Invited by Smaranda and Dragos of Upgrade 100 and IQ Digital to keynote their summit in Brasov, three years after his last in-person keynote with them.
Matthew GriffinFounder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
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Smaranda and Dragos of Upgrade 100 and IQ Digital invited Matthew back to keynote their summit in Brasov, Romania, three years after his last in-person keynote with them before the pandemic.
In front of around 300 local entrepreneurs and CEOs from companies such as BCR and Vodafone, the summit's themes were digital transformation, startup nation and the future. Matthew brought all three into a single keynote on how to 'Win the Future': first helping the audience envision it, then giving them the critical thinking and tools to understand it, develop world class strategies and cultures, build it and lead it.
"To win the future you first have to envision it, then build the critical thinking and tools you need to understand it, develop world class strategies and cultures, build it, and lead it."Matthew Griffin, Brasov, February 2023
He was more direct than usual, choosing to share insights he normally reserves for closed-door sessions with the boards of organisations such as Coca Cola, PepsiCo, Samsung and Visa, which they have used for years to sharpen their competitive edge and enter new markets.
The session moved from multiple disruptive industry shifts, and how they can be used to undermine incumbents' status quo, to step by step guidance on how to explore the future, model it and develop actionable strategies to lead it. Straight afterwards, Matthew joined a panel on how organisations such as Vodafone can use these insights to disrupt their own businesses and industries in Romania and beyond.
311 Intelligence
What this means for your leadership team
Established players are the target.
Matthew showed how shifts in several industries can be used against established firms. The panel with Vodafone then asked how a company can do this to itself first. Banking shows the pattern, as branchless digital banks are passing traditional banks on customer numbers in emerging markets.
Foresight needs a working method.
The session moved from spotting change to exploring it, testing it and turning it into strategy. Digital twins, live virtual copies of a real machine, building or process, are one tool for that work. 311 rates them Prepare, with wide use expected by 2030.
The top team has to own it.
Matthew chose to share what he normally keeps for closed-door board sessions with firms such as Coca Cola, PepsiCo, Samsung and Visa. They have used it for years to sharpen their edge and enter new markets. This matches the trend of chief executives taking personal ownership of AI, where many believe their jobs depend on it.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
Which rival is already studying how to undermine our business?
Who in our leadership team owns the work of looking ahead?
Which part of our own market would we disrupt first?
The trends and technologies behind this session
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
It says the future can be pictured, tested and led, not just waited for. Incumbents should expect others to use industry shifts against them, and should use the same shifts on their own markets first.
How does the rise of digital banks relate to this session?
It is a live example of an incumbent being undermined. Branchless digital banks are passing traditional banks on customer numbers in emerging markets. 311 rates the trend Prepare, with wide use by 2030.
How do digital twins relate to this session?
A digital twin is a live virtual copy of a real machine, building or process. It lets a team try out changes safely before committing to them. 311 rates it Prepare, and the first products appeared in 2015.
How can 311 brief our leadership team on this?
Through a private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. It is delivered in person first.
Bring this to your leadership teamA private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. In person first, anywhere in the world.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s session and 311 data.
If Matthew gave this session today
Turn foresight methods and scenarios into strategy.
The codex brings together the latest strategic foresight methods and helps leaders develop their own scenarios and turn them into strategy, the same path from exploring the future to leading it that Matthew set out in Brasov.
