Recipe for a future-ready business? Talent is key

What do companies like Walt Disney, Apple and Google have in common? How did Apple go from near bankruptcy to becoming the richest company in the world in just 14 years? The answer lies in reinventing for the future.

For businesses to distinguish themselves from competitors, it is important that they relook their growth strategy periodically while preserving their core values. For this, a business needs to re-evaluate its internal (structure and relationships) and external (competitors and opportunity) contributors.

In the book The Future Ready Organization, author Gyan Nagpal explains how talent will be the most important contributor to growth. He explains this through a framework called The Dynamic Capability Spectrum.

Identifying nine sources of human capabilities, the author maps them into an electromagnetic spectrum, and clubs them into three major categories that have an implication on business—network capability, internal capability and external capability.

Internal Capability
This is the heart of the talent framework, the significant and critical individuals who monitor the day-to-day activities in a business. Even as businesses become more digital, and geographically untethered, it is this internal talent that will drive change.

External Capability
This is the support arm, which can include agencies and marketplaces. This looks after need-based tasks for which internal capability is not required—work that can be easily managed through outsourcing.

Network Capability
This covers big-picture institutional partnerships where two or more organizations choose to work together formally or informally in order to multiply value for everyone.

But the author doesn’t stop at the nine sources of human capabilities. Interestingly, he adds another: intelligent automation. The author believes that the workforce of the future is humans plus machines and that the maximum productivity gains will happen when they collaborate.

Why read the book?

In the book, the author lays out a talent questionnaire with direct questions to help you identify your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. It also provides insight into optimal use of resources to achieve your goals and create a talent recipe for your business.

Backed with case studies of market leaders, the book provides a roadmap to make your organization future-ready. Whether you are an entrepreneur, a leader or looking to become one, this book can help you align yourself to future-ready standards.