The 2016 elections delivered a number of bombshells. The one top of mind for most Americans is the unexpected presidential victory for Donald Trump. (To review, just prior to the November 8 election, national polling data showed Democrats at 272, Republicans 214[1] – with Clinton’s chance of winning at 71.4% over Trump’s 28.6%.[2])

Revitalizing workforce agility is urgent; it is a priority that must be satisfied if business leaders are to achieve transformation or modernization goals amidst an ever-changing landscape.

The future of work and workforce agility is uncertain, but not unknowable. Preparing for the future starts with understanding what is creating it. We have identified five drivers shaping the future of organizations and individuals.

“Be where the world is going.”

– Beth Comstock

I love this quote. Be where the world is going. The commitment to peer into the future to see what is coming and assume the risks of trying new ways to build resilience is easier said than done. Most organizations are still structured for risk mitigation and operational efficiencies. It is no wonder so many leaders feel a constant pull between today’s urgent issues and tomorrow’s more distant – and important – positioning. Few future-focused leaders are brave enough to strike the balance. Those who can will dominate our increasingly unsettled business environment.

Before the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Industrial Revolution, the Constitutional system functioned largely the same: white, male landowners riding to the Capitol, casting votes on behalf of their neighbors. American elected representatives would travel long distances to make deals, pass bills, and govern for their constituents. Local needs defined national policies. And days or weeks after votes were counted, the news would reach the citizen population via word of mouth or newspapers.

We are regularly asked about the biggest risks to critical infrastructure. Recent news headlines blare concern about Russians infiltrating US utility control rooms, child hackers laying waste to voting machines, bridge collapses that serve as a reminder to crumbling infrastructure worldwide, and extreme weather that is exacerbating a taxed, highly interdependent and increasingly fragile infrastructure ecosystem.

Smart city technologies include the internet of Things (IoT), hyper-connected citizens, and data-driven public solutions among other things. These innovations are indeed disruptive individually, but in aggregate promise incredible opportunity for our metro areas. They also have the potential to create major hurdles for those tasked with putting these new resources to work. How do you transform an uncertain future into a platform for competitive advantage?

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In an environment where physical and cyber risks are increasing, it is critical that security organizations maintain well established security metrics to better control, track, and refine preparation, mitigation, and response operations to replace fear and uncertainty in organizational functions. 

If you’re like me, you marveled at Elon Musk’s SpaceX launch and safe return of the Falcon Heavy rockets. I imagine that when NASA’s Apollo program made it possible for mankind to take its first steps on the moon, it gave people even greater feelings of amazement and wonder.

Once again, the Pentagon has reorganized.[1] Motivated by a concern about how emerging technologies will impact the future of war, the department has aligned its leadership structure to put particular focus on quantum science, hypersonics, artificial intelligence, and directed energy. It’s a change that organizes and assigns specific responsibilities to two relatively new offices within the Department of Defense (DoD) – the offices of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD R&E).

Throughout history, territorial and commercial tensions have been cause for battles. Looking further back in history, much of that conflict was armed – such as during the Punic Wars (264 B.C. to 146 B.C.), when the Roman Republic waged war with Carthage because of trade inferiority. Modern history sees a less violent, but no less dangerous, form of conflict.