Ventures. How to build a Big Fucking Rocket and the Bank of the future.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it” P. Drucker
At 0smosis, we believe digital and mobile were important waves of change. We also believe the waves we are now riding to the future are Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. Have a look at this graph form CB insights to get a grasp of the importance of AI for example.
Common in both waves is the pace at which the world around us is changing. A combination of computational power, data, and new insights is driving rapid change. Are our traditional ways to implement complex projects adapted to this rapid evolution?
How do you tackle the challenge of building a skyscraper for example? Humans have been successfully building tall structures for ages. Start with creating a blueprint, hire specialists who have build before and execute the plan. This plan & execute approach has its merits in a lot of cases, but…
… what is the difference between building a skyscraper and a rocket to Mars?
We’ve never flown to Mars before. Hence there is no surefire blueprint. Nor can we hire people who’ve done it before. We need another approach.
Build. Measure. Learn.
Start with a tiny rocket. Launch the rocket, and learn from it. Then start over with a bigger rocket. Until you have a giant rocket. That is how SpaceX started taking small steps and is now in commercial space travel. Building to measure and learn is also the tactic that makes successful tech companies fly sky-high. In the rapidly changing environment of new tech, there is no way to always be right, to know what to build. Those who are set up to test and try new things have the competitive edge.
The financial sector has learned a lot from the tech players on what to do, and expectations are high. It is about time we start reusing the tactics on how to experiment as well. Rapidly changing technologies are a reality in all sectors. We need a way to start using them in our businesses, in our banks and insurers. Project management alone is no longer cutting it. We need to build, to measure, to learn and iterate. The faster, the better.
If we want to predict the future, the first step is to create. Test, try new things. Venture! Because nothing ventured is nothing gained.
Looking forward to your feedback.
Best,
Len
As we consider it to be so crucial to survive these technical waves, we have built an experimental mindset into our 0smosis DNA. This made us create an AI-enabled chatbot that gives you personalized mortgage advice (check it out here) and kill several others that didn’t seem to work. Overall it allowed us to test, try new things and especially learn. Venture! Because nothing ventured is nothing gained.
