Sally Dominguez, futurist, inventor and entrepreneur, is an optimist in a world that is full of mistrust and fear. She leads with hope, because she sees the changes that we can make as a society, and as organizations, that will build trust, overcome fear, and create exponential growth for organizations and for humanity.
Companies will have to rethink the way they interact with their employees if they want to see growth. They must foster a climate of idea sharing from the bottom up, instead of top-down, so everyone in the organization feels valued and heard. Companies who don’t value their employees, who treat them like commodities and don’t make that human connection are not going to see growth. Dominguez emphasizes, “If you want to see growth, you need to enable every single person to be a part of that proposition by valuing idea-sharing, which is, you know, about human connection.” She also believes that Gen Z, the newest generation to enter the workforce, will demand changes in the way employers treat their employees. They won’t accept the old way of doing business. If companies don’t adapt, they are not going to attract the newest members of the workforce.
Companies will also need to shift the way they interact with their customers. They will need to increase transparency. They will need to build a more interactive and proactive relationship where they invite their customers to work with them to build the solutions and products they desire. This kind of relationship will foster trust in the organization, and a feeling of being valued and heard. This kind of relationship will lead to growth because consumers want to do business with companies they trust and that value them. Dominguez is also hopeful that in the face of the environmental challenges we face, companies will use that as an opportunity to make changes in regards to creating more sustainable technology for energy. She is seeing companies developing a more “circular mentality” when it comes to waste, where waste is seen as an upcycling opportunity.
The most important idea Dominguez wants to get across is “the importance of human connection, the importance of physical anchors so humans feel oriented in a digital era, and most importantly from my point of view, and from the innovation point of view, the most inclusive thing we can do as humans is idea-share. It doesn’t matter what color you are, how old you are, what language you have, we idea-share.” Human connection, idea sharing, and inclusivity are what give Dominguez optimism for the future of our society. Organizations and societies that want to grow and adapt to an ever-changing world must have these or they will not survive.
