Report from Dubai: Disruptive Change Calls for Dynamic Organizations

October 26, 2016 | by

In addition to facilitating the Youth Circle yesterday at the Dubai International PM Forum, I was honored to be asked to moderate a panel discussing "Future Cities," with points for discussion proposed by the DIPMF Scientific Committee. This is a topic of lively interest in the fast-changing metropolis of Dubai, and the distinguished panel (shown at right) conducted a dialogue that ranged over infrastructure development, social change and the need for business to be responsive to unpredictable changes in markets and technology. We were aware as we convened the panel, that we sat at the heart of a future city that is being built today.

His Excellency Al-Tayer highlighted Dubai's initiatives to increase citizens' happiness and mobility, designed with the future in mind. Al-Tayer stressed the need for leadership in driving changes that stretch the boundaries no matter how strange new ideas might be.

His Excellency Al Abbar stressed the dynamic nature of future business, the need for simplicity, for finding and executing the most economic solutions.  He also stressed the difficulty in forecasting the dynamic changes in the market place,  to the point of even being challenged to predict what will happen in 2017. He supported the idea that disruptive change, whatever else is may bring, does ensure that we maintain a dynamic organizational culture.  Connecting his remarks to the earlier Youth Circle, he highlighted the need for greater involvement of youth; we learned that he is dedicating a part of his business portfolio to a sizeable group of under-25s, up so as to listen to them better and incorporate their ideas more widely in future projects.

Mark Langley described the changes that PMI will be driving to better prepare for the complex demands of executing increasingly complex future cities programs.  He indicated the increased focus on benefits realization, the need for higher agility, and how PMI is investing in understanding the changing dynamics around organizational strategy formulation and implementation.

Bill McDermott highlighted SAP’s focus on innovations, including unique Internet of Things implications, Machine Intelligence, etc.  He noted that he believed in the need for project management and project management skills for leading future cities projects that will affect the way we live, work, and interact.  Bill emphasized the changing ways of dealing with data and how that is going to be a key differentiator in the future.

It's always intellectually refreshing to break from the office for a few days at a conference, and this is never more true than when you can participate in an event where the contrast and collaborations between cultures takes center stage. I'd like to thank the DIPMF for inviting me, and the participants in this panel for contributing their time and insights.