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What do you think is the current hot technology talking point ?
AI is the buzzword of the moment , even though it ’ s been around for years .
We ’ re still not seeing a lot of businesses doing anything productive with it and most AI projects are failing .
To me , the reason is obvious : you need to have a solid data foundation and that ’ s what many businesses are lacking . We ’ ve actually been here before , pre-COVID – a lot of companies began exploring AI and created a bit of a mess for themselves – but ChatGPT seems to have re-invigorated the cycle .
How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office ?
I still do a little bit of sport these days when I ’ m not injured but , generally , I ’ m living vicariously through my kids , who are seven and 10 . They do Muay Thai , Brazilian jiu-jitsu and tennis and I love going to watch them on weekends . Gardening is my other outlet – it ’ s a good way to disconnect from technology for an hour or two and let your brain stop working for a while .
If you could go back and change one career decision , what would it be ?
When I started doing consultancy work , I wasn ’ t a senior executive and I didn ’ t have a huge network of potential customers . Coming from a mid-level role , I did it the hard way because the decision to engage consultants isn ’ t usually made at that level ; it happens at the level above . Ideally , you need to be engaging with those folk on a constant basis , to build strong relationships . Cold selling is difficult and you can have a long slog trying to build up trust so if I had my time again , I would probably stay in a corporate role a bit longer and develop a broader network .
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry ?
Data platforms are really big right now . Businesses are looking for providers that can supply all the tools in one less complicated platform , so their people can spend time focusing on business outcomes . They don ’ t want them spending forever just trying to make technologies work .
What are the region specific challenges when implementing new technologies in APAC ?
In Australia we ’ re not as adaptive as we could be and seem to be a couple of years behind when it comes to technology adoption . Partly because we don ’ t have the same volume of big businesses and partly because we ’ re a little more risk averse . People tend to follow the crowd and you may need to wait a while before an initial customer takes the plunge .
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the next 12 months ?
Our team has grown and I ’ ve started doing more traditional management work .
I try to stay involved with projects end to end , so customers have that continuity . I think we ’ ll see a bit more growth over the next year and that will mean me putting more systems in place to enable the team and optimise our productivity .
What advice would you offer to someone aspiring to obtain a C level position in your industry ?
Stay close to the technology . I ’ ve seen people advance to the C-suite quickly and subsequently have difficulty understanding what their project teams are doing or are unsure whether they ’ re taking the right approach , because they are too disconnected from it all .
Work on your management and people skills but keep your hand in too because it ’ s going to make your job a lot easier .
The other thing is to trust your team . If you empower them enough , the majority of people will do the right thing and work hard . p
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