Dave Desforges began piloting "Work From Home" solutions over 3 years ago. His role required identifying additional candidate requirements and necessary remote work practices for both employees and managers at Sun Microsystems. His current work encompasses blending appropriate technology, organizational practices, and workplace environments to support mobile and distributed teams.
Jim McGee is currently a Director at Huron Consulting Group. He has spent much of the last 30 years working to understand, design, and apply information and technology innovations in organizations. Before Huron, Jim taught at the Kellogg School and was one of the founding partners of DiamondCluster International. With Larry Prusak, he was the co-author of Managing Information Strategically (Wiley, 1993). Jim has both an MBA and a doctorate in Information Technology, Organization, and Strategy from the Harvard Business School.
Regina Miller has more than 18 years of experience in Organization Development, Human Resources, Leadership Development and International Operations. Regina recently launched a global consultancy called The Seventh Suite which assists growing companies bolster their competitive edge via aligned strategy and progressive people practices. Her last corporate job was as the VP HR/OD for Oskar (Vodafone) which has been dubbed “one of the fastest growing mobile operators in Eastern Europe.” More info here.
Giovanni Rodriguez - Through a combination of luck and persistence, Giovanni has worked in the company of some of the most interesting and colorful leaders in several worlds: the law, theater, and technology. Today, he is a principal at Eastwick Communications, a Silicon Valley PR agency, where he advises both emerging companies and market leaders on executive leadership, public speaking, marketing strategy and media relations. He has worked for, consulted and advised numerous businesses and organizations including HP, Stanford University, Fujitsu Computer Systems, Cadence Design Systems, VMware, the American Arbitration Association, and the Unified Court System of New York. He is a graduate of Princeton University (Religion and Anthropology), and he has done graduate course work at the Columbia School of Journalism and N.Y.U.
Jim Ware is a cofounder of the Work Design Collaborative and the Future of Work program. He has over 30 years experience in research, executive education, consulting, and management, including five years on the faculty of the Harvard Business School. He was the lead author of The Search for Digital Excellence, (McGraw-Hill, 1998), and holds Ph.D., M.A., and B.Sc. degrees from Cornell University and an MBA (With Distinction) from the Harvard Business School.
I tend to think about power a lot, as it is a core attribute and tool in organizational dynamics. Today, I think traditional ways of generating and keeping power are under significant pressure. After reading Jennifer Rice's post, Brand Humanity: From Processes to People in Brandshift, which talks about how companies are people and we need to focus on those people (and their skills and weaknesses) vs. the processes in order to understand why customer service is so bad (for one), I immediately thought of power. I commented:
Here's one angle into this: People need to gain power (and be rewarded/recognized as powerful) for sharing information vs. hoarding it. When you become an information sharer, you have to be searching constantly for more information to share. You can't stop sharing, because then your power disappears (vs. hoarding where your power is mysterious and can be milked for years without actually doing anything). This information has to be valuable, and you will increasingly need to look for it outside of your traditional organizational boundaries. That is when you will see a dramatic shift in listening (and responding) to customers and other audiences. The good news is that this process (especially with blogging and other network-building tools) is underway.
I copied that comment here because I'd really like to get your feedback on it, particularly as it relates to the debate about the new age organization referenced by Regina below. Can you point me to some examples where this process actually occured?
Here's another article that chronicles how professions are changing, particularly as it relates to the variety of cross-disciplinary skills that are required. As more and more people start working at the intersection of technology - social sciences, for example, I suspect entirely new insights and industries will emerge.
Recently I posted about the fact that I am a member of the freelancers union here in NY and that because I am a member of this group I have healthcare coverage. Sara Horowitz sent an email to members and so here are a few new things from Working Today that might be of interest to many of you. Here is her email:
"Read "The Rise of the Freelance Class" and find out how your experience compares to that of your peers. Is the story that emerged your story too?"
"Freelancers are creative, independent, entrepreneurial people. Many are fiercely dedicated to the freelancer lifestyle. Survey respondents said things like, “I’ll freelance till my fingers bleed.” “Never say never, but I
don’t think I’ll ever work for a corporation again.” Could these be your words? Come to our new message board to talk with others about your freelance life and attitude."
"Freelancers are politically engaged and coming together as a group. Almost all have voted in a national election. About half feel that they belong to a freelancer community, and they think that’s important. Do you agree? Let us know what you’re thinking. Participate in our message board
and help build our freelancer community." (But where's the Freelancer's BLOG??)
"Freelancers are getting the word out about who they are and what they need. They’re no longer content to be politically invisible and entirely on their own fending for benefits like health insurance and retirement. Do you know any members of the press? Share The Rise of the Freelance Class
with them and help spread the news. Freelancers are on the rise. And people should know."
-an organization less like an army (hierarchical, focused on winning) and more like a family/community (collaborative, focused on well-being of members) than today's large organizations;
-better able to deal with complexity;
-has a flexible definition of 'work' that is purposeful and meaningful to its people;
-is accessible, inclusive and diverse;
-is responsive to the communities it operates in;
-is self-managed, innovative and entrepreneurial;
-generates deep mutual respect and trust in its people;
-is resilient and agile, and capable of 'acting in the moment';
-attracts people skilled at collaboration and inclined to work collaboratively;
-has a self-determined, shared set of values;
-is committed to "not being evil";
-is amoeba-like (permeable borders, good sensors, able to change shape when necessary, a strong guiding nucleus, and replicable;
-is attuned to and responsive to customer needs (rather than "trying to sell them something they don't really need or want");
-accommodates needs and conflicting demands of its people, using principles of reciprocity;
-motivates and engages its people;
-cross-pollinates people, ideas, knowledge, points of view;
is transparent and authentic;
-is not location-based or location-dependent;
-uses sustainable, cradle-to-cradle practices, and does more with less;
-engages customers and other partners in design, development and decision-making, to tap into the wisdom of crowds;
-has rotating leadership, with leaders who see where the future is going before others do, and inspires others to act on that vision, and who are able to translate the complexity around them into simple truths that have meaning, direction and predictability (rather than encouraging the cult of leadership and the messiah complex of many of today's leaders);
-accommodates and leverages the skills and qualities of women;
-finds and clears away obstacles that prevent its people from doing their best;
-learns from nature;
-teaches people to communicate extraordinarily well, and encourages authentic, powerful conversations;
-recognizes our responsibility to leave a legacy for our children, and pays attention to them and learns from them
For those of you who are deeply interested in experience design, I recommend taking a look at Corante's newest blog, called - strangely enough - Total Experience. It's being produced by my good friend and certified Internet guru Bob Jacobson and his colleague Paula Thornton. Check it out. --jim ware [Tag: design]
Marc has always done superb work and this is no exception. Full of ideas you can adapt to all kinds of design problems. It is also an excellent example of what you can do with presentation materials if you are willing and able to take the time (and are as talented as Marc). As design becomes a more integral part of management practice, this is the kind of practical material you like to have nearby.
This presentation made by Marc Rettig and Aradhana Goel is one of the finest examples of using down-to-earth methods and practices to create engaging user experiences. [PDF file: 7.5MB]]
Some interesting point-counterpoint on the relative merits of organizational scale, but I can't help but smile at the notion the 80+ employees constitutes "big." To me the more interesting question here is how low we've been able to drive the scale of micro-businesses such as 37Signals who are able to have impact and presence far beyond their size because they are able to operate within the largely open ecosystem that is the internet.
Clearly annoyed by all the attention on small teams, Mena Trott goes on the record to defend big (relatively speaking). I especially enjoyed her comments because she’s in a unique situation — she’s seen Six Apart go from 2 in a bedroom to 80+ spread all over the world. Her perspective is valuable and respectable. And her passion is clear.
Several weeks ago I posted some thoughts on what Charlie Grantham and I call the “ReFormation of Work” (Parts One, Two, and Three are available here, here, and here). I was pleased to see the reactions and comments that our admittedly “far out” thoughts stimulated. Not everyone agreed with us but we clearly touched some raw nerves.
In fact, we really do believe that nothing short of a reformation in management practice is required to cope with the changes that face virtually every organization and the entire economy these days.
Specifically, our experience suggests that your future business success depends directly on your ability to understand the shifts that are occurring and to redefine your workforce, workplace, technology, and business strategies accordingly.
The Washington Post Magazine contained a very interesting article this weekend, entitled "Heaven Can Wait" that explores how retirement is disappearing for some people. Given the demographic realities of America today, delaying retirement is an increasingly necessary thing:
Having examined the demographic trends, the labor force stats, the health and longevity data, the projected costs of Social Security, Medicare and other government programs, the experts have come to a strikingly widespread consensus: Never mind that golden-years stuff. Keep working.
Of course, the government is thinking up ways to "encourage" us to keep working. And given the benefits, there may be a moral imperative to keep working as well, for the good of others.
So one prescription is obvious. Whatever else lawmakers do or don't do -- if they raise the age of Social Security or Medicare eligibility, if they establish private retirement accounts, if they index benefits for longevity -- it would be a fine thing, the wonks agree, if we'd keep working.
It's practically the public-spirited thing to do. If we remained in the workforce longer -- and labor force participation among older workers does appear to be inching upward -- we could postpone the age at which we receive Social Security checks, thus easing the drain. The higher taxes we would keep paying (including continued Social Security contributions) would help fill the federal coffers. And we could ward off a labor shortage that might threaten the whole economy.
The article offers three "serious changes" delaying retirement requires. Do you think these are the most important three? Do you have other ideas? Please share!
(a) Modifying traditional pension practices and regulations that discourage people from working longer.
(b) Persuading employers to get as excited about retaining or hiring older workers as labor analysts are.
And (c) subjecting the societal expectations and sense of entitlement built up over 70 years to a fast U-turn.
The Work Design Collaborative (WDC) announced yesterday that it has received a grant from the Gaines Family Foundation to create a new industry and professional association, to be called the “Distributed Work Industry Association” (DWIA).
The new association will focus on developing industry standard productivity measurements, provide professional development programs for industry leaders, and seek to influence state and federal regulations that help or hinder the growth of distributed work.
The full story is available at the Future of Work blog (which is sponsored and maintained by Jim Ware and Charlie Grantham, co-founders and Executive Producers of the Work Design Collaborative).
What happens when you combine the disciplines of instructional design, corporate communications, work design and incentive systems? You get human performance technology, a professional practice which seeks to build excellent performance in the workplace. I first ran into HPT, as it is known, via an announcement for an upcoming Ragan conference: Communicating with the Workforce of the 21st Century. I thought it sounded intriguing, so I got in touch with Dr. Diane Gayeski, the chair of the conference, a professor in the field and a practicing HPT consultant.
What I discovered was a discipline that, while heavy on published theory, has never really caught on as a major business buzz word. Its roots are mainly in military training, and has strongly rationalist process and assumptions behind it. Given this background, HPT has focused on uniform job/performance requirements, quick and efficient training, top-down management and an emphasis on compliance. Adoption of the practice has often stumbled given its “home” inside the corporation: the human resources and/or training department, generally not known for being a center of strategy with a seat at the boardroom (unfairly or not). Add to that multiple departments all trying to prove they have the “keys to performance”, you end up with people tripping over each other; they have little incentive to cooperate. All of these issues are recognized by Dr. Gayeski and other thought leaders in the field. But they stand by the basic premise of HPT that offers so much promise: the ability to improve department and company performance.
Giovanni Rodriguez
Elizabeth Albrycht
Dave Desforges
Jim McGee
Jim Ware
