10 books for the digital transformation of the professional of the future

Check here a special selection of 10 great books on digital transformation and innovations, which will help you on your way to becoming a professional of the future.

The Digital Age has arrived and, with it, the need to reinvent oneself to survive technological innovations. Along with them came a new lifestyle that has been shaping people’s daily lives.

Thus, we created this list of books with the intention of addressing the most relevant topics to ensure that you are able to become a professional of the future.

These are books by great authors that will explain topics such as digital security, the relation between humans and machines, the use of data to your advantage, and the future of the labor market.

The various insights that will be presented throughout this book trail will serve to transform you into a prepared professional who is not afraid of the future. In the end, you will be able to handle any trick the digital world tries to play on you.

In addition to our book trail, you can also improve your hard-skills through the Transformação Digital para Engenheiros (Digital Transformation for Engineers) course from the Grupo Voitto!

So, are you ready to start the digital transformation journey and train yourself for the new now?

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1. The Digital Transformation Playbook – David L. Rogers

The book to start our trail could not be none other than “The Digital Transformation Playbook”.

The summary of this work will help you adapt to the age of technology, as well as present the five domains of transformation – customers, competition, data, innovation, and value – and tools to put it all into practice.

The first step to entering the digital world is to explore networks, whether of people or business. To create and maintain a network of customers, you must be accessible, engage, create personalized experiences, connect, and generate a sense of collaboration between brand and consumer.

The second step is to study the new business model of the XXI century: digital platforms. Study your competition and understand which platform works better for your type of business and which one meets your customers' needs.

The third step is to convert your business data into assets. There are four paradigms you must keep in mind to accomplish this conversion: insights; segmentation; personalization; and context.

The fourth step is to innovate through quick experimentation. Testing a product digitally is faster and cheaper, so don't be afraid to make mistakes! Use failure as fuel for success.

The fifth, and last step, is to adapt your value proposition. Think about your customer and how he will respond to your efforts. Allocate your inputs and resources – talents, time, money, energy – in an optimal way and without closing yourself off to new opportunities.

Now that you know the step-by-step of digital transformation, discover in the following book the companies that have reached the top using these tips.

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2. The Big Nine – Amy Webb

The essence of the book “The Big Nine” is to show which technologies large companies in the industry are investing in and why the main one is Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Intelligent machines are already part of our everyday life, Apple's Siri, or Alexa, Amazon's virtual assistant, are examples of this. For the author Amy Webb, the trend is for the exponential growth of AIs over the next 50 years, to the point where they reach the capacity of human consciousness.

That is why companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, IBM, and Apple (in the United States), and Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (in China) are already investing heavily in this technology.

Despite being a brilliant invention, artificial intelligence machines can pose a huge danger if used in an evil way, affecting the world economy and politics.

If you have already watched the television series Black Mirror, you know that technology can cause disturbing situations. That is why we need to think very carefully about how we will manage tomorrow so that these dystopian realities are not our future.

Thus, the next book is about management of an organization in the current context of changes around the world, which is able to thrive in the 4th Industrial Revolution.

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**3. Gestão do Amanhã – Sandro Magaldi, José Salibi Neto**

The dynamic duo Sandro Magaldi and José Salibi Neto are references when the subject is business management focused on tomorrow. Therefore, the book summary “Gestão do Amanhã” (“Tomorrow's Management”, in a free translation) will ensure that you understand the importance of adapting to changes.

Through a historical recapitulation, the authors arrive at the current moment and state that: "Today your main competitor is the movement of technology."

In other words, change or die!

To survive modern times, you need to create a flexible business with 2 engines – engine 1 is responsible for the day-to-day running of the company, while engine 2 is responsible for focusing on the future of the company.

The leader of a tomorrow-focused organization himself must be flexible, bold, and creative enough to create the future he wants for his company. Therefore, we will talk more about leadership and the work environment in the next book!

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**4. O Novo Código da Cultura – Sandro Magaldi, José Salibi**

The book “O Novo Código da Cultura” (“The New Culture Code”, in free translation) is a guide specially made to help entrepreneurs and managers align their organizational cultures to the new business management model.

Although the transformation of a business is initiated by technology, the real essence of the changes is people. Therefore, a leader must not only focus on changes in business strategy, but also on those of environment and culture.

Immediacy and inflexibility cannot be part of the corporation's artifacts, norms and values, beliefs, or basic assumptions.

So, you must define what the characteristics, beliefs, values, and behaviors of all members are. After that, you can figure out which type of culture makes the most sense for your company.

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**7. Você, Eu e os Robôs – Martha Gabriel**

Another dilemma that the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought is that of the coexistence of robots and humans in the labor market. In the greatest futuristic sci-fi style, the world is being shaped by the use of computer machines, which introduce a new panorama full of possibilities and also bring us new challenges.

For the author of the book “Você, Eu e os Robôs” (“You, Me and the Robots”, in free translation) the greatest impact of the technological revolution is not the technology itself, but how it brings changes in our lives. Education, politics, economics, and even human anatomy are being altered.

In addition, the very structure of work has been changed. As much as technology is able to point out the ‘megatrends”, helping us in the quest to know the future, the acceleration of technological growth has made the future more uncertain and with the only certainty that we are in a new Era of human history.

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8. What to Do When Machines Do Everything – Malcolm Frank, et al.

In the midst of so many uncertainties, there is one indisputable fact: machines are surpassing our greatest qualities and abilities in many areas.

But, when you read the summary of the book “What to Do When Machines Do Everything”, you will realize that the fear of machines taking over our jobs has existed since the First Industrial Revolution.

This fear is still pertinent, and according to Oxford University, in the next decade, about 50% of jobs are likely to be replaced by machines.

However, this replacement is not necessarily a bad thing, because the tendency is for the labor market to adapt through automation, improvement, and job creation.

Therefore, you must pay attention to your strategy to survive in the digital world and be able to become a professional of the future. Use the data and information dissemination that the technological revolution has brought to your advantage.

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9. Click Here to Kill Everybody – Bruce Schneier

Earlier we talked about how to survive in the digital world, but do you know how to survive the hidden dangers of information dissemination that the technological revolution has brought? No? Then the book summary “Click Here to Kill Everybody” is indispensable.

For Bruce Schneier, there is Internet+, that is, it is the full participation of the Internet in the physical world by means of cell phones, computers, watches and the like. However, the interaction implies general and open network connections with less security, which can become more susceptible to attacks.

Another point raised in the book is the two paradigms of security: the world of physical and lethal technologies, and the world of software. Within the Internet+ world, the collision between these two paradigms is inevitable, and to protect yourself from the clash of these processes, you need to update your devices.

There are other evils that permeate the information system, but there are some attitudes and actions that can minimize the damage. Always pay attention first to personal security and make the people around you aware of it.

Now that you understand that data protection is the first step in dealing with new technologies, you will learn more about the challenges of Privacy and Data Protection in Digital Law. Are you ready for the last book on the trail?

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