Innovating Humanity

Ria Blagburn from Vanti talks about using technology in smart buildings in a way that makes life easier and enhances the human experience of the workplace. We discuss how remote working has been possible due to the available technology, and how we’ve recognised the importance of the face-to-face human interaction in the absence of it. Ria is pragmatic about the future needing to be more in balance. Ria also talks about the importance of understanding the emotional state of everyone in the team to guide how you work together.

Vanti have created a culture of transparency around emotions and mental health. It so important to be honest about differences of opinion and I love the way Vanti provide an opportunity for people to share how they feel after a difficult meeting. I agree with Ria that it makes business sense to care for the people in the team but Vanti seem to have gone beyond the words and put it into action. The level of honesty and openness about how people feel is refreshing in a world of fast-paced technological change. 

The business case for clarity and openness is clear, how can you create more clarity and openness in your team?

What might be different if you had a quick check in and check out of meetings?

http://www.judejennison.com/ (www.judejennison.com) in partnership with https://birmingham.tech/ (https://birmingham.tech)

Oyinkansola Adebayo is the Founder of Niyo Enterprise. Her businesses include upskilling black women out of poverty so they can be more empowered in the career and life choices. She talks about the demand for black women to be part of the solution, the importance of including cultural context in education and the need for support from all organisations to make workplaces more inclusive.

I was struck by the need to make education and training culturally relevant so that black women feel they can belong. Oyin is making technology interesting for black women all over the world and this diversity is crucial to the future for all of us so that we include different voices and culture in how we shape technology. I was blown away by the power of one black woman to shape the future. If you’ve been inspired by her, please reach out to her and start the conversation for your organisation about how black women can be empowered, included and heard.

How can technology level the playing field in your business?

http://www.judejennison.com/ (www.judejennison.com) in partnership with http://www.birminghamtechweek.com/ (www.birminghamtechweek.com)

Amardeep Gill is a Partner at https://www.trowers.com/ (Trowers & Hamlins) law firm. He specialises in commercial law in the tech sector. He talks about the ethical issues of technology and law, the need to be forward-thinking and flexible in our approach to how we use technology to support our human experience. We discuss the ethical, moral and social issues of technology and how we apply it and what that means both for lawyers and for us as human beings in a world of technology.

I’m struck once again by the need for us as consumers and businesses to take responsibility for how we use technology. I’m not convinced we’ve realised that we have that responsibility. I have personally always assumed that the designers of technology have that responsibility but if you look at how we use many tech products and services, they have gone in different directions, often driven by the consumer. I think we need to start considering the moral, ethical and social issues of how we both individually and collectively use technology.

What do you think?

http://www.judejennison.com/ (www.judejennison.com) in partnership with http://www.birminghamtechweek.com/ (www.birminghamtechweek.com)

Bjoern Hirtenjohann is the Public Sector CTO for https://www.microsoft.com/ (Microsoft). He explains how Microsoft have accelerated the move to the cloud computing for clients as a result of Covid. He also puts to rest the nervousness that people have around technology taking over our lives or security issues with the cloud, and explains what Microsoft are doing to enhance the way we live and work. He explains how technology can improve workplace culture, giving more freedom to colleagues to change processes.

Bjoern has made me think more about how we use technology and specifically, how we make time to work out how we use it wisely. We hear so much scaremongering around AI and social media, yet Microsoft are pushing boundaries of how we can use it to enhance the way we live and work and solve social and business problems. I’m determined to put aside time each week to explore how I use technology to improve the way I work.

How do you make time to maximise the use of technology?

http://www.judejennison.com/ (www.judejennison.com) in partnership with http://www.birminghamtechweek.com/ (www.birminghamtechweek.com)

Daniel Evans and Omran Aqbal from https://www.birminghamenterprisecommunity.co.uk/ (Birmingham Enterprise Community) talk about how technology can connect young entrepreneurs with support for starting and scaling up a business. They explain how every business is both technology-driven and people-driven. They are interested in how we use technology to solve social problems and share their thoughts on how technology can bring people together with shared values and ideas so we can build global communities with a greater understanding of difference.

I’m struck by Daniel and Omran’s desire to use technology in a way that enhances the lives of human beings and to fix global social issues. The future of humanity and technology comes down to how we use it consciously and ethically. It’s on all of us to consider how we do that, both as consumers and in business. I share Daniel’s final words that technology has made things faster and easier. Now it’s time to make sure we use it to relate to each other better.

How can you use technology better to relate to others?

http://www.judejennison.com/ (www.judejennison.com) in partnership with www.birminghamtechweek.com

Chris Blackwell from Purpose Led Performance specialises in helping business growth by getting clarity on their purpose to drive performance. He explains the importance of finding the balance between investment in technology and investment in people - specifically purpose, ambition, culture and talent. He explains how the traditional approach of cost-cutting in a recession is counter-productive and a focus on purpose-led performance can innovate a company for future growth.

Chris really demonstrates that technology is there for a purpose and that it’s the human beings who make the decisions about that purpose. Having a purpose is about being clear where you are going and ensuring that there is clarity for everyone to align around. Chris demonstrates with his own experience that technology can help us find people who are aligned with our purpose and we are stronger when we collaborate together around it.

What’s the purpose in your organisation?

How can you use technology to create a shared purpose and alignment?

http://www.judejennison.com/ (www.judejennison.com) in partnership with http://www.birminghamtechweek.com/ (www.birminghamtechweek.com)

Sian Gaskell is the MD of Cuban Eight, a PR and communications agency specialising in B2B and technology. Sian works with fast-growing tech businesses and therefore has a broad view on how the market is shifting. She explains how remote working has caused organisations to make empathy and wellbeing a higher priority and how important it is to use technology to keep people engaged.

It’s ironic, but perhaps not surprising that it takes remote working on a global scale for us to recognise the importance of human connection. Sian touches on the importance of wellbeing. I’m particularly struck by Unilever as well as Sian’s own company taking a day off to disconnect as a way of creating more human connection. Technological connection can create emotional connection but it’s up to us to use it wisely.

How do you ensure that you stay emotionally connected as well as technologically connected?

How you know if your online connections are having the impact you want?

http://www.judejennison.com/ (www.judejennison.com) in partnership with http://www.birminghamtechweek.com/ (www.birminghamtechweek.com)

Jill Palmer is the CEO of Click Travel, an award-winning organisation providing online booking for business travel. Jill explains how collaboration is at the heart of her business, both externally with clients to include their feedback in how and what they deliver, as well as internally with her engineers and customer service advisors to ensure that technology, humanity and customer service interface seamlessly. Covid 19 was a major setback for the travel industry but Jill has picked up her business and her team remarkably.

Jill’s enthusiasm for moving forward despite a major setback with her business is an inspiration for us all. She demonstrates the importance of balancing crisis management with a sense of purpose, as well as thinking strategically in parallel. She has steered her leadership team to adapt to a rapidly changing business context and I particularly loved the idea that engineers were encouraged to fail in their first week – encouraging innovation, creativity and a culture of fail quick and try again. 

How do you collaborate with your customers to enhance the service you provide?

What can you learn from failing quickly and recovering quicker?

http://www.judejennison.com/ (www.judejennison.com) in partnership with http://www.birminghamtechweek.com/ (www.birminghamtechweek.com)

Alex Arundale is the Chief People Officer for https://www.oneadvanced.com/ (Advanced). She explains how at Advanced, they are interested in hiring people based on their behaviour and encourages people to consider a role in the tech industry because ultimately it’s about working with people. She believes that technology is an enabler for humanity and the emotional connection of human beings is the driving force for developing tech and culture.

I love Alex’s enthusiasm for both people and technology. She repeatedly talked about technology being an enabler for humanity, that it can enable conversations that might not have happened like black lives matter. And that the data enables us to make decisions about unconscious bias and mental health and that ultimately it enables us to care for people better. 

How can you use technology as an enabler in your business to care for people?

http://www.judejennison.com/ (www.judejennison.com) in partnership with http://www.birminghamtechweek.com/ (www.birminghamtechweek.com)

Dr Asha Patel is the CEO of Innovating Minds, mental health children. She talks about how technology can expand the reach of mental health services and reduce isolation which can lead to depression, as well as considering how we use technology, so it doesn’t have a detrimental effect on our wellbeing.

I’m left thinking that it’s about choice. How we use technology determines our experience of it. It can be addictive and compelling, and we need to be more conscious about the choices we make in how we use it, as well as more conscious in choosing to step away from it and seek face to face emotional connection.

How do you ensure that you stay emotionally connected as well as technologically connected?

How do you use technology to improve your mental health?

http://www.judejennison.com/ (www.judejennison.com) in partnership with http://www.birminghamtechweek.com/ (www.birminghamtechweek.com)