Mithun A. Sridharan
Founder |Think Insights
Heidelberg, Germany
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I'm Mithun A. Sridharan, an entrepreneur, author and keynote speaker on Strategy, Management Consulting and Digital Transformation. I'm a Forbes Technology Council Thought Leader and a Member of Harvard Business Review Advisory Council. As a strategy and technology executive, I advise senior leaders and corporations derive value from their strategic technology investment portfolios. I am a TEDx speaker and regularly share insights at industry conferences and corporate events. I have also contributed thought leadership to high-impact journals and magazines, such as the World Economic Forum, the American Banker, Wired, Bloomberg, etc. I hold an MBA from ESMT Berlin, a Master of Science from Christian Albrechts University of Kiel, both in Germany and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Madras, India.
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We are our decisions!
In an age dominated by Artificial Intelligence and data-driven decisions, the human factor becomes more — not less—critical! Algorithms can process information, but they can’t replace judgment under pressure.
As technology is reshaping our lives, there's another invisible force is shaping our perceptions of reality: cognitive biases. These hidden judgment and decision-making traps, once suited to model a relatively simple world, is now subtly influencing everything - from our daily choices to our most significant life decisions. While we believe we are acting rationally, these mental models lead us down paths we never intended, causing us to misjudge risks, misinterpret data and fail to see solutions hiding in plain sight. My talk - based on my recently published book, titled: "Mayday! Mayday!: Decision-making Under Duress" will advocate for a structured and conscious approach to decisions that shape our lives and identities. This talk will share actionable insights - derived from high-stakes, high-pressure scenarios - to help the audience recognize and overcome these invisible forces, empowering them to make justifiable, reproduceable, clearer, more conscious and ultimately better decisions.
Leading with Artificial Intelligence
The impact of Digital Transformation on Leadership is a hot topic, driven by innovations and disruptions in technology and largely shaped by the advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI). According to a 2019 study by Oracle and the research firm Future Workplace, 64% of workers would put their trust in a robot rather than their manager.
This startling statistic emphasises the rising mistrust that workers feel for their managers and emphasises how important it is for managers to develop into true leaders, capable of navigating the opportunities and challenges that AI presents. Hence, it is critical for leaders to adapt and change as Artificial Intelligence permeates the modern workplace if they want to stay relevant.
Technology can transform many thing including leadership, as history shows. Historically, three distinct periods emerge when the study technological break-throughs. At these junctures, interplay between technology and leadership mandated different leadership styles and attributes. These transitions did not replace leadership, but played a strong role in re-shaping leadership.
Even though it is tempting to assume that Artificial Intelligence can improve everything from productivity to brand loyalty, leadership requires conscious introspection on topics ranging from individual leader's mindset (mental models) to organisational constructs (strategy, design, etc.). Often, we fail to attribute due credit to leadership and the role it plays in technological break-throughs. Retrospective into technological revolutions demonstrates that technology is a byproduct of leadership.
Today's era of Artificial Intelligence requires new leadership thinking, life-long learning and regenerative models. Leaders who want to succeed in this age should consciously balance the delicate interplay between their "artistic side" comprising of the entire battery of human emotions and the "architect side" comprising of the range of Artificial Intelligence tools to compensate, complement, and conquer our finite nature.
Leaders need a framework to consider how they can deploy technology to practice the art of leading, whilst considering the inhibitors that prevent them from leading. This framework will also provide a toolbox to appraise our reliance on Artificial Intelligence to execute such difficult tasks as exercising independent judgment and decision—making - the very activities that impart meaning and raison d'être to the leader's existence.
During this talk, the audience will gain insights into:
- Historical review of technological break-throughs and Leadership models
- A philosophical approach to tackle challenging Digital Transformations
- Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Leadership
- Need for new mental models and organisational structures
- Setting up for life-long learning and regenerative leadership
Exponential Leadership
Cloud Computing. Blockchain. Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence (AI)). The past decade was marked by transformative technologies that have reshaped our world at an unprecedented pace. Such technological breakthroughs challenge leaders to adapt and evolve at an exponential rate or risk being left behind. As with other eras, Leaders need a new leadership paradigm to cope up with this era of digital disruption. Exponential leadership is this paradigm that mandates leaders to embrace an exponential mindset to navigate the complex digital landscape. This paradigm is about creating environments that encourage creativity, collaboration, and personal growth and recognizing that it's the collective intelligence and creativity of teams that drive innovation and success.
Principles-Based Framework for AI Governance
The increasing adoption of AI technologies in both, business and private spheres, necessitate robust governance frameworks to ensure adherence and alignment with societal values and legal standards. A principles-based framework for AI governance provides a compass to navigate the ethical and responsible development and use of Artificial Intelligence. Unlike rigid rulebooks, this frameworks establish core principles that guide decision-making throughout the AI lifecycle to address the unique challenges posed by different AI systems. The European Union's Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, the Bletchley Declaration, SR 117, and ISO/IEC 42001 are a few frameworks that provide a set of principles for organizations to manage AI throughout its lifecycle. As AI continues to evolve, focusing on few, core principles ensure longevity of the underlying AI Governance framework and that AI development remains responsible and human-centric.
Unlocking the Data Economy: Navigating the EU Data Act
The EU Data Act legislation is set to reshape the European data economy. Poised to take effect in September 2025, this regulation has the potential to unlock data-driven innovations. This Act includes lowers entry barriers erected by industry behemoths and obliges manufacturers and service providers to provision easy data access, fair contractual terms, and improved data portability. The legislation also covers safeguards against unlawful and discriminatory practices involving non-personal data. The Data Act's influence extends beyond EU borders, impacting global businesses that operate in the European markets.
From this talk, the audience will gain insights into this Act and changes to their organization's data practices to unlock new opportunities to derive value from innovations as well as ensure their compliance with this regulation.
Mayday! Mayday! Decision-making under duress
In an age dominated by Artificial Intelligence and data-driven decisions, the human factor becomes more — not less—critical! Algorithms can process information, but they can’t replace judgment under pressure.
Aviation is among the safest industries in the world - a case that affirms the human-centricity in the technology ecosystem. In 2024, there were seven fatal accidents out of approximately 40.6 million flights, or about 0.000017%. This means, a person could fly every day for nearly 16,000 years before experiencing a fatal accident. In contrast, road travel generally records a fatal incident rate around 0.01%–0.03% per journey and the risk is much higher per mile traveled.
What made flying and the aviation industry so safe?
Advances in safety management systems, rigorous training and operational standards, continuous monitoring and a safety-focused culture - all contribute to these strong safety outcomes. As passenger numbers rise, ongoing collaboration and knowlege sharing among the airlines, regulatory bodies, aircraft manufacturers and airports ensures that flying continues to get safer every year. This "systemic" approach to safety has made the entire industry a whole lot safer.
But, what about the last mile - the pilots?
Not only are they trained to the highest standards, when everything is on the line, they don’t improvise! They rely on checklists and decision-making frameworks that strip away panic and bias, structure their thinking during high-stakes, high-pressure scenarios and guide them to the right decision, often in seconds.
Professions, such as aviation, healthcare and defense are inherently risky. Critical life or death decisions are the norm in these professions. Professionals serving in these domains rely on structured decision-making frameworks to deal rapidly devolving situations, that mandate clear thinking, structured execution and repeatable processes.
Likewise, business leaders and executives today operate in a turbulent business environment, marked by geo-political crises, changing marketplace conditions, technological breakthroughs that disrupt industries, and more. The ability to make critical decisions under duress, i.e. Mayday scenarios where stakes are high and the consequences of decisions far-reaching is no longer a nice-to-have, but a key leadership trait. In the high-stakes, high-pressure scenarios, such as navigating a market crash, handling a security breach, managing a product recall, tackling a global pandemic or guiding team through a turnaround, Leaders need to make split-second decisions, often under uncertainty. The ability to make sound, justificable and reproducible decisions under pressure with long-term impact is not only a valuable Leadership trait, but also an existential necessity. The ramifications of such decisions on an organization's ecosystem is profound, affecting employees, partners, suppliers, customers, and more.
The talk, based on my book, titled: "Mayday! Mayday! Decision-making under duress" will showcase proven frameworks - derived from aviation incidents - to effectively and efficiently deal with mission-critical scenarios. This talk will equip the participants with decision-making tools that combine structured thinking with technological support, ensuring decisions remain both, fast and sound, while pragmatic to help navigate uncertainty, manage risk and ensure effective action, especially during Mayday scenarios.
NDC Porto 2024 Sessionize Event
AI & Agile Summit 2024 Sessionize Event
SOAHR 2024 - SHRM-Atlanta's Annual Conference Sessionize Event
Conferencia Agile Spain (CAS'23) Sessionize Event
ChefConf.23 Germany Sessionize Event
Mithun A. Sridharan
Founder |Think Insights
Heidelberg, Germany
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