The document discusses how the future of work will change significantly due to emerging technologies and demographic trends. It argues that the existing economic paradigm focused on efficiency, competition, and shareholders is showing cracks and a new paradigm emphasizing social responsibility, collaboration, and well-being is needed. This paradigm shift will require workers to develop new skills like generalism and multitalents over specialization alone and prioritize meaningful work and happiness over just money. Major changes to how organizations operate and what skills are valued will be necessary for this transition to a new paradigm to occur.

1. DISCOVER | The Future of Work
The Big Shift In Where, How and
With Whom We Will Be Working
Target group: DISCOVER The Future 2012 event attendees
Summary:

2. The journey so far: how we learned to leverage technology to
increase our productivity and created wealth & happiness
Technology driven innovations led to:
§ Increased productivity
§ Many new products & services
§ Tremendous growth in GDP
And in terms of Gross National Happiness (GNH)
§ Higher life expectancy
§ Wellbeing and happiness
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3. The existing economic and management paradigm: from early
Taylorism to advanced MBA Thinking (1985 – 2010’s)
How we learned to connect our brain with the the
outside world: ation s have ate
ly o rganis urces to cre
elief : on apital reso
Core b ge and c
d
knowle ficiently
ef
wealth
Change Can be anticipated and planned
for (linear thinking)
Competition Is the game we are in Highly uncertain
Organisations Focus on shareholders and other Social responsibility
stakeholders
Leaders Focus on the why and what
Managers Focus on the how and when
Professionals Use talents to specialize
Unskilled Unit of cost that should be made
Workers redundant if possible
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4. What is a paradigm?
Paradigm
The accepted theories, values
and scientific practices within
which a particular field of science
operates
Thomas Kuhn
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
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5. What did we accomplish with all our hard work?: our relative to
the USA labour productivity from 1970 – 2000’s
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6. Early signs of the end of an era? The true story about what
happened after 9/11 ….
Results of the prevailing economic paradigm
Over-engineered products & services ¡
Oversized financial sector ¡
Borrowed and virtual growth ¡
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7. What did we accomplish with all our hard work in the last 10
years? A lost decade (already) ….. ?!
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8. A look into our and your future:
the power of a strong demographic trend
Will lead to:
§ A growing population (avg. est. 9bn. in 2045)
UN High
§ An aging population
§ Rising prices of energy and commodities
UN Medium
UN Low
Big challenges ahead of us! ¡
§ Social friction and unrest
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9. The big shift: a global brain and new social consciousness is
gaining traction and becoming increasingly more powerful!
he
ions have t te
org anisat es to crea
elie f : only ital resourc
Core B ge and cap
d
knowle ficiently
ef
wealth
Governments
Organisations
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10. First question to ask yourself: what kind of world do you want to
create and what kind of life do you want to construct?
Default Future Crafted Future by
within the existing building a new
paradigm? paradigm?
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11. Second question to ask yourself:
what kind of world do you want to be part of?
Fragmentation Connecting and
and isolation? co-creation?
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12. Third question to ask yourself:
what kind of world do you value?
Social Social
Exclusion? Engagement?
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13. The first shift for building a new paradigm:
what kind of skills do you need?
SPECIALISATION:
Single talent? Generalist?
Multiple talents?
SUPER-SPECIALISITION
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14. The second shift for building a new paradigm:
compete or collaborate?
COMPETE WITH OTHERS?
0|0
0–0
COLLABORATE WITH OTHERS?
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15. The third shift for building a new paradigm:
happiness from money or from meaning?
Work – Money – Consume – Happy
€
∞
Work – Meaning – Happy – Money
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16. The existing economic and management paradigm:
how do paradigms die?
Paradigm shifts
A new scientific truth does not
triumph by convincing its opponents
and making them see the light, but
rather because its opponents
eventually die.
Max Planck
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17. The existing management paradigm: how do paradigms die?
Paradigm shift
1. The existing paradigm encounters an anomaly
2. Initially the anomaly is ignored or rejected
3. People try to explain the anomaly within the
existing paradigm
4. A new paradigm is proposed in which the
anomaly is resolved
5. The establishment rejects the new model, often
ridicules its proponents
6. The new paradigm finally gains acceptance as
it accounts for new observations
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18. The existing management paradigm: how do paradigms die?
Paradigm shift
Every truth passes through three
stages before it is recognized:
1. First it is ridiculed
2. Second it is opposed
3. Third, it is regard as self-evident
Arthur Schöpenhauer
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