How can leaders build an “activated organization” for AI uncertainty (instead of relying on top-down hierarchy)?

What is a “digital spine” in digital transformation, and how does it improve decisions, collaboration, and execution?

Digital Humans: Thriving in an Online World by Garrick Jones and Paul Ashcroft explains how organizations can adapt to rapid AI-driven change by operating like complex evolving systems—using an “activated organization” mindset, a shared digital spine, and a clear future narrative. Continue reading to translate the ideas into action: define the outcomes your teams must deliver, identify the workflows and knowledge that belong in your digital spine, and draft a future narrative employees can repeat and act on.

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As technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) evolve, many organizations find themselves struggling to know how best to manage uncertainty. According to Paul Ashcroft and Garrick Jones, thriving in the future requires a dramatic mindset shift: Eschew outdated top-down hierarchical solutions and become an “activated organization,” embracing the adaptability of complex, evolving systems. As experts in large-scale digital transformation, Ashcroft and Jones urge leaders to craft a compelling future narrative that inspires the changes needed within their organizations.

Take-Aways

• As the “singularity” approaches, survival requires adapting to the trends shaping the future.
• Become an “activated organization,” taking inspiration from other complex evolving systems.
• Support collaboration and smart decision-making with a “digital spine.”
• Embrace design thinking to unleash the problem-solving potential of diverse teams.
• Nudge people to take your desired actions by enabling and encouraging change.
• Data is a potent reflection of your digital identity and growth opportunities.
• Build a culture of continuous learning with high-quality, individualized learning journeys.
• Lead your digital transformation with a new narrative and future vision.

Summary

As the “singularity” approaches, survival requires adapting to the trends shaping the future.

Over the past decade, what it means to be human has undergone a dramatic shift. Humanity has expanded its capabilities as a species via digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). But as digital technologies and AI systems become more advanced, the world is approaching the “singularity”: a time when AI exceeds human capabilities. The consequences of this shift remain to be seen. While AI’s rise may usher in many new opportunities, dystopian outcomes are also possible. Some fear human workers could become obsolete with robots, AI, and automation destroying the ability of the majority of humans to earn a livelihood.

“The brave new digital world is, without doubt, creating winners and losers. As with any evolutionary jump, those individuals and tribes who can’t or won’t evolve and adapt will be left behind.”

As organizations enter this “brave new digital world,” it’s vital that they adapt intelligently in response to the trends driving change, including:

• The merging of the digital and the physical – People are increasingly connecting physical objects, such as kettles or lights, to the Internet of Things, creating hyper-connected physical infrastructures that alter the flow of data across national boundaries.
• The merging of AI and biology – As technologies such as computerized genome sequencing and AI evolve, the boundaries between biological systems (human and nonhuman), AI, and physical technologies are becoming blurred. For example, living cells can store and process data, and scientists can now manipulate DNA and RNA.
• The algorithmic turn – Algorithms shape day-to-day life, whether they’re determining the schedule of the bus you take to work or offering Netflix recommendations. Think critically about the algorithms governing daily life and whose interests they serve.
• The rise of the metaverse – Organizations will harness more metaverse technologies, offering gamified, personalized experiences to individuals and creating new experiential ecosystems.
• Use of blockchain – Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are becoming more prevalent, and new possibilities for decentralized finance are emerging thanks to decentralized ledger technologies.
• Micro-production – Following the development of modular solutions for manufacturing, micro-production units, which leverage the power of rapid manufacturing processes and robots, will transform local high streets into sites of production. Imagine choosing “recipes” for products – such as shoes or cars – online, then getting them manufactured near you at a micro-production unit.

Become an “activated organization,” taking inspiration from other complex evolving systems.

Today, digital organizations synthesize human and artificial intelligence, blending digital and human systems to form adaptive, living systems that respond intelligently to change. The next step for organizations that hope to thrive in the future is to take inspiration from other large, “complex evolving systems” – for example, coral reefs or mathematical systems. Such systems reorganize themselves automatically in response to a new stimulus or goal. Complex evolving systems share the following characteristics: They’re more varied than homogenous; they follow simple rules that enable self-organizing; there’s connectivity, without rigidity; when faced with complementary or competing systems, they co-evolve; and they’re in flux, constantly experimenting with new strategies that yield new results.

“Those who are surviving and prospering in the digital world are now following a different, more adaptive set of rules. They operate like entrepreneurs and designers who are instinctively comfortable within complex systems.”

“Activated organizations” – those that harness complexity and are capable of adaptation or evolution – share the following characteristics:

• Smart execution and decision-making – Organizations extend and strengthen their decision-making and execution capabilities by leveraging digital technologies and enabling aligned action across teams.
• Engaged and motivated teams – “Digital humans” work toward organizational goals in ways that feel meaningful. Organizations employ strategies such as gamification to help workers stay motivated and nurture cultures of trust to support workers in delivering excellence.
• Continuous learning – Organizations provide team members with transformational learning opportunities, enabling digital humans to grow their skills and capabilities more quickly.

Support collaboration and smart decision-making with a “digital spine.”

All complex systems need structures in place to help organize tasks. Organizations must mirror living systems by embracing change as a constant rather than trying to manage change in a top-down, hierarchical way. Spines offer a good metaphor for the structure you’re trying to create. Spines provide pathways for information to travel: For example, your body’s spine receives and transmits your brain’s messages. An organization’s “digital spine” refers to task sequencing and documentation of decision-making and knowledge to support and guide the flow of work.

“Organizations now act like living systems. As with any living system, change is constant.”

Your digital spine connects all the different apps and project steps team members must use on one platform, allowing people to work asynchronously, share ideas, and track tasks. Your digital spine should contain the following four elements: a knowledge base of relevant learning; the sequences of action steps that support your decision-making method; ethical parameters to guide decision-making; and adaptive, flexible workflow pathways that enable personalized work experiences and facilitate team member interactions.

Embrace design thinking to unleash the problem-solving potential of diverse teams.

Leverage design thinking to facilitate collaboration across teams containing individuals with varying skills and expertise. Design thinking requires you to work “backward,” like a designer, using your desired outcome – determined from research – as your starting point. The design-thinking method of collaborative authoring supports teams in virtually developing, building, testing, and iterating solutions. Teams move through cycles of continuous iteration, embracing the process of “thinking by doing” as they rapidly generate solutions.

“The digital reality enables us to solve complex problems and launch solutions into the world in ways that involve more people than ever before in history.”

Hire team members with diverse skills and viewpoints to generate the best solutions. Draw inspiration from a host of industries, viewpoints, and disciplines. Take time to understand your design challenge, deepening your understanding of the contexts you’re working within and sharing research insights on digital platforms. Define important terms and otherwise establish a common language to discuss the project at hand, thus ensuring everyone has a shared understanding of the vision they’re working toward. Present a clear and detailed picture of your hoped-for outcome, using images – such as artist renderings – and descriptions of the finished solution. Carefully document every phase of your design process, much like a tourist taking photos of a trip, to create a powerful narrative of your design journey.

Nudge people to take your desired actions by enabling and encouraging change.

To trigger systemic change and alter people’s behavior during your digital transformation, leverage the following:

1. Simplifiers – Remove any obstacles preventing people from taking your desired actions by using defaults and prompted choices – pre-filling certain form boxes, for example.
2. Timers – Create time pressure to take a certain action.
3. Connectors – People are likelier to change their behavior if others in their social networks adopt new behaviors. Strategically convert connected individuals to perform your desired behavior.
4. Attractors — Make a specific action appear more salient or appealing with “attractor” strategies. This could involve creating game-like experiences to drive engagement for an initiative. For example, Coca-Cola personalized Coke bottles with people’s names, inspiring millions of consumers to share photos of their bottles on social media in its “Share a Coke” campaign.

Data is a potent reflection of your digital identity and growth opportunities.

Your success as a digital organization hinges on how you use your available data and analytics. Take the Greek myth of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection, as a cautionary tale: Avoid the trap of self-absorption when analyzing your data. As a mirror, it should do more than reflect and reinforce your existing beliefs. Instead, use it as a feedback mechanism to deepen your understanding of your organization and identify possible growth areas.

“What is a digital organization? It is the sum total of all the data, information, and knowledge that is exchanged.”

Organizations use data-collection sensors as a nervous system. This nervous system is most effective when you pay close attention to both strong and weak signals: The former describes your current reality; the latter points to things that could scale and dominate your future reality. Take time to identify the sensors you need to glean internal and external feedback on your organization’s economic, cultural, technical, and performance indicators. Decide what amount of connectivity is right for you: how much feedback and knowledge should flow between teams and workers. Visualize your data cloud as it changes with a conceptual map that captures the real-time shape of your connected organization.

Build a culture of continuous learning with high-quality, individualized learning journeys.

Organizations that thrive during their digital transformations build a culture of continuous learning. Doing so requires more than simply hosting an online content library – you must thoughtfully design human-centric learning solutions that support team members’ diverse learning styles. Create systems of rapid, real-time feedback so learners have some understanding of their learning achievements and areas in need of improvement. People can access “labyrinths of knowledge” via the internet today. Organizations must help their people navigate and make sense of the endless information at their fingertips.

“Providing flexible and highly personalized learning programs at scale is a strategic imperative for organizations to remain competitive in the rapidly changing business landscape.”

Use next-generation learning programs that support employees in sequencing and structuring their bespoke learning journeys. For example, some people will find solo learning methods most effective while others will prefer to connect to “learning buddies” (recommended by the technology). Find a learning platform that makes learning simple and scalable across your organization. For example, you can automate the process of booking coaching sessions and sending reminders that keep learners on track. Define strategic learning outcomes for each individual, which should align with your organization’s strategic goals. Focus on curating the best content for learners while empowering them to continue their learning journeys by curating their own dynamic library of resources, which might include white papers and expert talks.

Lead your digital transformation with a new narrative and future vision.

In the past, leaders had to erect impressive physical monuments to inspire their people’s imaginations and establish new narratives. Today, you can change the world through the power of immersive storytelling. Meaning provides motivation: When people feel connected to a narrative that promises them more in the future than they have in the present moment, they’ll leap “across the abyss of the unknown” with you. Create a compelling narrative to guide your digital transformation that positions your organization as agile and motivated.

“We can build our own campfires, tell our stories, create our own movements, enthuse our own communities, and win the trust of others to activate and transform our communities from the inside.”

Instead of investing in outside experts when trying to reposition your brand or rewrite your strategy, tap into the power of your own people and create a compelling future vision together. When people adopt new ways of working and take action toward your new organizational goals, frame them as role models. Consider co-creating your vision with digital collaboration tools and facilitated visioning sessions. Find tangible ways to help people better connect with your vision, perhaps even recruiting employees to make a film about your future together. Remember, it’s natural to feel confused or insecure as you scramble to navigate a complex and uncertain future. But, working together, people can craft a better future for all.

About the Authors

Paul Ashcroft and Garrick Jones are co-founders of The Ludic Group, an organization helping organizations navigate large-scale digital transformation.