Last month, Slalom, a purpose-led, global business and technology consulting company, hosted an evening at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester. Over 180 business leaders gathered to explore how technology can help us to be fiercely human in our work and leadership.
The event began in the museum’s amazing Power-UP exhibition which showcases video games from the past five decades. Guests rediscovered childhood favourites as they networked over welcome drinks and canapés, before venturing downstairs to the Revolution Manchester gallery. The gallery showcases the North West’s rich legacy of industrial innovations and ideas that changed the world.
For one night only, Slalom’s Element Lab212 displayed cutting-edge technology providing guests with the opportunity to ideate about the future.
Paul Squire, Managing Director for Slalom Manchester, kicked off the evening by introducing Slalom and their ‘fiercely human’ approach to consulting. Paul dubbed the approach as 'dead smart with a big heart’. Which he went on to explain as leveraging technology to drive value from the “smart”, while maintaining empathy and connection, enhancing the “heart”. Guest speaker, Sharon Amesu took to the stage to further discuss what it means to be ‘fiercely human', offering the 3 c’s: Cathedral Thinking, Courageous Leadership and Commitment to Action.
The themes of the speeches could be seen throughout the evening as guests experienced a future where humans and technology could collaborate in new ways. Slalom partnered with Createc to bring robotic dogs, Spot and Scar, to life. The dogs roamed freely, inspiring guests to envision a future where humans and robots collaborate. This was enhanced by digital humans Steph, Karim, Joe, and Jasmine who facilitated real-time conversations and interactions.
Augmented reality transported guests into alternative ways of learning and working. Simultaneously, Slalom’s predictive analytics tool used AI to see if it knew guests them better than they knew themselves – eerily accurate.
Guests spent the evening immersed in tech and forging deeper connections against the backdrop of live music performed by Matt Glossop and his pianist. They enjoyed an array of food and beverages, including delicious locally produced Hannah’s Homemade Fudge. The evening was evidence that technology can help us to be fiercely human in our work and to build better tomorrows for all. Watch this short video of Slalom Connects.
