The Big Shift – What Leaders Must Know About The New Economy

I recently attended the Virtuoso Symposium in Berlin, Germany. One of the keynote speakers was Nancy Giordano, CEO and Brand Futurist at Play Big Inc.

Nancy shared some insights about the new economy and what we need to do in order to be successful in the future. At a high level she talked about “big shifts” or radical changes in technology, economics, culture, and values.

The essence of her remarks was that there is a “Big Shift” occurring—the world is in transition. As leaders, we need to translate this into what we need to do differently in order to remain relevant.

One of the things she mentioned is the need for companies to have a “User Experience (UX)” designer to help improve the user interface of their technology. She explained, “We must improve and simplify the user experience. At the center of a great UX designer is empathy. They need to ask what does the customer need and want. How do we look at the world through their eyes, not ours?”

We are in the process of doing this at Christopherson Business Travel with our AirPortal 360® travel management platform. We are reviewing all of our technology to ensure we are making relevant products that matter, with an elegant design, and an intuitive user experience. We look at everything we build with a “mobile first” attitude, understanding the need for a simplified experience. We plan to make “the big shift” and we can’t wait to show you the improvements.

Nancy concluded with this: “The future offers unprecedented possibilities. And it will be very bright for those ready to embrace these shifts and the invitation they extend to consider what you are in a unique position to contribute, commit, collaborate and courageously create. The future is asking you to play big! Please.”