Out of office? Imagine a world where your ‘digital self’ clocks on for work. At that exact moment you head out to hike a trail, master a martial art, develop your improv comedy or simply enjoy an unhurried breakfast. In this world, your AI-trained avatar will: Lead your team (of avatars?) Attend meetings Produce your deliverables Pin blame, as required. If you're willing to pay for the premium plug-in, your avatar could be a more politically astute version of you. Not only reinforcing your reputation as a tireless worker, but fast-tracking your ascent up the greasy pole. No chance! The technology to make this happen is well underway.  Voice cloning Visual avatars (Cartoonish to semi-realistic) Textual personas (think ChatGPT) Digital doubles (lifelike visual avatars). A contextually aware and emotionally intelligent avatar is not available just yet. But for some people that might well reinforce the likeness. For employers who are looking for value, rather than activity, or an opportunity to show who is boss, this could work well. Not so fast There are issues that need to be considered, for example: What if someone creates a better version of you and sells your capability? Can your avatar have a thousand jobs running in parallel? What are the tax implications? Who owns your avatar’s output? Will the most successful avatars be less about the value they provide and more about how much their owners can afford to spend in making their avatar more visible in the marketplace? What if your avatar is hacked? How will inheritance law handle your avatar’s posthumous use? Will you be obliged to provide a realistic likeness or will you be able to have some ‘digital work’ done, or even go all in and use the avatar shell of your favourite celebrity (ASAAS - Avatar shell as a service)? I’m in So now that the prospect of you living a double life is both possible and attractive, what do you need to do? Train your avatar If you have a body of content, then make it part of the training dataset. Share your perspectives verbally. Feed your aspirations into the avatar so that the recruitment consultant agent can find work that meets your professional needs. Define what is unique about you This is both professionally in terms of the value you deliver and also what makes you who you are as a person. You may even share traumatic experiences so that the AI can factor that into your avatar. Depending on the nature of work, these may be perceived as a unique asset or a liability. Your avatar can decide when to share. Pay attention to your avatar Think of it as a high stakes Tamagotchi pet that needs continual nurturing. This includes the acquisition of new skills. Develop your physical intelligence Now that you will be living a digital professional life, you will have more time to take your body for a spin. So you might spend more time developing your health and your physical powers. The human body has some fascinating features that are largely unused. Shoulders, for example, are not just for slumping. What about Bob the Builder? Clearly I have focused on knowledge worker avatars. This equally applies to tradespeople such as: Carpenters Welders Electricians Plumbers Hairdressers. These people would simply require their avatars to reside in a robot. Clearly the tradesperson would need to bring something to the table that one couldn’t find in, say, a generic carpenter-bot. Patriot gains It is not guaranteed that this avatar-based model will come to pass. In some respects it is agentic AI applied to humans, so it seems like a natural progression. A general global decline in people may require knowledge workers to ‘parallel process’ in order to keep society’s economic wheels turning. So avatarU is aligned with current trends. Nextgen AI There is a question around young people entering the workplace who comprise one hundred percent potential and zero percent experience. Will employers take a chance on their associated avatars or will governments insist that employers play an active role in their development. To conclude, one possible future of work is that our primary job may simply involve the maintenance of our avatar, a kind of meta-work. Time will tell.

If you have read this far, congratulations! To explore a piece with such an abstract title suggests that you score high on curiosity, an essential survival trait. Let me explain what I mean by first defining the terms: Taylorism  – This is also known as the Scientific Management. It was developed in the late nineteenth century as an approach to making organisations more efficient. In this model the system trumps the workers. Workers are merely cogs in the machine. Tailorism  – This is a term I just made up to define a person who regards themselves as a tailor in terms of how they approach their work. Tailors have strong technical skills, pay attention to detail, are excellent communicators, are conscious of trends and have a commitment to quality. Dead or working? So the career choice I am referring to is this: Would you rather be a soulless cog, who after a while could still do their job whilst having a stroke; a technology placeholder simply waiting for the tap on the shoulder from your robot replacement? Or would you prefer to be a craftsman whose work is a timeless expression of their skill and humanity? Industrial society has a preference. If you are a standard cog, you are likely to have employment options. You will likely remain employed, as long as you have a frictionless work ethic. At least until your role is automated or a younger, hungrier cog is willing to do your work for less. This is perhaps not a concern if you can move up the career ladder and become a cog administrator, ie a manager. This is the ideal position for those who enjoy making others behave in a manner that goes against their human nature. Too much like hard work Becoming a tailor is not something you can master through a quick Udemy course. It follows a path more akin to the medieval guild model: apprentice, journeyman, then master. It demands time, dedication, and cognitive effort. No two days are the same. There is no pressure to move into management. Unlike ‘industrial model’ work with its focus on efficiency, the workers enjoy their work and so are not focused on doing as little as possible for a pre-agreed salary. Consequently they do not need management. Standard versus standards For clarification, I should point out that your options are not to a) work for a big organisation or b) become a tailor. Tailorism is a mindset. It is the standards that you hold yourself to regardless of the standards imposed on you. Like a tailor, you are great with people, conscious of trends, have an attention to detail and take pride in your work, as your work is an expression of who you really are. My way Thus you can be a tailor in a large organisation, where for the most part you are locked in to adhering to the standard operating manual. Look for opportunities to add value above the minimum acceptable standards regardless of how badly you are paid. You can add personal flourishes by the way you engage with co-workers, by spellchecking your emails or by arriving early and energised for your online meetings. Some traditional roles will give you even more latitude to show the world who you really are. The reality is that the game is up if you are a cog worker. Some of us will get over the line before we are swapped out by new technology, or before our organisation goes the way of the dinosaurs. In any case, I would encourage you to take ownership of the quality of your work and explore career options that enable you to spend more time in tailor-mode rather than Taylor mode.

Careers are a social construct. They were created for the convenience of the organisation. Over time they became useful to both sectors and societies. The prevalent narrative is that we start at the bottom of the ladder and work our way to the top. Each step representing a jump in economic and social status. Moving from technical /’hands on’ to managerial was a clear indicator that you were gaining career altitude. The unfortunate consequence of this approach is that technical people, for example scientists, engineers and creatives are considered a lower caste. Thus there is a pressure to become ‘hands off’ just as your hands were getting the hang of it. The struggle For many of us, our career is the framework in which our life unfolds. Consequently our CV is entwined with our life story. Thus there is tendency to architect a socially impressive career path depicting heroism and nobility. Examples include: Post room to CEO – “Know that with no qualifications, I was smart enough to play the game well!”. Rags to riches – “Know that despite the odds I can now buy and sell the people who once looked down on me.” Adaptive hero - “I have smartly transitioned from lunar astronaut / Olympian / extreme adventurer to media pundit / public speaker / successful CEO”. Careers are traditionally linear in nature. A journey from A to B where B is remarkably different rom A. Careers can seem even more dramatic if there is some adversity along the way. Eventual triumph against the odds turns a career into a dramatic odyssey and even a poignant expression of the human condition. Lucky for some? But there are those who take a more gilded path, for example: Silver spooner – “Know that despite the salary my impressive qualifications could command I choose to work at a not-for-profit organisation because I am socially conscious and from ‘old money’. Invariably, I will one day be the CEO of an international NGO.” Top drawer – “Know that my Ivy League education followed by a career at a top tier management consultancy highlights that I am simply better than most people and most likely a very attractive potential mate”. I have some sympathy for those born wealthy as they will find it difficult to add drama to a narrative that is essentially. “On reflection, I lived my life wearing ‘training wheels’. There was never really anything at stake”. Who moved my ladder? The challenge we have today is that careers are no longer linear; they are about to enter retirement. In a world where AI, in particular is gaining ground, how likely is it that today’s young doctors, architects or lawyers will be economically relevant to their sector in, say, twenty years? So perhaps it is time to change the narrative. With increasing macroenvironmental disruption, for at least the next five to ten years, it might be better to think of our professional lives as a video game that evolves randomly in real-time. It is thus not clear: How success is measured What are the rules of the game When the game ends Where does the game end (the boundary). Towards an infinite career This is sometimes referred to as the infinite game, a game we had no choice but to play prior to the agricultural revolution. This is the game we are genetically wired to play. In essence, the only reason for playing the game is to stay in the game, ie the game’s theme is survival. This means being predictive, opportunistic, adaptive and thus intelligent. So whether you are a junior doctor, management consultant or tattooist, you need to monitor the environment looking for signals that suggest it is time to pivot. Traditional careers are no longer a given. Follow the energy One way to play the infinite game is to create your own personal rules (aka values). These might include, I will do whatever it takes to: Become financially rich Have power over as many people as possible Make a positive impact on society Be famous – social media makes fame a recognised career path Be a world authority / the expert Maximise my free time Grab what I can with the least amount of energy expenditure. Fundamentally, professions are energy exchange mechanisms. Employers consume your energy for their strategic purposes in exchange for cash, which you can spend to recharge and maintain a charge in your dependents. That’s it. Who cares? Perhaps it is time to reassess what your professional life means to you beyond staying in the game. Because each calorie of energy you spend has a temporal cost. And time is something you cannot buy back no matter how much money you have acquired. The next best thing is legacy - to have a library or a business school named after you. But that isn’t quite as good as being alive and appreciating life. Either way, the path you take is unlikely to be the path you planned.

Ade McCormack advises on strategic matters, particularly in respect of how organisations respond intelligently to increasing disruption. Advisor | Organisational intelligence The advisory work I do with organisations is grounded in the research and exploration of The Intelligent Organisation , a think tank examining how organisations must evolve to survive and thrive amidst constant disruption. This page focuses on how that thinking is applied in practice. This work concentrates on the underlying design of the organisation, particularly how it senses, decides and acts in an increasingly disruptive world. The aim is not optimisation for efficiency, but adaptiveness under increasing uncertainty. Adaptiveness requires innovation to be part of the organisational fabric. Such innovation cannot be constrained to a department and it requires the organisation to see cognition, both natural and artificial, as a critical asset. The work requires leaders to: Make sense of how the world is changing Understand the associated operating model implications Redesign the organisation accordingly without threatening existing cashflows. This is not a transformation programme, leadership coaching or a technology initiative. It is focused on redesigning how the organisation functions as a system in a disruptive environment. I can support you on this journey. Discuss further

Ade McCormack is an internationally renowned public speaker. Book Ade to ignite your people. His keynotes on how organisations respond to increasing disruption are insightful, practical and provocative. Speaker | Organisational intelligence "We wanted someone who would engage our leaders differently, make them think along new lines, stretch their ideas, perhaps make some uncomfortable, but above all consider our future in a new light. Ade did this brilliantly. " Helen MacPhee, VP Finance, Astra Zeneca The work I do with organisations is grounded in the research and exploration of The Intelligent Organisation , a think tank examining how organisations must evolve to survive and thrive amidst constant disruption. This page focuses on my public speaking focus. My talks are not about motivating leaders to try harder. They are designed to unsettle outdated assumptions about leadership, decision-making and organisational design that no longer to apply to an increasingly uncertain world. Participants typically leave these sessions beginning to see disruption as a design problem rather than a leadership failure, recognising where cognition is constrained by structure and governance, and questioning industrial-era assumptions that no longer hold. For some organisations, a talk is enough to start the conversation. For others, it exposes deeper structural questions that require hands-on work. See me live Arrange a chat

Press and Media I help leaders create intelligent organisations optimised to embrace increasing disruption. Here are some of the most popular ways I support clients in achieving their objectives. Photos Short bio Career history Published in Books Live Miscellaneous Photos Use one or more of these for your promotional materials. Crop as required. Return to top Short bio This can be trimmed to exclude irrelevant points: I am a former technologist with a background in astrophysics who today is focused on how organisations adapt to what is an increasingly complex world. Some key points: Founder, Adaptive Edge Initiative , a thinktank focused on empowering organisations to deal with increasing disruption. Financial Times columnist for a decade on leadership matters. Lectured at MIT Sloan on leadership matters. Work with the University of Cambridge (Moller Institute) on leadership education. Trained in astrophysics and have worked in space science for the European Space Agency. Worked in over forty countries across the world across multiple sectors with many of the world’s most prominent brands. Engaged with former government leaders globally in the creation of a book focused on reimagining government. Written six books on strategic and societal matters. Worked with the European Commission, including authoring a book on the future of skills in Europe. Return to top Career history This is some background on my career to date. It may inpart help position me when Iam being introduced prior to speaking: 1 -Technical I had a childhood interest in astronomy. So you can imagine my surprise when I discover that studying astrophysics was a little more complicated. Thus I embarked on a career in software engineering. However, I was able to call upon my astrophysics degree when I worked at the European Space Agency on a cosmology programme. Through the defence sector, I developed a very deep understanding of technology as my roles initially involved: Real-time naval ship systems Electronic warfare Avionics lifecycle management Naval battlefield simulation Fighter jet management systems. Software engineering also took me into the worlds of: Investment banking Maritime search and rescue People management. I drifted into project management. For a bit of variety I got involved in training new entrants in software engineering and eventually experienced technologists in systems analysis and design. 2 – Educational I eventually set up my own company which focused largely on demystifying technology for businesspeople. I realised that there was a divide between technology people, who could not see the bigger context for the systems they were building and maintaining, and the users who had no idea what the technologists were saying. Initially this started with supporting service companies that engaged with technologists, eg. staffing companies and consultancies. Eventually this bubbled up to the c-suite. I managed to convince the Financial Times that they needed a column focused on digital leadership, which I penned for a decade. I was also engaged by the FT Live organisation to chair CxO dinners and conferences. This helped me develop an understanding of the issues leaders faced and it helped me develop some impressive contacts. Today some of my time is involved with leadership development. I have lectured at MIT Sloan as part of their MBA programme and today I am actively involved in leadership development with the Moller Institute, Churchill College, University of Cambridge. Over time, I found myself developing as a keynote speaker. 3 – Advisory My time spent writing, educating and keynoting helped me to develop the ability to convey insights in an engaging and memorable manner. Just as well as I was increasingly being invited to advise business and government leaders on matters of leadership, particularly in the context of societal upheaval and increasing disruption. This has led to many high impact engagements. Examples include, advising: One of the world’s leading banks on how to transition from slow technology follower to early adopter leader. Startups from around the world. The world’s largest technology organisations on how to attract and retain senior executive buyers. A government on how to set up an innovation centre optimised for ministers. A national sports association on how to navigate an increasingly disrupted world. A healthcare manufacturing company on how to harness the creativity of its people. Today, I am considered an expert on the drivers shaping our future and on how to build organisations that can embrace this increasing volatility. My delivery mechanisms are a mixture of advisory and, keynoting. I have also set up the Adaptive Edge Initiative . My focus on living systems and harnessing our natural human tendencies is well received by all stakeholders. Over the last four decades, I have worked in forty countries, across many sectors. My experience is unique, deep and broad. It is not clouded by the ‘trend du jour’. Most importantly, I don’t have all the answers. We are now operating in a ‘post-case studies’ world. My role is to help you create an organisation that can sense, decide and act with confidence regardless of what crosses your path. Return to top Published in I was a columnist for the Financial Times for a decade focusing on leadership matters. I have also been a columnist for a number of other publications: Return to top Books authored I am the author of several books, including one written for the European Commission on the future of skills in Europe.I have also produced reports and articles for Microsoft, HPE, Manpower, VMWare, Cisco, Pitney Bowes and other major brands. Return to top Miscellaneous Here is some information that is often required by event organisers: I am based just outside of London. London Heathrow is my nearest airport. I have no special dietary requirements. I prefer a lavalier or headset microphone and not a handheld. If my slides are to be integrated into a conference deck, I will need to see my embedded slides before the day of the event as this can detrimentally impact the slides. My slides can be shared with the participants in PDF format. I can provide this. I am happy to sign books if you choose to include one of mine as a participant gift. Return to top Do you need anything else? Contact me