The Year that Was
In the blink of an eye, 12 months swiftly came and went. It felt like watching a bullet train speeding to the next station.
How was your OD practice during that time? Optimism, anxiety, uncertainties, hopes, and fears filled the air. Were there unfulfilled goals, breakthroughs, or none of the above?
As the artist of your experience, which color dominated your year? A sky blue, dark red, pink, or pastel? What discussions dominated your practice?
Climate change and sustainable development dominated the conversations. There were other significant topics too: a slew of tech disruptions and ethical debates (specially the sudden but explosive growth of Gen AI); uncertainties due to geopolitical shifts (Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Gaza); persistent health and public health challenges (struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health, work-life balance); strains on talent acquisition and retention for digital transformation, and cybersecurity; as well as humanitarian crises and gender-based violence. Might as well be the tapestry of the complexity and significance of 2023.
Reflecting
Indeed, the year served as a pivotal point, highlighting the interconnectedness of global challenges and the collective will for progress. Moving forward, it is crucial to understand these defining moments to shape a more equitable and sustainable 2024 practice for all.
What would we be concerned about our practice this year? How will we view, introduce and cope with the changes that will (inevitably) change our practices? Like 2023! Business as usual??? An easy but definitely an inadequate answer.
Welcome 2024!
My year started with a short yet fascinating peek into 2024. Thanks to a 6-hour, 3-day YouTube tour of the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES-24) in Las Vegas. It had more than 4,000 exhibitors, including over 1,200 startups. It showcased a diverse range of innovative and potentially game changing techs. Some noteworthy examples included a 77-inch transparent TV that seamlessly blends with your wall, a flying car model, a futuristic and fully voice-command car, an audio speaker system that users can place anywhere in a room. There were many home appliances made intelligent with smart controllers and sensors including auto home baker, intelligent vacuum cleaners, refrigerators that suggests what to cook based on its contents, and self-discerning washing machine. Plus a slew of wearables and health trackers including potential replacements (a ring, a tiny box, eyeglasses) for your smartphones. Truly amazing innovations were on display.
The Driver Unmasked
From all these tech marvels, what surprised me most is the seamless integration of Gen AI with robotics. This sent shivers down my spine. Gifted with AI (mimic understanding and communication), robots can now see, sense, hear, memorize, talk and act. Can they now surreptitiously invade our homes, the way they entered our factories some 2 to 3 decades back? And let’s not forget, AI is continuing to jazz-up all our increasingly obsolete software packages (e.g., co-pilot for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, meetings). And those who refused are teased out of the market.
Now pause! Imagine the productivity demands placed on the manufacturing engines to produce these tech marvels. Consider the almost insurmountable challenges these innovations will impose on our organizations as we've known them last year and before. The Tesla car was first exhibited in the CES-17. At that time, it may have nothing but a “kitchen-model” of the manufacturing engine and a broad sketch of what the organization might be. Today, that engine (and organization!) can produce a Model 3 Tesla car in 40 steps and 90 minutes on average. And this feat is repeated in many other manufacturing and services sectors as well.
Considering these changes in our practices, 2024 will truly be exciting, colorful and will push us more and more to the unknown. We will witness the decline of the traditional and archaic paradigms. Hierarchical views and practices will give way to organizations seen as organic entities constantly learning and adapting. Top-down decision-making will be replaced by decentralized operations encouraging autonomy and worker participation. Fragmentation in work and roles will evolve into cross-fertilization by specialists, adapting to the dynamic organizations as ecosystems.
Shifts
Anticipated shifts in our OD practice will involve: (a) updated organization assessments and diagnosis to include digitization, datafication, digitalization, alternative work habitats, and AI modules; (b) crafting and implementing innovative interventions (smart, lean vs agile, platform organizations); (c) supporting leadership development (transformative leadership, synthetical leadership, evolutionary leadership,); (d) facilitating change management (measuring transformative quotients, non-linear learning, decay theory, embracing disruption, disinformation, and division, mental health support); as well as (e) cushioning the consequences of tech innovations (job losses, transitions, re-invention of jobs and careers).
Embracing Failures
As we step into the 2024, let's discard our old habits, leverage today’s tools to improve self-awareness and focus on aligning our practices with the demands of the time. Let's embrace mistakes as pivotal moments on our journey to success. Recognizing and learning from our mistakes is a potent tool for personal growth. In hindsight, a year should reveal a past self that may seem rather naive and inexperienced. If not, the valuable insights may have been overlooked. While few actively seek out their mistakes, there's no need to fear them; instead, treat them as opportunities for growth. Acquire new skills and concepts, envisioning a future where you operate and thrive with increased agility and confidence.
In 2024, OD professionals must re-examine and understand the organization dynamics, take a proactive approach to change management, and cultivate a culture of continuous learning and innovation to drive success in the ever-changing landscape.
NOTES
Our special engaging guest is Nadya Zhexembayaeva, PhD, hailed from Almaty, Kazakhstan formerly Russia) who practices OD worldwide. She is the Chief Reinvention Officer of Reinvention Academy who helps corporations thrive in perpetual turbulence and capitalize on disruption Teaching my science-based methods to help 1B people reinvent. Recorded in 2023, her topic on the 3 Big Trends That Are Reshaping OD lingers till 2024 and beyond.