People, Process, Product

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In the November edition of Best’s Review, we happened on a short article by William Borden, in which he excerpted an interview with Sabine VanderLinden, co-founder of Alchemy Crew Ventures. Entitled, “Tech Influencer Says Breadth of Experience Built Trust Within Insurtech Sector”, the article made this telling point about the pursuit technology, particularly AI:

Billions of dollars are being invested in insurtech offering the promise of transforming insurers with improved efficiency and customer service. But failing to address the human factor can lead to wasted investments, she said. “The problem is culture,” VanderLinden said. “The problem is that many companies are focusing their effort on implementing artificial intelligence technology rather than understanding the transformation required for successful implementation.”

Investments that ignore the human factor may indicate of one or both of two things — SOS (shiny object syndrome) or DCC (dogs chasing cars).

  • SOS is a behavioral pattern in which people or companies are distracted by new, exciting ideas, trends, or opportunities. Driven by fear of missing out (FOMO), a lack of clear goals, and the hope of instant gratification, SOS can yield scattered focus, unfinished tasks, and reduced productivity.
  • DCC describes the pursuit of goals without knowing what will be done if they’re achieved. The pursuit takes precedence over the achievement, unmindful of the fact that the effort, the growth, and the experiences gained during the chase are often more valuable than the final result.

While those things might feel good in their respective moments, neither is very productive.

Parallels

The Best’s Review article reminded of us a post on Café Hayek from August 31st of this year by Donald J. Boudreaux, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, entitled, “If ONLY An Earthly Heaven Were On the Horizon,” Professor Boudreaux writes:

 

If AI really will produce [a] cornucopia of output … the prices of all goods and services will be driven down to zero; no one will need to earn incomes to purchase them. Employment as we know it will be unnecessary. AI will have rescued humanity from the grip of scarcity. If, instead, the increase in economic production enabled by AI will not eliminate scarcity – as, of course, it will not – there will continue to be human desires to be satisfied. These desires will, as they always have in free societies, inspire entrepreneurs to employ workers to produce outputs aimed at meeting these desires.

 

Simply put, success is the result of three factors, in this order: People. Process. Product.

 

Look for our next post on change management — People, Process, Product: Part Two.