Nicky Verd is author of the hit book: Disrupt Yourself Or Be Disrupted. She’s a digital strategy consultant, an Africa enthusiast and Africa's digital transformation maverick. We discuss key takeaways from her book, the 4IR, the future of work and education, inclusive cities, overcoming the digital divide, personal disruption and staying relevant in an era of constant change.
We discuss
About Nicky Verd
Nicky Verd holds a record for shaking crowded tables and blowing stuff up. She is Africa's most sought after speaker on the impact of Emerging Technologies, Disruption, Innovation, Future of Work, and Digital Transformation. She is the author of the hit book, Disrupt Yourself Or Be Disrupted. Nicky Verd is a leading thinker on driving innovation through personal disruption, a show-stopping source of inspiration and a voice for those who yearn to recreate themselves in a world of disruptive technologies. A Digital Strategy Consultant, Content Strategist, and an Africa Enthusiast.
After being retrenched from a job she held unto for dear life, Nicky Verd hit rock bottom, literally. But rose back up, upskilled/reinvented herself, and is now empowering others to do the same. From living on food parcels and contemplating suicide just over four years ago to being recognized by Thinkers360 as one of the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Digital Disruption and the Future of Work 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Nicky Lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is particularly passionate about igniting the human potential in the age of Artificial Intelligence(AI) and bridging the gap between laypeople and the understanding of how emerging technologies are impacting the workplace and life in general.
Nicky Verd's new book is titled "DISRUPT YOURSELF OR BE DISRUPTED - Escape Conformity, Reinvent Your Thinking and Thrive in an Era of Emerging Technologies and Economic Anxiety" is now available in BookStores across South Africa. In this book, Nicky Verd is bringing 4IR awareness to the layperson and empowering youths across Africa not to fight the Fourth Industrial Revolution but to embrace it and become part of the revolution. The Fourth Industrial Revolution(4IR) is creating a demand for new skills and competencies and "Disrupt Yourself Or Be Disrupted" is a tool for you to equip and empower yourself for this shift in paradigm.
According to Nicky, many people think of disruption only in terms of new business models but disruption also work at a personal level, where people who want to pivot change and move ahead in life can disrupt and reinvent themselves, Personal disruption at its core is the ability to adopt forward-thinking, evolve and reinvent yourself supplemented by a cycle of learning, unlearning, relearning and repeat. Nicky Verd strongly believes that personal development is the vehicle through which success and economic growth travel and that you cannot fully develop yourself if you don't understand the world around you.
Understanding what Industry 4.0 aka 4IR is all about will help put into perspective how some of the world's most cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Blockchain, IoT, AR, 3D Printing, and many others will impact your own life.
It goes without saying, "You cannot fight a battle you don't even understand."
Source: www.nickyverd.africa
Order her book here: https://nickyverd.africa/shop/
Richard Gevers is the Founder of Open Cities Lab, a civic technology lab with a focus on the development of open data for application to urban challenges operating within cities in Africa. We explore many projects they are involved in, overcoming the general ‘fear of data’, how to improve public-private sector collaboration on Open Data, and how cities may change over the next 5 years.
Play Now
Liteboho Makhele is Programme Manager for Sustainable Cities at South African Cities Network. We explore the current state of climate change interventions, key sustainability projects, the biggest challenge to climate change adaptation, the circular economy, and the main lessons taken from 2020.
Play Now
Thabo Mofokeng is President of the Information Technology Association of South Africa (ITA) and a Non-Executive Director at MICT SETA. We explore the role of the ITA, opportunities and challenges for IT and ICT business, the future of technology and jobs, interacting with a computing environment, collaboration and his view of cities in 2040 and colonising Mars.
Play Now
Vino Govender is Executive for Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions and Innovation at Dark Fibre Africa. We explore the typical architecture and technological layers of a ‘Smart City’, his definition of a ‘Smart City’ in the African context, what will help us become smarter cities, improving Public-Private sector collaboration, how the Internet of Things will impact Africa over the next 5 years, the one thing he would change with his magic wand and what he hopes to see happen over the next 5 years.
Play Now
Ben Bradlow is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. We dive deep into an article from his dissertation project called: Weapons of the Strong: Elite Resistance and the Neo-Apartheid City.
Play Now