Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

The buzz: "It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much" (Yogi Berra). 2016 was a pivotal year for Global 2000 companies to align practical AI applications and embrace intelligent, conversational technology. As enterprise tech gurus sang the praises of conversational AI's potential, enterprises were listening with open minds and checkbooks. If you haven't entered the Era of AI yet, join us to learn how to avoid pitfalls along the way. The experts speak. Gray Scott, SeriousWonder.com: "Everything we do, every thought we've ever had, is produced by the human brain. But exactly how it operates remains one of the biggest unsolved mysteries, and it seems the more we probe its secrets, the more surprises we find" (Neil deGrasse Tyson). Robin Kearon, Kore: "Success in creating AI, could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization" (Stephen Hawking). Join us for AI and the Conversational Era of Chatbots: Connecting People to Technology – Part 2.

The buzz: "It is as if every dollar bill in your pocket has a list written on it of all the transactions it was involved in prior to reaching your hands. The blockchain ledger infrastructure has huge potential to simplify" (Ted Halpern, www.nasdaq.com 03/29/17). As the switch to digital money via blockchain technology turns central banks into dinosaurs, many people are skeptical about whether to trust the security and privacy of transactions en route to the blockchain. You don't want neighbor Joe to suddenly own your condo. How to separate the hype surrounding blockchain from its real benefits? The experts speak. Jeremy Epstein, Never Stop Marketing: "Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it" (Puck). Alon Kantor, Check Point: "Technology is anything that wasn't around when you were born" (Alan Kay). Raimund Gross, SAP: "If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old" (Peter Drucker). Join us for Money's Digital Makeover–Part 2.

The buzz: "The world is drowning in cash – and it's making us poorer while fueling a corrupt underground economy." (K.S. Rogoff, The Curse of Cash). Jerry Maguire's "Show me the money" is taking on new meaning: India demonetized its largest cash bills, switching to electronic money. Sharing Economy icons Uber and Airbnb don't accept cash. Brick-and-mortar retailers require advance payment via mobile. Will Blockchain make us cashless soon? The experts speak. Prof. Rajeev Srinivasan, Travancore: "The corrupt are incorrigible and are still looking for unfair means to stock black money" (Narendra Modi). Simon Bain, SearchYourCloud: "Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves…tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining…" (A. de Saint-Exupéry). Nadine Hoffmann, SAP: "To find something, anything, a great truth or a lost pair of glasses, you must first believe there will be some advantage in finding it" (All The King's Men). Join us for Money's Digital Makeover – Part 1.

The buzz: "It's getting harder and harder to differentiate between schizophrenics and people talking on a cell phone" (B. Newhart). Is mobile technology improving or endangering us? Picture this: While driving or walking, you find a restaurant, reserve a table for six, get directions, text info to your posse–all on your mobile device. But if you or your property are injured in the process, your next query may be: "Siri, where's the nearest hospital or tow truck?"The experts speak. Gavin Quinn, Mindset: "My friend's trying to convince me…any independent contractors who were working on the uncompleted Death Star were innocent victims when it was destroyed..." (Clerks). Scott Steadman, SAP: "We may encounter many defeats but we must NOT be defeated (M. Angelou). Pankaj Kumar, SAP: "A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools" (D. Adams). Join us for Mobile Technology: Dangerous vs Delightful?

The buzz: "High-impact HR organizations focus on continuous improvement, not radical HR transformation" (Stacey Harris). Organizations that fail to continually update their leadership approach are at risk of falling behind, with the pace of business change showing no signs of slowing. Executives of high-functioning "Digital Winners" excel at communicating a company-wide digital strategy, keeping manager and worker skills up-to-date, and streamlining organizational structure. They embrace diversity as an investment, listen to millennial executives, and invest in their workforce. How does company rate? The experts speak. Deidre Paknad, Workboard: "Time and tide wait for no man" (St. Marher & Chaucer). Jason Averbook, LeapGen: "If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near" (Jack Welch). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast" (Peter F. Drucker). Join us for Digital Winners: Making Digital HR Real.

The buzz: "We have to remember social over selling" (Viveka Von Rosen). "[Social networking risks]…Trickier to manage are lapses of etiquette, tone and consistency" (Barbara Giamanco and Kent Gregoire). The Golden Rule – "Do to others what you want them to do to you" – still applies in our digital world. Pop quiz for social sellers: Are you aggressively pursuing prospects, inundating them with your ads and trying to get into their newsfeed? Stop! It's time to "play nice" in the digital sandbox by serving as a listener, advisor and partner in their buying process. The experts speak. Kirsten Boileau, SAP: "Your customer doesn't care how much you know, until they know how much you care" (Damon Richards). Hilary Carter, InTune Communications: "A fool with a tool is still a fool" (Grady Booch). Julio Viskovich, rFactr: "Saying hello doesn't have ROI. It's about building relationships" (Gary "Vee" Vaynerchuk). Join us for Social Selling and the Golden Rule: Manners Still Matter!

The buzz: "The most promising privacy thing is stupid phones. I'm dumping all my smart phones" (John McAfee). We as individuals have welcomed Internet-connected, often mobile devices to help us make daily decisions. But whether asking a chatbot for directions or researching products online, youre leaving digital breadcrumbs that advertisers, manufacturers, and others can capture and analyze to build detailed profiles about your lifestyle. Do you care who sees and uses your private data? Should you? The experts speak. Brian Kilcourse, RRS Research: "If we're going to be connected, we've got to be protected..." (Barack Obama). Frank Diana, TCS: ""Simply put, it is possible to have convenience if you want to tolerate insecurity, but if you want security, you must be prepared for inconvenience" (Gen. B W. Chidlaw). Larry Stolle, SAP: "The way I see it, if you want to see the rainbow you have to put up with the rain!" (Dolly Parton) Join us for You Don't Own Me: But What About My Data?

The buzz: "Blockchain is much bigger than Bitcoin and its reach is far more holistic." (forum.daohub.org) In search of the holy grail of a unified customer profile, marketers have built massive databases for up-sells, cross-sells, promotions, retention. But what if the customer forces you to PAY THEM to access and use their data, read your ad, view your video, attend your seminar? Welcome to the new reality of blockchain technology. Best known as the infrastructure for Bitcoin, blockchains are altering the marketer-customer relationship. The experts speak. Jeremy Epstein, Never Stop Marketing: "There's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear" (Buffalo Springfield). Amanda Gutterman, ConsenSys: "Never allow a person to tell you 'no' who doesn't have the power to say 'yes'" (Eleanor Roosevelt). Joel Monegro, Union Square Ventures: "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme" (Mark Twain). Join us for Blockchain Technology: Turning Marketing on Its Head?

The buzz: "Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping" (Bo Derek). Ongoing digital innovations in our hyper-connected world have dramatically impacted consumer buying behaviors and expectations, challenging retailers to change or become obsolete. Smart retailers are already taking action to avoid becoming dinosaurs. But is it too late for the laggards? The experts speak. Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research: "Amazon and online sales is killing traditional retail, and what's true there is going to be true throughout our economy" (U.S. President Barack Obama, Jan. 2017). Doug Stephens, Retail Prophet: "We try to rationalize why innovations from other sectors don't apply to us, rather than focusing on why they do" (George Blankenship, Apple, Tesla, GAP). Greg McStravick, SAP: "There is nothing wrong with change if it is in the right direction" (Sir Winston Churchill). Join us for Retail in 5 Years: Digital Dinosaurs vs Survivors – Part 2.

The buzz: "The modern CFO is often the right-hand man or woman of the CEO" (Fox Business 10/24/13). Your Finance department is at a critical juncture. Gone are the days when CFOs just reported on past results. The modern office of Finance can help navigate your enterprise forward using Dynamic Planning and Analysis technologies to simulate in-the-moment complex scenarios, leverage advanced visualizations and simplify complex predictive analytics. The experts speak. Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect: "A bad system will beat a good person every time" (W. Edwards Deming). Rob Ried, Deloitte: "Go out and collect data and, instead of having the answer, just look at the data and see if the data tells you anything. When we're allowed to do this with companies, it's almost magical" (Steven Levitt). Floyd Conrad, SAP: "The best way to predict the future is to create it" (Dennis Gabor). Join us for Finance Manager's Guide to the Future: Dynamic Planning and Analysis.