I think the greatest opportunity is what Burrus refers to in the Wired article that the IoT will provide “the most disruption as well as the most opportunity over the next five years.” As he discusses, the connected things in a network are important, but it’s really about leveraging that data from the human side to not only improve current processes, but to create new products and services. I say this is the greatest opportunity because I think it answers the question of the fears of automation and job loss etc. – it’s a false premise that the economy is like a pie that is being eaten, and there is less and less for the future. With creation of new products and services, new jobs and sectors will be created – so a transition will be needed, but not necessarily this grand loss. Of course, this transition will be painful and damage many people’s livelihood, but long term there is hope.
I also think a major opportunity – or a challenge, depending how one looks it at it – is DasGupta and Annunzio’s contention of shifting leadership needs. Sub-par leaders will be laid bare by the more active role necessitated by e-leadership, and so a greater focus on leadership competencies is needed, as well as a celebration of those who possess those attributes (as opposed to the stereotype of the manager we all hate).
Another major challenge, as mentioned by DasGupta, is going to be monitoring efficiency (harder to “stay on top of things”) and getting everyone up to speed so that lack of technical skills don’t affect performance. With increasingly intricate technical processes needed in business, this is going to be an ongoing challenge, especially for veteran employees.
