Almost every industry today is undergoing a radical reimagining. Yet simple catchphrases like 'strategic pivot' and 'disruptive innovation' do little to encapsulate the complex challenges that organizations face in the accelerated world unleashed by the pandemic. The problem is particularly acute for technology companies. When decision-makers are inundated with marketing hype, white papers, and all-encompassing positioning statements, how do you articulate the specific value you bring while also being engaging, relevant, and insightful?

The 2010s has been an eventful decade for influencers, craft brewers and vape shop owners – and a disappointing one for retail assistants, journalists and black cab-drivers. At the beginning of the decade, everyone hated the bankers and exalted the tech barons; as it draws to its close, everyone hates the tech barons and ignores the bankers. But amid all the uncertainty, one ancient profession has flourished: the fortune-teller.

Naturally, modern fortune-tellers don’t call themselves fortune-tellers – they prefer “trend forecaster” or “futurologist” or – sorry – “lifestyle detective”. They usually do without the animal entrails and star charts, preferring to read the runes from makeup trends in Seoul, tech start-ups in Palo Alto and genetic experiments in Shenzhen. And they have made themselves as indispensable to 21st-century product designers and brand managers as astrologers once were to generals and kings.

Ron Immink, author, speaker and self-described entreprenerd wrote this review of futurist Mike Walsh's new book, The Algorithmic Leader. In his piece, Immink focuses on what it takes for leaders to optimise their decision-making using machines and algorithms. 

Nick Day from JGA HR Recruitment is joined by Futurist and global nomad Mike Walsh who has synthesised years of research and interviews with some of the world’s top business leaders, AI pioneers and data scientists into a set of “10 principles about what it takes to succeed in the HR algorithmic age”.

Fashion retailer Mr Porter recently profiled Mike Walsh in a style feature, in which six influential men from different fields share what essentials they keep in their desk drawer. Although not feeling entirely sure what he was doing in that list to start with, given the inherent stylishness and influence of the other five men in the group - you can read on nonetheless to discover a selection of Mike's favourite things...