We’re in the early stages of one major sh*t-storm of disruption in our society (I don’t mean politically, but that fits too…). Driving this disruption is technology, demographics, globalization, automation, AI, etc, etc… all the headline stuff we read about…
I’ve drunk the kool-aid (an alarming visual, when you realize what it actually refers to…) on this point; I don’t believe for a moment that things are going to return to any kind of a more stable footing for several decades yet. If this “disruption” point offends your sensibilities then you will most assuredly find our approach very unsettling…
My interest is in how this increasing disruption is affecting our work lives, and more importantly, how we – as individuals, work teams, and organizational leaders – can most effectively respond; how we need to think differently, what we need to do differently: practical, down-to-earth strategies, tactics and tools that regular folk like you and me can implement for our own career and in our organizations.
I refer to myself as a “performance engineer”. It’s a good description of how I think and operate. I combine (i) the systems-thinking and practicality that most people equate with engineering, (ii) the drive for measurable performance that our modern world demands, and (iii) the development of practical tools that are straightforward to use. If you are hoping for more soft and fuzzy woo-woo stuff or overly complicated “consultant-speak” approaches, then my stuff will likely frustrate you…
There’s a quote I first heard years ago that has really stuck with me: “It is impossible to wake the person that is only pretending to sleep”. I’ll bet you see this in action every day in all aspects of your work and personal life. The reality for these people is that if they “woke up”, they would have to take responsibility for their situation… they’re easy to spot by their language: they are forever blaming outside forces – the job market, competitors, the general economy, management, employees, regulators – and not taking personal responsibility for getting clear on the real root cause of their situation and then taking positive corrective action.
This is the biggie for me. I have found that I work very effectively with anyone who is willing to embrace reality and take personal responsibility for their situation. Bad career fit, confusion about what they want in life, an under-performing work team, lack of strategic clarity, poor operating results – these are all readily solvable situations IF and WHEN one is truly awake to the reality of the situation and takes personal responsibility for moving things forward. If instead you’re more comfortable with just tinkering around the edges, making bold pronouncements, and blaming others for the situation, then my message will infuriate you…
There are a handful of topics that I’m actively exploring that fit within this “disruptive world of work” theme. I’ve been peeling back the onion with each of them to get to the real heart of the matter – the prototyping, proving, and production of practical frameworks and performance tool-kits that are readily usable by regular folk:
- Rise of the Free Agent – as more of us become untethered from the traditional employment model (whether by choice or circumstance) we need to hone our skills at becoming good at career transition. Rather than a transition being a “disruption” it’s rapidly becoming the norm – how do we get good at navigating this new reality?
- Rapid Experimentation – everybody talking about “embracing failure”. Please shut those people up; it’s not about failing, it’s about getting good at rapid experimentation, what you learn from it, and then taking the next step – big, big difference. And how exactly do you go about successfully embedding “experimentation” in your culture?
- Turning “digital transformation” on its head – the business literature is a buzz with digital transformation, but as presented it really only works for F100-type companies that can engage the big consultancies, invest millions, and spend 2 to 3 years building new infrastructure. How do the other 99% of organizations embrace this concept, fund and move it forward while running the day-to-day business?
- Leveraging Free Agents in Organizations – if more and more Free Agents are readily available, how do organizations actually leverage them as an underlying business strategy, and not just for one-off and ad-hoc projects? How do you evolve your organizational thinking — and your business model — to fully embrace this?
- Free Agent Collaboration Platforms — when Free Agents aren’t working directly on paid gigs, they’re out exploring where other opportunities might exist. One thing that is currently very hard to do is actively collaborate with other Free Agents within a light-weight commercially attractive risk/reward model. What might these kinds of new collaborative business platforms look like?
It’s these areas I’m truly passionate about and explore in my research, writing, and of course through engaging clients who are truly awake to reality and actively challenging their own situations in the pursuit of better performance outcomes.
If you readily relate to this “disruptive agenda” and are exploring how to embrace this new reality in your own career, organization, and life, then please consider subscribing to our newsletter. If you are not interested, I fully understand. This stuff is challenging to confront and more than a little unsettling. And if that is the case, I don’t want to bug you any further. Please don’t subscribe and hey – I hope I didn’t wake you.
