Opening UNLEASH World 2024 was none other than Peter Hinssen, Founder of nexxworks. In case you missed his session, read the highlights below.
Welcoming attendees to UNLEASH World 2024 was legendary nexxworks Founder, Peter Hinssen.
Through his session, Hinssen introduces the idea of the "never normal," describing that HR leaders are in a current era marked by rapid and continuous change, unlike the previous "new normal."
Weren’t able to attend the session? Don’t worry, the UNLEASH editorial collated the key highlights below.
“It’s wonderful to be here, back at UNLEASH World, and today, I’m happy to talk about the never normal – the world that we’re in, and that you, as HR leaders, need to try and navigate,” says Peter Hinssen, Founder of nexxworks, as he opens UNLEASH World 2024.
As one of the most sought-after thought leaders on radical innovation and leadership, Hinssen has the integral job of welcoming the crowd and setting the tone for the two-day event.
Hinssen took to the stage to discuss mastering the narrative of a rapidly evolving workplace, paying particular attention to emerging talents, leveraging AI and embracing digitalization to optimize tasks and ensure success.
Weren’t able to attend the session? Don’t worry, the UNLEASH editorial collated the key highlights below.
Beginning, Hinssen introduces himself by sarong a “one slide summary” of his entire career – which he says, is marked through the change from “analogue to digital.”
“I am fascinated by fundamental changes. I am a technologist and absolute nerd,” he jokes.
“I love these fundamental changes where technology can really make an impact. And I think we’re in the very middle of one of those now.”
To support this, Hinssen used the example of TikTok, stating that it’s “highly addictive,” with average users spending 95 minutes on the app each day.
However, an uncomfortable reality is that TikTok’s parent company made another platform to help students complete their homework quicker, with the intention that they would go back to using TikTok once their school work was complete.
It’s not the speed and scale in which this tech is growing, it’s the fact that it is highly addictive.
“This is scary, but also a reality,” he adds. “It’s a curve we’ve seen over and over again. In the beginning, things are very, very slow, and they start to move quickly – soon, they become normal. And it’s pretty fascinating to see the power of these experts, also in technology.
“We’re now going to see things that happen faster and faster, which means we’re probably going to see more disruption. And this is where I want to spend my time.”
Sharing a quote from history from Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Hinssen says: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks when decades happen – and right now, I feel like we’re living in one of those moments.”
We warns: “You can either use this, see this, or choose to ignore it, but I think we’re going to have more change. And we’re going to have more change.
“This is what I started calling ‘the never normal’.”
Before expanding further what this concept means, Hinssen explains that now, HR leaders have a canvas to reconsider and structure their HR strategy.
There is no shortage of amazing things that we’re going to see in the next couple of years,” he adds. “All these things are going to be coming together – so how are you going to keep up in the world of the never normal?”
Addressing how the once revolutionary act of making a phone call or sending someone an email is now declining in popularity for the younger generations, Hinssen explains that in the never normal, you have to “innovate when you can, not when you need.”
He then focuses his attention on the all-important question – how do you combine your unique content with the power of artificial intelligence?
Suggesting the AI could somewhat solve the productivity paradox, Hinssen insists that users are “not going to see the benefits of AI just out of the box. What you will need to do is graft.”
By this, he means to utilize modern technologies to their full potential, and understanding how to correctly structure data.
Of course, one of the biggest fears surrounding AI is whether the technology will ‘steal’ jobs, and effectively, make humans redundant.
Squashing these doubts, Hinssen assures that “humans are still, by far the best low-cost systems that can be mass produced by unskilled labor,” assuring that no amount of technology or AI will be able to replace humans.
As he nears the end of the session, Hinssen offers the audience one tip: “You’re going to hear a lot about AI,” he notes, “but don’t think about all the new things you can do. Also think about the old things you shouldn’t be doing. I call this ‘yesterworth’.”
Expanding on this, he explains that although building on knowledge is important, it’s also key to remove old habits and ways of working that don’t make sense anymore.
Today is very important. Tomorrow is even more important, but the day after tomorrow is crucial,” as he reiterates in the importance of shifting the negative energy of yesterday.
Concluding, he surmises: “If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never know how truly amazing you can be. I wish you the very best in the never normal.”
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Senior Journalist
Lucy Buchholz is an experienced business reporter, she can be reached at lucy.buchholz@unleash.ai.
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