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The Future Role of e-Business

by Steven

I often think about what I want to be when I grow up. Although I am technically grown up, I constantly strive to evolve as a human being, so I'll always have some growing to do.

When I was in kindergarten, I wanted to drive a fire truck. But by the time I got to first grade, my dreams of being a fireman were over: I wanted to be a cowboy and ride all over the wild prairies. My career goals took a sudden shift once I hit puberty. I just knew I was going to be like James Bond and travel the word, drive fast cars, and be smooth with the ladies. In college, although the life of James Bond was definitely still appealing, I realized that business, specifically helping organizations achieve their business goals, was a more realistic life plan. But before I could start, however, I knew I had to come up with concrete objectives to project my plan to fruition. And then I made sure that my career path was guided by these objectives.

At our recent e-Business Roundtable, we had a special session for the winners of this year's Top 10 Intermediary Web Sites. In this session, I asked them what their teams' future objectives are. Most of their objectives turned out to be quite vague and didn't address the core challenges facing the asset management industry. I challenged these e-business leaders to think about how their roles should evolve. What struck me was that most of them saw that they should be an integral part of the organization, but didn't feel empowered to do so.

e-Business needs to become an increasingly more senior role within asset management organizations. We need e-business teams who can lead their organizations into this not-so-distant future. Senior e-Business heads have to think and act strategically, and work with management to make this happen. Complaining about lack of support is not going to change the perception of the e-business teams. We need e-business leaders, not followers, in these roles.

So, what do I want to be when I grow up? I want to help corporations redefine their purposes and help them have a positive effect on society and on our environment. e-Business leaders want to lead their organizations into the digital age? Well, the only way we are all going to become what we strive to be when we "grow up" is to start now.