Work

business & working

“like changing tires on a speeding car”

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“How it Works” is a 5 minute video by IBM Research that describes the changing nature of the way we work. There’s not much “new” but it is well-presented and I think would be useful as an opener or adjunct to many of my workshops and presentations on learning & working on the Web. I’m sure many of my colleagues would find it useful for similar purposes.

It discusses the main challenges in today’s workplace:

  1. embracing change, and
  2. connecting & working with people far away

IBM Research provides a good metaphor for dealing with constant change in the workplace – ” like changing tires on a speeding car”. I particularly agree with the statement that “Employees are ready … it’s the processes that guide their work that haven’t kept up”.

Everyone is facing these challenges and, once again, the crux of the matter is giving up control in order to have a more resilient organization. Resilience, or the ability to learn and adapt, will be the key factor in successful tire changes.

Love the low end

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A while back I wrote about innovation and learning and especially how the recommendation by Scott Anthony to love the low end, makes a lot of sense for business and learning professionals. “The past 10 years have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of contract positions and freelance workers (previous post) ,” with 2.6M self-employed Canadians in 2008 (StatsCan), compared to 1.7M manufacturing production & administration workers in 2007 (StatsCan).

The self-employed are like start-ups in permanent bootstrap mode.  My experience and those of many folks I know is that we keep our costs as low as possible. We don’t go for expensive office space and many of us use open source software or free web applications. We’ll buy something when it makes solid business sense. That is usually a top end computer or mobile device and perhaps a good car if we travel a lot by road. We love the low end and I believe this will be a long-term trend. If you’re offering business products or software as a service, you had better have a low end version that does the basic job. Some folks will go for the premium edition but only if it is absolutely essential.

Sale

As freelancers and contract workers become more of the norm, forget about selling high-end stuff that larger businesses used to buy. Find that sweet spot that the growing, and highly networked, part of the workforce will not only use but will probably do the word-of-mouth marketing for you.

Sowing seeds of destruction

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John Hagel’s Labour Day manifesto calls for institutions to change and embrace the “passionate creativity” of workers.

Twentieth century institutions are not succeeding in the twenty-first century as new infrastructures take hold. They must change or they will slowly shrink into shadows of what they once were and make way for a new generation of institutions more suited to the harnessing the potential of these new infrastructures.

Meanwhile, back in institutional reality c. 2009, Andrew McAfee’s book on Enterprise 2.0 has been delayed for six months by Enterprise 1.0. Will we see institutions voluntarily changing their business models and then getting on with the new order of business? I strongly doubt it and don’t know of many historical examples of this kind of organizational adaptation. IBM managed a significant shift from products to services and Microsoft embraced the Internet before it was too late, with Internet Explorer. But many industry leaders were originally upstarts in their field. Ford didn’t come out of the carriage industry, Google wasn’t built by a telecom, Amazon did not grow out of a book store, and Craigslist wasn’t into newspaper classifieds. These companies changed the game by building a new playing field. New business models require different organizational DNA and this is doubly true for new management models.

How many consultants and experts are selling the idea that a hierarchical industrial-model organization can tweak a few things and then adapt to a two-way flow of power and authority based on information, knowledge, trust and credibility? With leadership that is willing to cede control, some organizations will successfully transform, but I think that most will fail. It’s more likely that enterprise 2.0 initiatives will excite some passionate creatives in the organization but when this fails they will leave and either start up or work for a 2.0 competitor. In this way, many organizations will sow the seeds of their own demise, but in the long run that will be a good thing.

Working and Learning Together

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I found a recent HBR article on The Big Shift by Hagel & Brown via Betrand Duperrin, who provides his own comments in French (and in English). The key point of the HBR article is that Return on Assets have diminished over the past several decades, in spite of increases in productivity. The authors say that many organizations no longer reflect the realities of the external environment which now includes networks of transparency and multiple knowledge flows.

Twentieth-century institutions built and protected knowledge stocks—proprietary resources that no one else could access. The more the business environment changes, however, the faster the value of what you know at any point in time diminishes. In this world, success hinges on the ability to participate in a growing array of knowledge flows in order to rapidly refresh your knowledge stocks. For instance, when an organization tries to improve cycle times in a manufacturing process, it finds far more value in problem solving shaped by the diverse experiences, perspectives, and learning of a tightly knit team (shared through knowledge flows) than in a training manual (knowledge stocks) alone.

How does an organization adapt to become more transparent? Change the organizational framework from a hierarchy to a wirearchy, incorporating two-way flows of power and authority. According to Jay Cross & Jon Husband:

Intangibles travel via networks, and networks are the infrastructure for doing business in the future. An overarching caveat here: Strategist and practitioner Stuart Henshall said trust is critical. “It’s the one qualitative factor all networks depend upon.”

Without trust, human networks don’t work and without networks, businesses won’t succeed.

Even with an understanding of knowledge flows and networks, organizations are slow to discard training as the primary method of personnel development.  Charles Jennings sees a very limited role for formal training. “The evidence has been around for a long time that formal training on detailed task and process-based activities in advance of the need to carry out the task or use the process is essentially useless.”

The alternatives to formal training programs include the integration of collaborative working and learning using online social networks, and Jane Hart is an expert with many of these platforms, have used and tested a wide variety of them.

So that, in my opinion, is how to address the big shift: to be effective in a networked economy, individuals and organizations must integrate working and learning so that there is no longer a distinction between the two. As Jay Cross & Clark Quinn say, “In business, networks supplement, surround and challenge hierarchies. Sound vision and leadership will inspire, not control, workers. Managers, workers, customers and partners will recognise we’re all in this together.”

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Associations must think laterally

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I’ve worked with quite a few non-profit associations and been a member of several non-profit associations. I’ve also let many of my memberships expire without renewal. In many cases I’ve felt that I could have better relationships through my own networks, via my blog, Twitter or a free social network, like LearnTrends. Associations put me on their listserv, sent me newsletters or maybe let me engage in an online discussion forum, but for the most part they weren’t focused on my specific professional development needs. After time I had moved beyond the core of the association, much as I found that many association conferences catered more to novices. I became more interested in unconferences, podcamps and meetups. I wanted to connect with other members from whom I could learn, not review what I already knew.

Clay Shirky says that associations need to seriously consider how they reinforce lateral line of communications (peer-peer) and not just information from the centre to the membership. David Wilcox covers Shirky’s interview on associations where he discusses the case of the ACLU and Wilcox uses this diagram to describe where associations need to go – from hierarchy to network.

networks5

I think many associations are facing challenges of declining enrollment and I’ve seen many conferences this year shrink in comparison to past years. However, I’ve also seen increases in local networking, tweetchats, free web conferences and anything else that lets people connect on their terms. The challenge is for associations to drop the hierarchical management model and figure out how to use a network model. It’s the same challenge that corporations and bureaucracies are, or will be, facing; with one key difference. In most associations the members get to vote with their dues every year. As more forms of web social media offer viable networking options, the days of the hierarchical membership association may soon be over. Which model would you rather be a member of?

Free-agentry

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We’re about a year into the “Recession” while some “experts” say it’s over and others say it started long ago and will finish far into the future. I think it’s pretty spikey with good news and bad news  floating by as we shift economies and financial systems.

I wrote an article in Nov 2007 about becoming an e-learning consultant and in it I discussed rates and types of work one could focus on. I’m wondering if this has changed much in the past two years.

My own observations include the notion that Work 2.0 has resulted in more fluid and ongoing job searches, that learning is becoming part of work routine and that we now take our social networks wherever we move and need the workplace less for socialization. I’ve also observed a rise in self-employment and made my recommendations on how free-agents can market themselves online.

Is it easier to be a freelancer today, and if so:

  1. what are the major challenges?
  2. are people being forced into freelancing?
  3. are rates going up, down or remaining stable?

In my own case, now in year 7 as a free-agent, it’s been bumpy. There is still work but it’s more difficult to find in certain sectors. Having a diverse client base and skill-set is helpful. Rates seem to have stayed the same, but more creativity in how and what is billed is sometimes necessary. Marketing and getting people’s attention remain as the major challenges.

Finally, there is one area where I’m starting to see a spark of real interest that could grow into a worthwhile vocation – the online community manager. More organizations, for and non-profit, are realizing the importance of understanding and supporting communities of members, suppliers, partners and customers. I’m getting requests for people with the skills and experience in nurturing communities online. For learning professionals with social media savvy, this field has a lot of potential. However, the community manager usually needs sector-specific experience and it may be part-time work, suitable for freelancers to augment their consulting or other work.

Time to get your licence

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In the last half of the 20th century in North America it was assumed that as an adult you had a driver’s licence and that you most likely owned or had access to a car. I know, I didn’t get my licence until I was 26 and that made me a very rare specimen indeed. The optimal way to get around our cities and especially our rural areas is by motor vehicle. Malls are being built that do not have any designated pedestrian or bicycle lanes. We still design as if everyone moves around by automobile.

drivers licence

Well it’s now the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the Web is over 15 years old and e-mail is much older than that. However, many in my generation (the baby boomers) are living as if the Internet is an interesting thing to have around or “surf” but not really essential, like a car is. I’ve noticed this especially with boomers working inside organizations. But things are changing and we see that most younger people own a mobile device and manage several networks on the Web – Facebook, YouTube, StumbleUpon, Digg, etc. For them, a car may be optional, but a mobile Web device is essential.

Understanding the Web today is like driving a car 25 years ago. You need it to get around, work and be social. It’s as important for individuals as it is for organizations. Think back a decade or two and imagine a business without a parking lot; today that’s getting a lot easier to imagine. The Web changes everything and Internet strategy can no longer be left to a few specialists to “do that Web thing”. We all need to get involved and learn by doing. You can’t become a driver without practice and the same goes for the Web. I would suggest that anyone who doesn’t have a learner’s Web permit had better get one soon. That’s especially true for my fellow baby boomers, many of whom are making the decisions at work.

Image by ndanger

Learning about healthy workplaces

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The Project did not last very long but I learned a few things along the way.

First, I saw how England and Scotland are using social media to address the stigma around mental health issues, with Shift and SeeMe. Advocacy and non-profit groups could take some lessons from these organizations, especially Shift’s high quality videos.

A clear answer to my main question eluded me during what should have been the first half of the project, “How can we engage senior leadership in organizations to take mental health seriously and adapt their workplaces appropriately?” Engaging business leaders on what is considered a non-essential area requires much time and networking. It’s a long-term campaign and social media are only one part of that.

I came across Beth Kanter’s excellent resource on Non-profits, health care and social media which included a comprehensive slide presentation. It seems that 59% of Americans (and one can assume Canadians as well) get their health information online. If you’re in the health information business, then you had better be online. Also, connecting people and communities is necessary, as “People tend to trust ‘a person like me’ more than authority figures from business, government or the media.” Here’s another reason why non-profits and advocacy groups should use online social networking – it’s cheap and connects people who share some values.

I learned a lot about mental health in the workplace, such as the fact that 2008 was the worst year for disability claims in the Canadian public service and that over 44% of these are mental health conditions, as reported in The Ottawa Citizen . From some of the facts, I created a slideshare presentation, using CC Flickr photos:

Do You Care?

View more documents from Harold Jarche.

In the short period that I looked at mental health in the workplace, I came to see it as the 21st century version of physical safety. In the 20th century concerned people and trade unions fought to create safer workplaces. Our mines, factories and work sites are now much safer in this country than they were 50 years ago. My step-father died several years ago from emphysema which was partially due to time working in the silver mines of BC without any respiratory filters. Most workplaces today have good policies and practices on workplace safety. In many cases, it’s the law.

Moving to a post-industrial economy many, if not most, of our products and services are now intangible. Much of the work  we do is knowledge work, requiring more brain than brawn. Even farmers need knowledge on a wide spectrum of disciplines (weather, markets, genetics, financing) in order to run a successful operation. Our brain is our primary means of making a living, therefore keeping a healthy mental state just makes sense.

The concept of work/life balance is not just a feel good strategy but is essential for any knowledge-intensive workplace. So, do we really need all the numbers to justify a mental health policy for the workplace? The data show the importance of mental health in the workplace, but we don’t pay attention to it and we rarely discuss it.

What’s the future? A recent Canadian study showed that depression and anxiety affect up to 15% of pre-schoolers. Mental health is an important issue that will not go away and informed discussions are necessary at all levels. I’m glad I learned about this over the Summer.

Mind Map: The Networked Society

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Over the years of writing this blog I’ve reorganized, added tags, categories and the Key Posts & Toolbox pages in order to help make sense of over 1,500 posts. A major theme in my writing has been our shift to a networked society and what that means in how we work and learn. I’m especially interested in the fact that working and learning are merging in many contexts. Learning (often viewed from the limited perspective of training or education) is not a separate activity, removed from work.

This mind map links several concepts and related articles around the theme of the networked society:

Networked Society

Working

Structures

Living

Learning

Relevance in the Network

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In Become a meta L&D Manager (requires free registration), my colleagues Jay Cross & Clark Quinn advise that it’s time to take a broader look at learning in the organization:

“Your charter as head of L&D [learning & development] is to optimise learning throughout the organisation, not just in the pockets that once belonged to HR. This takes a broader perspective than what you deal with day-to-day. You’ve got to rise above the noise to see the underlying patterns and then optimise them.”

In the comments, Martine Parry adds to this topical article, saying that the ” … training role will become responsible for large deployments and for legal and governance issues – only.” This is the root of the change that we are facing in organizations today: relevance in the network. There are many silos of support functions in any large organization, each with their own culture and perspectives on business performance – HR; L&D; IT; KM; Marketing; Communications; et al. And of course there are also the individual business units as well as the key driver of revenue in many companies – Sales. If roles have to merge, who will win out, a business unit or a support function? It’s quite possible that the traditional training function will become marginalized.

History shows that significant changes in how we communicate result in significant changes in how we work. Many silos of support functions will not work in a network-centric organization as there’s too much redundancy, duplication of effort and slowness to react. It’s becoming obvious that only highly networked organizations are going to be successful. As another colleague, Jon Husband, puts it:

“The performance management schemes, grade levels in the organizations and compensation practices have yet to recognize how work gets done in networked environments and increasingly, in a networked world.”

Does it really matter that training or L&D will be marginalized? In the long run, I think not. We are seeing the merging of roles and functions as networks bypass command & control. That means that each departmental silo will lose some of its traditional power. What will emerge will have to be more effective for the networked organization. As a learning or workplace performance professional your choice is clear:

  1. Fight to ensure that your department wins the short-term internal political game of leading organizational learning; or
  2. Park your ego (and that of your tribe) to work with everyone in the organization to make it more effective in the long-term.

It’s obvious which choice I would recommend but #2 will be fraught with problems, such as being ostracized by your departmental colleagues and maybe even working yourself out of a job. However, if your organization doesn’t succeed in the long run, neither will your job.

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Photo by ZoomZoom