Richard Worzel, C.F.A.

Health care in America is a rapidly changing system trying to evolve in the middle of a battlefield. The confusion that this produces makes it difficult for health care suppliers and executives to plan effectively for the future.

In this presentation, futurist and business visionary Richard Worzel, c.f.a., looks at the three basic forces driving change in health care in order to trace the what’s likely to happen in the field as a whole:

• The aging population – Although the boomers are phasing out of the business world, their needs for health care is rising almost exponentially as they approach old age.

• Technology – New technologies are revolutionizing health care, with many potential breakthroughs either arriving, or visible on the horizon. Yet, new technologies bring new costs, raising one of the two critical questions shaping the future of health care.

• Money – The bottom line drives the political debate, as well as threatening the financial solvency of state & federal governments, as well as individuals needing care. Money is at the root of the second, critical question shaping tomorrow’s health care.

These three keys are interrelated, but separate, and tracing their effects can reveal a great deal about where the battle lines will be, how the battle will go, what problems lie ahead, and what the possibilities are for professionals, health care providers, insurers, suppliers, and patients.

“The future of health care offers both exceptional difficulties, and enormous opportunities,” says Richard. “Those who can properly assess the terrain of the future, and plan for both the uncertainties and the possibilities will be able to make extraordinary gains in a booming marketplace.”

“Turbulent times are times when market share is up for grabs.”

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the hot topic in technologies these days, but even though there’s a healthy dose of hype involved, there are still very good reasons why those involved in health care, but especially in the pharmaceutical industry, need to pay attention to how it is changing the economy, society, and business.

Futurist Richard Worzel is a business visionary as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst. In this presentation, custom crafted for Pfizer, he provides an overview of how technology generally, and AI specifically is changing all the rules, including:

• Drug discovery – Evolutionary algorithms have the potential to reduce the costs of drug discovery at every stage of research and clinical trials, and to rescue drugs that have potential, but might not otherwise make it through clinical trials.
• AI excels at multivariate analysis and pattern recognition, both of which are critical to developing new pharmaceuticals, as well as marketing them to the right people.
• AI and automation will be as disruptive to supply chain management and lean operating efficiency as the Internet was, which means that organizations cannot afford to be left behind in adopting it.
• The emergence of personal AIs, today through smartphones, but eventually through virtual assistants, have the potential to revolutionize health assessments, medication management and monitoring, and crisis intervention.
• In combination with Cloud and Fog computing, virtual assistants could lead to the emergence of an integrated, global, health management system that would, among other things, revolutionize drug development, testing, and management.

As well as providing a road map of the future of health care, Richard will also provide insights about tools from the futurist toolkit to help you turn the uncertainty of the future into a competitive advantage.

The established business model of the power business, that of central generation and distribution, is eroding as quickly as rotting ice, but without an obvious new model to replace it. In this presentation, business futurist Richard Worzel, who addressed IPPSA in March of 1998, will discuss the shifting forces in climate change, capital markets, politics and government regulation, and how they will affect the market and business of power generation in Alberta.

“There may be industries that are changing faster than power generation – but not many, and few of those have as much tied up in investment capital. This is a critical time for the power generation business – and you will need to make your own luck for the future, for your old business model is changing quickly and decisively.”

Artificial Intelligence is the technology most likely to provide the next – and perhaps greatest – wave of disruptions in society and the economy. And the legal profession, based as it is on rules and precedents, is particularly susceptible to disruption.

Futurist Richard Worzel is a business visionary as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst with in-depth experience with professional practice, and a working history with legal professionals. In this presentation, he outlines what AI is, what practitioners should, and shouldn’t, expect from it, and how it can be used to produce a competitive advantages. Among the topics Richard will explore are:

• What AI is, what it is not, and why it will be so disruptive;
• The three characteristics of AI that are key to understanding its future effects on professional practice;
• Why AI is not a magic formula, and what three things you must have to make effective use of AI in your practice;
• Areas of practice in which AI will have the greatest impact;
• Why AI alone is not enough, and what model legal practitioners should consider in deciding how to adjust to the emergence of AI in the practice of law; and
• How AI will affect staffing, succession, and the business management of legal practice.

‘Artificial Intelligence is an absolute game changer,’ says Richard, ‘and that means it offers the opportunity to pick up market share from slower competitors, as well as the threat of being left behind by those who think they’re immune.’

It’s clear that education must change, and is changing, as society, the economy, and the working world are all changing. So, how should post-secondary institutions prepare for the next 50 years? In this broad-reaching overview, futurist and visionary Richard Worzel, C.F.A., surveys the landscape of the future for education in general, and post-secondary institutions in particular, including:

• Computers are becoming both much more powerful, and more sophisticated, with the result that Artificial Intelligence, everyday robots, and automation are going to drastically re-shape society and the working world. How will tomorrow’s workers cope, and how should they prepare?
• Computer genies (or virtual assistants) will change what we need to know, when, and why. How will future students need to prepare for a world where facts are of little value?
• Communications will become far more flexible and intuitive than it is now. Sharing perspectives, even “electronic thoughts” will become widespread. What consequences will this have for individuals and their interactions with others?
• People will live longer, which means they’ll work longer, which means competition for work will become more intense in some areas. How should a learner prepare for this kind of world?
• Is the future of education going to be purely utilitarian, with learners seeking up-to-date skillsets? If so, what will learners need to learn, when, and how? And what about the enlightenment of the individual? How will that fare as a goal for education?
• It’s clear the working world will be radically changed. How will individuals need to adapt, and how will post-secondary education figure into that change?
• It’s clear that, in the future, there will be a right way to learn something – but what that right way is will depend on who is doing the learning, what they are learning, and how (or what) is doing the teaching.
• Post-secondary institutions are facing unprecedented challenges, from threats to their funding from governments, to commercial competition from groups like Udacity, to open source learning from major, global universities. What must each institution do to define their place in the future, and how must they prepare?

The future of post-secondary education may be perilous for the unready, but it is also full of new potential and possibilities for those who think clearly, and prepare for what’s to come.

The accounting profession has experienced significant changes due to technology already. Yet, the changes to come promise to be even more disruptive still, especially the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Richard Worzel is a futurist who also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst professional designation. As such, he has both studied accounting, and has worked alongside accountants for much of his career. In this overview of how technology is going to effect the practice of accounting, he outlines the changes ahead, and how practitioners should be preparing today for the changes to come, including:

• What AI is, and why it will be both important, and disruptive, in the practice of accounting;
• The three characteristics of AI that are key to understanding its future effects on your practice;
• Why AI is not a magic formula, and the three things you must have to make effective use of AI;
• The areas where AI will have the greatest impact, and how to prepare for them;
• How Cloud computing is changing business, and what its strengths and weaknesses are;
• The advent of Fog computing, along with the Internet of Things, and why you should be preparing your clients for the massive changes ahead.

‘Bean counting may be in the DNA of the accounting profession,’ says Richard, ‘but strategic planning and the practice of active foresight are its future. Accountants have the training, the tools, and the mindset to lead their organizations and clients into the future – but that means they need to keep up on the changes that are rapidly overtaking today’s business practices.’