Tag: creative tension

The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work1 Comment

#WorkHacks – Learn To Learn

ThisMuchWeKnow

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. I retell this story a lot. A few years ago I was a part of a large group of colleagues challenged to discover the secret to, and unlock the potential of, a learning organization. It was a very well-meaning process to get us to be more efficient, to learn from mistakes / the past, to become more innovative etc. The project bombed, it went nowhere, fast. There was a report delivered, and poorly received. The endeavour was still born. Years later, having done so much research and having re-engineered my own work … Continue reading #WorkHacks – Learn To Learn

The Future of Work1 Comment

#WorkHacks – Think Like Millennials

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Millennials are the cohort of people born between 1984 – 2002. They are entering the workforce in droves, and with a seemingly similar number of complaints about their me-first mentality and high expectations of power and pay. Well the rest of us need to get used to it, and it behooves us all to think differently about this group because, according to Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation, Generation-Y / Millennials will form 75% of the workforce by 2025. Say what, now? That’s right, 75%. Millennials will sweep away all in front of them. When I asked some colleagues last week about … Continue reading #WorkHacks – Think Like Millennials

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What Does It Mean To Become A Seeker?

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The more I read about CURIOSITY, the more I am convinced it is the number one attribute required for long-term, future-proofed  success. We live in times of great tumult – we must be agile, and what better preparation for aggressive, ongoing change than a willingness to discover? The ever-impeccable Harald Jarche talks about Gary Klein’s new book Seeing What Others Don’t, how so much of work is focused on removal of error and uncertainty – the process of packing away, hiding, locking down. Insight, however, comes from that willingness to test, to discover, to seek. Which reminds of my favourite … Continue reading What Does It Mean To Become A Seeker?

Personal Branding, Social Business, Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work1 Comment

Introducing Your #SocBiz Change Team: The Lunatic, The Impotent, And The Bullshitter. Which One Are You?

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Being called a (MarComms) Generalist has always made me slightly uncomfortable. It suggests an inability to define one’s service offering. The opposite, a Specialist, also lacks comfort. Being pigeonholed and isolated as a one-trick pony hardly brings succour. So I love how the genius (lunatic?) that was Kurt Vonnegut articulated these brilliant specialist archetypes in Bluebeard (via this kottke.org post) in talking about change. “[M]ost people cannot open their minds to new ideas unless a mind-opening team with a peculiar membership goes to work on them. Otherwise, life will go on exactly as before, no matter how painful, unrealistic, unjust, … Continue reading Introducing Your #SocBiz Change Team: The Lunatic, The Impotent, And The Bullshitter. Which One Are You?

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Being Called ‘Ahead Of Your Time’ Means You Failed

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“Being called ‘ahead of your time’ means you failed.” – Ted Rubin More from Forbes: Confessions of a Professional Disruptor: This seems to run contrary to our idea of disruption.  The ‘person ahead of their time’ is seen as a true innovator, the under-appreciated thought leader of the space.  But what Ted has tapped into here is that disruption is about making change, not just recognizing it.  A disruptor knows how to see it, how to convey the need to others, and how to make it happen. If the timing is not right – the market is just not ready for you – … Continue reading Being Called ‘Ahead Of Your Time’ Means You Failed

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We Are In An Age Of Accelerated Disruption

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To conclude these last few posts on organizational change on the role of individuals to disrupt and disorganize, another extract from this excellent summary of accelerated disruption in Forbes. Disruption At Scale. “Not only does modern social media/tech allow disruptors to collaborate, it also allows them the ability to disrupt/collaborate to or with the masses, at scale; all the while engaging, interacting and building relationships. Therefore the return on that empowers their ability to disrupt.” Companies are now more accepting of change – some are even making hiring decisions and investing in change.  Our accelerated pace to address the needs of an ever changing … Continue reading We Are In An Age Of Accelerated Disruption

Personal Branding, The Future of Work2 Comments

Professional Disruptor

ThisMuchWeKnow

Apropos yesterday’s post on calling myself a Corporate Disorganizer, via Celine Schillinger I read this lovely little collation of the tendencies of a Professional Disruptor. from SAP’s Head of Social Strategy, Ted Wilms. Example quotes: A professional disruptor will arm themselves with the following: charisma, empathy, expertise/insight, doggedness, detachment (to defend against the attack of their ideas), and passion. Further… The status quo will resist the disruptor. Resistance is necessary.  It helps the disruptor frame their ideas and helps them showcase why real change is necessary. YES!. Full of high-five nuggets of goodness for anyone trying to do different in … Continue reading Professional Disruptor

Personal Branding, Social Business, Story + Narrative, The Future of Work12 Comments

I Have Changed My Job Title To…Corporate Disorganizer.

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Recently, I added the job title “Intrapreneur” to my LinkedIn profile. It speaks to my belief that the future of work is changing underfoot. We need to be nimble, upskilling, influencers all. In yesterday’s post I wrote “[of my interest … Continue reading I Have Changed My Job Title To…Corporate Disorganizer.

Personal Branding, Social Business, The Future of Work1 Comment

Want Intrapreneurial Progress? Create ‘Cracks And Leaps’

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I am newly taken with the definition of entrepreneurship from Joseph Schumpeter: creative destruction. Peter Drucker said the entrepreneur upsets and disorganizes. I am trying to apply the same notion inside the organization, even calling myself an intrapreneur. Consequently, this Schumpeter column in The Economist on entrepreneurs rang a bell: Joseph Schumpeter once argued that economic progress takes place in “cracks” and “leaps” rather than “infinitesimal small steps” because it is driven by rule-breaking entrepreneurs. “Entrepreneurs are contrarian value creators. They see economic value where others see heaps of nothing,” the article cites. Inside the organization, intrapreneurs do the same thing. They … Continue reading Want Intrapreneurial Progress? Create ‘Cracks And Leaps’

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7 Answers To 7 Questions You Will Face As you Modernize Your Company

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The always excellent John Stepper has captured the questions we have all (been) asked as we journey the social highway. In my simple, naïve way, here are my answers to them 1. “Can we do that?” Yes we can! Let us coopt the fervor and self-belief of Obama ’08. No hiding, no long verbose explanations. Self-declare a new reality. 2. “What if people say something they shouldn’t?” They won’t. Ever. Of course there is miscommunication and confusion wherever we look (and lawyers, especially, look quite hard). We all make mistakes. But no-one with a name and photo attached to their … Continue reading 7 Answers To 7 Questions You Will Face As you Modernize Your Company

The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work1 Comment

MOOCs Are Not Enough. Education In Need Of Quantum Change

ThisMuchWeKnow

This is personal. As a father to two young kids about to enter formal education, I feel a need to foster a sense of awe and wonder in them about what they can achieve, to challenge them to move above, to move beyond… I am no education expert, nor am I a pushy parent. I do believe, however, in the need for large-scale progressive change in what education means; and what it holds for our children. MOOCs are a functional change in the service offering of education. They move us in the right direction. but, quantum change, at extreme velocity, demands … Continue reading MOOCs Are Not Enough. Education In Need Of Quantum Change

Social Business, The Future of Work4 Comments

The ONE Thing You Need To Prosper In #SocBiz? Relentless Humanity

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This is an article you must read, if you want to understand social business. No, not understand it, I mean “get it”; feel the quality; live and breathe the future of work. Work is human; and it is humane. Technology may be the backbone of organizational change, it may be a driver, but technology is not the THING. People are the THING. How we commune, orchestrate, succeed – these are human endeavours. Stowe Boyd and Megan Murray both understand this; they live it and breathe. Theirs is a quite lovely and human exchange. I like to think of myself as being relentlessly … Continue reading The ONE Thing You Need To Prosper In #SocBiz? Relentless Humanity