common response is that AI is ChatGPT or another GenAI tool. This lack of clarity and confusion about AI is compounded by the AI fearmongering that exists in the media and within organizations that want everyone to believe we’re all going to be replaced by robots or a bot. There’s also a perception of division between the knowledge worker (people) and the AI (the tools).[…]

November 8, 2024 2024

The Next Management: Leading with the Long View
by Johan Roos

The Evolution of Management Success

Management innovation has been a key driver of human progress. Over decades, organizations have successfully adapted their practices to meet emerging challenges, creating unprecedented prosperity and advancement. While many organizations continue to operate with industrial-era practices focused on hierarchical control and short-term financial metrics, pioneering institutions are demonstrating that a different approach is not only possible but delivers superior results.[…]

November 8, 2024 2024

From Hierarchies to Haier-archies: The Return of Internal Ecology Management as a Form of Agility and Decentralization
by Ekin Ilseven

At the World Management Agility Forum that took place in Lisbon in September, a panel of founders and managers of successful decentralized companies shared their insights. Lars Brüning described how chemical giant Bayer is undergoing full-scale restructuring, defying the organizational charts that are at best matrix-shaped: he visualizes each department as a cycle that self-manages itself, setting its own goals, strategies, and plans. The focus is on consumer experience. […]