Philipp Kristian – Keynote Speaker

Trust in times of COVID-19

Exponential Empowerment:Trusting the Future of Work

With business complexity on the rise and new generations at work, established management structures and philosophies reach their limit. As younger generations enter the workforce, they bring with them fundamentally different attitudes towards trust, leadership and the use of technology and data at work. One of the most difficult challenges to solve in this regard is striking a balance between management and empowerment: Millennials and Gen Z seek to be trusted upfront, Gen X and Baby-boomers prefer trust to be earned. This causes much misunderstanding and frustration. Nowadays, trust ranks as the most important characteristic of the best workplaces, executives and teams. Unfortunately, corporate structures are often built on a bedrock of distrust-driven command and control. With the increasing pace of change, this bureaucracy stands in the way of excellence. Incremental productivity growth is slowing despite exponential advances in technology, because we are unable to use tech to full effect. In the 90s, our offices were equipped with cutting-edge technology in comparison to what we had at home. Today, it’s the other way around. That’s a loss, because technology has far superior administrative capabilities to humans and paper. Its flexibility, speed, scale and adaptive nature allows us to organise ourselves better than ever before. Where bureaucracy turns humans into machines, the right technology enables us to focus on doing more that matters. But how can we effectively interact with it as we enter an age of machines and industry 4.0? How can we move from incremental to exponential organisations? But what are the skills required to thrive in this era? Broadly, the future of work is defined by several paradigm shifts: Flexibility over certainty, tribes over departments / divisions, decentralisation over centralisation, trust-first over distrust-first approaches, social contracting over rules-based compliance, transparency over confidentiality and algorithms over processes. But that’s easier said than done: Bureaucracy is built for self-preservation. How do you break the cycle and create great future workplaces?

This keynote deep-dives into the crucial role of trust in enabling transformation in the workplace. It explores what it takes to transition effectively to this new world of work. Discover a practical roadmap for reinvention.

The Trust Economy

As humans, we are wired to trust. All businesses are ultimately in the business of trust. Despite that, we paradoxically live in a world of distrust. Contracts, parking gantries, locks, security checks and lengthy privacy policies are just the tip of the iceberg. Distrust is the disease of the 20th century. In many ways this has been a necessary evil, albeit a fairly recent one. Prior to industrialisation, business was done on a relationship basis. We knew our butcher and banker personally. Increasing industrialisation, urbanisation and global trade made us part ways with this approach. Bureaucracy, standardisation and default scepticism increasingly took over. With business complexity on the rise, this approach is doomed for failure: Excessive rules and distrust cause friction, waste time and money and paralyse us. We spend too much energy on fuelling a culture of hostility over getting work done. Productivity and humanity are suffering. But what is the alternative? Digital may have the answer. Technology allows us to build trust with anyone, anywhere and at scale. The global village is real: Digital is making us trust each other again, and faster than ever before. Never before has trust been as tangible, quantifiable and actionable. Trust is the new capital and currency of the digital age.

Distrust is a threat to the present, and trust is an enabler of the future. This keynote looks at global macrotrends and how the transformation of trust is shaping our future. Designing and managing for trust is the new imperative for success in the digital age. Make trust your advantage to survive and thrive in these turbulent times.

Hello Humanoid: Trusting the Future of Artificial Intelligence

Deep technology is the magic of the 21st century. Artificial intelligence blurs the lines between humans and machines. Tapping its potential will advance our species. But this raises important questions: Should we trust something we may never be able to fully understand? What are appropriate governance approaches? How do we coexist peacefully and effectively? The time to address these important dimensions is now. Integrating artificial intelligence into our personal and work lives will become inevitable. Navigating this transformation is complex. Ethical dilemmas and game theory problems lurk everywhere: Would you entrust your life to a self-driving car if you were unable to intervene? Should the car prioritise your safety and life or that of pedestrians? If you were able to intervene, what would happen if someone deliberately decided to override the autopilot? Unless we understand and resolve critical trust issues of interacting with intelligent machines, we are headed for disaster.

This keynote provides solution approaches to some of the most intriguing challenges humanity is facing around artificial intelligence. It provides answers and raises important questions surrounding the age of AI. Question your notions of deep technology and yield its full potential.

Generation Greta: Trusting the Future of Sustainability

Doing good is good business: This intuitive statement turned into the guiding principle of one of the world’s most influential consumer goods companies. Initiated by Paul Polman, who famously abolished quarterly reporting on his first day as Unilever CEO, the FMCG giant is committed to becoming carbon positive by 2030. Unfortunately, examples like Unilever are still the exception. At the core of this is a trust problem: Decision-makers simply don’t yet trust the juice is worth the squeeze. Trust gaps exist across perception, outcomes and the talent required. All this while, the opportunity is right in front of them: Companies with a purpose beyond profit outperform their solely profit-driven competitors. We are more willing than ever to pay a premium for sustainability. Employers have an easier time attracting great talent. Value chains achieve cost reductions with resource conservation efforts. And this is just the beginning. In an age where relevance and trust matter more than ever before, companies acting sustainably are on the pulse of the times. Information abundance and consumer empowerment is educating people to make better choices. Conscious consumption is building into a global macrotrend. The new generation of buyers holds brands responsible for their actions. Industries need to adapt by connecting short-term commercial pressures with long-term guardianship of people, planet and purpose beyond profit. Sustainability, transparency and a more equal distribution of gains across value chains reimagine corporations into custodians of the future. We owe it to the next generation to protect the future they will own and future-proof businesses by aligning to their needs.

This keynote deep-dives into the trust and competitive dynamics of making sustainability a real priority. It paints a vivid picture of a future in which CSR and doing the right thing is the core fibre of the global economy. Create the sustainable change you want to see in the world.

Digital Disruption:Trusting the Future of Innovation

We are living amidst an interface revolution. Digital interfaces dominate our daily conversations. We use them to decide what to buy, where to stay and who to hire. Where digital is the new context, technology is the new infrastructure and data is the new power. Trust is flowing to digital interfaces and the data and technology powering them. Unfortunately, our trust in the digital economy has been abused. Many of us have invested our money, time and data in the wrong things. Recent scandals have shown us how dangerous that can be. Whenever trust leaves, value always leaves with it. Being trusted without being trustworthy eventually backfires. Everybody with a stake in the digital economy faces the dilemma of acting ethically whilst staying digitally relevant. We need to reinforce trust in the merits of the digital age and rediscover common ground with the people we serve. Trust is the new capital and currency of the digital age. As digital transformation hits established industries like flash floods, companies of all shapes and sizes need to rethink their business. That means they need to rethink trust. We must make it a strategic priority, and our approach to building it needs to change. Designing and managing for trust is the most reliable way to stand out and stand the test of time. We gladly interact with businesses we trust most. We willingly share our personal data when we trust it will be used in our best interest. In an age of data where only the fittest digital players will survive, the most trusted ones will thrive.

This keynote explores what it takes to own your digital future. Find out how you can brave change and find new sources of customer value by maximise trust and trustworthiness. Reinvent your approach to trust, data and technology for the better.

Mental Monopoly:Trusting the Future of Customer Experiences

Trust breaches and scandals have shaken the corporate world. We have blindly and indiscriminately trusted companies with our data, time and money. Not all have proven themselves trustworthy. Privacy, integrity and rebuilding trust are topping the conversation. Many of us are beginning to question the moral fibre of digital networks and brands altogether. We seek more meaningful ways to engage. We yearn to be treated like individuals, not numbers. We are less willing to trade our money and time, and we demand more value in exchange. In a world where everything shouts, we must listen to the iconic global brands that don’t need to. What do they do different? Great brands and customer experiences make people trust there is no alternative option to serve their needs equally well, and pay a premium for that privilege. In other words, they create mental monopolies that make them appear unique. This allows them to compete in a league of their own and at a price point of their choosing. What are the core principles behind this? At the core it requires a fresh, trust-first approach to customer experience design, management and innovation. Data and technology are part of the answer, but only if they work in our best interests. Courage is the other side of the medal: Brands that trust customers are more likely to be trusted in return. Great companies invest in us and our needs. Put simply, they think beyond short-term revenue and instant gratification. By doing so, they help us with one of our biggest struggles in an abundant global market: Making choices that are good for us. Future billion-dollar opportunities will be reaped by companies that go beyond scratching our daily itches. We love companies that connect what we desire with what is good for us and the world. The world’s best simply think ahead for us by resolving this dilemma and building their future on ours. This is why we trust them most, and this is just the start.

This keynote busts many commonly held myths surrounding customer experience design. Unconventional and fresh, it provides a clear vision for creating exceptional digital innovation to uplift real customer experiences, in the real world. Set new benchmarks by creating digital experiences that positively impact real lives.