Work

I had many conversations about work and business models over the past week and realised that my niche is fairly unique, in that not many people focus on learning, business and the Web, at the same time and with the same interest [hence, “Conversations at the intersection of learning, work & technology“]. You can learn much from one discipline and then apply it to another and this process is well described in The Medici Effect.

While some may consider me an edublogger, I spend as much time working on business models. I’m currently evaluating the business plan of a small IT company and looking at how it can grow its market. I’ve also become a geek over the past decade and learned more about web infrastructure than a guy with a History degree should.

To explain my business more clearly, I created a Flickr photo and added some descriptive notes to it. The notes only work in Flickr, once you click on the image. I guess I’ll have to learn some javascript so I can embed the image on my web page.

Yesterday, in Miramichi, the conversation came around to economic development and the issues facing New Brunswick, especially the northern part of the province. I was told that a couple of years ago the foresters in the province said that we had about eight years of industrial harvests left and the fishermen felt that there weren’t even that many years left for an industrial fishery. At the same time it seems that governments at all levels are working on the assumption that nothing will change, in spite of certain sustainability task forces.

Rob Paterson has noted that in the province next door, PEI, there are also significant demographic issues:

By 2015, there will be more Islanders over 50 than under. Soon there will be more over 65. Who will do all the work? Who will lead the economy? Who will pay all the taxes to keep all us old folks in retirement homes? PEI will have the least amount of young except Newfoundland. Can we afford to have 65% of them as dependent as the old dears aged 85?

My main deduction from this is that all of our children will have to be net contributers (not just economically) to our society. However, our industrial schools are marginalizing too many children. Meanwhile, Alec Bruce tells us how highly qualified and educated immigrants are barred from fully contributing to our society:

Meet the physician from the Middle East, certified in three crucial specialties. Yet, no hospital in the Atlantic Provinces will touch him because the paper he carries does not convey designations familiar to provincial licensing authorities.

Meet the teacher from Arkansas, a graduate of Harvard and MIT. She works as a nanny in one of New Brunswick’s poorly funded day care centres, where she wipes noses, prepares snacks, and recites Dr. Seuss to pre-schoolers.

Meet the engineer from Hamburg, an expert in bridge and overpass design. He’s a delivery man in Fredericton who deploys his considerable mathematical abilities to reconciling the day’s take with tomorrow’s cash float.

We are facing economic, political and environmental challenges, and we have to fully engage all members of our society, from school-age children to newly arrived immigrants. We cannot afford to marginalize anyone, because it’s from the margins [the edges] that innovation will come.

One indication of the lack of willingness to even contemplate new ways of doing things is the wide condemnation, without an offer of alternatives, of the Post-Secondary Education report. I would say that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. My own effort to develop one way to face the post-industrial future has been the creation of a work & cultural Commons, and it seems that we are finally making some headway (more to follow on this).

So to anyone who is complaining – get off your butt and do something creative. We need everyone to get involved in creating options, because the folks on the margins [historically, the innovators] aren’t being allowed to participate (yet).

Mark Dowds recommended WorldBlu to me last week. The organisation supports the creation of more democratic workplaces and publishes a yearly list [I’m not sure why a one-page PDF has to take up 6 MB of space]. Three Canadian companies are on the list, 1-800-GotJunk; Axiom News; and TakingITGlobal.

One consulting company caught my eye, Point B Solutions Group of Seattle, which is described as a model organisation, though not on this year’s list. From the Seattle Times:

Point B has no physical headquarters, no rigid work hours, no formal job titles and, unusual for a consulting firm, little travel. More significant, employees are encouraged — no, required — to have a life outside of work. “My first priority isn’t the firm,” says Jenkins, who works out of a small office near the Edmonds ferry terminal. To illustrate this, Jenkins mentions that right now, at 4:30 on a Wednesday afternoon, he’s just returned from a two-day vacation in the mountains with his family.

It reminds me of wirearchy in action, but these types of organisations still appear to be in the minority [in our society] and I’m not certain that a sea change has begun.

Last week I headed to the West coast for a conference, all full of energy. A few 16 hour days, some jet lag and a couple of evenings with a couple of glasses of wine, and I was a bit tuckered. Then a quick trip across the Confederation Bridge to PEI and back and now I’m home, having just cleared out my aggregator.

Both conferences were a chance to see people who I was loosely connected to, as well as meet some new friends.  I was ready for a little F2F reinforcement, having spent most of the year as a virtual colleague/friend/associate.  One of the advantages of being a free agent is the ‘luxury’ of reflection. I have had time to read books in depth, think long about my blog posts and follow online discussion threads to their murky depths. The past week showed me that I really don’t want to lose this perspective.

It seems that most of us are in a hurry today, and I meet few people who have had the time to read even a few good books and reflect upon them. Fewer still have taken the time to digest new ideas and discuss their learning with others. There has always been a need to balance action and reflection, but the latter seems to be losing out in many of our workplaces.

Discussions this week centered around new tools, new literacies and perhaps even a new pedagogy, but few (yes, there were some) were demanding more time for reflection. As the digital surround engulfs us, it may become critical to carve out more reflective time and space. One way to help our children is to stop homework, but what is the equivalent for the rest of us in the working world?

From the Creative Class blog is part of a WSJ article on telecommuting:

“When companies allow employees to work remotely or from home, they are explicitly communicating to them that ‘I trust you to be dedicated to the accomplishment of the work, even if I’m not able to observe you doing it,’ ” says Jack Wiley, executive director of the institute, which is in Minneapolis. “It boils down to respect,” he says. “I respect you and I have confidence in your commitment to the work — to do this under the conditions and at the time you feel will be most productive for you.”

Lack of trust is a major barrier to using decentralized methods and processes that enhance information sharing and collaboration, two factors for success in a knowledge economy. However, many of our industrial organisations are not exactly jumping on the telecommuting bandwagon. Articles in the main stream press are indicators that the status quo may not last.

As I’ve been working on my own for several years now, I see first hand the advantages of distance work. It’s good for the environment, cheaper, and I’m happier and more productive when I’m in control of my schedule. Meetings are less frequent and usually more focused. I’ve noted before that collaborating at a distance is sometimes more effective than being in the same room.

Trust is the glue that holds knowledge organisations together, not rules and regulations.  It’s something to consider when developing a recruitment and retention strategy.