Alignment is a beautiful thing and should be a corporate goal. Alignment on what to do in the future (to achieve the organization’s objective) requires systematic testing and regular testing of the individual’s perception of the strategy, the plans and the KPI’s. Only by comparing the individual perceptions can we identify and remedy misalignment. Unfortunately, misalignment seems to be rampant in the financial services industry: Bank Execs are misaligned with Technology and Analytics. “The reality is most financial institutions are hard-pressed to execute on a fast-follower strategy. To do it, you would need:

1. A team of people evaluating technological developments in the market, [accurately] assessing the rates of adoptions, and the potential economic impact;
2. A team of people to rapidly deploy the technological innovations after a “go” decision was made; and
3. An agile, rapid planning process that took in the inputs from the team in point #1 and made the quick the decision to fund the team from point #2.

You don’t really think that describes your financial institution, do you?” Ouch. Reshaping Business with Artificial Intelligence. “Managers expect significant improvement in performance of current processes or products from AI. Many companies are focused on addressing those. However, mere improvement does not create a sustainable competitive advantage — when everyone finds the same efficiencies, only the baseline shifts. For AI to become a prominent feature in future strategies, companies must figure out how humans and computers can build off each other’s strengths to create competitive advantage. This is not easy: Companies need privilegedaccess to data — which, as we’ve seen, many do not now have. They must learn how to make people and machines work effectively together — a capability relatively few Pioneers have at present. And they need to put in place flexible organizational structures, which means cultural changes for both company and employee.” Hackers everywhere: Voice AI Devices vulnerable to Ultrasound Hacks. Very effective hack but not real consequences. Yet. Good reminder that hackers are always trying harder. Important article: Getting to the critical few behaviors that can drive cultural change. “Of course, driving change through a critical few behaviors won’t be as easy for a complex corporation as it is for a family. In Duhigg’s case, the parents could dictate the new behavior and exert a large amount of control over whether it was followed. Still, it is possible to leverage a few behaviors into tangible progress for your organization. And it can be incredibly satisfying to help your organization’s people contribute more tangibly to the strategic and operational goals — almost as satisfying as having dinner with your family.” Just saying: Stop letting Email control your work day. “In an era of fast-paced offices, instant gratification, and constant access, one of the most important things we can do personally and professionally is take a step back. Taking the time to be thoughtful about our actions and responses can ultimately leave us with more time and more bandwidth to do our jobs well — and be happier outside of work as well.” We need to have this discussion: How Silicon Valley is erasing your individuality. “It’s hard not to marvel at these companies and their inventions, which often make life infinitely easier. But we’ve spent too long marveling. The time has arrived to consider the consequences of these monopolies, to reassert our role in determining the human path. Once we cross certain thresholds — once we remake institutions such as media and publishing, once we abandon privacy — there’s no turning back, no restoring our lost individuality.”