Mark V. Smetanin

Unlock Success for Airbnb and Short-Term Rental Business. Recently by Improving the Product - Increased Engagement by 42% , conversion rate by 74%, and acquired 2.5M new users.

I am a fan of technology and business process reengineering to drive business growth. My expertise lies in product management, agile coaching, portfolio management, and strategic planning.I have experience in increasing user engagement, optimizing technical processes, and leading high-performance teams.

Payments and fintech product leader with 15+ years across digital product development, operations, and
customer experience (10+ years owning payment and checkout platforms). Known for combining strategic UX
with process reengineering to deliver secure, compliant, high-conversion payment experiences and measurable
growth.
Selected Results:
• Reduced failed transactions 28% and improved checkout reliability via gateway optimization and UX fixes.
• Increased retention 58% and reduced marketing costs ~40% through funnel and lifecycle redesign.
• Reduced chargebacks 37% and implemented fraud controls that reduced fraudulent activity ~40%.
• Led $10M+ partner funds operations; improved controls, reporting, and reconciliation visibility

Key Highlights:

Director of Product Management: Enhanced user engagement by 16% and improved product value description by 14% through strategic market research and collaboration.

Senior Product Portfolio Manager: Managed a $1.2M project, leading to an $8M revenue projection and a 17% increase in Net Promoter Score. 
Risk assessment methods were applied, which reduced project disruptions by 24%.

Head of Product Strategy: Increased customer engagement by 42%, improved conversion rates by 74%, and acquired 2.5M new users—reduced marketing expenses by 28% by addressing critical pain points.

Skills and Expertise:

Product Management/Product Owner: Agile Frameworks, Scrum, Kanban, SAFe
Technical Proficiency: Jira, Asana, Hubspot, Salesforce
Industry Expertise: Fintech, E-commerce, Property Management, Vacation Rentals
Certifications: PMI-ACP, PMI-PMP, CSM, CSPO

Professional Experience:

Nine years in product management, agile transformation, and strategic planning
I have experience in leading cross-functional teams to deliver high-performance products.
Skilled in negotiating and managing key partnerships and stakeholders

Interests:

The God's Flow State, Process re-engineering, Growth,  Coffee, Stand-up comedy, Kite surfing, Skiing, Music, martial arts (2 black belts), Reading, Ski, Shooting, Snowboarding, and Hiking.

Lead Product Manager / Product Owner / Consultant

•     Improved a Product using a customer journey map, understanding and prioritizing the most critical pain points in the most profitable segment. Provided clear concept and design strategy. Collaborated with Dev and UX teams. Increased customer engagement by 226%, Improved conversion rate by 74%, and acquired 2.5M, new users.

•     Planned and facilitated an extraordinary spike for (AI) Artificial Intelligence tools and prompts. Fixed and resolved seven major issues when team members just felt stuck. 

•     Raised team confidence after the last check-in. Positive emotions and gratitude are on our happiness radar. The current sprint is 100% happiness VS 78% at the previous sprint. 

•     Organized the most efficient communication with stakeholders and implemented advanced product backlog refinement, reducing the backlog by 16%.

•    Stepped forward with special coaching from our Unique Coach and very advanced Scum Master. Differentiated workflow steps, business rule variations, variations in data, and interface variations, polished and deepened INVEST criteria. Dramatically improved the slicing of our vertical stories. Delivered value ~20% faster with the smallest increments to our customers. 

•   Implemented automated test script, additional smoke test after the build is released to QA, and code review by peers. Armed new Definition of Done (DOD) for our dev team. Changed Sprint Planning Agenda. Raised team confidence level in delivering the sprint goals to 94%. 

•    Implemented automated test script and code review by peers. Armed new Definition of Done (DOD) for our dev team. 

•     Collected the data via Web-tracking and customer interviews,  tested and validated assumptions with the development team. Provided much precise anatomy of personas. Redesigned current marketing campaign reducing waist by 28%

Spikes:
Sustainable and environmentally conscious business practices
Enterprise Agile: Changing your culture

As a global C-level executive and board member across multiple organizations, my career has been defined by a central purpose: leading complex transformations that generate sustainable growth and reinvent industries through technology and innovation. With over two decades of experience across multiple continents—from founding deep-tech startups to directing business units in Fortune 500 & Nasdaq-100  corporations—I have developed a unique approach that fuses strategic vision with relentless execution.

My specialty is orchestrating large-scale change environments, catalyzing digital and operational reinvention. As Chief Information & Innovation Officer at Ferrovial, I lead the technology and innovation strategy to diversify and expand our global business across energy, mobility, construction, airports, and concessions domains. My mandate is clear: drive the adoption of exponential technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, and digital platforms to create new revenue streams and optimize efficiency at global scale.

Previously, as Chief Digital Officer (CDO) at LATAM Airlines, I led one of the most ambitious digital transformations in the Latin American aviation industry, directing a team of over 600 professionals distributed across 6 countries to build the continent's first 100% cloud-native airline. We achieved measurable business impact: over 30% increase in sales conversion, over 20% reduction in OPEX and CAPEX, and over 50% improvement in web performance. I managed and developed over 40 new digital products in just two years.

My trajectory is complemented by high-impact roles as Senior Advisor at McKinsey for the global Travel, Transport & Logistics practice, and as Senior Advisor to NASA's Chief Innovation Officer. I also held executive positions at Iberia, including VP of Customer Experience and Madrid-Barajas Airport Director, where I led teams of over 5,000 people.

This diversity of experiences, combined with a solid foundation in civil engineering and continuous executive education at institutions such as Harvard Business School, Stanford, ESADE, and IESE, has provided me with a deep understanding of how to scale innovation from conception to global implementation. I currently serve on boards and advisory councils of organisations, including Forbes Technology Council, WSJ CIO Network, CIONET, Executive Technology Board, Board of Innovation, Bankinter Future Trends Forum, etc.

My passion is building and leading high-performance teams that can convert disruption into tangible and sustainable opportunities.

Dimitris Bountolos

𝐂𝐮𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 #𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 #𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.🏎️

It’s striking to see how many ultra-performance car brands were born and survived in such a small part of Northern Italy: #Ferrari,  #Lamboghini, Maserati, #Pagani, #Alfa_Romeo, #Bugatti, #Lancia...

In a hyper-competitive market, this density was not luck. It was the result of factors that reinforced each other over decades.

🔧 𝐀 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤: 
Artisans, mechanics, leather experts, precision engineers. All within a few kilometers.

🎨 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐃𝐍𝐀 𝐚𝐫𝐭 + 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 
Cars designed as moving sculptures, not just efficient machines.

🔥 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥: 
Constant comparison raised standards for everyone. Collective dissatisfaction became progress.

🏭 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: 
Long-term vision preserved relevance and scale beyond individual brands.

🏁 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐛: 
Win or lose on Sunday, improve on Monday. Continuous R&D before the term existed.

🧭 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬: 
Leaders embodied vision, values, and purpose. Brands had faces and character.

💎 𝐋𝐮𝐱𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: 
Exclusivity came from feeling, not showing.

📖 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡: 
Italy knows how to tell stories. And stories build aspiration.

🌍 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭: 
Talent flows where ecosystems are strong. Geography still matters.

🏎️ 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞:
Cars were built to race first, to sell later.

This was not coincidence. It was cumulative causality: 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 + 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 + 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 + 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 + 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.

Italy built brands with soul long before marketing named it. And in a world where technology keeps homogenizing everything, that emotional DNA remains a real competitive edge.

For any #country, #company, or #leadership team aiming to transform its value proposition, the question is simple:

💡 What do you bring?
💡 What already exists? 
💡 What can the ecosystem amplify?

🚀 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥. 𝐈𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬.

#Leadership #Innovation #Ecosystems #Strategy #BrandBuilding #DigitalTransformation #CompetitiveAdvantage

Not long ago, recreating the past meant rebuilding it physically.

📍 Months of preparation.
📍 Millions in budget.
📍 And a bit of luck.

Today, lying on the couch and multitasking thanks to AI, we can create scenes like the soldier in 1917 almost as easily as ordering a pizza. 🎬📱

When entry barriers disappear, the incentive changes. It stops being purely economic and becomes historical and social. The ability to recreate moments that many never saw or lived—but that changed the course of history—is no longer just entertainment.

It’s an educational and cultural legacy. We now have the tools to create: 🧠🌍  

🔵 Stories that teach.
🟡 Stories that help societies remember.
🟠 Stories that turn collective lessons into something tangible and shared.
🔴 Stories that inspire future generations to do better. 🚀

#Innovation #DigitalTransformation #Leadership #Technology #AI #Education #Storytelling #FutureOfWork

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭? 🌑 🧑‍🚀 🚀 

I was born a decade too late to witness the Moon landing live. I’ve always felt a bit "orphaned" from that moment—arguably the last time the entire world stood still to watch a collective dream come true.

Recently, I took my daughters (5 and 8) to a space exhibition. I wasn't sure if it would resonate. But within seconds, they were captivated by the "Moonwalkers." They sat glued to the screens, teletransported back to Neil Armstrong’s first steps.

Watching them, I realized a sharp contrast:

The Apollo XI mission was a masterpiece of precision. It was a minute-by-minute script, designed to execute a rigid plan without error.

But as I watched my girls dream about a future I might not live to see, I struggled with a dilemma that applies as much to parenting as it does to leadership:

𝐃𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐎𝐫 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭?

In management and transformation, we are obsessed with roadmaps, KPIs, and 5-year plans. We try to #Apollo everything.

But the next great leap—the one my daughters will take—won't come from a script. It will come from uncontained curiosity. It requires the safety to dream big and the agility to deviate from the plan.

Perhaps we need to stop worrying so much about the schedule and start worrying about the spark.

Maybe the astronauts of the future are today’s “lunatics.” The ones who explore without permission. Who question the map before drawing a new one. 

As leaders, parents, executives, maybe our real job isn’t to control milimetrically the trajectory. It’s to make sure curiosity survives long enough to find its own orbit.

🌕🚀 #Leadership #Innovation #Moonshot #CEOMindset #FutureOfLife

𝐇𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 🎯📊

Most change doesn’t feel dramatic. It feels small. Almost invisible.

That’s the real lesson behind habits: they work like compound interest. 📈 On any given day, the impact is barely noticeable. Over months and years, it’s decisive.

In digital transformation, this is easy to forget.
We chase big launches, bold strategies, shiny tech. But culture, execution, and results are built in much quieter ways.

🟡 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.
🟠 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭.
🔴 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧.
🔵 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝

None of this goes viral. All of it compounds.

You rarely feel the benefit of good habits early.
And you rarely feel the cost of bad ones… until it’s too late.

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞.
𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲.

📍Small actions.
📍Repeated consistently.
📍Over time.

That’s where real advantage is built. 🚀

#Leadership #Management #DigitalTransformation #Innovation #Habits #Execution #Culture #LongTermThinking

Cities behave like living systems. They move to a shared rhythm shaped by intention and by chance. 

From the rigid grids of old military camps, to the diagonal that cuts through Barcelona, to the bold freedom of Brasília, and now visions like The Line.

Urban form is memory in three dimensions. But it’s also a constraint — and an accelerator — for what comes next.

📍 Who we meet.
📍 How often we collide by accident.
📍 What feels convenient, possible, or distant.

Cities quietly shape our behavior, our networks, our growth. What’s changing now is our ability to see this clearly. With AI, we can easily simulate futures, stress-test ideas, and explore how design choices might heal or harm long before concrete is poured. 🤖🌱

The opportunity in front of us is to understand the environments that shape human potential — and to have the tools to evolve them with intent.

#Innovation #DigitalTransformation #AI #UrbanDesign #Cities #FutureOfWork

It was only a matter of time, and it seems it has happened. 

Satellite communications in LEO orbits are establishing themselves as the global architecture with the most deployment and progression. 

Uploading and downloading data today is no longer enough; in an economy driven by inference and increasingly tokenized, enabling the orchestration of model execution directly on satellites acting as moving data centers will turn low Earth orbits into a layer of intelligence, not just for transmission.



https://lnkd.in/eMQUp9kZ

Open article: China's tech firm deploys AI model in orbit, unveils massive space computing plan by global.chinadaily.com.cn

China's tech firm deploys AI model in orbit, unveils massive space computing plan

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭. 🖥️ 

A few minutes ago, I hit a common roadblock. I needed to visualize a blueprint in my daily workflow. Traditionally, this would have triggered a tedious process: checking if I had the right licenses for that specific capability, or fighting through the ads and sign-up walls of "freemium" online viewers.

Instead, my reaction was instant and almost instinctive. I asked my AI agent using any of the Vive Coding tools: Lovable, Manus AI, Replit, Windsurf...    to create a web application capable of opening and editing #DXF and #DWG files.

The result? In barely two minutes, I had a fully functional application and the source code. But more importantly, I had a tailored asset I could immediately share with my team, turning a personal bottleneck into a collective resource.

This isn't just about coding. It’s about a fundamental shift in how we operate.
I have incorporated AI into my routine not just as a tool, but as an "exo-cortex." It allows me to:

📍 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: I demand more of myself, I doubt more, and I analyse faster.

📍 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲: I now execute tasks I used to have to orchestrate through others, making me more productive and effective.

📍 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 "𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞": Applications are no longer just products we buy; they are instant answers to immediate needs.

However, let’s be clear: this superpower requires #discipline, #method, and a refusal to settle.

To drive change at scale in a company like Ferrovial, we must exercise this muscle daily. We are moving toward a reality where the only defence for competitiveness is our ability to orchestrate this individual capability in a governed and managed collective competence. 

The software era, as it was understood, is over. 

#DigitalTransformation #AI #Innovation #Management #Leadership #Productivity #Ferrovial #GenAI

A few years ago, we wouldn’t have been able to process this. 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. Dozens, maybe hundreds of them. Deployed across China in just a few months.

Inside, people fold clothes, open drawers, sort objects, and select parts. Students. Workers. Blue-collar jobs, paid by the hour. Teaching robots how to deal with the physical world.

There’s something deeply uncomfortable about it. Society educates and invests in a generation, only for their skills to become a shared dataset. A collective model. A fleet of humanoid robots trained to take over the very tasks those people could realistically aspire to.

What’s even more interesting is where this leads.

🟠 Training of the robots itself can be delocalized.
🟡 Supervision of the robots can be delocalized
🔴 All robots synchronize capabilities at the same time
🔵 24x7 shifts will be a reality

The future’s cheapest production might come from:
the cheapest possible training, done anywhere, powered by the most efficient compute and energy.

We’re not just automating work: We’re 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.

The next two years won’t be easy to manage. We’re entering a transition without precedent. The real question is not whether this will happen. It’s whether we are preparing #people, #organizations, and #systems for what comes after. 

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞.𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐰𝐧 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤? 🥕🪵

It seems this age-old management and motivational dilemma now applies to Artificial Intelligence.

I’ve been reading fascinating studies suggesting that certain LLMs actually perform better depending on the "politeness level" of the prompt. Tipically the rudest the prompt is the better and more precise the outcome is.

It’s a strange feeling. It highlights a bit of our own human dysfunction mirrored back at us. In management, we often preach culture but unknowingly reward performance under pressure. We tolerate results achieved through friction.

But true high-performance teams—whether human or AI-augmented—shouldn't rely on external force. They thrive on self-imposed commitment, natural alignment, and yes, a framework of cordiality.

Being judicious, grateful, and polite isn't a sign of mediocrity. In a long-term learning relationship, it's actually a sign of excellence.

Here is the risk: If our reward and reinforced learning models teach AI that "𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲" is the goal, they will imitate that bad habit.

In the current "𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠" many seek extreme brevity. But we shouldn't sacrifice context and the nuance of conversation just to save a few words.

We have evolved very quickly from just "searching" the web to "ordering" an AI. Let’s make sure we don't lose our humanity in the process.

💡 Innovation isn’t just about smarter systems. It’s also about the values we encode — explicitly or not.

#Leadership #Innovation #ArtificialIntelligence #Management #DigitalTransformation #HumanCentricAI #Culture

𝐂𝐄𝐒 2026 left us a clear message: robotics and embedded AI are accelerating fast. Humanoid prototypes everywhere, a flood of Chinese innovators… and then something that triggered a very different kind of reflection: Lego’s new Smart Play concept. 🧱 💡 

The idea is seductive. Bricks that sense their environment, react with lights and sounds, and adapt to the set. The first one comes with a Star Wars theme, which makes it even harder to resist.

I’ve admired the LEGO Group  for decades. Their ability to evolve without losing their soul is extraordinary. But this time, I’m conflicted.

I see the innovation. Yet I can’t ignore the thought that if a child needs a “smart brick” to imagine an X‑Wing, maybe the brick is doing the talking while the child becomes a little quieter.

Play is a form of active imagination. It’s motor creativity, sensory exploration, and the freedom to build worlds with no predefined limits.

When we package effects into a finite set of reactions, we also package the imagination that used to fill the space between them.

Maybe Smart Play will unlock new skills I don’t yet see. But I can’t avoid the sense that a 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭.

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𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝 🗺️

We’ve learned to understand cities through maps. 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.

But cities don’t work like that. They change every minute. People move. Objects appear and disappear. Meanings shift. We often ask static questions to a dynamic reality. We look for intersections of ideas as if nothing was moving.

At the same time, cameras, images, and video are capturing cities almost in real time 📸 A dense digital layer, full of details, signals, and context.

That’s the insight behind 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 connecting Large Vision Models with hundreds of thousands of images generated daily in a city like New York.

▶️ Try it:  https://searchable.city/
▶️ About:  https://lnkd.in/eyCjBwZm 

Search stops being about coordinates. It becomes about meaning:

🎨 Show me graffiti
 🏰 Gothic buildings
 🗑️ Trash bags on the street
 🛝 Where kids play
 🪧 Signs in Spanish
 🏗️ Scaffolding
 ❄️ Air conditioning units
 🪴 Plants on windows
 🚸 Student traffic signs
 🚛 Garbage trucks in motion

Each question scans reality, not a map. This changes everything. Semantic search becomes a new way to see the city. And it opens the door to AI agents watching, learning, and supporting public services 24/7 🤖🏙️

City digital twins won’t just model infrastructure. They will add a perception layer.

📍 Able to #sense.
📍 Able to #understand.
📍 Able to #anticipate.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐩𝐬. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

#Innovation #DigitalTransformation #AI #SmartCities #DigitalTwins #Leadership #FutureOfWork

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐱 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬: 𝐀 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩

A few days ago, both Europe and North America felt the same bite: a simultaneous Arctic blast that brought life to a standstill.

Technically, this happens when the Polar Vortex splits. Usually, cold air stays contained, spinning in a stable circle around the North Pole. But when the stratosphere experiences a #SSW Sudden Stratospheric Warming—often triggered by solar energy bursts—that stability breaks. High pressure pushes the vortex south, stretching it until it snaps.

Under this context, the predictable becomes chaotic. Local dynamics shift, and the "freeze" can impact everything from energy grids to harvests for months.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: Strategic Resilience
In business, we often operate within our own "vortex"—a stable zone of predictable KPIs and steady growth. But we live in an era of constant "solar storms."

Whether it's a breakthrough in AI, a sudden shift in global trade, or a change in consumer behavior, external heat creates internal pressure. If your organization is too rigid, it doesn't just bend; it splits.

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬:

📍𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞. Don't mistake a quiet quarter for a permanent trend. The "warmth" of disruption is always building in the upper layers of your industry.

📍𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥; Resiliency and agility. When the vortex splits, you can’t fight the cold. You have to adapt your operations to the new climate immediately.

📍𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 "𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞" 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬. In management, this means identifying where bottlenecks are forming before they force a structural break.

Nature doesn't ask for permission to change the weather. Market forces won't ask for permission to change your industry.

Is your team built to survive the split, or are you waiting for the sun to come out while the ground is freezing?

#Management #Innovation #Leadership #DigitalTransformation #Resiliency #StrategicAgility

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