3 minute read
Future-Proofing Your Organization
A look at what needs to be done now to manage and minimize the impact of future shocks
By Colin Milner, Founder & CEO of ICAA
For example, so many organizations have embraced digital technology at such a rapid pace that we have achieved, in months, what would normally take years. Whether starting an internal television station to deliver wellness content, or adopting telemedicine to deliver healthcare and rehab services, organizations responded swiftly to “plug holes” in their systems—many with makeshift solutions. But plugging holes and creating a roadmap for the future are two different things.
It’s true that in the midst of a pandemic few of us are probably thinking about developing that roadmap. Yet, the future will find us soon enough. The question is, “what do we need to do now to prepare?”
Let’s start with the words ‘future-proof’. Experiences in 2020 reinforce the importance of building an organization that can manage and minimize the impact of future shocks. We benefit by asking ourselves the following: What elements are required to ensure the next trend or pandemic doesn’t have a devastating impact on my organization and on those my company serves?
One answer? Tech fluency.
If the pandemic has shown us anything, it is the value of digital offerings. If we intend to continue these offerings when more normalcy returns to in-person services, it is vital to understand tech fluency—not only is it a key to our success, but it helps future-proof our business.
If you are wondering what tech fluency is, you are not alone. In a July 2017 article in the Deloitte Review, Anthony R. Stephan, Martin Kamen, and Catherine Bannister described tech fluency as “a basic understanding of enterprise technology principles and systems. This understanding makes it possible for workers to contextualize deeper technology concepts; it enables employees to follow technology trends, differentiate between tech ‘myth’ and fact, and understand how the tools they use each day contribute, directly or indirectly, to business success.”
The authors observed that “tech fluency becomes more role- and business-functionspecific” as we move along the spectrum. That means having “a detailed working knowledge of how technology capabilities and their adjacencies can drive new revenue” and create opportunities.
So, how tech fluent is your organization? That’s another question that, given its importance, each of us will need to answer moving forward.
With knowledge of our teams’ tech fluency, we can each step into the future feeling confident in investments we make to move our organizations away from makeshift solutions, and toward becoming vibrant, integrated, technology-driven organizations with exceptional in-person offerings.
Future-proofing organizations will require a focus on services and products offered, where and how we deliver them, and who is charged with their delivery. We’ve all stared into the COVID-19 abyss this past year in our organizations. Who among us would choose to replay what we’ve seen? Amid heroic efforts to adapt, to learn and to find ways to meet needs, the pandemic has upended what we do and how we do it.
We all want our customers to enjoy supportive, life-affirming environments and outstanding opportunities to improve their health, wellness, and quality of life. The capacity to deliver these things both in-person and online will distinguish our organizations moving forward—and elevate some beyond the rest.
Colin Milner is founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging®. An award-winning author and leading authority on the health and wellbeing of the older adult, Milner has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of “the most innovative and influential minds” in the world on aging-related topics.
