<b>Vantage point:</b> Insights from cutting-edge research

Companies fare badly at identifying high-potential employees

Companies are faring badly at identifying high-potential employees, according to an article in Harvard Business Review by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, CEO and president of leadership development consultancy Zenger/Folkman. The writers point out that to help high-potential employees — usually in the top five per cent in an organisation — companies often institute high-potential programmes. And yet, according to data from research by the duo, more than 40 per cent of individuals in such programmes may not belong there. “When we looked at the participants in the HIPO (high-potential) programs, 12 per cent were in their organisation’s bottom quartile of leadership effectiveness. Overall, 42 per cent were below average,” they wrote.

The writers identified four characteristics of high-potential employees which they delineated under the heads — technical and professional experience, taking initiative and delivering results, consistently honouring commitments, and fitting in to the culture of the organisation. They added that underperforming high-potential programmes were lacking in two skills — strategic vision and the ability to motivate others. The underqualified people in the HIPO programme who truly do aspire to senior positions in the organisation should focus on learning and practicing the leadership skills required, they added.

3 mn personal and commercial drones to be shipped in 2017

Production of drones for personal and commercial use is growing rapidly, with global market revenue expected to increase 34 per cent to reach more than $6 billion in 2017 and grow to more than $11.2 billion by 2020, according to a new forecast from Gartner, Inc. Almost three million drones will be produced in 2017, 39 per cent more than in 2016. While the civil markets (personal and commercial) have been wading through regulation by various governments, drones’ popularity in these markets has not diminished. The overall drone market will see substantial growth, but the dynamics of the personal and commercial submarkets are very different, Gartner analysts said.

Personal drones will continue to increase in popularity as an affordable extension of consumers’ smartphones for taking photographs and for other entertainment options. They can fly a short distance and time, typically no more than 5,000m and for one hour, with flight height constrained to within 500m. They weigh less than two kilograms and are priced less than $5,000. “The commercial and personal drone markets are increasingly overlapping, as lower-priced personal devices are being used for commercial ventures,” said Gartner senior research analyst Gerald Van Hoy. The market for commercial drones is much smaller, with a significantly higher average selling price.

Artificial intelligence next key growth area for smartphones

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the next big growth areas for the mobile industry according to a white paper released by IHS Markit, a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, ahead of Mobile World Congress. “We see AI making smart devices even smarter with improved user experiences,” said Ian Fogg, director of mobile and telecom analysis at IHS Markit. “Existing AI agents like Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant will expand across the industry, complemented by embedded AI in all parts of mobile devices from cameras, to audio, to machine.”

Software investments and partnerships are critical for hardware companies to create smarter AI-enabled experiences, said the white paper. Vendors such as Google, Apple, Sony, Microsoft and Samsung have heavily invested in the development of their own AI and voice-assistant capabilities. In order to compete, smaller players with less in-house software expertise and resources will be looking to partner-up. The AI opportunity comes at a time when the global smartphone installed base is still growing. By 2020, the smartphone-installed base will exceed six billion units, up from four billion in 2016.