Surprisingly, the UAE’s ability to be proactive and its eye for the future are creating immense opportunities for the nation at a time when the world is experiencing disruptive growths in technology, according to Salim Ismail, a top innovator and author.
Without this forward-thinking outlook, existing institutions and systems are faced with tremendous stress, warned the entrepreneur, investor, author, and technology strategist.
He was speaking at the fourth Ramadan lecture hosted at the Majlis Mohamed Bin Zayed, which was attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and other dignitaries.
New challenges
Having headed innovation at Yahoo, Ismail is now a board member at XPrize Foundation, a non-profit organization that hosts public competitions to accelerate technological development. He is also the author of Exponential Organisations, a bestseller that talks about how technological growth has changed the fundamental problem from scarcity to abundance.
Ismail highlighted the example of photography, saying that the challenge during the era of film photography was to take the best picture on a limited film. Products and services were therefore created to enable this, including classes to teach photography and composition.
“With the advent of digital photography, the challenge changed to sourcing. You’ve taken billions of photographs that are stored in multiple locations, so how do you find the one you want? New business models are therefore needed to operate in this abundant information-based environment,” Ismail said.
More frequent changes
The entrepreneur said the world is seeing this kind of disruptive change much more frequently now than ever before, highlighting examples such as vertical farming, drone-based transport systems, and autonomous driving.
“We stress a lot of existing institutions, because large organizations and legacy environments are designed to resist change, and have what I call an ‘immune system’ response. They are bad at saying ‘yes’ to new ideas. Most leaders are [also] not trained to deal with change. But as the external world becomes more volatile, the ability to adapt will drive market value [for companies],” Ismail said.
Openness and proactivity
He, therefore, recommended that institutions be open to disruptive innovation, be structured for adaptability, and adopt a suitable mindset.
“We have unbelievable breakthroughs in the world, but enormous difficulty accepting them socially, and this needs to change,” the strategist said. Public policy, which is created defensively and reactively, must also be proactive and here, Ismail commended the UAE’s proactive approach.
Future-focused
“I am excited to see how the UAE remains future-focused. By knowing what the future looks like, you are creating unbelievable possibilities and it is fascinating to see,” he said.
This year’s Ramadan lecture series at the Mohamed Bin Zayed Majlis has also seen talks by Dr. Omar Al Derei, director-general of the UAE Fatwa Council, and Dr. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, and Edward Jung, founder, and chief technology officer at Intellectual Ventures.
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