More Related Content Similar to The new american workforce (20) The new american workforce1. The New
American
Workforce
How Pre-boomers, Boomers, Gen X-ers, and
Millennials Can Survive, Thrive, and Collaborate
Effectively in the 21st-Century Workplace
Footer, Date, Page 1
2. The State of Today’s Workforce
• We are drowning in data
• We are increasingly mobile
• The lines between work and life are
increasingly blurred
• Enterprise collaboration is becoming
the norm
• Our brains are struggling to adapt to
information overload
• For the first time, four generations are
working together
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3. Drowning in Data
1.8 zettabytes of new data were created in 2011, compared to 0.6
zettabytes in 2010. That’s the same as:
• 116 Billion 16GB iPads
• 64,800,000 years of
HD video
• 1,800,000,000,000,000
,000,000 bytes
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4. Drowning in Data
It’s no wonder that interruptions caused by information overload
cost U.S. companies $650 billion a year.
Source: Basex – Information Overload: We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us
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5. Mobilization of the Workforce
There are roughly 60 million
mobile workers in the U.S.
alone. That’s over one-third
of the workforce!
Help your team thrive in the 21st-century workplace.
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6. Blurring Lines
2 in 3 information workers use software/devices for work and personal purposes.
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7. The Collaborative Enterprise
Enterprises are betting heavily on collaboration
"49% of organizations will
have invested in enterprise
social software by the end
of 2012.“
Source: Forrsights Software Survey, Q4
2011
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8. Changing Brains
The demands of the 21st-century workforce are forcing our brains to adapt:
• We need to know where to
find information rather than
how to remember
information
• The rapid flow of
information can exceed our
cognitive load
• Constant interruption hurts
productivity and
effectiveness
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9. Changing Brains
Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What
the Internet is Doing to our Brains, argues that
to cope with information overload, our brains
are literally changing.
Consequences of information overload
include:
• Shorter attention span
• Skimming vs. reading
• Lack of deep knowledge
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10. Changing Generations
For the first time in history, four generations are working together, all with different
work styles, communication preferences, strengths, and challenges.
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11. Pre-boomers
In Context
• Ages: 67 and higher
• 5% of the workforce
• Came of age during the Great
Depression and World War II
• Their workplace was
revolutionized by: the
telephone, the typewriter,
the copy machine
At Work
• Attitude: No nonsense, pragmatic, waste not want not
• Values: Hard work, stability, respect, loyalty
• Communication style: Formal, precise
• Strengths: Deeply committed, moved by needs rather than fads
• Challenges: Adapting to change, finding balance between traditional institutions and
modern business needs
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12. Boomers
In Context
• Ages: 48 to 66
• 39% of the workforce
• Came of age during the
major social changes of the
1960s
• Their workplace was
revolutionized by: women
entering the workforce, the
personal computer
At Work
• Attitude: Optimistic, confident, proud
• Values: Self-reliance, strong work ethic, face time
• Communication style: Person-to-person
• Strengths: Highly adaptable, skilled networkers, deep experience and expertise
Challenges: Workaholic, command-and-control style of leadership, slow to adopt new
technologies, struggle to delegate
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13. Generation X
In Context
• Ages: 30 to 47
• 32% of the workforce
• Came of age during the
materialistic 1980s and the
stock market crash of 1987
• Their workplace was
revolutionized by: working
moms, the Internet, IM
At Work
• Attitude: Lone-wolf, flexible, realistic
• Values: Independence, clear expectations, professional growth
• Communication style: Email-centric
• Strengths: Extremely independent and resourceful, act as a bridge between Boomers
and Millennials, well-suited to change management
• Challenges: Can come across as cynical, limited loyalty, overly self-reliant
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14. Millennials
In Context
• Ages: Under 30
• 25% of the workforce
• Came of age during the .com
boom and the Great
Recession
• Their workplace was
revolutionized by: social
media, smart phones,
telecommuting
At Work
• Attitude: Constantly connected, high self-esteem, idealistic
• Values: Meaningful work, flexibility, transparency
• Communication style: Instantaneous and deeply social
• Strengths: Digital natives, natural work-life integrators, strong communicators
• Challenges: High-maintenance and high expectations, managing the information
deluge, struggle with de facto authority
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15. The Way We Work
"The next decade or two will be
defined more by fluidity than
by any new, settled paradigm; if
there is a pattern to all this, it is
that there is no pattern.“
~Fast Company, Jan 2012
Not only are four different generations trying to work together; the ways we
work are constantly evolving. And the future is nothing but chaos.
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16. The Way We Work
The Evolution of a Job
• Work 1.0: (Yesterday) Having a job
for life
• Work 2.0: (Today) Increasing
flexibility and collaboration but still
within a static workplace
environment
• Work 3.0: (Tomorrow) Independent
workers who are remote, mobile,
and highly connected in real-time,
Help your team thrive in the getting projects done
21st-century workplace.
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17. The Way We Work
The Three Elements of Any Successful Project
Seeing Doing Avoiding Silos
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18. The Way We Work
Most collaborative work management tools fall into one of two camps:
Document-centric People-centric
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19. The Way We Work
Collaboration shouldn’t be either-or. In today’s highly-connected work
environment, traditional models for working together break down.
The solution must be both Document-centric + People-centric
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20. 8 Tips for Successful Collaboration
#1: Use the power of
visualization
• Overcome information
overload
• Enable common
understanding
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21. 8 Tips for Successful Collaboration
#2: Lead by example
• Become a user yourself
• Appoint “social
ambassadors”
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22. 8 Tips for Successful Collaboration
#3: Join vision (seeing) and
action (doing)
• Forcefully break
communication silos
• Foster a culture of
transparency
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23. 8 Tips for Successful Collaboration
#4: Set team goals and
expectations
• Make them SMART
(Specific, Measureable,
Attainable, Realistic,
Timely)
• Hold your team
accountable
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24. 8 Tips for Successful Collaboration
#5: Hold “collaboration
retrospectives”
• Focus on improving how
you collaborate
• Don’t just point out
weaknesses. Celebrate
successes, too.
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25. 8 Tips for Successful Collaboration
#6: Choose the right tools
• Combine seeing and doing
• Join people and content
• Intuitive to use
• Available whenever and
wherever you are
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26. 8 Tips for Successful Collaboration
#7: Make time to turn it all
off
• And just THINK!
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27. 8 Tips for Successful Collaboration
#8: Check out and follow
the Mindjet blog
• For more tips to help
your team collaborate
effectively, visit
blog.mindjet.com
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28. The Future of Collaboration
• Knowledge will flow
across and between
organizations and people
• Seeing and doing will be
tightly connected
• Technology will be an
enabler, not a barrier
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29. Thank you!
Help your team thrive in the 21st-
century workplace. Try Mindjet free:
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