Category: The Future of Work

Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work3 Comments

The Future of…Work Is Learning; And Learning Is the Work

ThisMuchWeKnow

Last week, under my Curious Kids tag, I relayed this concise learning message: We use two metrics: Is your child engaged? Are they happy? If not, they’re not learning. – Matt Goldman @BlueSchoolNYC Of course, after thinking about my kids I also applied this maxim to myself, and to colleagues. It seems equally apropos. I am a huge fan of Harald Jarche’s work. His maxim, in the networked age, is: Work is learning and learning is the work. If that is true, then, just as with children, we should ensure that the work – and the learning –  allows us to … Continue reading The Future of…Work Is Learning; And Learning Is the Work

Social Business, The Future of Work4 Comments

Diary of a Reflective Employer…

ThisMuchWeKnow

I was hiring recently for a social business intern. This is what I shared with the co-op faculty and student base after the fact… *********************** Where I work, we have a rolling intern position for a smart, dynamic, activated student to help us with MarComms projects covering social business (social media metrics, channel management and maintenance, research), design (websites, infographics, branding), creative work (video editing, writing), small-scale communications project management. The reason we turn to an intern is the hope / expectation that their ongoing experience in the social domain as a digital native can stimulate our approach to work. … Continue reading Diary of a Reflective Employer…

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Sponsor Disruption 5: Show-Up

ThisMuchWeKnow

The last part of sponsoring disruption is to <Show-Up> differently. It is about showcasing how you have worked through <Model> <Upskill> <Bulk-Up> <Polemicize> and WOW – look at me now! Prove that it was all worthwhile. By now, you are working differently, networking more, have more knowledge at hand and beyond your fingertips. You are social. Hey, maybe even people like you more (no promises there). You made some bold promises and you delivered them. Now, take it to the proverbial NEXT LEVEL. Yes, it’s that time. The NEXT LEVEL You have moved through the disruption and are modelling the … Continue reading Sponsor Disruption 5: Show-Up

Social Business, The Future of Work1 Comment

Sponsor Disruption 4: Polemicize

ThisMuchWeKnow

Polemic may be necessary months or years in advance of change. It may be the deciding factor in moving forward. To sponsor enterprise social disruption will usually require a loud voice, fearsome hand gestures and bulging eyes. [If you are one of the lucky ones who snuck social technology in whilst no-one was looking – and it stuck – bravo.] Polemic may be more useful in the embedding process of social, especially when the groans appear and some voice of reason looks for roll-back to the crappy old environment that everyone used to hate… Creative Tension In any case, even though … Continue reading Sponsor Disruption 4: Polemicize

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Sponsor Disruption 3: Bulk-Up

ThisMuchWeKnow

You are sponsoring social disruption in your organization, and reorienting around the disruption requirements of  <Model>and <Upskill>. Now, ready yourself for the shitstorm / backlash; and <Bulk-Up> already. [Next up: <Polemicize> <Show Up>.] Haters Be Hatin’ This is a very simple idea that is not particular to the social enterprise / E2.0 etc. New ideas, change, reframing – all these have haters, often with good reason. We have all found ourselves on the other side of the fence at times. You will have people in low, high, sideways, hidden places who will throw barbs, admonishments, you – under the bus. … Continue reading Sponsor Disruption 3: Bulk-Up

Social Business, The Future of Work3 Comments

Sponsor Disruption 2: Upskill

ThisMuchWeKnow

The Future of Work will be heavily disrupted. If you want to survive / prosper, you should try to sponsor it. My five sponsorship requirements:  <Model> <Upskill> <Bulk-Up> <Polemicize> <Show Up> Today, let’s Upskill! Industries / occupations change at varying paces. MarComms, mine, changes at warp speed (it seems to me, at least) and at exponential warpiness. Obsolescence has become a close personal advisor to me. At any time, I have 3 years to reinvent my skillset. This cycle will tighten further, I am sure. Constant R&D What can one do? Work harder – for sure. Be smarter – why … Continue reading Sponsor Disruption 2: Upskill

Social Business, Story + Narrative, The Future of Work1 Comment

Sponsor Disruption 1: Model

ThisMuchWeKnow

So, we are looking at the Future of Work, heavily disrupted, perhaps, from our experience of yesterday. In the last post, I listed five requirements for sponsoring disruption so you can, at least, surf the enterprise social tsunami to safety:  <Model> <Upskill> <Bulk-Up> <Polemicize> <Show Up>. Today, let’s discuss Model. The social enterprise is personal, flat, equalized. It does not run by diktat, but through cooperation and collaboration. Therefore, you cannot impose social and expect it to work. Flip through any social business report and you will see very average deployment success rates <return in future post on the need to … Continue reading Sponsor Disruption 1: Model

Personal Branding, Social Business, Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work4 Comments

This Much We Know Manifesto

ThisMuchWeKnow

I have been writing about Manifestos…to live by, so I thought I had better stitch one together myself to see if it fits. It does, loosely for now. 1. Cultivate – Curiosity It all begins with curiosity. “Our number one value isn’t in any of the skills we have. It’s that we’re essentially curious.”  – Jim Coudal via @brainpickings Curiosity is the kick-start, the pre-requisite. It allows us to move forward, in the footsteps of children. John Pilger had it right: “…the first step is to engender an approach, enable the measurement of distances and walking toward. It is show … Continue reading This Much We Know Manifesto

The Future of Work4 Comments

The Future Of Work: Sponsor Disruption

ThisMuchWeKnow

The last reflection on the Deloitte report on Human Capital Trends 2013. Disruption “Today, disruptive innovation is the rule, not the exception… Leadership styles that worked well in the past simply aren’t good enough to cope with this dynamic environment.” Disruption may occur in your industry and your product / business model may crumble in front of your very eyes. But for me, more prescient is the disruption that social technology brings to the workplace experience of individuals and teams; and the career arc of those individuals. In other words, I am not so interested in business turnarounds. My interest is in people turnarounds, because … Continue reading The Future Of Work: Sponsor Disruption

The Future of Work1 Comment

The Future of Work: Living the Dream!

ThisMuchWeKnow

Another slice through the data in the Deloitte report on Human Capital Trends 2013, today we look at leadership impacts…and this one is personal. The report lays it out straightforwardly: “Yesterday’s leadership theories are not keeping pace with the velocity of today’s disruptive marketplace. Organizations are seeking a new model for the age of agility.” The new normal?  Perpetual uncertainty; jagged markets – finding “ways to operate successfully in markets that are worlds apart in every way—socially, technologically, and economically”; and instant obsolescence.  Ah, yes. Obsolescence. A personal favourite of mine. I have embraced the current three-year obsolescence cycle (and I might need to revisit that length soon enough…) … Continue reading The Future of Work: Living the Dream!

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The Future of Work: Three Sides of the Same Coin

ThisMuchWeKnow

The recent Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2013: Leading indicators report has some pretty juicy reflections on the coming Human Resources shitstorm as organizations try to deal with the changing workforce dynamic and narrative. The enterprise has to develop a new type of talent partner “that resides outside their four walls.”  The report further argues that organizations need “alignment of the talent brand and corporate brand” and has the usual HR / business focus areas to consider: creating a value proposition, leveraging social media, ensuring employees can fully contribute, communicating properly etc. Nothing earth-shattering, but good, wholesome stuff, like a focus on engagement: “There’s a … Continue reading The Future of Work: Three Sides of the Same Coin

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The Future of Work: Defining “Talent”

ThisMuchWeKnow

One of the big intellectual shifts I have made in recent times is that I will not be an “employee” my whole career (writing as someone who had barely an entrepreneurial bone in his body, I had always imagined a corporate life.) So, I am building muscle as “talent”, and reorienting my professional work around networks and new talent service models. There is some good content about this in the recent Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2013: Leading indicators. Increasingly, we will work in a wirearchy, coming and going via projects and connections, in and out of the enterprise, often running parallel work … Continue reading The Future of Work: Defining “Talent”