How Technology Has Advanced The Cosmetic Industry

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StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective Article |Technology|How Technology Has Advanced The Cosmetic IndustryAs we head further into the digital era, the use of technology has continued to revolutionise our lives in so many ways. But how has it changed the medical sector? In this article, we will be providing you with insight into how technology has advanced the cosmetic and medical industry in the last 10 years.

Ai And Computer Technology Has Improved Customisation

When looking at the cosmetic industry, there has been one common problem that several people have faced, finding the perfect shade of foundation that matches their skin. The use of AI and computer technology allows for you to scan the skin and determine the base colour as well as the undertones to find the perfect match.

Video Calls Have Improved The Consultation Process

In addition to the use of computers in-store to find the perfect shade, the world of technology has also allowed for computers to be used in the consultation process. This has been used by several medical practices in the UK as well as those providing a hair transplant procedure in Turkey to speed up the consultation process and limit the amount of travel that is needed to get to and from appointments. This way of communicating with medical staff is only set to escalate soon as we continue to adapt our way of life to accommodate Coronavirus and the social distancing restrictions that have been put in place.

Increased Performance For Cosmetic Procedures

Technology has also allowed for several cosmetic procedures to be completed in half the time that they would have been 10 years ago, with advancements such as those employed by laser skin care clinics enhancing efficiency and recovery times. This streamlined approach, supported by electronic reporting, has significantly decreased the duration of surgeries and facilitated quicker patient recovery. For example, the use of Keyhole surgery as a replacement for several other surgical procedures has helped to limit the risk associated with some of these surgeries as well as improve the overall healing process for their patients. As a result, this has also sped up the process of patients returning to their everyday lives following a surgical procedure.

Virtual Try-On Will Replace The Traditional Samples

The final way that technology has advanced the cosmetics industry is through virtual try on. With the pandemic leading to the removal of makeup testers in stores, many brands have turned to computer technology to provide a virtual try-on to those shopping online. This has benefitted several smaller brands as well as larger companies such as Charlotte Tilbury as this is capturing not only the digital market but providing a new experience for customers to try when they return to physical stores. This is a huge benefit for so many companies as it provides them with an experience that they have never had before.

With so much to change in the next five years, there are several ways that this is set to continue in 2021. How do you think that this will continue to change in the not too distant future?

Are CEOs Really Necessary Anymore?

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StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective Article |CEOs|Are CEOs Really Necessary Anymore?It seems like a ridiculous question to ask, somewhat like wondering whether cars really need drivers. Just imagine all the things a driver does every second in order to reach a specific destination: taking in vast amounts of inputs about current conditions of the vehicle’s motion, receiving thousands of changing data points from all the visual clues about lanes, traffic, signs, pedestrians and all the other moving vehicles in the vicinity, then comparing all this information to a previously set route, and making all the complex choices necessary to arrive safely.

You could almost think about that driver as being on the receiving end of a firehose of data, sorting out the most important patterns, and then turning all of that into a best course of action — the very definition of Intelligence. And that’s why we’ve come so close to going from data that one human can process, to Big Data, which requires dozens of sensors to process.

With increasingly vast bodies of knowledge about experiences, one can see how business Intelligence, with enough computing power, became Artificial Intelligence. And, so, before too long, the taxi you’re about to hail in Phoenix, shows up; Poof! No driver necessary.

Which brings us back to those folks in the corporate driver’s seat — the CEO. Doesn’t much of a CEO’s job consist of being on the receiving end of ever-increasing floods of data that can now be gleaned in real time from inputs around the globe? The tick of every sale quickly contributes to a pattern revealing how the marketplace is receiving our products at every given moment. Supply chains are linked to these inputs, as is every other variable the CEO needs to be concerned about, from available corporate resources to stock price.

And as AI begins to make choices based on mining Big Data, the role of the CEO as patchcord between data input and decision output seems destined to become smaller and smaller until, at some point, an organization is going to run autonomously. As futurist Ray Kurzweil observed in 2005, in the near future, machine intelligence is going to exceed human intelligence. He named that moment, the Singularity. Will there be a moment when the Singularity arrives in the C-suite? It seems inevitable.

AI or Human Agency?

Or maybe not. Maybe great organizations are not really machines, like some automobiles or even spacecraft, that can complete their journeys without human intervention. To find out, it may be worthwhile to make some sharp distinctions between what Big Data driving AI can do, and what it cannot. BDAI (for short) is excellent at making sense out of the current state. It’s also pretty good at making predictions about trajectories, given no black swan or other -unforeseen circumstances. So BDAI is pretty useful for management to be able to see where we are and where we might be headed.

But, what about agency, or intentionality, or what today we generally call strategy? If we have enough past information of competitive successes and failures, BDAI is capable of helping leaders develop options. In some instances, in a large consumer products organization, for example, it is not difficult to imagine letting BDAI decide the optimal number of versions of a toothpaste brand, which will maximize performance in the marketplace, and even continue to optimize those decisions over time.

Yet, what happens when there is a genuine disruption in a marketplace, when new inventions shuffle the whole deck? If BDAI had been in place at Olympus Camera on the day that Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone, would the company’s management information system have warned leadership that the pocket camera industry, at that moment, was entering an irreversible swoon?

CEO’s Role- Wisdom and Innovation

Finally, we come to the two basic responsibilities that a CEO can perform that, as yet, BD and AI together cannot. The first is to make wise decisions over time that express a coherent vision. The second is to lead innovation. Famously, Steve Jobs had no interest in market research when imagining where Apple needed to go next. He thought in broad terms about what human beings might do with powerful new tools, and went about creating them. Sometimes, it took a while for people to get what Jobs was giving them, but eventually, he re-ordered the world.

Same for Elon Musk. Musk’s long arc in guiding Tesla from highly-ignored sports car, which financed the luxury Model S, which, in turn, made possible the 3, is now crushing an entire global industry. And, underneath it all, still not widely-perceived, is that Musk is also transforming the global electrical grid with a complete infrastructure of vast battery capacity.

Jobs, Musk and other disruptive founders built their organizations to maximize the value-creating potential of their visions. Those organizations are no less than the living, breathing manifestations of their founders’ identities and are as unique as the founders themselves.

After the Founder

Once the founders have departed, subsequent leaders, in order to maximize the quality of their decision-making, will always need to be aware of the identity that still pulses at the heart of their organizations. Without this essential understanding, the dangers are ever-present that the easy persuasiveness of Big Data, married to the seemingly incontrovertible direction supplied by Artificial Intelligence will, eventually, lead even the most successful organization astray.

So, are CEOs really necessary anymore? Yes, if they realize that their main job is to ensure that the identity of their institutions provides the center of gravity around which Big Data and AI are reliably deployed. Otherwise, companies are in peril of becoming driverless, autonomous vehicles, subject to an uncertain future fraught with potentially lethal hazards.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Gerald SindellGerald Sindell is a partner of The Identity Dynamics Institute. He was the CEO of two New York publishing companies, Tudor and Knightsbridge. He has been instrumental in developing enterprise operating systems for EOS Worldwide, Accenture, and The Balanced Scorecard Institute.

Key Office Trends in the New Normal

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StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective Article |New Normal|Key Office Trends in the New NormalBefore the COVID-19 pandemic, companies were used to having employees commute to work every day and spending all day long within office premises. The coming of the pandemic toppled many age-old workplace institutions and norms as companies shifted to remote working. Businesses and employees had to adapt to new ways of working as the old norms vanished, ushering in a new age of novel technologies like Zoom.

Before the pandemic, only 12 percent of American workers were working remotely full-time. This figure is even higher than the six percent in the UK. Even with the vaccines’ distribution spurring some optimism of returning to normal business, experts have indicated that traditional office life and the pre-pandemic working station may no longer be attainable.

Flexible Working Solution

The working environment and culture, how we know it is changing every day, and many people are still figuring out the perfect set up. Remote working has seen workers set up serviced offices in their homes, while others share space with the rest of the family. Employees at major tech companies like Google and Twitter are already working from home as long as they wish, with an option of switching to remote working permanently.

In addition to protecting their employees, companies will have to rethink the office space and arrangement to maintain comfort and flexibility. Companies will also have to contend with some employees juggling between remote working and commuting to the office.

Wellbeing and Human-Centric Design

Another significant shift in the new normal will be creating office designs emphasizing employee safety and empowerment. The pandemic has shown the value of minding others’ health and wellbeing, and companies will be paying attention to this as they reset the office.

The post-pandemic office design will consider things like handwashing facilities, built-in social distancing, flow management, readily available PPEs, and hand sanitizer points. This will not only protect employees but will also boost employees’ confidence and alleviate anxieties.

The use of Technology

Office design will prioritize smart buildings that collect and share information on when and how to use different spaces. This is very important in the context of social distancing, contact tracing, and space rationalization.

Companies are installing touchless technologies and thermal imaging systems to safeguard employees from the transmission and allow easy movements around within the office premises. There are also desk booking apps that ensure only one person touches an individual desk each day.

Connectivity and Community

The new normal will see an upraise of design models that emphasize hospitality and leisure. There is a focus on amenities and communal experience to attract and retain the best talents. The pandemic highlighted the importance of interpersonal relationships and how interactions are essential both at work and in personal life.

Reassessing Company Values

The pandemic has forced companies to rethink and reassess their values and principles. The lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic will cause companies to execute necessary internal shifts to adapt to the new normal.

2020 Analysis: Which Financial Services Sector Saw the Greatest Upsurge in Demand Due to COVID-19

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StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective Article | 2020 Analysis: Which Financial Services Sector Saw the Greatest Upsurge in Demand Due to COVID-19COVID-19 took the world by storm, inflicting people across the globe with many health concerns. Its impact was also felt in various industries and businesses, including an upsurge in financial sector demand. A study by Awaken Intelligence investigated how the financial sectors in the US and UK have been coming during the crisis.

The research can be found at www.awaken.io/blog/boom-or-bust and was derived from collecting Trustpilot data. They used this data to determine the demand for various financial sector services in the initial months of 2020 when the pandemic hit and the same months in 2019.

Financial Service Sector Growth in the UK and USA

The two nations have experienced an increase in demand for financial services. However, there is a significant difference between them. While the Uk saw a 175% increase, the US only saw a 47%. Despite this, both rises were sudden and unprecedented, forcing financial service providers to update their business models quickly.

In-person meetings were out of the question, and these services typically rely on them. Switching to new procedures was imperative if they were to deliver high-quality assistance to customers regardless of the pandemic. Customers flooded support centres with calls and messages, and many found it difficult to adjust to the demand.

As a result of the nature of the COVID-19 enforced changes, even the most traditional businesses had to embrace modern technology and recognise its value. With the increased availability of self-service websites and application, pressure on customer service agents was lightened. Through the use of technology tools such as voice analytics, it has minimised the average call handling time while enabling satisfactory customer service provision.

Banking & Money

Banks and other loan businesses in the UK readily offered clients a break period and holiday payments on credit cards, loans and mortgages. Banks also reduced rates on new loans in an attempt to attract customers and generate revenue. With certain branches being closed, banks would provide great emphasis on their online and mobile platforms to be used during the pandemic. Banks wanted customers to remain safe in the knowledge that they could still access a variety of services on their online platforms and still receive additional help regarding any queries that they may have.

The UK people took advantage of these offers, and the sector saw a 204% rise. Though the US experienced a 148% rise in demand, this reflects a need to borrow additional benefits did not facilitate that.

Real Estate

In March, the UK placed the conveyancing process on hold. This prevented completion form taking place and home viewings were against COVID guidelines. Surprisingly, the nation still has an 87% rise in demand for real estate services.

Due to the initial pause in the sector, there was a backlog of eager buyers and sellers. When the government reopened markets in June, demands poured on. Another factor that facilitated the rise was eradicating stamp duty by the Uk government, which is to remain until spring 2021.

The US witnessed a nominal 3% growth. Different states had their regulations guiding competitions and home viewings. Still, the main factor was that new listings became rare because property owners were unwilling to sell in a period of economic upheaval.

Insurance

One of the things people cherish about the UK is the National Health Service. Unfortunately, its services were quickly stretched because of the influx of COVID-related health issues. Scheduled appointments and procedures had to be pushed back to since healthcare providers needed to prioritise coronavirus patients.

Numerous individuals were compelled to seek private healthcare to reduce the NHS’s pressure while ensuring they received the best care. This shift resulted in a 311% increase in insurance demand in the UK. In the US, a rise took place, but it was only 26%.

The hike in demand in the US was relatively low because many Americans already have health insurance and did not need to purchase any because of the pandemic. Those who do not have insurance likely lack access on account of affordability. The pandemic did not suddenly make insurance coverage affordable.

Health insurance was not the only form that witnessed growing demand; travel insurance grew in popularity. Usually, only a minority of travellers claim their insurance, but the numerous cancellation resulted in a flood of claims.

Credit & Debit Services in the UK saw a 52% rise, but they dropped by 16% in the USA. Investment and Wealth experienced a 30% rise in the US and 119% in the UK. The financial sector is currently bracing itself for another impact as a second wave hits the two states. The uncertainty of these times holds the danger of rising unemployment rates and financial struggles.

What’s the buzz about CLEVER DEFI? The internet’s latest buzzword.

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StrategyDriven Editorial Perspectives Article |CLEVER DEFI|What's the buzz about CLEVER DEFI? The internet's latest buzzword.It has recently proved false to believe that saving money in the bank is the only way of achieving financial independence. Banks pay low-interest rates that mostly depreciate money saved in the bank over time. Also, conventional and better investment prospects stocks and ETFs deliver less than 10 percent of investment interest annually. To solve this issue CLEVER DEFI has become a buzzword these days. CLEVER DEFI is a decentralized network that guarantees users interest of up to 11% each fortnight in preserving their native CLVA token. CLEVER plans to create a crypto-ecosystem to guarantee the reimbursement of all users with a scheme that provides equity and interest over a DEFIned timeframe.

What is Clever DEFI and its Principles?

CLEVER DEFI is a (Decentralized Finance) Protocol that distributes AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS over 888 fortnightly cycles, which takes exactly 34.15 years for all CLVA to be minted on a pre-programmed routine cycle schedule. Up to 11% PAID FORTNIGHTLY in compound interest for all CLVA Token holders. Think of CLEVER as a smart digital way of STORE YOUR WEALTH, which pays a considerably higher rate than an obsolete bank account with little to no interest.

It indicates that CLVA Token holders can build an extended environment for CLEVER DEFI over a long period. Furthermore, after its initial launch, the cycle span of 888 cycles is automatically inserted into the blockchain via smart contract and cannot be amended or changed. Set upon the ethereal network, the CLEVER PROTOCOL provides an exclusive smart contract that implements a decentralized distribution mechanism (DDM). The DDM also sets the minting number of the CLVA tokens and is responsible for distributing CLVA holders with interest payments. One of CLEVER DEFI’s key features is that users are not forced to lock their tokens for the payment of interest as other DEFI protocols demonstrate. Token holders can decide to sell or swap their tokens at any time without losing interest. For the tokens move, CLEVER does not enforce lock-ins and fines.

The DEFI industry is full of investors searching for the best yield-farming prospects. CLEVER provides holders some of the best ways to gain incredible returns on their portfolios. At the end of the first 12 months, investors who mint and keep CLVA tokens will have an interest rate of up to 307%. This is up to 445 percent in the second month and 600 percent about the other income-farming protocols by the end of the fifth year of holding. In terms of average annual returns over 10 years, CLEVER is over 60 percent above common Bitcoin cryptocurrency.

Compare this with other yield farming protocols in the DEFI industry and put CLEVER DEFI at the forefront of the list. The average annual interest rate for token holders is calculated at 80 percent per annum across a ten-year timeframe. This goes way beyond other financial assets, including top assets such as ETFs and Bitcoin, which accounted for less than 15% in a decade. This allows investors to gain higher returns from CLVA Tokens than other traditional financial assets.

CLEVER runs a zero supply scheme in which the CLEVER Team does not have tokens pre-mined or pre-owned. During the minting, stage are all tokens generated on the CLEVER smart contract. CLEVER is thus immune to price manipulation and guarantees true transparency in its environment. This process CLEVER uses a different way of rewarding the development team, unlike other DEFI systems, where founding teams dump their token after launch. Every cycle is sent to the CLEVER team for production and overall blockchain maintenance of 0.1 percent of CLVA tokens.

CLEVER DEFI has well-defined token omics that guarantee no unreasonable returns to retain its native CLVA token. That is important because the DEFI industry is filled with shoddy token omics that hinder the creation of these projects in the long term. A total of 1 trillion CLVA tokens will be generated in the 888 cycles by CLEVER Decentralized Dynamic Mechanism (DDM). The CLEVER Smart Contract incentives often reduce the per period and are intended to reduce inflation.

CLEVER DEFI provides robust and decentralized services through which users manage their funds fully. No compulsory contract requirements exist and before earning interests, users are not forced to enter a staking phase. With its DEFI services, CLEVER DEFI is hitting the nail on the head. No unrealistic claims or faulty token omics exist. A framework that offers interests based on routine cycles is well supported by the DEFI platform.