UK bosses admit tech failings but most aren't bothered

Over two-thirds of UK business leaders have confessed they are too afraid to admit when they do not understand new technology over fears they will look old and out of touch, although over half do not actually think they need this expertise in the first place.

So says a new study by agency BBD Perfect Storm, designed to gauge the views of business leaders on the speed of digital change who are critical to this growth.
The biggest fears among bosses are not understanding new technologies, AI taking jobs, competitors quickly moving ahead of them and the business ultimately collapsing.

The research also reveals that leaders are worried about feeling too old to grasp how things are changing, leading to losing relevance with consumers and employees losing faith in their ability to lead the business.

When it comes to the battle of the sexes, men ranked higher as feeling it is more important to appear to understand, whereas women are more worried about looking behind the times.

The research also looked at what the effects of these views are and how making fear-based decisions only exacerbates the problem.

With over half of bosses admitting to have spent money on digital services without understanding them or that have not helped or worked for the business, the study maintains it is more evident that C-Suite roles have become a lot harder.

Accelerated digital innovation and changing consumer behaviour are creating more decisions to make, at the same time growth is harder to achieve. Choosing where to invest and how to connect with consumers, is becoming complicated.

The study also looked at the psychological effects of digital acceleration, with half of bosses admitting they have lost sleep or felt stressed worrying about the speed of change in the digital world and the technological landscape – with a quarter worried this may soon happen to them.

Yet, despite this, 52% of men and 44% of women bosses feel it is not their job to understand digital technologies and digital change – and would prefer to hire specialists instead to deal with it.

BBD Perfect Storm Co/Labs managing partner Laura Redman said: “The research proved what we had expected – that business leaders are often acting out of fear rather than understanding when it comes to new technologies and digital culture.

“Worryingly, half of business leaders surveyed also feel it’s not their job to understand digital technologies and change. But the lack of understanding will likely increase the fear of being left behind which leads to investment in the wrong places.”