How Will Business Be Affected By The Ukraine War ?

 Will The Ukraine War Change Business ?

1. The war will add to supply-chain disruptions in sectors such as automotive, increasing the pressure of localization

1. Supply chains will become increasingly localized

2. A surge in energy and other commodity prices will hasten public and private sector efforts to improve food security

1. The commodity rally will drive adoption of sustainable food policies

3. The investment needed to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian energy will affect funding for clean-energy investments in developing countries

1. The energy transition will vary between the developing and developed world
2. The EU will need outsized investments to diversify away from Russian gas

4. Financial sanctions against Russia may accelerate the transition from US dollar backed financial systems to interoperable central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)

1. The weaponized of financial sanctions will lead to a bifurcation of the global monetary order

5. Geopolitical tensions over technology (already central to the US-China trade war) will intensify as Russia curbs internet access and faces technological sanctions

1. Tech will become increasingly geopolitical and regionalized

4 Defining Business Management Movements & Beyond

 I attended an amazing Business lecture and discussion recently - via my UBC Executive MBA Program .

What are the 4 Defining Business Management Movements (In The Past 30 Years) - and What Can We Expect Post Pandemic / After COVID-19 ?

1st Wave: Process Engineering - Circa 1990-Early 2000s

• Focus on eliminating bureaucracy and boosting operational efficiencies
• Managers might assume "player-coach" roles that required them to take on worker tasks

2nd Wave: Digitization - Circa 2010

• Democratization of access to information and people
• CEOs / C Suite Officers communicated directly to the entire workforce
• Removed some Vice / Junior Managers from the information loop

3rd Wave: Agile Movement - Circa 2015-2020

• Shorten timelines and increase innovation by using internal marketplaces across whole organizations to match skills to work and to rapidly assemble project teams on an as-needed basis

4th Wave: Flexible Work - 2020 - 2022

• Work From Home
• Increased the need to cultivate empathetic relationships that would allow managers to engage and retain the people they supervised
• Massive need for coaching, communication, and employee well being

5th Wave: Post Pandemic - 2020 & Beyond - Who Knows ?

    Three Possible Theories Of What Will Happen Next:

a) Building New Skills At Scale

• Case Study - Standard Chartered - London, England - Retail Bank
• 14,000 middle managers decided to take a central role in the bank's growth
• Managers became "people leaders" via an AI based coaching platform
• Developed peer to peer coaching networks in African, Middle Eastern, and Asian markets
• Launched Pilot Project wherein managers were reimbursed for paying for formal coaching training

b) Rewiring Processes & Systems

• Case Study - IBM - Circa 2013 - Diane - Chief HR Officer & CEO - Ginni Rommerty
• IBM built a culture optimized for innovation and speed - and needed its managers to lead retraining efforts, adapt their management styles toggle work methods, and get all employees engaged in the journey
• A manager's ongoing service to IBM became tied to the continued growth and engagement of their direct reports

c) Splitting The Role Of The Manager

• Case Study - Telstra - Australian Telecommunications Company - $16B Valuation

• Distinction between leaders of people and leaders of work