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Notes about the Future

The Future of Technology

Right now we're tracking two technologies that haven't really penetrated the corporate world yet—but we're convinced they will: 3D video and augmented reality (or AR, as it's known among the digerati). Ignore them at your peril.

If you haven't yet seen the blockbuster movie Avatar, go see it in 3D, and we think you'll understand why we're so fascinated by this emerging technology. The storyline is fun, even if it's not all that original or profound (imagine if you can a mashup of Dances with Wolves, Star Wars, and Apocalypse Now)—but the 3D technology creates a completely new experience. It's truly stunning.

We're now thinking seriously about how 3D might—or, rather, will—change the business world. What if we all had 3D video on our laptops? Or in our videoconferencing facilities? What could you do differently? How would interacting with remote colleagues change?

Now, combine those thoughts with a look at augmented reality—the imposition of digital images into real-world video displays like those yellow first-down lines that stretch across TV images of the football field during NFL games.

There is now an iPhone app that will show you what the Roman Forum (in Rome, of course) looked like several thousand years ago. The reconstruction is literally superimposed on the iPhone screen when you point the camera at a particular structure. Click on this link for a short YouTube video demonstrating how you can see both the current and the reconstructed realities simultaneously.

And for another example of how just useful AR can be, check out this short video produced by our friend Richard Leyland, the founder of WorkSnug. It shows how you can find a good coffee shop with free wifi in London, just by pointing your 3GS iPhone down the street.

Finally, look at this visionary video produced by ad agency Zugara showing how AR can be combined with video conferencing to create truly revolutionary interactive collaboration among people in totally different parts of the planet.

The Future of Place and Space

The recent "snowcalypse" on the east coast reminds us once again of the importance of planning for business continuity in the face of natural (or man-made) disasters. We have a very simple question: why isn't everyone telecommuting? As far as we know the roads may be closed, but unless your power is out, the Internet is still alive and well.

John Edwards of the Telework Network has posted a wonderful series of "good, bad, and ugly" stories at http://www.teleworknetwork.com/16.html about how the federal government is coping (not!) with this latest disaster. He reports that the Washington Post has estimated it costs the government about $100 million in lost productivity every day it is shut down. That would sure buy a whole lot of flexible work!

The Future of People and Organizations

We're in the midst of preparing a Future of Work Executive Briefing for our Private Client Network members on the changing workforce and its implications for recruiting, for managing, for employee engagement, and in particular for dealing with distributed and temporary teams. For more information about the Private Client Network, please contact us directly.

In the meantime there are two very current articles in the public press that we consider must-reads:

"The Disposable Worker" (Business Week, print edition of January 18)

A comprehensive look at the structural changes in the workforce and its employment opportunities; focuses on the explosion in temporary and part-time workers and the social and economic consequences of this fundamental shift in the way organizations get their work done.

"Lay Off the Layoffs" (by Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, Newsweek, print edition February 5)

The subtitle says it all: "Our overreliance on downsizing is killing workers, the economy—and even the bottom line." Again, an incredibly important perspective you need to consider.

The Future of Work Design

We recently held our first quarterly Leadership Forum teleconference for members of our Private Client Network. The Forum featured a conversation with Rex Miller, the founder of the Mindshift Project, which received CoreNet's Global Innovation Award last October. Rex is also the lead author of the highly acclaimed book The Commercial Real Estate Revolution.

The conversation focused on just how broken and inefficient our current management models are, especially when it comes to project management and working with subcontractors. Just one example of how things have gotten overly complex: in the 1950's most large construction projects included about a half dozen subcontractors. Today, the average building project draws on over 200 subs! What does that level of complexity do for efficiency and performance?

Rex's primary message is simple: build trust among all the participants on any team, and you can cut waste, reduce the budget, beat the project deadline, reduce materials usage, and improve quality—almost effortlessly. Of course, the message is simple, but it's almost impossible to implement if you don't design trust and teamwork in from the very beginning of every project.

For more information, follow these links:

http://www.rexmiller.net (Rex's personal website, with many links to related resources)

The Commercial Real Estate Revolution (link is to Amazon.com; and the book isn't just about real estate—it's about project management broadly defined)

The Mindshift Wiki

The Bookshelf: Stuff We're Reading (and You Should Too)

The Next 100 Years (by George Friedman)

Let's start with this quote:

"Old institutions have shattered, but new ones have not yet emerged. The twenty-first century will be a period in which a range of new institutions, moral systems and practices will begin their first tentative emergence."

Okay. We've been saying that for years ourselves. But now ask yourself, "What do Mexico and Turkey have in common?" George Friedman offers some intriguing answers to that and other unusual questions (see the book’s website for more information).

Not that we agree with everything Friedman has to say, but he does offer a lot to think about. If, as he suggests, the conflicts and alliances of old do in fact have a habit of repeating themselves we are in for some verrry interesting times. And not surprisingly, Friedman also sees a global shortage of talent as the major driver of geopolitical maneuvering in the coming decades.

This is a strongly recommended read for anyone who appreciates the larger context of the seemingly unrelated events we contend with on a day-to-day basis. You can also look for some of this thinking to emerge in upcoming "weak signal" reports we're preparing for members of our Private Client Network.

What's Happened/Happening?

Future of Work Private Client Network

We previously announced the formation of a new Future of Work Private Client Network (see the December newsletter at this link for the full announcement)

In brief, we are launching a new, private network of clients and expert resources whose mission is to make practical sense of the future. We'd love to talk to you about becoming part of this new community. If you are interested, please contact us directly for a detailed prospectus and research agenda.

Public Appearances

Well, maybe not quite "public," but we've just agreed to repeat our highly successful webinar on "Managing People You Can't See" on April 22. Once again sponsored by Citrix Online, this time we'll be addressing Citrix's EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) clients. We don't know yet if this program will be open to the general public, but certainly if you are based anywhere in EMEA you should able to participate. Stay tuned for detailed registration information.

And if you want to listen to a (free) full audio/video recording of the webinar on that topic that we delivered on February 2 to over 750 folks in North America, just click on this link.

Getting Out and About

We're currently spending time with clients in southern California once or twice a month. We'll be in the area for sure on February 16-17, and expect to be back there at least twice during March as well.

If we're in your area and have a few minutes, we'd love to see you for breakfast, lunch, dinner (depending on our other commitments), or "refreshments" any time after 5 PM local time (and you know what that means).

We're doing our best to publish our travel schedule, including both public appearances and private client work, on our new online calendar that's embedded in our website at:

http://www.thefutureofwork.net/news_events.html

And please follow us on Twitter for more current updates on the future of work and our travel plans:

http://www.twitter.com/thefutureofwork

Give us a shout or send us a note, and if we can squeeze out some time, we'd love to say hello and share some good ideas the old-fashioned way: face-to-face, glass in hand.

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