Convergence of multiple disruptive technologies has spawned a new business model where companies can grow without owning or investing much by way of capital, Shankar Venugopal, vice president, Mahindra and Mahindra, Technology innovation and knowledge management, and dean, Mahindra Technical Academy, Chennai, said on Saturday.
Preparing for a world that is exponential, non-linear and not easy to predict in terms of growth, needs creative thinking and the use of technologies like 3-D printing, artificial intelligence, robotics, automated vehicles, solar energy, solid state batteries and advanced materials and so on, Dr. Venugopal, an expert in heavy engineering, said, addressing members of the Tiruchi chapter of Young Indians (YI), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), as part of their Annual Day programme.
Almost all existing industries are facing the prospect of being drowned by the wave of change caused by automation and digitisation, but “we have to redefine and rebuild the ecosystem of every industry that is facing change. The wave is there, and it is coming to us eventually, but is there a way for us to train ourselves to ride it? With exponential growth, we can make the disruptions caused by technology an enjoyable learning experience,” said Dr. Venugopal, while delivering a lecture on the topic ‘Learning how to grow exponentially and innovatively in a world governed by ‘VUCA’ (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity)’.
Dr. Venugopal observed that business leaders needed direction in retraining workers to deal with the new scenario. Foreseeing a future where anyone can solve anyone’s problems, through the democratisation of knowledge, the speaker added that companies often miscalculated the potential of new ideas because they look so radically different from the existing ones. “Innovation is creating value from an insightful idea and bringing it successfully to the market,” said Dr. Venugopal.
The session concluded with the investiture of Ketan J Vora, Managing Partner, The National Art Diamond Works and Kaveri Annamalai, Director, ARA Wealth Management Services as the chair and co-chair respectively, of YI Tiruchi Chapter for the year 2020–2021.
