Studies indicate that 30% of technical knowledge is made obsolete every year. In this information age, mastery of technology is an essential skill for success to be found in any sector of business. Going with your gut and relying on instinct remains a valuable skill, but truly talented leaders leverage every advantage they can find. Utilizing technology to its fullest extent while applying your human insight will push you beyond your limitations and birth a new, more powerful entity altogether: introducing the “centaur.”
Classically, the centaur is a half-human, half-horse mythological creature from ancient Greece, embodying the wisdom and intelligence of mankind combined with the robust force and power of the mighty horse. In this metaphor, like the mythological centaur, we can retain our humanity while harnessing the power of technology to become something more. Sometimes technology can be a wild beast requiring taming and constant attention to ensure you remain seated firmly on its back.
Several trends in technology are poised to shake up virtually every industry today and in the immediate future. Two particularly imminent advances in technology that will be key aspects helping you tame your centaur are big data and artificial intelligence (AI).
While data is an incredibly valuable asset to businesses large and small alike, converting data into information is no longer as simple as gathering and storing it. The data itself is becoming so vast the question isn’t how to obtain or store it, but how to analyze and understand it. Big data is analytics on steroids, and it is bringing with it a core shift in mentality away “from a knowing culture to a learning culture,” says Murli Buluswar, former chief science officer of finance and insurance corporation American International Group.
The advent of big data is driving the adoption of an objective mentality that makes decisions based on concrete data analysis. Big data enables you to collect vast amounts of detailed information, which your business can use to improve internal efficiency and customer experience. Its potential impact on your operations cannot be overstated.
AI development is vastly outperforming human intelligence in a large assortment of tasks from reading comprehension to playing video games and even driving cars. It doesn’t take an AI-powered supercomputer to realize AI is going to be a big influence in the coming years.
Harnessing the combination of big data and AI capabilities will aid you in your transformation into a centaur.
How can business embrace the centaur?
Embracing the centaur means leveraging new technology to become smarter and more efficient and utilizing this newfound power to drive personal, human connections. Four ways to achieve this are deploying information tools, mining for customer data, mastering the art of analytics, and personalizing your offerings.
1. Deploy information tools
Business intelligence tools have come a long way since the days of basic spreadsheets and pie charts. While spreadsheets are still great tools, there are far more advanced and full-service systems available today that provide incredible data analysis and insight. Customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning software packages are just some of the invaluable tools for harnessing the power of big data and fully utilizing the data you gather.
2. Mine for customer data
You must ask yourself if you are doing everything you can to mine customer data. Social media is a gold mine of customer data just waiting for you to harvest. The information you can gather from social media networks has direct and indirect business implications. This data is essential for effective marketing campaigns. Knowing your market enables you to target ads at specific demographics, drastically increasing your return on investment in marketing.
3. Master the art of analytics
Your data is only as powerful as your ability to understand it. You must master the art of analytics. Data for the sake of data will get you only so far, and that’s typically to the bottom of a pit of worthless data. Learning which data points drive value to your business is the first key to data mastery. There are plenty of analytics tools out there, but the strength of the information you glean from them is highly dependent on your ability to know what to look for. It is critical that you discover which data is the most critical for your business and then focus in on those metrics.
4. Personalize offerings
All this data you’re accumulating can then be used in direct and personalized marketing. You can provide customers with engaging media as well as offers on items they quantifiably want to purchase. Truly personalized points of contact with your audience not only have an increased likelihood of conversion, but also garner brand loyalty.
Customers expect a lot more from companies as technology advances in leaps and bounds. As business leaders, we must rise to these expectations if we hope to remain relevant. To stay relevant, you must adapt to the times, and these times demand ongoing technological transformations.
Embracing your inner centaur is all about taking advantage of the power of technology while maintaining your connection to humanity. Understanding that ultimately every decision you make comes down to determining how to best serve your customer will keep you grounded and focused. Meanwhile, keeping one eye looking towards the future will ensure you are prepared for whatever is to come. •
Mo Dhaliwal is director of strategy at Skyrocket Digital (skyrocket.is).
