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The 2020 Workplace: How Innovative Companies Attract, Develop, and Keep Tomorrow's Employees Today – An HR Expert's Battle Plan

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From well-respected human resources and corporate training experts Jeanne C. Meister and Karie Willyerd, a must-read guide to the innovative strategies that the best companies are using to create a workplace that the best talent chooses—both today and in 2020. In The 2020 Workplace , Meister and Willyerd offer a battle plan to start winning tomorrow’s employees today.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2010

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Jeanne C. Meister

6 books3 followers

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5 stars
31 (13%)
4 stars
70 (30%)
3 stars
83 (35%)
2 stars
35 (15%)
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12 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
Profile Image for Helena Ruiz fabra.
22 reviews7 followers
March 4, 2015
While searching for a new job , got the question how will be the workplace of the future in order to prepare better. The 2020 workplace book is a limited horizons canning exercise on how transparency, collaboration, personalization, and hyper connectivity intertwine well in organizations. Trends describe are currently happening and may develop fully and mainstream in the near future.
Profile Image for Brijesh Bartwal.
21 reviews
June 28, 2019
Some one recommended me to read this book. Good thing about book is that it introduce you to varied range of best practices and experiences with those practices. But a naive reader may find it boring. I read it 2019. By now most to the changes predicted in book has already taken shape. Overall it was a good effort.
Profile Image for Alison.
5 reviews
June 20, 2018
I finally got around to reading this 5 years after buying it. I don't think I actually finished it though. not very compelling read.
Profile Image for Eric Nelson.
114 reviews
March 14, 2015
In their sophomoric piece akin to novice science fiction, Meister and Willyerd simply look at the hot topics and trends in the past three years and project them into the future. The book is flawed for several reasons, mostly due to the authors� faith that the management style they describe would actually be viable in a world where shareholders demand results and hold tightly onto purse strings and employees demand a sense of real community�not just a mere online social network.[return][return]Cherry picking for the most blatantly stupid idea, I�ll cite one of their 20 predictions as a clear example of how their clairvoyance lacks depth: �The corporate curriculum will use video games.� If you look at corporate curriculum today, it�s dominated not by video (which one would expect since video has been dominant in culture for over a half century) but rather by PowerPoint presentations and Flash software simulations. Manuals (though often distributed online) are still prevalent. Why hasn�t video taken over corporate training? Cost. It�s very pricey to make quality video, so with few exceptions the only ones that are in use today are introductory trainings for a very wide audience. Now, if videos are too expensive, imagine the dollar signs with developing a video game for your division�s on-boarding. It would never get past the initial proposal.[return][return]Again, flying in the face of reality, contrary to Meister and Willyerd�s predictions, employees will not be able to trump shareholders� wishes for who leads them. Democracy is a great idea, but its place is in the boardroom�not the cubicles. [return][return]Finally, the authors envision a world where social networking is totally integrated into business life, with a �culture of connectivity� and the �ubiquity of mobile technology� blurring the boundaries between home and office and allowing hyperconnected employees to get their social networking fix. Again, I can�t see it. Companies are already struggling to keep employee productivity at reasonable levels as employees access Facebook and YouTube with their mobile 3G and 4G networks, bypassing their employers� Internet filtering. Without some major innovation which doesn�t impede on an employee�s right to use their mobile device, employers are going to be hesitant to encourage employees into social networks which�although promising�are their biggest threat to keeping employees on track.[return][return]In the end, it�s clear that much of the appeal here is the shocking predictions that are better aligned with the current zeitgeist than with the money-centered realities of businesses. The authors would be well to reflect on the fact that social networking is still quite new and it�s not known whether Facebook�s meager replacement for face-to-face community will be sustainable for a decade�or if a backlash and exodus will occur before as people realize that their social needs aren�t actually being met and instead people return to relying on the workplace as a primary place where those needs are met�another dynamic which would prevent the distributed workplaces predicted from becoming a wide-spread reality.
620 reviews49 followers
July 5, 2010
Research-based report on what the workplace will be like in a decade

Corporate learning professionals Jeanne C. Meister and Karie Willyerd bravely predict the nature of the workplace in 2020 despite the current white-hot pace of change – or, perhaps, because of it. They base their bold prognostications on two global surveys, one asking 2,200 working professionals what they want from their employers and the other asking 300 employers how they are preparing for the future. The authors also created case studies based on more than 100 interviews with the leaders of innovative organizations, including Cisco, NASA and Deloitte. They learned how progressive firms and their human resources departments plan to recruit, develop and retain top employees. getAbstract recommends this singular glimpse into the future to professionals who manage workforces and workplaces. This faultless book’s revelations are fascinating and, for older workers, utterly unnerving. (As they prepare to take the stage, Millennials will love it.) Are you audacious enough for the new world? Brace yourself.

To learn more about this book, check out the following link: http://www.getabstract.com/summary/13...
Profile Image for Mike Steinborn.
95 reviews4 followers
April 23, 2013
The current generation coming into the workplace is significantly different that previous generations in that its members expect to be able to use the same social media technologies they use in their daily personal lives in the workplace. Companies seeking to attract and retain the best talent will not only permit this (rather than labeling such use as wasteful and unnecessary) but find ways to use these technologies to connect with and engage their employees, blurring the lines between professional and personal lives and equipping their staff to be their best publicists, recruiters, and achievers.

The last two chapters, "Twenty Predictions For The 2020 Workplace" and "Get Ready For The 2020 Workplace", are especially interesting.

This is my second time reading this book and I find it even more helpful and inspiring this time than the first time I read it! I highly recommend it to anyone looking to enter the future workplace as well as the companies and organizations looking to hire them.
Profile Image for Charmin.
1,097 reviews142 followers
January 18, 2021
HIGHLIGHTS:
1. Your ability to expand your network and your reputation capital will depend entirely on your ability to build relationships in the virtual world.

2. Insist on learning reviews after every major customer win or loss to determine causal factors and to build a common understanding for the next customer proposal.

3. Leveraging what I learned could help others.

4. Honesty and transparency are key facets of authenticity that will need to be instituted.

5. Authenticity – a necessary component of authenticity is transparency

6. Employees are beginning to demand that they are treated as individuals.

7. Be self-directed when it comes to their learning and personal development

8. Digital literacy skills.

9. Creating learning circles – facilitate online mentoring with several mentees.

10. Gen X and millennials want a manager who will help them develop their careers.
Profile Image for Global Donnica.
88 reviews10 followers
October 4, 2012
What an informative book... There are alot of trends happening as we speak. If one isn't paying attention one will be left behind...It's all aboyt Human Capital in every sense of the word and having the backbone to gain and maintain new skils is crucial. Understanding cultural relations will be essential...actually it's NOW...

Time in "out" for collecting a paycheck... Companies want people who can produce not collect dust. This is now more than ever... people...communities...and companies...it's all ona global mindset... It's hightime to leave the racism...bigotry...and ignorance at the door!!!!!
Profile Image for Sondra.
122 reviews1 follower
November 13, 2011
I found this book overall to be boring and not that introspective. It's geared toward Human Resources. I found very few of their predictions for 2020 to be that astonishing or interesting. This review is more positive and gives concrete feedback on the book http://360analysisavenue.com/2010/07/...
I think the boring tone of the book, kept me from really engaging.
Profile Image for Ryan.
21 reviews
May 22, 2015
So THAT'S where these B.S. corporate initiatives keep coming from.

I might be a 30 year old dinosaur, but I found myself disagreeing with a lot of the conclusions of this book. It seemed that the author interpreted the cited data in a way that could only support the arguments made and didn't look at alternative answers. There were some good points about collaboration, but largely there was too much empty HR speak to get my buy-in.
Profile Image for Dr. Gerd Ehrhardt.
6 reviews1 follower
August 9, 2018
If you want to learn how exactly you could best position your business for success in the tech-age, check out “The 2020 Workplace” by Jeanne C. Meister and Karie Willyerd. This is an in-depth look on how industry experts use strategies to create an optimal work environment. Both authors go behind the scenes and share valuable insight on how employers are attracting and engaging employees in a changing workforce.
Profile Image for Alison.
62 reviews
April 17, 2011
Good reading for managers and HR personnel who face the intricacies of finding talented workers across generational and cultural divides. Definitely not written for the Millennials who are defining how the game is played, but rather for the Baby Boomers and/or Gen Xers tasked with recruiting, mentoring and retaining them.
Profile Image for PeterBlackCoach.
146 reviews8 followers
January 26, 2016
Fascinating book which provides a starting roadmap for both organisations and employees as to some trends and issues that will need to be addressed for the seminal changes which will occur in our workplaces as a result of changing demographics, new technologies, new expectations and gloabilisation.

PB
Profile Image for Jeff.
36 reviews
January 10, 2012
Honestly, I made it a little more than halfway through this one. It was a book I had to read for work. It did have a fairly good summary of the impact of social media on the emerging workplace. Might be something to reference back to, but I wasn't motivated to go "cover to cover".
Profile Image for Kevin.
44 reviews2 followers
October 29, 2011
good overview of the coming different generational norms that one must take into account when running ro managing a business in the 21st century. A little light at times but still a quick decent read.
Profile Image for Silas White.
35 reviews74 followers
August 31, 2016
Some good info but generally pretty shallow. A lot of the anecdotal examples from large corporations are essentially useless, unless I suppose you happen to work there. These examples weren't made very universal. Lots of repetition and filler, especially at the end.
Profile Image for Steve Dineen.
8 reviews
February 20, 2011
Good introduction to social learning and the impact this and other technologies will make over the net 10 years
Profile Image for Diana L.
5 reviews
Read
July 8, 2011
listened to the recorded author session
Profile Image for Allison.
11 reviews
November 19, 2011
This is an interesting read. Makes you think about how technology and how 5 different generations in the workplace will impact and change the way we want to work, learn and gain knowledge.
Profile Image for Anne.
144 reviews1 follower
June 13, 2012

Good overview of the future workplace and strategies innovative companies are using to attract and keep excellent employees.
Profile Image for Cheryl Skidmore.
21 reviews1 follower
August 20, 2012


Already outdated. A few interesting things about the generations and changes.
Profile Image for Heather Dixon.
18 reviews
November 11, 2013
A must read for anyone in business...readying the workplace for the future and employee needs, expectations and their unique talents!
234 reviews2 followers
Read
February 3, 2016
The workplace is becoming more social and technological.
Profile Image for Bill Zoelle.
52 reviews19 followers
March 30, 2016
Two critical challenges with this book:
1. It isn't a nonfiction book as categorized.
2. Wild conjecture is stated as fact.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews