Category: The Future of Work

Personal Branding, The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of WorkLeave a comment

“Can We Fix It?”

ThisMuchWeKnow

We are talking about how we ‘show up‘ at work. <Part I: The Dept. of Why?> Advances in neuroscience in the last 20 years have taught us more about the brain than the previous 500 years. Every leader, organizational effectiveness professional, change agent should be reading about the brain and how it makes us who we are. It also gives us insight into how we can change, if we so desire. “Can we fix it? Yes, we can!” Can we fix it? is a perfect example. It is a simple neurological practice. The basis is this.* One test group of … Continue reading “Can We Fix It?”

Personal Branding, The Future of WorkLeave a comment

The Dept. Of Why

ThisMuchWeKnow

‘Showing up’ is more than being at your desk by 9am every day. It is about, firstly, understanding and, secondly, articulating how you add value. In other words: This is who I am; this is how I show up; this is why you need me. Everyone shows up differently. These are some of the ways I do. How do you show up? If you know the answer, then you know your personal brand. Part 1: The Dept. of Why. As a service provider (MarComms) the easiest and, often, most politically successful approach to work is to wait for a request … Continue reading The Dept. Of Why

Personal Branding, Social Business, The Future of Work3 Comments

How Do You “Show Up” (At Work)?

ThisMuchWeKnow

I sometimes write about the limitations of standard resumes / CVs. They bother me. When I consider the intricacies, narratives and pure interestingness of the human condition – not least my own – then a two-page document full of active verbs, bullet points and random statistics seems just plain weird. I want to feel the quality. I want to understand three-dimensionally. I want to trust my intuition. I want a neural firestorm of dopamine. This requirement for more / deeper ahas! is aided and abetted by online social media and channels. There is suddenly a whole other layer of data … Continue reading How Do You “Show Up” (At Work)?

The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of WorkLeave a comment

Intern Alert! 11 Reasons He Will Not Hire You…

ThisMuchWeKnow

Magical slideshare from Mark O’Toole, and I concur with them all: We have too many applicants who have done too little to showcase their skills in social media, when there are ZERO barriers to entry. Boo. Here’s what I said about it before, echoing the above presentation. Luckily, we have had great people too, like Kitty Chan and Lillian Chow. Hooray. ←This Much We Know.→ Continue reading Intern Alert! 11 Reasons He Will Not Hire You…

Social Business, The Future of Work4 Comments

Charisma Is Over-Rated

ThisMuchWeKnow

From Humanize: how people-centric organizations succeed in a social world “We listed 12 leadership traits, all of which we think are valuable. But we intentionally pulled the traits from two different schools of thought. Six of the traits are ones that are more consistent with traditional leadership thinking in the command-and-control model: providing clear direction, brilliant strategist, leverages best practices, charismatic, holds people accountable, and commands loyalty from employees. The other six were more reflective of the principles that we have identified in Humanize: embraces change, values experimentation and failure, open to diverse perspectives, transparent and shares information freely, comfortable with conflict and participates in … Continue reading Charisma Is Over-Rated

Personal Branding, The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work4 Comments

Entrepreneurship Is ‘Creative Destruction’

ThisMuchWeKnow

There is a growing requirement to inject and manage creative tension in organizations and, indeed, society as a whole. If we do not sponsor change and innovation then we will be lost, beaten by those who do. [I share no direct links to resources – just google “innovation” and “fail” to see how vital pushing boundaries are…] This need to move to the edge is not hocus pocus, nor is it avant garde. It is how every socio-economic advance occurs. It is at the core of how business happens, as Drucker explains. Entrepreneur as Dissenter “Entrepreneurship rests on a theory … Continue reading Entrepreneurship Is ‘Creative Destruction’

Personal Branding, The Future of WorkLeave a comment

Workers Must Be Their Own HRD Professionals

ThisMuchWeKnow

“Most choices we make are believed to be the products of well-considered, rational decisions based on knowledge, but they are not.” Part of the TMWK fascination with personal branding is driven by the fact that the nature of work is changing in front of our very eyes, and we need to respond to it. We often talk about the need of our businesses and teams to be *agile*. Why? Because the world changes so darn fast! So, personal branding can be a shiny document with some cute reflections on how we are seen. Or, it can be a kick-start for … Continue reading Workers Must Be Their Own HRD Professionals

Social Business, The Future of WorkLeave a comment

Social = Relationships = Trust

ThisMuchWeKnow

Social = Relationships = Trust “… when we embed this new social language — words such as collaboration and purpose and community — into our discussions, value creation will flow. Relationships are to the social era, what efficiency was to the industrial era. And we all remember what relationships are built on, don’t we? Trust. After decades of building business on capital, oil, land and silicon, trust will be our foundation for what we create next.” – Nilofer Merchant via Wired ←This Much We Know.→ Continue reading Social = Relationships = Trust

Personal Branding, The Future of Work5 Comments

My Personal Brand: Intrapreneur

ThisMuchWeKnow

I do not pretend to be as sophisticated and revolutionary as the people featured in this Fast Co. article, but the idea of intrapreneurship is a powerful one – one that some colleagues and I are going to co-opt and drive at work. If I call myself an intrapreneur, it means I will drive change, sponsor creative tension, take action whenever I can, keep moving forward, keep challenging myself, my team, my organization to reach for more, to not settle, never settle. I think that is my definition, for now. More from Fast Company on Intrapreneurship: • The Rise Of The … Continue reading My Personal Brand: Intrapreneur

Social Business, The Future of Work1 Comment

“Everybody” Is The New “High Potential”

ThisMuchWeKnow

Once, many, many years ago, aged 13 or so, I was called out as High Potential (Hi-Po) at my local school. I was put in some kind of brainiac class and given challenging mental gymnastics to solve. I am not sure for what end the class was conceived. I remember enjoying it, but probably its main outcome was that I thought I was more special than I was. It took a few years for the arrogance to wear off – when I flunked my A level exams aged 18 and, instead of going to Cambridge to prepare myself for running … Continue reading “Everybody” Is The New “High Potential”

The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work3 Comments

“The Edge” Is The New “Core”

ThisMuchWeKnow

Squeezing a single reference article really tight, thrice over, another important point made by Hagel (who is Co-Chair of the Deloitte Center for the Edge) is how organizations must support and reorient around those workers who are at, and who push, the edge. This means embracing a kind of cognitive dissonance: look for those who are moving in new directions, maybe even away from the organization, and seeing if that is your new tomorrow too.   The edge worker is the future of your organization. No more sucking up to the Big Boss and being a Yes (Wo)Man. No more repeating … Continue reading “The Edge” Is The New “Core”