This is a discussion of the book, "Velocity Manifesto: Harnessing Technology, Vision, and Culture to Future-Proof Your Organization" by Scott Klososky (Greenleaf Book Group: 2011).
Technology affects all of our lives in ways that we are not even aware of. These technological advances and changes are happening around us all the time and, most importantly, at an impressive speed. This makes the impact of technological progress on our future unprecedented and largely unpredictable. Nonetheless, we should anticipate it as best as we can in order to use it to our advantage. Klososky’s latest book does this by focusing on the “digital plumbing” of companies and organizations and by analyzing the value that technology can add.
Scott Klososky is a man with a great deal of enthusiasm for technology and how it affects people and their lives. He is the former CEO of three successful start-up companies and now spends his time thinking and talking about technology and how it will affect our future.
The word “velocity” in the title of his latest book, Velocity Manifesto, refers to the velocity of change. Change is happening faster now than it ever has, and it’s just going to get faster. If leaders do not keep up with and manage changes in technology, they will be left behind and their organizations will fail. Klososky’s main point is that it is the leader who is responsible for improving the digital plumbing of an organization. A team will be able to help, but at the end of the day, it is up to the leader.
Klososky lays out three skills a leader must have to remain relevant and effective:
- A thorough understanding of how to use technology to make a company successful. He or she must have a working knowledge of the architecture.
- A leader must also be able to accurately predict how future developments will impact the organization.
- A leader must be able to bring a multi-generational team together, one that will inevitably have a variety of talents and skills.