achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 . We have not yet fully appreciated the energy infrastructure required to support our increasingly digital world . We are not ready to support a single large data center that can require as much energy output as produced by an average natural gas-fired combined cycle unit , or the grid loads from the simultaneous charging of the increasing numbers of Electric Vehicles ( EVs ). Migration from fossil fuels will require patience , discernment , and willingness to effectively navigate the economic consequences . Future market disruption is likely to arise from geopolitical threats , energy availability , and tradeoffs for driving decarbonization responsibly and comprehensively . Power generation , refining , petrochemicals , fertilizers , mining and steel are the areas facing the most impact and assuming the most risk . We should expect a plethora of new technologies and operating models designed to drive a more ambitious and sustainable set of environmental outcomes . Deglobalization After three decades of expansion , the barriers are going up . The world ’ s two largest economies , China and the U . S ., appear to be on a path of continued confrontation . Across the globe tensions are high elsewhere , not to mention the continued conflict between Russia and Ukraine . Protectionism is on the rise and a long-term supply chain
realignment is picking up speed , reversing more than two decades of falling prices and access to cheap goods . We should expect continued rising prices and inflation , as well as the distinct risk of increased global conflict . Taking Control in a Disrupted World Disrupt yourself , before anyone else can . Have the courage to break away from tried and true but rapidly fraying business models . Even when it feels hard . Keep it simple . Paint the vision for disruption – and then disrupt .
Accelerate your digital metabolism . By putting digital at their core and maximizing the creative output of the combination of technology and talent – organizations will literally become the bionic enterprise . Digital is not something you do . It must be who you are . The mission for companies is clear : Be digital or be done .
Create the workforce of tomorrow , today . Companies will HAVE to radically change how they recruit , train , and retain their workforce . These changes include figuring out new ways of attracting more workers from more places than ever before as well as prioritizing diversity and inclusion initiatives . Your workforce is your biggest asset . Investing in it will provide the energy you need to press through the disruption .
Prioritize pace over perfection . It is impossible to overestimate the importance of execution . A decent plan that is implemented with speed and rigor will always outperform a perfect plan executed poorly . Take an action mindset . Be compassionate but candid . And remember , the 2020s are a decade filled with promise , but that promise is the disruption . The winners of disruptions will be the disruptors .
1 As per 3,000 business executives around the globe surveyed by AlixPartners LLP
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