Jacob Morgan's Blog, page 27

Relying on Offices is so 1990!

A few weeks ago I had a book launch event in NYC hosted by REGUS. One of the big topics of discussion was all around offices and their role in the future of work. In other words, do we need to continue to rely on offices as the only place where we can get work done? I’m sure by now you know what my stance on this is. Absolutely not, we do not need to rely on offices. Today, as long as we can connect to the internet we are able to get our jobs done regardless of where we are or when we are connected. This means employees can work from home offices, cafes, co-working facilities, or anywhere else they can get wifi.

I wrote about this topic in much more detail in an article titled “Why We Don’t Need Offices,” where I explored 8 reasons why relying on corporate offices is obsolete. However, I wanted to explore this topic a bit more in a recent episode of The Future in 5!



 

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10 Principles of The Future Manager

Following up on my post around the 7 Principles of The Future Employee, I wanted to share another concept which is the 10 Principles of The Future Manager. When it comes to the future of work it’s not just employees that are changing, managers are also having to change the ways in which they lead and in fact are HAVING to become leaders. These are 10 core principles or characteristics that managers will and must possess going forward. This image is taken from my book, The Future of Work.

 

Is a leader

There has long been a distinction between managers and leaders. Managers were the dictators and leaders were the visionaries. Going forward a manager MUST be a leader, that is, he or she must earn followers and not command respect. Being a manager is something you earn not something you are assigned to do.  A manager cannot be someone placed in a position of power simply because they bring in the most money or are the best at delegating.

Follow from the front

This concept is all about the manager’s responsibility to remove obstacles from the paths of employees. A manager exists to make his people more successful not to have his or her people serve them. When a manager follows from the front he paves the way and enables team members to become successful.

Understands technology

Managers don’t need to become experts at every new technology that comes their way. However, now that technology has become such a crucial part of how we live and work it has never been more important for managers to grasp which technologies have the potential to benefit the organization and which new technologies might be coming their way in the near future. A manager must a keep a good pulse on technology.

Leads by example

A manager must be the first person to demonstrate a new behavior, to support a relevant technology, or to embrace a new concept. A manager cannot lead by delegating and ordering, a manager can only lead by demonstrating; they are the guinea pigs, the ones on the front line, and the ones who will help drive change.

Embraces vulnerability

A manager need to be ok with asking for help, admitting when they are wrong or when they don’t know something, and will feel comfortable when team members ask questions and voice their opinions even though they may contradict theirs. Embracing vulnerability is what leads to innovation, it’s about bringing down the stereotypical façade that managers are supposed to have (being robots) and being people. We are already talking about robots replacing many human jobs, let’s not jump the gun by having managers act like “human” robots. Managers must be people.

Believes in sharing and collective intelligence

A manager understands and embraces the fact that they may not have all the answers or make the best decisions nor should they want or be expected to. A manager knows that it is far more effective to rely on the collective intelligence of a team instead of the directions of one. This manager also acknowledges the benefit and value in sharing information instead of hoarding it; something that is largely being made possible with collaborative technologies.

Is a fire starter

Managers are oftentimes credited with having to “put out fires,” but their role should be the exact opposite! Managers SHOULD be fire starters; that is sparking ideas, challenging convention, and experimenting.

Gives real time recognition and feed-back

Any manager worth their weight in salt knows that annual reviews are not effective for either the organization or the team members. Instead managers will focus on providing their team with real time feedback and recognition through collaborative technologies and platforms and through regular, short, periodic check-ins instead of multi-hour long reviews.

Is conscientious of personal boundaries

A manager recognizes that team members have their own space, both digitally and physically. This means respecting those boundaries and being aware of when it is appropriate to “friend” someone through social channels, if/when it’s ok to schedule a 6am meeting or a 10 pm presentation, or if it’s ok to send emails or projects through on the weekends or during vacation time. With our ability to always stay connected managers must remember that connectivity doesn’t always imply availability. A manager must work towards setting expectations that boundaries exist and are respected.

These are The 10 Principles of The Future Manager and you can learn more about them and plenty of other concepts around how the workplace is changing by reading my new book, The Future of Work.

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Will Facebook at Work, Work?

Here is the second episode of The Future In 5, the video series where I share my ideas, insights, and commentary on the future of work in five minutes or less!

You may have heard the rumors that Facebook is launching a version of it’s popular social network for businesses to use in the workplace! In this episode of TheFuturein5 I share my thoughts on why I think Facebook has a strong opportunity to dominate this market but I also highlight some of the key challenges that they will have to overcome in order to become successful in the enterprise collaboration space. This has the potential to dramatically impact both consumers and businesses!   If you want to get all the latest videos from me on the future of work then make sure to subscribe to the Youtube channel!

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Are You Spending Too Much Time Focusing On Millennials?

Here is the first episode of The Future In 5, the video series where I share my ideas, insights, and commentary on the future of work in five minutes or less! In this episode I talk about millennials in the workplace and if some organizations might be spending a bit too much time focusing on this one generation. If you want to get all the latest videos from me on the future of work then make sure to subscribe to the Youtube channel!

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Introducing The Future In 5, a New Video Series on The Future of Work!

I’m very excited to announce a new video series I’m launching called The Future in 5. For each episode I will be sharing my thoughts, ideas, and commentary on the future of work in five minutes or less. My goal is to provide content in a more fun, interactive, and casual way to engage with my community more effectively. I will try to do a new video every day if I can! Here’s an introduction to what this show is all about, make sure to visit The Future in Five page to subscribe!

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The Alliance – Managing Talent In a Networked World

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http://traffic.libsyn.com/futureofworkpodcast/podcast__Guest_Chris_Yeh_Done.mp3

 

What this episode is about and why you should care

In a world where employee tenure is shrinking and where independent workers are on the rise, organizations are struggling to find a new way of working with employees. Employees in the meantime are thinking of ways they can develop their careers while always keeping an eye on “the next best opportunity” to come their way. Clearly there is a challenge for businesses today when it comes to trust in loyalty. So, is there a solution that can benefit both parties? One approach is to use the concepts outlined in a recent book called The Alliance which focuses on “tours of duty” or rotational periods of employment. During a tour of duty an employee commits to completing something for the employer and the employer commits to helping the employee advance their career, learn new skills, grow their network, etc.   To learn more about the “tour of duty” along with other concepts from The Alliance, I invited Chris Yeh to join me on The Future of Work Podcast.

What you will learn in this episode  

What is a “Tour of Duty” and how long do they last?
What are some ways to maintain employee engagement?
What are ways that businesses can utilize and build alliances?
How does trust play a role in the business world?
What are the different classifications of the Tour of Duty
What approach you can use to increase employee retention
Understanding of the role managers pay in an organization
Learn the framework that will help you retain employees
What employees can do to build an Alliance
What employers can do to build an Alliance

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7 Principles of the Future Employee

It’s safe to say that the employee of tomorrow is not the same person as the employee of yesterday. The five trends shaping the future of work helped make sure of that fact. A few weeks ago I also shared another visual called The Evolution of the Employee which compares employees of the past and future. Oftentimes when I speak at conferences or visit with companies they ask me how the way we work is changing and so that prompted me to put together something called the 7 Principles of the Future Employee. The best way to think about this is as the 7 core ways that employees of the future will work. These are details in my latest book on the future of work but a brief summary can be found below.

Has a flexible work environment- Employees are no longer bound to the office where they are forced to commute an hour each way, sit in a cubicle, and work 9-5. Most employees will become location independent and will be able to work when and where they want as long as they can get access to wifi.

Can customize work- I talk about several ways to customize work in by book. The basic concept here is that being hired in one role for a long-term career is dead. Employees will be able to shape their career paths and choose the projects they work on. “Work” will become more like a “choose your own adventure game” vs “finding your way through the maze.”

Shares information- The mentality of “knowledge is power” meant that employees hoarded information so that nobody else could take credit for their ideas. Unfortunately this doesn’t help anyone. The mentality going forward is all about, “sharing is power.” The employees who share their ideas and information and use collaborative technologies and internal social networks are going to be the ones that succeed and grow their careers.

Uses new ways to communicate and collaborate- Email is no longer the most effective or efficient way to communicate or collaborate. Many emergent technologies such as internal collaboration platforms are going to start to replace email in many situations.

Can become a leaders- For the first time in the history of business, employees have the unique opportunity to become leaders within their organizations by sharing their ideas and feedback in a public and transparent way for their peers, managers, and executives to see. Never before were employees able to build their networks within an organization at scale and get recognized for their contributions, technology has dramatically empowered employees!

Shifts from knowledge worker to learning working- Knowledge is a commodity, to be the smartest person in the room all you need is a smartphone. What is far more valuable than knowledge is the ability to learn new things and apply those leanings to new scenarios and environments. This is what the employee of the future needs to focus on, “learning to learn.”

Learns and teaches at will- The traditional way to learn and teach was largely guided and dictated by organizations who set out training programs, manuals, and set courses. Technology is connected employees and information together anywhere, anytime, and on any device. This means that learning and teaching can happen between employees without official corporate training programs or manuals. Have a question? Tap into the collective intelligence of your company. Want to show someone how to do something? Whip out your smartphone, film it, and upload it to your organizations collaboration platform for your peers to see.

These are the 7 Principles of The Future Employee…this is how work will get done over the next few years and it has already started in many organizations around the world.

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Independent Workers and the Freelancer Economy

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http://traffic.libsyn.com/futureofworkpodcast/Gene_Zaino_Podcast_Done.mp3

 

The one stat you need to know

The 4th annual 2014 MBO Partners State of Independence in America workforce study reports a growing headcount of 17.9 million “solopreneur” independent workers – or those who regularly work 15 hours or more per week as independents, with most working more than 35 hours per week. This is up 1.2% from 2013 and 12.5% from the base year of 2011. This growth, which is more than 11 times higher than the 1.1% growth in the overall U.S. labor force during this 4-year period, demonstrates the continued, structural shift toward independent work.

What this episode is about and why you should care

Today, approximately 30 million workers in America are considered to be independent workers, that’s almost 10% of the population and this number is expected to grow quite a bit. Long term and life-time employment is dead so we are seeing businesses and “employees” shift towards a new way of working. This need breed of independent worker values being their own boss, autonomy, and flexibility. A recent study by Oxford Economics found that 83% of executives are actually going to be increasing their investment in the contingent workforce over the next few years. It’s easy to scale, manage, and fill skill gaps when needed. Not to mention it gives people the opportunity to work with top talent and companies from around the world. But what impact will this independent workforce have on how we think about employees and organizations? How will this new type of worker impact the future of work?

In this episode I talked to Gene Zeno, CEO and founder of MBO partners, a leading business platform that helps independent consultants succeed. They offer services that support the freelancers in tax handling, expense, benefit, payment and contract management with direct vendor access into enterprises. We cover quite a bit in this podcast, enjoy!

What you will learn in this episode

What does the freelance economy mean for the businesses? What does it means for us as employees?
What is the state of freelance economy in America and the world
How to define a solopreneur, an independent worker, or a side-giger
What role does government regulation and policy play in the freelancer economy?
How will our traditional idea of employment change?
Is long-term employment realistic?
How are companies changing the way they think about work and are they shifting to more task and project based styles?
What should organizations be thinking about when it comes to the freelancer economy?

Links from the episode MBO partners

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The Five Trends Shaping the Future of Work

If there’s one thing that we can all agree on it’s that the world of work is changing…quickly. The way we have been working over the past few years is NOT how are we are going to be working in the coming years. Perhaps one of the most important underlying factors driving this change is the coming shift around who drives how work gets done. Traditionally executives would set the rules and pass those down to managers who in turn would pass those down to employees. But as Dan Pink aptly put it, “talented people need organizations less than organizations need talented people.” In other words employees are now starting to drive the decisions and conversations around how work gets done, when it gets done, who it gets done with, what technologies are being used to get it done, etc. The next few years are going to bring about dramatic changes. But why now? What are the key trends that are driving this new future of work? There are five of them as seen below, and before exploring anything else around the future of work it’s crucial that we understand these.

New behaviors

Ten years ago if someone were to tell you that you would have all this information about yourself public for the world to read, see and hear, you would have said they were crazy. Now look at where we are, we are so much more comfortable living more public lives, we build communities, share, communicate, collaborate, access information, and shape our personal experiences. All these new behaviors are cascading over organizations which is forcing them to make changes.

Technologies

Big data, the cloud, the internet of things, robots, automation, video, collaboration platforms, and other technologies are changing the way we work and live. The cloud puts the power of technology in the hands of employees, robots and software are forcing us to rethink the jobs that humans can and should do, big data gives us insight into how we work and how customers transact with use, and collaboration platforms give us the ability to connect our people and information together anywhere, anytime, and on any device.

Millennials in the workplace

By 2020 millennials are expected to make up around 50% of the workforce, by 2025 this number is projected to be 75%. The important thing about millennials isn’t the fact that they might bring new approaches, ideas, values, or styles of working; it’s that there are going to be so many of them. They are by all accounts going to be the largest generation to ever enter the workforce. This is a generation of employees with technological fluency that is willing to live at home longer until they find a company that they truly want to work for. In other words, organizations must shift from creating an environment where they assume that people NEED to work there to one where people WANT to work there.

Mobility

It’s absolutely fascinating that living in the Bay Area, I can access virtually the same type of information that someone else can living in a remote rice patty field in China. Today where you are is starting to matter much less when it comes to being able to do your job. As long as you can connect to the internet, chances are you can access the same people and information as if you were working in an office building. We are connected anywhere and everywhere we go whether it be 35,000 in the air or in a home office.

Globalization

This is essentially the ability for organizations to work in a world where boundaries do not exist. The world is becoming just like one big city. The language you speak, the currency you transact in, and where you are physically located are starting to matter less and less. You can work in San Francisco yet have clients in Beijng or Melbourne; the same goes for employees. Boundaries to working with anyone and anywhere are being crushed and this trend will only continue.

What do you do now and where do we go from here? Well, you’re just going to have to keep reading this blog to find out!

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Work As We Know it is Dead

I don’t mean that work doesn’t exist and that we should all just drop what we are doing and quit our jobs, in fact, far from it. When I say “work as we know it is dead,” I’m specifically referring to the assumption that employees are cogs, managers are slave-drivers, and work is drudgery- these by the way, are all synonyms you can find in the dictionary. This mentality that we are all cogs working for a slave-driver as we go about our daily drudgery is exactly what I mean when I say “work as we know it is dead.”

This idea has been a bit of a recurring theme in my latest book on The Future of Work, and is something that I am quite passionate about. I wanted to share a short ebook or manifesto on this topic which summarizes this concept. It’s completely free for you to read, download, and share. Enjoy

 

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