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May 2010

We like to slow down a bit in the summer—but it ain't gonna happen this year. If anything, we're feeling the pace of business—and life—accelerating beyond imagination.

We think it's partly due to the economy finally getting moving again (thank goodness!), though we're not naïve about how long it's going to take to get things back to full speed. However, we're also convinced that technology is driving us faster and faster towards the future (which we desperately hope doesn't include a 1000-foot cliff that we can't see yet).

We (all of us) are clearly more connected to more people, and more ideas, than ever before. That's mostly a good thing, but every once in a while we find ourselves wondering how to slow down, make sense of at least a little bit of what's coming at us, and figure out how to apply all that knowledge to making the future safer and more humane (and we sure wish BP and all its partners had gone just a little bit more slowly out in the Gulf a few months ago).

Our feature article this month, by our friend and colleague Bill "Patch" Paczkowski, offers a few salient suggestions for coping with our increasing dependence on technology for basic communication, and what organizations can do to balance the innovation value of enriched interconnectivity with their equally important need for focus and control.

We also announce the formation of a new virtual community/network of experts who, like us, think hard and deeply about the future of work and what it takes to help organizations get there. We're excited about the broader capability the Future of Work Collaborative gives us to guide clients towards positive futures.

And we report on a real potpourri of developments you need to be aware of – about the future of technology, the future of place and space, the future of people and organizations, and the future of work design. Plus four books for your reading pleasure and your professional development. It's a full plate – have at it!

Enjoy.

Charlie and Jim

Click on any Headline below to access the full story.

1. Feature Article: Managing Electronic Communication Among Distributed Workers

Companies are in a bind with people who work away from the central office for the majority of their time. On one hand, employers want to encourage informal social interaction to promote innovation and engagement, and to reduce isolation from the larger work team. On the other hand, companies have legitimate business purposes and legal obligations to manage electronic communications. We have some ideas to strike that balance.

2. Announcement: WDC Establishes Future of Work Collaborative

We are pleased to announce that we are leading the formation of a new virtual community of expert resources. The Future of Work Collaborative brings together a world-class group of Associates and Partners who will be working both individually and collectively to lead the way to the future. It's an incredibly impressive group of experts with skills in HR, PR, organization change, technology, social media, interior design, and real estate/facilities management. We welcome inquiries.

3. The Future of Technology

How do traditional libraries adapt to the digital age? Once again, Harvard is leading the way. And Honda has created a new mobility technology that will blow your socks off.

4. The Future of Place and Space

Telecommuting at 32,000 feet; you can now be a sky warrior as well as a road warrior—always online, always accessible. Good or bad? Your call.

5. The Future of People and Organizations

Networks trump organizations. They really do. Here's a story about a construction engineer who plans to build 400,000 homes for low-income Egyptians, even though he has no bank account, no business license, and no staff. But he's got a plan, and he just might be able to pull it off.

6. The Future of Work Design

Social media are transforming business models. Today every company is a media company. But we remain concerned that all this miraculous technology may be contributing more than we realize to long-term structural unemployment.

7. Stuff We're Reading — and You Should Too

As summer approaches (at least here in North America), it's common to suggest books for "beach reading" and vacations. Our list is a bit more serious, but we do encourage you to read these four very important books.

8. What's Happened/Happening?

Brief announcements and notes about where Jim and Charlie have been, are, and will be, holding forth in public conversations and other activities.

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