By: Carlos Francisco Restrepo ~ Manager To Maximize Computer Consultant
A few years ago I attended the conference “The potential is in the mind” of the Engineer Daniel Herrera Reginatto. I must say that before the beginning of the conference, I knew nothing of Daniel, and therefore had no expectation particular, so it took me completely off guard and left me deeply shocked to find that she has cerebral palsy and who, despite their obvious difficulty to move and speak, had no problem standing in front of a group of professionals and managers, to give us a life lesson.
His story seemed to me more than inspiring, and their results, without a doubt, extraordinary, then, to achieve what he has achieved, Daniel has spent his life breaking paradigms: he Studied at the Colegio Hacienda los Alcaparros, which is not a school for people on disability status, or anything like that; he graduated as an Industrial Engineer at the University of the Andes with a dissertation awarded, is a certified coach, entrepreneur, plays piano and is a speaker in demand.
Of your conference, I want to highlight one central idea: we All have weaknesses, but they are our strengths, what allows us to transform the reality, starting with our own.
And in fact, it is through their strengths, which Daniel has come forward. It is evident that resources are amazing, stunning in fact, that would have allowed him to do great things, surpassing not only the obstacles imposed by their condition, which are not minor, but also those imposed by the environment, from social stereotypes strongly entrenched.
This leads me to another idea, and that is the human to be a resource, we have resources.
In fact, it is very valuable resources because, the intelligence (in all its forms), the intuition, knowledge, creativity, imagination, curiosity, strength of will, courage, wisdom, perseverance, effort, charisma, eloquence, or the mood, add forces to face storms, move even the heaviest load, getting further away from what no one has come or to make it faster or better. And is that, throughout history, thanks to these resources, we have changed the world, changed our environment, built empires, unveiled mysteries, overcome disease, knocked over insurmountable obstacles, and opened up new horizons and explored new frontiers.
Although these resources inherent to our human condition, it is evident that for each person it is different. We all have a combination of them, maybe more of a thing of another, perhaps a lack of one, and us on the other. No matter that as it may, such resources encase, without a doubt, the key to win in the future.
All of them are vital for organizations and, however, we face a problem, since very often are not displayed nor used, it is kept hidden, latent, as waiting to be summoned. And it is not a secret that many workers and employees do not reveal a daily basis (or at least not voluntarily submit) the resources available to and remain within what we might call a “comfort zone”, how if the person didn't have something to hand or if their weaknesses were so large, so overwhelming, opacaran their strengths and, with a disturbing frequency, we see the weaknesses, camouflaged behind excuses, complaints, grievances, fears, and concerns.
Perhaps it is for this reason that the concept “motivation”, as a tool to encourage people to bring what you have. And it is for this reason that the conscious evolution of the leadership is so important, because, it is thought, there is the key to the human being deployed all the resources that we have, putting them at the service of a common cause. I have such a belief.
Of course, it is fair to ask as a leader can guide and motivate their people for this to happen, especially in a historical moment in which the technological development has been moving at such a speed that, increasingly, the machines can take on tasks that were previously done by people, and it is likely that in many cases do so in a more efficient and better. In an era where the “gurus of technology,” Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Geofrey Hinton, among many others, have publicly warned about the potential loss of jobs due to AI, and many have begun to think that the people will come, sooner rather than later, to be dispensable for the economic development.
However, it should not be forgotten that the creators of the AI have been people, and that we humans are responsible for the technological advancement. And all of this is thanks to the resources we have.
Elbert Hubbard, american philosopher stated that “one machine can do the work of 50 ordinary men. But there is no machine that can do the work of one extraordinary man” and I agree, with the caveat that I think that we all have the potential to be extraordinary; which will be true for all those people who take advantage of their strengths.
What I do agree is that the role of the human being, the work has evolved and will continue to do so, perhaps today more than ever, and that this leads to a change, which must be properly managed. But evolve is not the same as that without.
In no way am I suggesting that oppose technological progress, on the contrary, I think you have to embrace it. But at the same time affirm that there is that highlight and promote the human factor.
So it is worth asking where we will be able to reach if you to the capabilities of the AI we add our strengths. I believe that we will enter a new era of prosperity and lucidity, and you will have a bright future, hand in hand with technology. If we do not do so... probably meet the predictions of Elon Musk and company.
It is natural that many of them worry about falling behind and that other, before the power and the relevance that the AI is becoming, fear to lose the control. So some of the be taken by fear and others, and also by fear, will delay any decision on the matter.
Without a doubt, the current context generates uncertainty; therefore, leadership must be questioned and review its role for the future. And for that process, invited to every leader to wonder if you are actually believes in the power of the people. If so, it will be easy to conclude that while the AI is powerful, when you add the human factor, that power will grow exponentially.
How, then, to highlight the human factor to unleash all that power?
Birth of the idea that human beings are faced its own limitations and constraints of the environment that is necessary to delete. Connecting with the case of Daniel Herrara Reginatto, I would dare to say that he lacks a limitation that is common to many: the fear of failure. It is courageous and has an enormous strength of will; tries and keeps trying until you achieve what is proposed. That, and not his cerebral palsy, is what makes it special.
Where did this drive? Perhaps it came pre-installed, although I think that more good is the fruit of the environment in which he grew up. Their parents, away from dwelling, faced their fears with love and determination, teaching him to face the world, to recognize their value, and to assume a purpose. Looking for equal opportunities, they decided to enroll him in a school, “normal” willing to take the challenge. Not supposed to be easy, because it involved face paradigms for the educational system. But to achieve this, he was offered a nurturing environment, challenging and inclusive, and conducive to its development.
In the organisational field works in a similar way, what we want our people to deploy all of their resources to achieve great results? Then we must inspire them. How do you do it? Creating a challenging environment and inclusive, giving a purpose and transforming paradigms limiting. In turn, in front the advent of AI, we must rethink and redesign the human work, to bring it to new frontiers.
Consequently, we must question the leadership, to make us tough questions, such as how ready am I as a leader to listen and support the ideas that my team could get to propose?, how ready am I to promote their participation?, how ready am I to be open to the possibility of errors and accept these as the source of learning and improvement? or how ready I am to give them autonomy and, from this, to accept and respect the decisions that you could take?
For close to reiterate the idea that humans are not a resource, but we have resources, putting in mind that, in regard to the work we are volunteers and not property, we can give up and leave when we want it, taking our resources elsewhere.
At our core is the struggle, and that is why I don't see AI as a threat, but as an opportunity.
Without much more to say, the conclusion is simple: The conscious evolution of leadership involves working from the abilities, not the disabilities, from the strengths and not the weaknesses.
Therefore, the adoption of smart AI focuses not only on the technology, gives prominence to the talent.
[1] The graduation project of Daniel is called “Musical Project for the fundraising for the Colombian Association for Down Syndrome (Asdown)” which consisted in the actual production of an album of christmas music with the participation of Lucas Arnau, among other renowned artists, and the production of major music companies such as Sony Music & Entertainment Studies and Audiovisión.