I had a whole load to get off my chest. 20 years of uncertainty, maybe. I should have been blogging since the early 2000s, I had it in me, but also an obstinate, lazy streak.

I needed an avenue of investigation to channel my thirst for, and accumulation of, ideas. It turned out to be some kind of future of work / social business thing. I fell in with various similarly seeking cohorts and it just felt right.

I blogged 500 times in two years, learned a lot, helped a few along the way. It was cathartic. I grew up, I limbered up too, for the coming generation of strife and workplace machinations.

I even wrote a post, naturally, about writing 212 posts in one year.

I don’t know much, and I realise afresh each day that there is more and more that I don’t know.

AND! (there should always be an and…)

I am getting better at knowing stuff and synthesizing stuff and using stuff – for good!

Without permission, I pick myself.

I am ready.

And (consequently?) I have stopped writing this year, kinda. Only 28 blogs in the last 12 months; 14 in this year to date. Some might say “That’s still 25 more than I managed!” and tru, dat. But it was a torrent for a while, almost unstoppable.

So, what has changed? Well, I am reading more than ever, parsing data, collating and iterating more than ever. The hunger for learning has not changed, nor the conversation and commitment to sharing, to working out loud.

The difference seems to be my journey arc has shifted slightly. For a year or two, I was in the middle of the conversation about the intractable problem of how to work – coherently and inspiringly – when all about us is change and shifting, sifting sands.

There are a few thousand in that place, all trying to change the world for the betterment of our fellow workers. It is a beautiful thing to observe and participate in. I sucked the marrow of that emergent, hopeful world.

But the intractability of breaking through to the other side – of actually making organizations more open, co-created and optimistic – made me think about how I can actually DO SOMETHING, rather than just talk about what needs to be done.

And I have my answer: CULTURE.

It is, strangely, an emergent term in the workplace: “What goes on ‘round here.” Simple. And I have an advantage – I can describe culture, I can showcase it, I can talk about it and uncover it. This is called MARKETING. And by doing so, I can herald the attributes and practices I believe will prepare us for the future of work.

I am talking less about structures and theories – even though I still believe in them. Instead, I am showcasing the work in practice, and letting others see that work. It is liberating and exciting. I am in action mode, learning as we go what resonates.

Frankie, below, is an example. If learning is pivotal to the future workplace, showcase your number one learner/leader. Not my words, not corporate words, not CEO words – the words of the practitioner.

 

 

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