The Convergence is here. Each day the human race becomes more connected and interdependent. There is no longer a choice in the matter. There is no turning back.
All aspects of human life are rapidly converging at an intersection of people, business, and environment. With potential for either a historic integration or catastrophic collision, leaders have two clear remain committed to profits above all else; or shift to a human-centric approach that embraces this convergence.
Author Deborah Westphal, a leader in future-focused strategy, leverages her experiences working with some of the world's most innovative business leaders, to show how the interests of people (as human beings, not customers), overlap with those of companies in ways never before seen. Convergence charts the path forward for those leaders―particularly in business―who seek to shift to a human-centric mental model. This approach addresses realities from our converging world not necessarily related to a company's business operations, often integrating a tangible response with a change in the company's core values. Simply put, to be human-centric prioritizes the success of people and redefines success for a company.
"Westphal's Convergence is a call to action to create the future of humanity rather than stand by. Her words of wisdom and lessons shared cannot be more timely than in this very moment when humanity is in crisis. In the midst of COVID-19, environmental disaster, and ever accelerating technological change, Convergence makes the case for authentic leadership and challenges us to rethink our primary purposes of doing to serve humanity." -- Diana Rau, Chief Experience Officer & Cofounder, twine.nyc Forbes 30 Under 30
Deborah Westphal is a passionate humanist who has guided our era's top minds and leaders to challenge biases, ignite ideas, and build connections and resilience for a secure and sound future.
Her career spans more than 30 years, government agencies and Fortune 100 companies, and virtually every continent. In 1999, Alvin Toffler tapped her as one of the founding members of his eponymous consulting firm, Toffler Associates. From 2007 through 2018, she served as the firm's CEO. Through her work, she has guided notable organizations including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Marriott, U.S. Air Force, Baxter International, Bayer, Heinz, Microsoft, Koppers, PPG, DARPA, National Security Agency, Loral Space Systems, NASA, Qwest, Verizon, and Westinghouse.
Deborah's empathetic and thought-provoking style helps readers spot patterns that signify future risks and opportunities. She's a sought-after speaker and writer who provided the Foreword to After Shock.
Deborah is a world traveler who enjoys time with her son and running in the mountains.
Deborah Westphal makes a strong case for building human-centric organizations in this book. With lots of interesting and relevant examples, she presents varying attempts of making technology and business more human.
Unfortunately, I didn't find this book very practical in presenting strategies to effect this philosophy.
While she introduces 6 mental models of time, change, chance, connectivity, constellations, and conflict in the final chapter, these were only given light touches.