In a world saturated with data but starved of meaningful progress, organisations must ask: are we truly transforming our people, or merely informing our people?

A fundamental misunderstanding persists; information is not transformation. Asset-intensive sectors have seen digital initiatives rapidly expanded to boost effectiveness and efficiency across all enabling asset management functions, thus the vast availability of data and information. However, a critical distinction remains overlooked: the delivery of information is not equivalent to the transformation of people, as people are the ones who are ultimately the ones who will drive the technology.

Chris investigates the consequences of prioritising system upgrades and data visibility over cultural and behavioural change within asset management practices. We as an industry community need to challenge the fact that sustainable improvement hinges not on the volume of available information, but on how effectively people engage with it, interpret it, and act upon it. This then raises the question if current education models (that many businesses adopt) are indeed effective enough when a transformation is needed.

The other question is do modern digital tools align with human capabilities - emphasising leadership, collaboration, and frontline empowerment to drive real transformation. Ultimately without purposeful investment in people, digital progress risks becoming an illusion of change rather than its catalyst.

Peter Drucker famously wrote the phrase “the best way to predict the future is to create it" - In the modern world success is enabled with value added data driven decision making. The people are the judges of what is value to them, and the technology and data available to them must provide insights so they can then make the right decisions to improve. As Asset Management professionals, we all have the responsibility of ensuring we enable our people to be part of a successful future.