You headed the IBM Academy of Technology during a transformative period. How did you turn it into such a force?
The key was to inspire volunteers and get them to believe that we could change IBM. We picked “poster-child” projects, such as genomic medicine, and then asked: How can we shape this into a project that will become part of the corporate strategy?
What was the genesis of the Harvard Business Review article?
The golden thread of what I do is to find business problems where technology can make a difference. I was working on this with professors at Imperial College. We were looking at how companies come up with new ideas and business models. Traditionally, they analyze their own assets, customers’ needs and evolving trends. But we came up with a fourth approach, based on the tools and assets available today, that asks how we can create value for customers using data and analytic tools we own or could have access to. We explored this at length in the 2014 Harvard Business Review article, “The New Patterns of Innovation.” The article had great business impact. It was a calling card to the most senior business leaders.
How would you describe your current work on cloud adoption?
We have to help our customers understand where they are, and lay out the stepping stones toward being cloud native. We have to make this complex journey viable. And we have to think about the future. We can see that industry platforms are emerging. So how do established businesses use their incumbent position to make themselves into platform businesses? These are central questions for customers, whether they're in utilities, food, retailing or entertainment.
How do you see the future of work?
AI will change routine work and enable individuals to focus on outcomes. We can see a wide range of new work emerge that will be unpredictable, and of course, data savvy by nature. So workers will need to be agile and creative whilst having a digital and cloud-native mindset. Successful organizations will offer meaningful work, with measurements and metrics that align to the aspirations and values of their employees.
“The golden thread of what I do is to find business problems where technology can make a difference.”
What do you do outside IBM?
I am very lucky in being married to a wonderful wife and to be the father of two children who have started their careers. I enjoy reading and have more recently been on a journey of introspection. That led me to writing a book, Thoughts on Happiness, and a regular blog called Sunday Sprinkles – In search of the sweetness in life.
Is this sweetness in life easy to find?
What I have learned is that happiness is an eternal choice that we have, regardless of whatever life throws at us. An enduring attitude of gratitude is the key to unlocking the sweetness in life.