A blog series inspired by Alan Millard’s Business Insights Lecture.
On Monday 13th February we were delighted to welcome Alan Millard, former COO of Hiscox Insurance and Honorary Professor of York St John University, to open our Business Insights lecture series. Alan delivered a fast-paced and insightful lecture, entitled “How to play in the traffic of this disruptive technological age.” There were multiple relevant themes and so, this week we’re featuring four short blogs drawing on and inspired by Alan’s lecture on the theme of innovation.
Firstly, let’s introduce innovation. Often people are a bit wary of “innovation.” It’s chaotic and we live in a world that likes order. From the moment my daughter was born, the talk was all about getting her in a “routine.” Now she’s turned one, I’m instilling further order and process: “Coat on to go outside” and “Mummy’s phone doesn’t go in the bath!” I know that for her to fit into school and society all these guidelines will increase exponentially over the coming years.
We grow up learning to conform and follow process – but what happens if we don’t? Asking this question and stepping out of the expected predictable norms is how innovative ideas begin.
Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of inertia with current processes in all industries. However, the internet has created a global market place for entrepreneurs. For example, in the insurance industry, £9 billion was invested in start-ups in the last two years. Low interest rates are compounding this trend by driving investment in technology as people seek a better return on their money.
The ripples of this are already being felt but a tsunami of change is coming. Research commissioned by Deloitte found that 35% of UK jobs, and 30% in London, are at high risk from automation over the next two decades. It will be the creative layer at the top, able to innovate and evolve in this changing world which succeeds.
Tomorrow’s blog will look at how innovative ideas can be generated.
