Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

The buzz: Boom! The speed of technological innovation is leading to a world of "Templosion (Edie Weiner): massive changes happening in increasingly compressed timeframes. The impacts of this plus digital transformation will even be felt in Finance, where Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Smart Machines will play a role. What business models will guide Finance as it adopts and adapts to dis...

The buzz: Every day is a revolution. Welcome to the future. The upside: The 4th industrial Revolution's smart factories, connected machines, and IIoT offer limitless possibilities for collaborative robotics, digital twins, and myriad "smart" use cases. At the heart of it all: the industrial machinery and components (IM&C) industry. The downside: Information overload and insufficient cybersecurity...

The buzz: Knowledge is power. Reality check for utilities. Digitization and the exponential growth of mobile devices are changing your customer engagement. But still fewer than half of customers are digitally connected with their utility. Your challenge: If you're not talking to your customer, they're not listening to you. Solution: Rethink your customer engagement model. Reimagine your business m...

The buzz: WHY ME? Business ownership is tough, especially when clients push back on your pricing, employees act like four-year olds, vendors don't deliver as promised. Add to that the fear of growing at a snail's pace, while others soar. Is it possible to reclaim your power and use the law as a tool to strengthen your business foundation and relationships? "Yes!" say three legal experts. They'll s...

The buzz: What's a vacation? Entrepreneurs and business owners have always carried the weight of their company, with precious few days off. Now pressure to "mind the store" is literally always-on, with digital customers online 24/7 from every device and location, 74% using social networks to make a buying decision and share experiences. How can small players use social selling, digital decision to...

The buzz: Woo woo or woo hoo? Companies like yours across all industry sectors are trying to deal with almost daily security threats to your networks and devices. Can available Security Incident and Event Monitoring (SIEM) analytics tools help you mine and analyze data to protect your vital data from eagerly prying eyes? Ideally, the analytics will enable you to detect and prevent future attacks,...

The buzz: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Businesses used to focus on the goods they produced. Now that customers in the Digital Economy demand faster, better ways to receive what they buy, product delivery logistics could become as critical to B2B business success as to B2Cs. How do you know if this is r...

The buzz: Good, better best. Never let it rest. How can any corporation partner with the right social enterprise to create sustainable and scalable social good to support the world's future? Hear answers from those in the know at Google, SAP and Livox. Take notes! The experts speak. Dr. Arie Meir, Google.org : "Technology is nothing. What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they'r...

The buzz: Bouncing back. Stress is such an epidemic that 78% of employers in the 2013/2014 Staying@Work™ Survey identified it as the top workforce risk factor. Are some of us better equipped to be resilient, while others are more prone to feel overwhelmed? The bigger question: is resiliency a genetic trait or a set of skill-based competencies that can be taught, practiced and used daily? The exper...

The buzz: "It's a new dawn, it's a new day…I'm feeling good." Bravo to your HR for offering employee health strategy programs! That means everyone is so healthy and fit that attendance and productivity are way up. Not so much? Perhaps they forgot to address how workforce behavior – do they WANT to improve their health habits – and circumstances impact illness prevention, or the importance of engag...

The buzz: Home is where the heart is… Healthcare is experiencing a major and positive transformation – and industry disruption – largely due to technology advances like the Internet of Things (IoT). In addition to raising the quality of preventive care, this metamorphosis will allow patients to "age in place" at home, instead of at an impersonal medical or nursing care facility. What is IoT's pote...

The buzz: Simon says. Cybercrime is one of the greatest threats facing our country, and has enormous implications for our national security, economic prosperity, and public safety. The range of threats and the challenges they present for law enforcement expand just as rapidly as technology evolves (U.S. Justice Department). How to defend against or eliminate the attacks? A two-pronged resolution:...

The buzz: Vite, vite! Chemical industry leaders face new challenges, as digital technologies transform our world and drive innovation at a breathtaking rate. How will you integrate acquisitions to reap promised synergies and on-board new revenue sources faster? What about reducing complexity and streamlining workflows across your entire global value chain? Reality check: Success in the digital era...

The buzz: It's the law. Attention, female entrepreneurs! As you aspire to become million-dollar women, growth will bring complexity and risk. Legal issues will crop up more often. Penalties for not complying will be more severe. How can you navigate common legal issues as you grow and create leverage in your business—without getting a law degree? Take notes! The experts speak. Nina Kaufman, Esq.:...

The buzz: It's the law. Women entrepreneurs are one of the fastest-growing U.S. economy segments! But you're also five times more likely than men to shutter your business. Why? A lack business management and legal savvy, more than a lack of capital. Do you need a law degree? No. Our 2-part special features attorneys' insights on navigating legal pitfalls all entrepreneurs (men, too) encounter. Tod...

The buzz: "It's a new dawn, it's a new day… and I'm feeling good." We know prevention is better than cure. But without a systematic approach, it is still up to each of us to decide whether we choose to live healthy or not. Now consider this: If life sciences companies would make prevention a core competency, then physicians, insurers, patients and pharma companies should be able to work together t...

The buzz: It's all good. Many blue chip companies trace their formal corporate philanthropic programs – giving back to not-for-profits – to post-WWII, the golden age of corporate philanthropy. Today's spotlight on innovation is shifting traditional private sector giving to partnering with impactful global organizations. Benefits include accelerating the social sector, improving lives, and gaining...

The buzz: Time's up. Obama seeks over one-third rise in U.S. cyber security funding (Reuters 02/09/16). Why? Brazen cyber criminals are invading an entire supply chain, even stealing and misrepresenting individuals' health data. If not tackled, cybercrime may cost lives. Beyond IT, this concerns top business, finance, political and government agency leaders. We'll look at the Life Sciences and Aut...

The buzz: Acting hyper. Peter Diamandis predicts the most dramatic positive change in our global economy will occur between 2016-2020, when 3–5 billion new consumers–who've never purchased, uploaded, invented or sold anything–come online, sparking a hyper-connectivity mega-surge. Who are they? The Rising Billions. Tech giants Google, Facebook, and SpaceX are working to make this happen. How will y...

The buzz: Giving at the office. The UN's post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require a multi-stakeholder collaboration recognizing diverse issues around the world. Goal 8 – "Good jobs and economic growth" for developing and developed countries – targets private sector companies that integrate sustainability and corporate social responsibility into their business plan. How can your organ...

The buzz: GPS. The IMF recently had good news for entrepreneurs and small business owners: The underlying drivers for acceleration in consumption and investment in the United States – wage growth, labor market conditions, easy financial conditions, lower fuel prices, and a strengthening housing market – remain intact." How will this impact your employees, customers, and global trade? Is 2016 the y...

The buzz: D-B-T and Y-O-U. Digital Business Transformation [DBT] touches everything and everyone -- hardware, software, processes, revenue models, and especially people and our attitudes. If you're an employee – a warehouse picker, salesperson in the field, delivery van driver, or anything else – do you know how will DBT affect YOU personally? Some of the answers are obvious; others not so much. W...

The buzz: Get smart. If you're a woman entrepreneur – or hope to be soon – you're in the fastest growing U.S. business owner segment. What lessons can you learn from women-owned businesses that soared and/or hiccupped in 2015? What business opportunities and pitfalls can you expect in 2016? The experts speak. Jane Wesman, Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc.: "Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard....

The buzz: The buzz. According to a recent eMarketer report, marketers will spend $8.8 billion on native advertising by 2018. Naturally, this means the digital content landscape will continue to become increasingly crowded with articles, videos and graphics from a variety of different brands. How can your brand reign-in control of your content strategies and stand apart from competitors to ensure y...

The buzz: The Future! If you're hoping for a crystal ball to see what 2016 holds for your company, industry and the world, we've got the next best thing. Over the course of three weeks – Dec 2, 9, and 16 – we'll bring you predictions from more than 45 thought leaders – covering the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2016 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe,...