In Australian and global businesses businesses there are 2 areas of focus that Organisations need to nail to recruit and retain their team - says Matt Tindale, Country Manager of LinkedIn Australia and New Zealand
AI and Soft Skills
AI
The demand and supply for workers with AI skills has increased.
Linked published a Global Talent Trends Report showing that job posts mentioning AI grew by 10% .
You need to create an environment and culture of continuous learning - that enables your team to upskill - through continuous learning - which Matt calls a “skills first approach” - to expand your talent pools - upskill your current employees, and build agility into your workforce.
AI can help with this this in an exponential way!
Technical Skills will change over the years …. Focus on people who have the ability to learn how to learn .
Employees are looking to gain AI-related skills because they know it will benefit them in the future.
Soft skills will be key
The significance of distinctly human skills and leadership skills - or soft skills are key.
These skills include problem-solving, communication, people skills, leadership , critical thinking. time management, adaptability & resilience, and strategic thinking.
While technical skills change constantly, soft skills and your core values will remain with you throughout your career.
Soft skills are key in the future world of work, with 94% of business executives in Australia recognising their significance.
The Gen Zers and Millennials have different priorities when it comes to work and are digital natives. They want career mobility so they can make work, work for them.
They understand the power of AI and it’s powers and would be open to learn more.
Being a lifelong learner provides greater job mobility for professionals across a wider array of industries as their knowledge and skills become more transferable, accelerating a trend of professionals pivoting roles.
The goal for you to recruit and retain your team is to shape work in the age of AI to be more human and more fulfilling.
How do you engage , excite and enthuse teams to be part of your organisation?
What was one of the key success factors for making Alexander the Great - great?
We have just spent the day in Thessaloniki (2nd biggest city in Greece )- visiting a tomb of his family!
Communication - in my view was key!!
Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" shares the importance of effective good communication .
He emphasises the need of being given explicit instructions - and following them.
If orders are unclear, it is the leaders problem and the soldiers are at blame if they are given explicit instructions and still fail to carry them out.
This concept has s not only relevant on the battlefield - but also on the sports field, government , at school , at home and especially in business
Leaders need to make sure their teams are on the same page by communicating their vision, mission, strategies , goals , tasks and expectations.
Effective Feedback
When goals aren't accomplished, leaders need to see if their instructions were understood and that the team understands the game plan and their role clearly! The use of feedback mechanisms to learn what worked or didn’t -
Where was the breakdown? Was it because of ambiguous instructions or lack of execution?
Reviewing past games analysis can reveal what was good or bad - what worked or didn’t— what could be improved - was failure as a result of strategy muddled tactics or execution or both?
Effective open communication promotes an atmosphere of trust a key quality and value vital to the success of any group!
Allen Pathmarajah shares one of the most important tools in communication - which is the
L in leadership!
Listen - listen and silent - have the same letters, he says !
Once you know what works - Practice , practice practice is essential until processes become second nature, leaving little room for error! (Read Malcolm Gladwell the tipping point and blink )
Identify what can be improved - pivot , iterate , practice until perfect
Ways to communicate
Through regular forums town halls , team meetings, one-on-one chats, digital channels.
Continuity is key!!
Whether you are at home , in business, government or the battlefield - Conflicts can be greatly reduced if clear standards for tasks, responsibilities, and behaviour are established with clear ways to communicate them !
When people don't play by the rules, or don’t follow the game plan - having an open conversation about what went wrong can help bring everyone closer together and improve future compliance.
The power of effective , transparent communication is key
Of course - Learning and effective training is a key part of the communication process - (www.bsilearning.com.au)
Leaders in any field can benefit from internalising and using Sun Tzu's concepts through building stronger, more cohesive, and more accountable teams.
A picture is a thousand words. Why is it that this one echoes so strongly when we see it?
DEFINING A STRATEGY THAT WILL ACTUALLY WORK IS HARD:
We have just spent a year getting our entire team engaged in determining our 5 year strategy .
It’s been a slow and often painful process getting ideas from all stakeholders, meeting, arguing, planning, revising, getting input, changing , taking into account current events , changing again….
I believe we have come up with a strategy that the entire team is excited about - and is keen to execute really well.
This article below by Jakob Bovin has really hit a chord
- the importance of alignment and buying cannot be overestimated!
The gap between strategy and execution is very real, and the challenge of going from a great strategy to great execution of it, is often spectacularly underestimated.
Here are some of the reasons why:
The pyramid of ignorance (Sidney Yoshida) suggests that only 4% of an organisations front line problems are understood by top management.
Therein lies the challenge of understanding the difficulties a new strategy may face when different parts of an organisation try to adopt it.
To find true alignment, strategy definition must be dynamic and involve a broad range of stakeholders at all levels to have a chance to be successful.
If we don't make that effort, the strategy will eventually face too much resistance.
IT MUST BE "THEIR" STRATEGY, NOT "YOURS"
If a strategy comes from the top in a form of a waterfall of slides (I've seen plenty of examples of 200 slide presentations in my career) there's a good chance it will be forgotten pretty quickly.
It's much more important to set a clear direction for the organisation, then let every part of it say how they will contribute to taking the organisation there.
By taking this approach, it becomes everyone's strategy not just that of a select few privileged people at the top.
WE UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF EMOTIONS
A leader of a multi billion $ business recently said to me, "You know Jakob, we often underestimate the emotional attachment people have to the way things are done today".
It struck a chord.
We don't like change because there's comfort in how we do things today. Change doesn't just affect what we do, but also our working relationships with others which can have a profound impact on every individual.
This will create natural resistance to change. People will feel some degree of "loss" when embarking on a new strategy - as strange as that may sound.
Ultimately success will depend on individuals having the opportunity to connect to the strategy and understand how they will contribute to it at their level & create success for the organisation.
WE'RE OFTEN ASSESSING STRATEGY ADOPTION BY LOOKING IN THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR
Last but not least, lack of visibility on whether or not we are moving in the direction we want is often the achilles heel when it comes to going from strategy to execution to results.
If we focus on "lag metrics" (i.e. looking at what has already happened), we're too late.
Clear real-time visibility of progress is critical to be able to course-correct and ensure execution happens to deliver the results we want. Unless we have a common system and methodology to do so, it's very hard to accomplish.
The above isn't an exhaustive view & I'm keen to hear your take on the strategy to execution challenge!
I saw this at LaX star alliance lounge - and it stuck with me
The Wright brother’s created the single l greatest cultural force since the invention of writing .. The aeroplane became the first World Wide Web. Bringing people languages and cultures and values closer together
The countdown has begun for our highly anticipated transnational program launch in collaboration with our esteemed partners, BSI Learning. Join us on September 21, 2023, the International Day of Peace, in the vibrant city of New Delhi, India. 🇮🇳🇦🇺
This grand launch will be graced by the presence of top tech industry leaders, distinguished Indian government representatives, and officials from the Australian Trade and Investment Commission. Together, we will embark on a journey to deliver globally recognised cybersecurity education in India.
Stay tuned for updates as we prepare to make history in the world of #cybersecurity.
Kala Philip Scott Wesley Vipul Rastogi Simon Dewar Arushi Gaur Ivan Kaye Scott Henderson Dylan Chan Craig Saphin Tony Surtees Michael Lynch
Stake.com -co-founded by Young Rich Lister Ed Craven in 2017 and one of the world’s largest online casinos - has been hacked with morethan $US40 million taken from the exchange’s online wallets.
Stake is an Australian casino and sportsbook that allows users to deposit and play with cryptocurrencies. It made $2.6 billion in revenue in 2022, according to a Financial Times report.
Security Measures:
Stake.com had a slew of security measures in place, from stringent password policies and 2FA to frequent security audits and encryption technologies. They even advised users on game choices to minimize risks.
What is at Stake? What does this mean to risk and vulnerability
The hack reveals a sobering truth: even the most secure platforms are vulnerable to sophisticated cyber-attacks. It’s a wake-up call for not only the gambling industry - but online industry such as banks to beef up security protocols and for users to tread carefully.
No platform is entirely safe. It’s crucial for users and platforms alike to up their security game.
Other heists
Blockchain security company CertiK estimates that approximately $1.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency was lost due to hacks and scams in 2021 alone, a 2,500 percent increase from 2020.
Blockchain bridge Multichain has suspended operations and is missing up to USD120 million after seeing “unusual activity” coinciding with a major cyber heist . Before it paused transactions, it was holding a reported USD1.26 billion in crypto currencies.
Several cybersecurity firms sounded the alarm on July 6 about an attack after observing abnormally high numbers of tokens transferring from Multichain’s bridging networks to unidentified addresses.
Multichain (formerly known as AnySwap) describes itself as an “enterprise blockchain that actually works,” allows clients to connect blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum via a cross chain bridge.
Last week, hackers stole stablecoins, including Tether, Dai, and USDC, as well as tokens like Chainlink, wrapped Bitcoin, and wrapped Ether
The funds were moved into six different addresses.
CyVers says Multichain is still uncertain about the exact nature of the incident, adding that in dollar terms, it is the second biggest cyberattack of 2023 to date.
With its CEO (and other senior team members) missing and delayed transactions before the attack, there is intense speculation that Multichain will not resume business.
Cybercrime is prevalent
It’s not only Crypto that is being hacked ….
Banks are vulnerable
The Billion Dollar Heist
Great advertising for latest documentary by
Misha Glenny and director Daniel Gordon - Billion Dollar Heist -
The doco illustrates how sophisticated and prevalent cybercrime has become in recent years.
The hackers issued 35 fraudulent requests to illegally transfer close to US $1 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York account belonging to the Bangladesh Bank to themselves.
Cybersecurity experts across the world on such high alert.
If cyber security isn't done well, it’s as easy as walking into an unlocked vault. That’s where cyber security experts step in.
According to VMware’s fifth annual Modern Bank Heists Report, 63% of financial institutions admitted experiencing an increase in destructive attacks, with cybercriminals leveraging this method as a means to burn evidence as part of counter incident response. Additionally, 74% experienced at least one ransomware attack over the past year, with 63% paying the ransom.
“What exactly are these cybercrime cartels looking for? We’re witnessing an evolution from a bank heist to economic espionage, where cybercriminals target corporate information or strategies that can affect the share price of a company as soon as it becomes public,” wrote Tom Kellermann, head of the cybersecurity strategy at VMware in a blog post.
How can cybercrime be stopped?
How can you mitigate the risk?
Kala Philip of BSILearning says that it starts with education .
Every professional and employee should be aware of the risks and strategies on how cybercrime can be mitigated .
Nick Jacobs and Aaron Bassin Bridgit last week took home the win for:
🚀 Best Innovation in Lending
🚀 Best FinTech growth Story
Huge shout out to Glen Frost and the Bridgit team, customers, partners and shareholders,
The pain 💥
A person buying their next home needs to “bridge” the money needed between buying a new home and selling an existing home.
The pain killer - Bridgit 💊
Bridgit allow borrowers to use the equity from their existing home to buy their next home –
with faster, fairer, and more simple property finance solutions with no double mortgages, no temporary living costs and no missed opportunities.
Technology
With its technology , innovative credit and risk modelling , in-built algorithms and automated processes, Bridgit is able to offer a24-hour approval.
Customer focussed
Bridgit built its own CRM and customer portal, as well as an online application which can be completed in 5 minutes: meaning a smooth experience for customers.
Investors
The company raised $13.2 million in equity and secured $100 million in venture debt funding in 2021 and secured an additional $50 million in funding from Silicon Valley-based fund Partners for Growth (PFG) this year.
Another win for OIF ventures!
What the industry is saying
Finder home loans editor Richard Whitten enthused
“Bridging loans are a neglected segment of the Australian credit landscape and Bridgit has created a new product and platform that serves user needs while adding elements of tech-driven convenience that feel genuinely new for this industry.”
Aaron Bassin shared with Business news Australia last year
Since launching its services the average loan written by Bridgit has been $1 million. The size of Bridgit’s average loan is larger than an average mortgage because the debt straddles both properties in the buy and sell stage.
Bassin says after a heady year of growth, lending volumes are continuing to rise for the company.
