I have been doing video interviews with a number of C-level execs and practitioners about acrobatics they have been seeing in various vertical sectors during the COVID-19 crisis and the "New normal" they can expect as the economy wakes up. Here is the index to the growing list of interviews.
This time, it is Charles Phillips. He has had an amazing career in the Marines, on Wall Street, then as President of Oracle, as Chairman of Infor (which was sold to Koch Industries earlier this year), now as an investor, philanthropist and as board member of several public and private sector institutions.
He has been spending a lot of time thinking about next-gen business processes. He sees a breakdown of jobs into tasks and a lot more automation at that component level. He sees the process re-think as both an opportunity and a threat to today's enterprise vendors. We also discuss the likely impact on the job market. He discusses a Business Council project he in involved with which is looking at next-generation jobs in construction, advanced manufacturing, healthcare and tech. They are looking at "mid-skill" jobs that don't need 4 year college degrees. We have 'over-credentialed" too many jobs requiring such degrees in the recent past.
I have always been impressed with how Charles, as a person of color, has navigated his way around so many organizations. He humbly credits his upbringing in a military family and moving around every couple of years. That taught him to get along with people of every stripe. I particularly liked his views and advice to younger folks and civic leaders starting around 8:25. He is optimistic the conversation around diversity in business and society this time "has legs".
We also discuss Wall Street, its highs when Main Street is hurting, the coming market for vertical applications, the Fed's performance in the last few months, revving up the New York City economy post-pandemic and making it safer and more attractive to visitors. (BTW, he talks about the Fed's acrobatics - you can hear more of their policies in this unprecedented live webcast today at 9 am from Kansas City)
He is also very involved in party politics, but we stayed away from that. I liked the positive end when he talks about his son returning from a deployment in Okinawa. Having been "outside the bubble" for 4 years, he comments positively and optimistically about the state of the country. Charles says "someone that age saying that, I hope they are all saying that"
An uplifting conversation at many levels.
