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Adopting a liquid mindset: A new strategy paradigm

Professor Martin Spraggon, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) shares his thoughts on adopting a "Liquid Mindset" to combat society's "Smart Syndrome" Professor Martin Spraggon, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) shares his thoughts on adopting a "Liquid Mindset" to combat society's "Smart Syndrome"

The late futurist Alvin Toffler once said that "the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." Inspired by Toffler, Professor Martin Spraggon developed the notion of the "Liquid Mindset", which he believes is quintessential for overcoming the limitations of the "Smart Syndrome" that prevails in the era of digital transformation.
As a forward-thinking scholar and practitioner of strategy and innovation management, and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, Professor Spraggon has been studying technological disruptions and business model innovations across several industries for the last 25 years. He has worked with companies in the GCC, Europe and the Americas to help them capitalise on their strengths in order to seize opportunities and allow them to develop a sustainable competitive advantage in their respective industries. Drawing upon principles of martial arts, design thinking, psychology and corporate strategy, Professor Spraggon assists public and private entities with assessing their current situation, focusing on their core capabilities, and finding their strategic position to thrive in the marketplace.
In the last decade, Professor Spraggon has witnessed an exponential growth in the usage of the "smart" adjective to describe a multitude of initiatives driven by both public and private institutions around the world. Whereas these "smart" initiatives have been typically associated with significant expenditures aiming to acquire the latest technologies and develop futurist physical infrastructures, Professor Spraggon highlights that "smartness" is primarily a people's business. The failure to acknowledge the soft dimension of "smartness" is what he calls the "Smart Syndrome" in today's society, something he believes greatly hinders the ability of organisations to successfully respond to the demands of the fourth industrial revolution.
Likewise, digital transformation is commonly associated with the integration of digital technology into daily business operations, profoundly changing the ways in which organisations operate and create their value proposition. However, Professor Spraggon argues that digital transformation, first and foremost, requires a cultural change and involves a particular type of mindset that would provide a psychological safe environment for engaging in organisational exploration, improvisation, and innovation. He coins the term "Liquid Mindset" to describe the capacity of individuals to be extremely nimble and fluid, adjust to obstacles, and transform with circumstances in order to effectively cope with emerging challenges. For him, developing a "liquid mindset" is about building the capacity to learn new things, let go of what has become obsolete and no longer useful, and relearn to develop a more comprehensive cosmovision.