The Web Summit reinforces the role of people and culture in the development of business, society and technology
Summary
The Web Summit Lisboa was an intense and enriching event, focused on people and the importance of creativity and customer service.
A true tour de force towards the future of society and business. The Web Summit Lisboa is a physical and intellectual marathon. In addition to traveling more than 10 km a day between the pavilions and coming into contact with people from all over the world, the event makes us return to Brazil with excess intellectual baggage.
Even with a dominant theme such as Artificial Intelligence and its consequences, the event was so rich as to offer insights, ideas and reflections on topics that have much more to do with people than with technology. Although technology cannot be created without very competent, motivated and determined people.
Well: the Web Summit demonstrated that, long before Artificial Intelligence, the Active Intelligence of people arrived and brought about the true transformation of the world. As incredible as the possibilities opened up by technology are (and the event has gone from artificial intelligence to robots, to nuclear fusion plants and the colonization of Mars), they are only realized through humans.
Everything therefore starts from a widely used expression: customer centricity. Having a real customer focus means thinking about the business from the point of view of the consumer or service user – and not the producer/supplier. It’s a logic that 11 out of 10 people say they have, but in practice we see it in few places.
Being customer-centric means putting the customer’s needs first and developing the business from there. When the focus is outside the business, priorities change and the entire business shifts to the hospitality industry. It is not enough to offer a good product: you need to serve the customer in the best way.
This is not possible without a good team, prepared, motivated and who understands why the company exists. And this team only consolidates when the culture shapes the people and ensures that everyone clearly knows what they need to do and where the business is going.
A super-powerful team like this is not threatened by technological advances, quite the opposite: it becomes even more powerful through the intensive use of technology. If, as increasingly seems to happen, Artificial Intelligence becomes a ubiquitous tool, the real difference will not be in knowing how to push buttons or in having unparalleled technical capabilities. The difference will be in creativity and in the sense of serving the consumer well.
Artificial Intelligence has an excellent application: it is much more efficient than humans in carrying out repetitive or extremely complex tasks. Any process that can be described in clear, repeatable steps becomes an algorithm that can be learned by a machine. But this is not enough nor does it make a difference.
What really makes the difference is the Active Intelligence of the human being. It is the creativity of finding a different solution, of imagining a new possibility, of combining innovation with the invention of something previously unthinkable. Computer AI organizes the world we have, while human AI creates different worlds to explore.
Going from performing tasks efficiently to being excellent at asking new questions is, however, a challenge. 200 years ago we were created to specialize in one task and do it very well. More and more often, however, soft skills will make the difference: the ability to speak, have empathy, transmit ideas and dreams, involve people, transform desires into movements.
Therefore every company, be it a large multinational or a nascent startup, must take on the role of creativity developer. Fueling people’s curiosity will be increasingly important to generate high-performance, engaged and successful teams. Only with this latent curiosity in companies that create an innovation engine will companies be able to navigate this sea of innovations that we see emerging more and more rapidly.
Stimulate Active Intelligence in your company: it will make a real difference for your future.
Fabiana Ramos is CEO of PinePR, a PR agency specializing in serving scale-ups, technology companies and large players.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
