We are living in uncertain and extraordinary times, and extraordinary feats are being delivered daily by committed workforces for which speed translates into jobs, businesses — and lives — saved. Innovation is a necessity in times of crisis, made easier by the expectation of fast delivery and the singular goal to coalesce and organize against. COVID-19 has driven this unprecedented disruption — two years of transformation has happened in two months, and innovation is happening at light speed — something that leaders will expect to continue beyond the immediate crisis. Sustaining that momentum — keeping innovation at the heart of change and ensuring that the efficiency gains made during the crisis do not go to waste — will become the next challenge as businesses plan their return to work.

The financial services industry has always been toward the head of the queue when it comes to innovation, recently spurred by open banking, a change introduced by regulators in many parts of the globe that forces innovation and collaboration onto the strategic agenda.

Please Join Our Complimentary Forrester Webinar On Innovation

On Wednesday, June 10, I’ll be discussing innovation within financial services and lessons companies have learned on collaborating to deliver value to customers and positioning innovation as a vital tool, with Olly Betts, cofounder and CEO of OpenWrks, Claire Calmejane, chief innovation officer at Société Générale, and Bidyut Dumra, executive director and head of innovation at DBS Bank. We will be exploring the role of innovation, how they embedded it within their firms, how to build a supportive culture, and how to successfully collaborate with nimble disruptors. We will, of course, also be examining how innovation is being used right now to meet the challenge of COVID-19 and how it will continue to drive business forward as we move beyond the initial phases of the crisis.

As you head toward a less certain future, one where assumptions are redrawn and challenges continue, you also head into a once-in-a-lifetime period of change, an opportunity to question and reimagine how and why things are done on the path to rebuilding. So to learn how to put innovation to use as you do this at your firm, and keep it central to the agenda as you look for opportunities to strengthen and rebound, please join us on Wednesday, June 10 at Forrester’s innovation and technology event. I hope to see you then.