The Opportunity Is Immense, We Need Courage and Connection
www.posiv.cz ǀ 27
BUSINESS
The Opportunity Is Immense,
We Need Courage and Connecon
Karel Janeček is a mathemacian, visionary, and entrepreneur who does not shy away from big
topics. In his projects, he connects educaon, technology, and social changes with the belief that
synchronicity and purpose are not empty concepts, but the key to managing crises and moving
society to a higher level. In this interview, he openly shares his views on success, the purpose
of innovaon, and the courage that he believes is essenal for managers and leaders in mes
of transformaon.
Today, a company’s success is no longer measured
solely by economic indicators. What advice would
you give to leaders and managers
who want to prosper while also building
resilience and a positive culture?
It is important to realise that every company and every
leader should feel a personal responsibility for
the wider impact of their activities. However, this
is not something that should be enforced by the state
in a directive way. It is a natural process of human
growth, where the responsibility for the broader
impact of a company’s actions comes from within.
Today, we stand at a crossroads of history. The decision
is now whether we allow power structures to misuse
of technology for control and loss of freedom,
or whether we transform technology into a shield
that protects freedom and strengthens trust
between people. Technologies such as asymmetric
encryption and open systems offer us the chance
to build an ecosystem that will be resistant to abuse
by totalitarian structures. Recommend to leaders: build
resilient communities and connect not only within
business, but also beyond it.
For a long time, I have been preparing a project
called the Ark of the 21st Century, which connects
entrepreneurs and active individuals into a network
capable of functioning even in times of crisis, without
dependence on the state, once logistical or other
systemic problems arise.
Artificial intelligence is a huge driver
of transformation today. What is your perspective
on its use?
It is important to understand that artificial intelligence
is not the intelligence in the human sense of the word.
It is simply a smart computational tool that efficiently
extracts and processes data, saving people time
and energy. This is remarkable, and everyone who
works with it is surprised by its efficiency.
AI itself is nothing new, but today it is becoming
a powerful tool today. Its impact depends on whoand
how controls it. However, if a future, even more
powerful, generalised AI were to fall under the complete
control of a totalitarian regime, it could lead to a very
dangerous scenario of eternal totalitarianism. Unlike
dictators, technologies do not die. This is why it is
crucial to have an ethical framework and to establish
and encode axioms of values, including the protection
of freedom, to which every future technology must
be subject.
Is there any advice you would give to your younger
self?
If I could give advice to my younger self, or to any
leader today, I would say: do not underestimate your
emotions and intuition. I used to believe that emotions
didn’t belong in business and that it was necessary keep
a cool head. I was an advocate of a purely rational
approach, but today I know that this was a mistake.
The greatest human strength lies in the ability
to connect rationality and with emotion. Rationality
and analytical thinking are essential for understanding
processes and data, but emotions and intuition are
the compass that allows us to make decisions with
regard to values, people, and meaning. A person who
only uses his heart can be easily manipulated, while
someone who only only it’s mind may lose their sense
of direction and, ultimately may become ineffective.
Only the connection of both allows you to navigate
effectively in uncertain times.
Every company and every leader
should feel a personal responsibility
for the wider impact of their acvies.