The Future of Work, Best of the Best Posts – November 10
Isn’t it interesting that when we need to get something done, it can get done? Politics, bureaucracy, policy, ego – they all fade into the background as we crank something out. At this point, it is about doing the right thing.
Last week I had a very large client call and say, “We need to create three videos for a meeting of our executives. Oh, and they need to be done by next Wednesday.” Wow. This is a huge undertaking. And the stories behind the three videos? Getting things done using collaborative, innovative, nonconventional ways that cut through the red tape and deliver. It looks like we are about to create story number four by producing these videos.
So now, it’s heads down, focus time for a number of people to pull this off. And we will. And it will be great.
Besides fatigue, why don’t we work like this more? Just get it done? This is what it will look like in the future of work – so let’s practice now.
This is my challenge for you this week.
Find something that has been stalling and just go get it done. Cut through the red tape and deliver. Then go celebrate a work week well lived.
Here are four posts to fuel your imagination.
Why organizations need self-managed learners – and how you can help
A foundational part of the future of work is self-managed teams. As you dive into it, you can’t have a self-managed team without self-managed learners. Jane Hart is a favorite of mine with her spot on analysis of employee performance.
“Today’s workplace needs employees to continually learn for themselves and stay abreast of developments in their field of work – not just through self-study but through a continuous approach to learning, e.g. in their professional networks and other social channels.”
What To Do About Employee Moonlighting
This gives a number of concerns to be aware of, focusing on how to ensure their productivity. But there is a glaring omission: If they are moonlighting, maybe it is because they don’t like their day job. And if they don’t like their job, there is little you can do to squeeze every little bit of productivity out of them. Instead of watching it closely and being wary of it, I would advocate to embrace it. Encourage them to moonlight. Seems backwards? Yes it does. Maybe I will do a post on this sometime soon to explain why…
5 ways your organization shouldn’t approach social
Another favorite of mine is Oscar Berg. He knows his stuff. This post reminds me of my eBook and numerous posts on How to Fail in Social Business. His post is a great reminder.
“Many organizations see no big change in the existing ways of working after deploying social tools or social collaboration initiatives. Not only has it proven to be quite difficult to make people adopt these tools. It has also proven to be difficult to achieve any significant improvement of business performance.”
Our Obsession With Scalability Must End
Wow. Saul Kaplan is spot on here. Our focus on scalability can often hurt us, and we need to redirect our focus. His last line sealed the deal for me:
“We are still allowing predominant business models to slow down and block the emergence of new business models that can better meet our needs. It’s time to move from the era of the predominant business model to the era of business model proliferation.”