Blockchain Technology — Redefining Management and Leadership.

• Automation through Blockchain technology.
• Managers will incorporate increased accountability.
• Leadership through creativity.
• Implementations of systems based on value and organizational change.

Blockchain technology has the power to redefine management and leadership. Within the technology industry, automation has played a key role in the advancement of efficiency and the allocation of resources. The implementation of Blockchain technology solutions will lead to changes in those business functions that are affected by Blockchain automation requiring managers to have a different skillset. Leadership roles will also be redefined as leadership will be focused on creative solutions. The archetype visionary leader will be the main winner within this space as they will be able to leverage the full power of Blockchain technology leading to competitive advantages. Some business functions will feel the impact and reduce in headcount whereas other business functions will benefit and grow in size as organizations reallocate resources. The power of Blockchain technology will be the main differentiator and the implementation of systems delivering value will be the ultimate competitive edge. The leveraging of Blockchain technology for competitive advantage is not a new idea, however, the importance of Blockchain technology will mean it will make or break companies with those who adapt and embrace Blockchain being the market winners. Non-Blockchain based companies competing against Blockchain-based companies will not be able to compete due to the efficiency delivered through Blockchain. A potentially over-optimistic view would be that of factory production vs traditional handmade production and the impact of the industrial revolution.

Automation — the next iteration.

The technological revolution has provided a greater amount of free time and increased individuality. What previously took weeks or days can be achieved the same day and what required a steep learning curve to execute can now be achieved through a few simple controls. Automation through Blockchain technology provides lower operational costs, greater efficiency and easy to implement solutions that can create value-driven processes. The impact of technology automation over the last 20 years has created a lot of value and the potential impact on industries via the implementation of Blockchain technology that incorporates automation can deliver greater value over the next 20 years. Tokenized Now believes that Blockchain technology will be implemented across industries that will enable the reallocation of resources as labour intensive tasks are automated. The efficiency gained through the implementation of Blockchain technology will transform how businesses operate and some business functions such as administration may be reduced to a single accountable manager overseeing the operation and performing the necessary inputs at different stages within Smart Contracts. This will reduce the headcount within the affected areas and allow for businesses to refocus their efforts to value-driven and revenue-generating activities such as sales and marketing, product development and service delivery.

Organization change within management and leadership.

The automation of business functions covers a broad spectrum of possibilities and if it leads to a reduced headcount would require for the manager role to be redefined. Blockchain implementations will still need oversight and inputs at varying stages of Smart Contracts to fulfil or confirm the conditions set out within them. However, this can be performed by as little as one person rather than a team and increases the accountability of the role whilst requiring a more technical skillset.

The role of line management will evolve with the introduction of Blockchain technology as the new roles will require increased accountability and less personnel. Fundamentally the organizational structure of businesses will focus on working cooperatively as partners within the business as Blockchain technology will bring greater transparency and efficiency to operations. Office politics will be reduced as performance will become transparent due to the auditable log of processes available via the Blockchain that should ensure greater responsibility.

The reallocation of resources into functions that are not processed completely on Blockchains will increase the size of these teams and require more managers with the capability of managing larger teams. These are some thoughts on how we see the implementation of Blockchain technology affecting the organisational structure of businesses and the possible impact it may have. Blockchain technology is an efficiency creating machine that optimizes the business processes and contract management that are the heart of businesses. We see it as a logical byproduct that there would also be an optimization within the personnel organizational structure such as increased accountability and the optimization of performance made possible through the Blockchain auditable log. We believe in market competition and if there are companies that implement Blockchain technology and can provide a more cost-effective, faster and higher quality service through leveraging Blockchain technology that they will naturally gain market share and grow.

The ability to leverage Blockchain technology to complete tasks that would normally need a team of people to complete means that there will be an added emphasis on leadership skills across business functions to provide pragmatic creative solutions. There are several different types of leaders and we feel that the winner from the implementation of Blockchain technology is the visionary leader who is able to design solutions for Blockchain implementations. The availability of open-source enterprise Blockchain solutions and the emergence of Blockchain development companies and Blockchain-As-A-Service (BASS) means that solutions are readily available to implement. The creative solutions aspect is important because we feel that there are countless options available when transferring end to end processes and business functions onto a Blockchain framework. The companies that get it right and are able to translate their Target Operating Model (TOM) into Blockchain compatible processes and architecture will have a distinct advantage.

Blockchain will lead to competitive advantages and organizational change.

The winners of the Blockchain revolution will be those with efficient marketing and those who incorporate Blockchain systems based on delivering value. The rise of meme coins that arguably hold no primary value but are able to attract billions of dollars is a phenomenon based on efficient marketing and demonstrates the impact and influence of social media. The ability to influence and coordinate via social media has played a key role in their success. Bitcoin could arguably be classed in the same category as the value is entirely subjective and you could question the inherent value of holding a digital asset? We do believe Bitcoin has a value and value is based on perception and Bitcoin has surpassed a threshold of “consensus” by enough people to hold a monetary value, after all, demand drives price. Viewing cash from a similar extremely objective point of view you could also argue they are just pieces of paper.

Alongside the importance of marketing is the functional value or “utility” and this has been demonstrated by the value derived from Blockchains that offer increased functionality, ease of use or higher quality transactions (Faster/cheaper). The more a Blockchain can demonstrate utility the easier it is to quantify and designate a monetary value. The ability to apply Blockchain solutions to solve real-world business problems is the key differentiator. Blockchain technology will do the heavy lifting and provide a competitive advantage. The creative solutions for real-world use such as asset tokenization, cost reductions through streamlined efficiency, faster processes, increased functionality or even industry-wide Blockchain solutions such as shared infrastructure ie data pools reducing individual companies sunk costs are what will gain market share.

The above potential outcomes are possible and some of the potential impacts we can see arising from the implementation of Blockchain technology. However, when viewed through the lens of the initial impact of technological solutions being deployed within the workplace and the impact they have had on how businesses operate and the organizational change that has taken place since we believe they are reasonable outcomes. In our opinion, the organizational impact of implementing Blockchain technology will no doubt bring about changes and affect how businesses operate. We see Blockchain transformation covering the next 10–20 years in the same way that digital transformation has covered the previous 10–20 years. A lot of possible outcomes such as those included above are just accentuated iterations of existing outcomes produced via existing technology such as automation, the impact of social media, organizational change and creative technology solutions providing a competitive advantage. The difference now is that Blockchain technology will optimize and enlarge their impacts.