Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

The buzz: The power to inspire. Executives and employees agree: leadership today is lacking. Who says so? A Workforce 2020 studied initiated by SuccessFactors, an SAP company, with Oxford Economics. Why? Because companies are not focused enough on developing future leaders. What does this mean to you? Think about the leadership characteristics at your organization that inspire you to come to work and do your best every day. Ultimately, how do you know who is worth following? Are you? The experts speak. Tom Koulopoulos, Delphi Group: "A boss is someone you must follow. A leader is someone you choose to follow (Peter Drucker). Jennie Moreau, Leadership Consultant: "Don't try harder, try different." Karie Willyerd, SAP: "The average age people got training for being leaders was 42. But most had been supervisors since they were 30. We wait too long to train our leaders, leaving them to learn on the fly." (Jack Zenger) Join us for Employee Engagement Part 2: Following the Leader - Who?

Employee engagement is at its highest level since Gallup started tracking this metric in 2000. That's the good news. The truth? Less than one-third (31.4%) of US workers said they were engaged in their jobs in 2014. Success in this global and highly competitive economy may be less reliant on strategic investments in technology, acquisitions, and products, and more reliant on how you treat your employees. Does it help to create an atmosphere of fun for your employees on-site and virtually? Well, that depends. The experts speak. Tom Koulopoulos, Delphi Group: "Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn't know the first thing about either" (Marshall McLuhan). Sherryanne Meyer, ASUG: "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light" (Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter). Frank Sofia, SAP: "Is it supposed to be 'fun' to go to work? Well, that depends." Join us for Employee Engagement Part 1: Having Fun Yet?

The buzz: Invisibles. Visible healthcare wearables like smart wrist bands and watches are commonplace. What if you prefer non-obvious tracking devices? Almost-invisible-to-invisible innovations are entering the market, hoping to gain your trust and improve healthcare outcomes. Coming soon: under-clothing heartrate tracking strips that detect and report epileptic seizures; "smart pills" that measure blood pressure, pH, body temperature; tattoo-thin strips that store health data and even deliver medications. How easy or hard is it to launch innovative health devices and gain profitable market share? The experts speak. Harry Greenspun, MD, Deloitte: Just because I have a fitness app on my phone, it doesn't make me an athlete." Scott Lundstrom, IDC: "The future is already here–it's just not evenly distributed" (William Gibson). Bernhard Schweizer, SAP: "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing" (Helen Keller). Join us for Health Wearables Part 2 – The Next Breakthrough?

The buzz: Are you really "you"? Authentication techniques designed to confirm you are who you say you are, typically entail one or more of three techniques: Something I have, Something I know, Something I am. Thus, accessing the things and information we value can range from easy – like physical keys to our home and our car – to complex passwords intended to protect the privacy of our medical records and national secrets. But we're in a hurry. And as we clamor for faster, easier processes, persistent thieves are toiling overtime to continue stealing our identities and our money. Aye, there's the challenge. The experts speak. Gerlinde Zibulksi, SAP: "My password is SECURE." Hillel Zafir, HMS Technology Group: "A bad plan well executed is better than a good plan not executed (George S. Patton, Jr.). Richard McCammon, Delego: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it (George Santayana). Join us for Data Security in the Age of Credit Card Breaches – Authentication.

The buzz: Make for me healthcare. In medicine, one-size-fits-all treatments have helped save many people cost-efficiently. But for complicated illnesses like cancer, a standardized approach doesn't always work. Personalized medicine – tailored to a specific patient profile – may be the answer. It sounds promising, but will individualized therapies really work, be affordable, and be appropriate for every patient and illness? The experts speak. Barbra McGann, HfS: "The future is a point on the horizon toward which we are headed. We can't get to the future right away because there is stuff in the way. We have to tack back and forth around obstacles." (Paraphrased from Michael Rogers) Subhro Mallik, Infosys: "It's supposed to be automatic, but actually you have to push this button." (John Brunner) Emanuel Ziegler, SAP: "Numerical quantities focus on expected values, graphical summaries on unexpected values." (John W. Tukey) Join us for Personalized Medicine: Individual Therapies for All

The buzz: Fine Art. To survive, small businesses must understand the fine art of customer engagement and cohesive omni-channel branding. But how can you "know your customers" and where your product fits into their lives? Hint: Social media can help you create mini-focus groups and technology can help ensure customers know you value them uniquely. The experts speak. Susan Wilson Solovic, THE Small Business Expert: "No company big or small can run the risk of being fat, dumb and happy. To remain relevant to your customers, you must constantly be innovating. Morgan Browne, IIS Group: "Different people have different presences for how they engage – especially in an environment dominated by social media and digital communications." Carrie Maslen, SAP: "'Who are you – I really wanna know'. A brand needs to clearly define and convey what we want it to in a predictable and consistent manner." (Pete Townsend lyric) Join us for Small Business Insights Part 2: Art of Customer Engagement.

The buzz: Social. Social media is the new way of doing business: always on, available, working for or against your company and brand. With vast data at their fingertips, buyers simply click a mouse to show support or disappointment. If your company is still debating the value of social media, the better question to ask is whether you know how to use social in ways that create measurable business value. The experts speak. Hilary Carter, InTune Communications: "The reason we love our parents is because they loved us first. Every single company should take this advice" (Gary Vaynerchuk). Chris Boudreaux, EY and Social Media Governance: "The greatest opportunity in social business lies in connecting social data and processes into the rest of the enterprise: we need to hold social to the same levels of accountability and integration as any other channel. Malin Liden, SAP: "In the social economy, everyone carries a quota!" Join us for Social Business: Creating Measurable Business Value.

The buzz: Partners. Small businesses today must deftly manage business partnerships without risking IP, valued talent, or worse, in a business milieu where the lines can blur between cooperation and competition. And in the networked economy, supply chains can shift and transform seamlessly. How can a small business owner shore-up enough protection to avoid getting squeezed out? How often should they re-examine business agreements? What red flags signal that it's time to start looking for a new business partner? The experts speak. Susan Wilson Solovic, 'THE Small Business Expert': "Failure is the key to entrepreneurial success. If you aren't failing, you aren't doing." Morgan Browne, IIS Group: "Partnerships are always a gamble – but what choice do we have?" Carrie Maslen, SAP: "I believe the best business policy is the golden rule … this is a small interconnected world, and what goes around comes around." Join us for Small Business Insights: Sustainable Collaboration – Part 1.

The buzz: To life! With over two billion people expected to be 60 and older by 2050, chronic illness and diminished wellbeing are fast becoming major global public health challenges. The solution to aging gracefully, managing chronic diseases, and minimizing impacts? Not cure, but treatment. But if we turn to smart technologies and data—a "Connected Care" continuum—to support aging populations, will one Robo-Doc replace multiple human MDs? And is Connected Care just for the wealthy—no iPad or Smartphone, no health? The experts speak. Avner Halperin, EarlySense: "Technology is neither good nor bad, nor is it neutral … It is our thoughtful and ethical implementation that can help improve and save lives" (Melvin Kranzberg). Dr. Oliver Haferbeck, Roche Diagnostics Germany: "A DJ is always listening for what's next (Grandmaster Flash). Dr. David Delaney, SAP: "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink" (Aphorism). Join us for MD in the Palm of Your Hand: Connected Care.

The buzz: Engagement. Baylor University and SAP researchers found employee engagement alarmingly low worldwide, with just 13% of employees feeling actively engaged. Wondering if complexity in organizations could be a root cause, they explored whether simplification, engagement, and trust together contribute to better-functioning companies. The experts speak. Dr. Ann Mirabito, Baylor: "Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler" (Albert Einstein). Lauren Moser, Baylor: "Hell isn't merely paved with good intentions; it's walled and roofed with them. Yes, and furnished too" (Aldous Huxley). Josh Arnold, Baylor: "God help those with open hands, may they never feel burden again. Yeah I'll stand up for those that can't. I'll close the distance" (A Day to Remember). Deb Stambaugh, SAP: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference" (Robert Frost). Join us for Employee Engagement: Simplification at Work.