工程领导者的创新使命：使研究与商业战略保持一致

Science and research may shape the future, butengineering transforms our world today. Engineeringdrives global growth by advancing technology,boosting productivity and improving efficiency acrossindustries. Strong infrastructure reduces costs,enhances connectivity and opens up markets, whileengineering projects promote internationalcollaboration. Engineering also addresses emerging threats,supporting sustainability, defense and globalbiosecurity efforts. The IMF’s 2024 World EconomicOutlook stresses that engineering innovations are keyto sustaining global economic momentum. Those leading their companies’ engineering capabilitymust prioritize the development of effectiveengineering innovation strategies to foster growth,but this task is increasingly complex and critical. Thechallenge is shaped by three key factors. Threeinfluencingfactors The first factor is the pace of change. The speed at whichinnovation occurs makes effective decision-making moredifficult. Digital transformation, driven by advances inartificial intelligence, machine learning and the Internet ofThings (IoT), is accelerating rapidly[4]. This evolution alsoextends to the physical world through innovations inmaterials science, nanotechnology and biotechnology.Engineering leaders must stay ahead of a constantly shiftingtechnological landscape in both realms. The volume ofinformation they receive today is overwhelming, compared toprevious generations, and they must discern what issubstantive versus speculative, adding complexity to theirdecision-making. For instance, semiconductor advancements are opening upnew possibilities in biology and medicine. Engineering leadersface the dual challenge of staying ahead of rapid change andmanaging many potential advancements. The third factor is unpredictable external forces. Engineeringleaders must navigate an environment marked by rapid,unpredictable changes driven by societal demands,environmental concerns and global economic shifts[5]. Withthe convergence of digital and physical innovation, newopportunities and threats can arise quickly, requiringtechnology leaders to remain agile and responsive. The growth of different industriescan be accelerated by layeringbranches of various technologies.This combinatorial approachharnesses advancements in eachtechnology, creating a compoundeffect that drives progress.” Jeremy Jurgens The second factor is the convergence of digital and physicalinnovation. This convergence reshapes industries, creating amultiplier effect where the combined impact of theseinnovations is greater than the sum of their parts. Managing Director and Head of the WEF’s Centrefor the Fourth Industrial Revolution[5] The power ofengineering forstrategic advantage converts these into practicalapplications, because it is inherentlyfocused on solving real-world problemsand achieving desired changes in thephysical world. It is this relentless focuson effective application that makesengineering indispensable for thosedealing with the convergence of digitaland physical environments – and the useof technologies that work effectively inboth. The high impact of these three factorsmakes it difficult for the technical C-suiteto plan long-term strategies. But theyare held to account on their ability to doso, regardless. This is why engineering has beenreinforced as an essential discipline thatenables these leaders to navigate theshifting sands effectively. Its groundingin real world application, and itsrequirement to consider immediateconsequences on people, processes andorganizations makes it highly relevant tothe pace of change. While fundamentalscience provides the theoreticalfoundation for technologicaladvancements, it is engineering that The engineeringleader’s dilemma choices. Effective decisions are seldomreported – but bad ones can become thestuff of corporate folklore. Nokia’s decisionto pass on the Google Android operatingsystem and Kodak’s dogmatic adherence tophysical film over digital imaging arestrategic failures, driven by technicalstrategists that defined their corporatestories. It’s a challenging time for this cadreof executive leaders. How can they tackle thetask in front of them? To accommodate the three influencingfactors above, engineering leaders muststrike a difficult balance. They need anengineering innovation strategy that fostersa culture of innovation within theirorganizations, where engineering teams areempowered to experiment, iterate anddevelop cutting-edge solutions with thefreedom to explore. Yet, they mustsimultaneously ensure that any engineeringefforts driven by this strategy are alignedwith the company’s overall businessobjectives and societal responsibilities,whilst also taking account of unpredictableexternal factors affecting the widerenvironment in which the company operates.Constantly navigating between theseshifting sands is the essence of theengineering leader’s dilemma and they areunderstandably wary of making these tricky The corecontext To a