Those who follow my article publications may have noticed that lately I have chosen topics that directly address the universe of this new 3D virtual reality world, as well as our adaptation to it as professionals and leaders from the most varied sectors. In my daily research regarding this subject, I regularly come across a spectrum of the internet audience that considers the metaverse a "trend" or something that won't last long in the world of business and technology.
If there is something that humanity taught us was to learn from our own history, then all the issues that we are experiencing today with the explosion of the "metaverse" subject is something that we have experienced many, many times with other market news that were discredited, and even doomed to fail.
Nobody believed in cars, just as Blackberry did not believe in the power of smartphones focused on larger screens, - and look what happened.
There is a famous quote attributed to Henry Ford that you may have read. Supposedly he would have said: “if I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”. Meaning that, customers can easily describe a problem they are having - in this case wanting to get somewhere faster - but not the best solution. Think about coming up with the idea of a big four-wheel machine back then…he was proprably called crazy by horse, carriage and cart investors.
Another well-known case is that of the Blackberry company. In the early 2000s, Blackberry was the dominant player in the smartphone market coming to control 43% of the smartphone market in the US and 20% globally. However, the company did not believe in smartphone devices made only of screens, without accompanying keyboards (Qwerty).
Today, it's very known that Apple's iPhone and Google's Android operating system dominate the market, while Blackberry discontinued the manufacture of mobile devices and today operates with cybersecurity systems for companies. Blackberry's decline has become a case study of what happens when a tech giant fails to innovate in a consumer technology market that evolves at exponential speed.
Some say BlackBerry didn't "foresee" that consumers would drive the smartphone revolution. As a leader, I have to disagree. They had all the information at their disposal to understand the behavior of the new market and they refused to believe it.
The truth is that smartphones have evolved from mere communication devices to become complete mobile entertainment centers and the leaders who chose not to follow the evolution, today are completely out of the mobile phone market. Because that's what the metaverse is: an evolution, not a revolution.
Just like smartphones, the metaverse didn't come out of nowhere. The metaverse was first described and named nearly 30 years ago - but we're still in the early days of understanding this new center of relationships and Business.
Some examples of how these new technologies made for business are converging for use within the metaverse are mentioned in a PwC publication: "Today, cloud technology is addressing processing power and storage to support extended reality and are immersive. AI is helping to create digital reflections that combine computer vision, speech and deep learning to give users experiences that feel real. Decentralization of finance and the economy, supported by blockchain, is enabling partially automated financial systems. Finally, digital native consumers and the impact of the pandemic on consumption habits are sparking demand for the virtual products and experiences that the metaverse offers."
I shared a little about the importance of valuing and being ahead of this growing market. However, as important as understanding the metaverse before entering its business possibilities is to be prepared to lead both in the metaverse and in the search and mapping of new solutions, proposal of values and operational models, and even in the development of teams capable of dealing with this type of technology that is renewed every day.
In a recent study published by consultancy Accenture, called "Meet Me in the Metaverse", I came across the following statement: "there is already a significant shortage of tech talent, and this is only getting worse as technologies and the skills associated with them become more and more advanced. You need to create a people strategy that prioritizes identifying, acquiring and developing these skills. Companies that don't start competing for this talent are soon setting themselves up to be left behind."
I have to say I couldn't agree more. The truth is, forward-thinking leaders are already starting to change the business game.
But how?
Any leadership that is convinced of its commitment to the metaverse has already begun a market and technology scan to understand what is evolving today and how it may affect or disrupt current digital efforts.
In this process, employees, leaders and company ecosystems are driving new lines of business, new ways of working and new ways of interacting between companies and people. For most, this is the first and best chance they've ever had to architect a new kind of digital world - and the race to define, build and populate it has begun.
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