Good morning from AC 295 from Winnipeg to Vancouver. It’s been a week of very interesting work in Manitoba, including some thinking and teaching about strategy. One of the recurring thoughts for me is the impact of technology, and the rapid changes we’ve experienced in the past few years. According to a CBC report I heard last night, RIM’s Blackberry accounts for only 1.6% of the US smart phone market now. http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1293791--rim-tumbles-as-blackberry-s-u-s-market-share-drops-to-1-6-per-cent  A substantial drop from five years ago. Or consider that according to Roger McNamee, http://www.ted.com/talks/roger_mcnamee_six_ways_to_save_the_internet.html  in  2008, 95% of us who had access to the internet on the planet used a Windows based platform for access.  In 2011, that number had dropped to 50%. The change? The rapid rise of mobile technology including smart phones and tablets. So, of course, from a strategic and leadership perspective, we ask, what are the impacts of such changes on how we do our business; are we placing appropriate people and capital resources in technology?  How do we best access our customers and how do they best access us? What kinds of technical competencies are required today for leaders? What is our value proposition in the midst of a world with almost immediate access to information about us and about our competitors? These are all important questions in C-Suites and board rooms across the world.

And then I see that Google and Windows, and one might then assume Apple, are designing glasses that will provide internet access! I’m imagining a kind of “Heads up Display” available in some more expensive cars at the moment, but right in front of your eyes. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/nov/27/microsoft-augmented-reality-glass-google-apple  Some pundits are suggesting that smart phones will be largely replaced by what one might call ‘smart eye’ technology.

And so, what are the impacts of such changes on how we do our business; are we placing appropriate people and capital resources in the right technology?  How do we best access our customers and how do they best access us in a rapidly changing technology environment? What kinds of technical competencies are required today and tomorrow for leaders? What kinds of behavioural competencies might be required tomorrow in a world with streaming information from the real world and the virtual world simultaneously?  What is our value proposition in the midst of a world with immediate access to information about us and about our competitors?

And on a more specific note, what systems do we have in place that are dependent upon each other, such that if one system changes to meet new and emerging mobile or smart eye technologies what needs to happen on other systems? How much will those cost?

Oh, and, while what I’m calling ‘smart eye’ technologies may be just around the corner, they may also be some distance off, or, they may in fact be flashes like  DVD recording to be replaced by a Blueray kind of thing almost immediately.

I’ll talk more about this in next week’s edition of Leadership Notes. In the meantime, ask yourself, what are the implications for me as a leader, for my team and for the organization as the technology we take for granted today is obsolete tomorrow?