Rethinking Technology, Realizing a New Competitive Edge

BST Global’s Javier A. Baldor Participates in EFCG’s Executive Leadership Panel

The pandemic has abruptly removed limits to technology innovation, forcing entire industries to stretch what’s possible in only a matter of months. BST Global’s CEO Javier A. Baldor joined a stellar lineup of industry executives as part of EFCG’s Executive Leadership virtual conference to discuss these changing times and what’s ahead. The one-hour session, titled “Rethinking Technology, Realizing a New Competitive Edge” explored how they, as leaders, are reshaping technology’s place in their firms to alter what and how they deliver to the market. An informative Q&A session followed.

Panelists included:

• Raj Arora, CEO, Jensen Hughes
• Austin Conti, CEO, Tenna
• Amy Corriveau, Vice President, Director of Emerging Business Development, CDM Smith
• Javier A. Baldor, CEO, BST Global
• Rachel White, CEO, Arcadis Gen
• Marcus Quigley, EFCG Technology Practice Lead & Event Moderator

Here are some highlights from the panel discussion:

• Attendee Poll Results
  • 45% of event attendees said that it would likely take 5-10 years to successfully get “disruptive technology” to be adopted by 80% of AEC firms
  • 54% of event attendees said that their technology strategy shifted moderately due to COVID-19, which resulted in adjustments to certain areas of their business
    
    
• Theme 1: Transition to Technology
  • Panelist Question: How has your organization changed or planned to change, and how have those plans been impacted over the past 12 months:
    • Raj: “We are on a mission now to change processes with technology-enabled consulting.”
    • Austin: “There’s a real opportunity for the pre-planning of technology in this sector.”
    • Amy: “While we were able to seamlessly transition to a digital workforce, many of our clients were not.”
    • Javier: “I believe in the data-driven consultancy of the future, where AI, machine learning and big data can unlock many valuable use cases.”
    • Rachel: “The type of agility and flexibility we need, we need systems that support the business in different ways than the core business.”
      
      
  • Theme 2: Change Is Hard
    • Panelist Question: How do we build culture and communities of innovation? What are the ways companies are working to drive change? What is working and what remains a challenge or remains unsolved?:
      • Amy: “Innovation at scale shouldn’t come with brute force but it really was for many organizations. Imagine if we could do it naturally … progress doesn’t have to equate with perfectionism.”
      • Rachel: “Change is hard, but perhaps at this moment in time, not changing is even harder.”
      • Javier: “You should find change agents in your organization. They invite, inspire and drive change. Invite them to your meetings and encourage them to share; then celebrate them.”
      • Raj: “Engineers, in general, want everything to be perfect to give it a go. You have to drive the “lean startup” mindset that everything can’t be perfect … you have to keep refining the tool like it’s an app on your phone.”
      • Austin: “It’s okay to walk before you run. If you look at our entire industry, we are not completely digitized yet.”

Watch the Highlight Video 

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