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The Future of Work – Workfront Leap 2016

The document discusses the future of work and organizations. It argues that organizations need to transition from traditional hierarchical structures to more networked structures that allow for greater information sharing and self-organization. Networks and distributed/decentralized models are better suited for responding to complexity and creating mutual value for all stakeholders. The key is giving every participant the tools and autonomy to think, act, react, and adapt based on their unique knowledge and expertise.

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FUTURE OF WORK – by Philip @Sheldrake Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International www.philipsheldrake.com/2016/05/ workfront-and-the-future-of-work/ MAKING WORK SUCK LESS
8 STEPS TO MAKING WORK SUCK LESS
8 STEPS TO MAKING WORK SUCK LESS BS
WHY DOES MY COMPANY SUCK? A TOO COMMON QUESTION Derived from a photo by Robbie Sproule, CC BY 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/robbie1/2718841858
COMPANY WORK&
CUT PASTE&
COMPAIGNIE (n., French) 12th Century. society, friendship, intimacy; body of soldiers http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=company Public domain image https://pixabay.com/en/us-army-soldiers-army-men-waiting-379036/
THE ORG CHART 1855. The New York & Erie Railroad Diagram Reference: https://www.fastcodesign.com/3026334/this-beautiful-19th- century-org-chart-puts-your-companys-to-shame Public domain image https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Organizational_diagram_of_the_New_York_and_Erie_Railroad,_1855.jpg
THE ORG CHART 1855. The New York & Erie Railroad Diagram check out that symbol! sweet ego! Reference: https://www.fastcodesign.com/3026334/this-beautiful-19th- century-org-chart-puts-your-companys-to-shame Public domain image https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Organizational_diagram_of_the_New_York_and_Erie_Railroad,_1855.jpg
ORGANIZATION A COORDINATED GROUP OF PEOPLE WITH A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. DISORGANIZATION TOO DIFFICULT TO GIVE ALL ONE CAN GIVE AND TO DERIVE ALL THE VALUE THERE IS TO DERIVE. Public domain image https://commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Barn_raising_in_Lansing.jpg
IF YOUR COMPANY WAS A COUNTRY, WOULD YOU LIVE THERE? http://simonterry.tumblr.com/post/80222651306/
around 1 in 8 are engaged at work not engaged actively disengaged www.gallup.com/poll/165269/worldwide-employees-engaged-work.aspx (2011-12)
“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT WE DO AND WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF DOING WOULD SUFFICE TO SOLVE MOST OF THE WORLD’S PROBLEMS” Gandhi Public domain image https://commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Mahatma_Gandhi_laughing.jpeg
ORGANIZATIONS ARE RELATIONSHIPS. They entail the constant adaption of the way we think and behave in order to influence others to think and behave differently in support of our goals. Singular value decomposition plot of al Qaeda members using both demographic and relationship attributes. Skillikorn 2004. http://research.cs.queensu.ca/home/skill/alqaeda.pdf
Attenzi – a social business story, Sheldrake, in association with Social Media Today http://www.attenzi.com/ GOOD BUSINESS IS ABOUT COOPERATIVE AND INTERDEPENDENT RELATIONSHIPS, ALWAYS HAS BEEN, YET THE HUMANITY WAS LOST WHEN ORGANIZATIONS SCALED WAY UP DURING THE 20TH CENTURY. WE WANT TO MAKE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS MORE HUMAN AGAIN, BUT THE ANSWER CAN’T BE TO SCALE IT ALL BACK DOWN. WE HAVE TO SCALE SOMETHING ELSE UP.
COMPLEXITY Cellular automata http://math.hws.edu/xJava/CA/ca_1024x768.png
COMPLEXITYnoun: a system in which there are multiple interactions between many different components / bridges the gap between the individual and the collective / may lead to emergent behavior
COMPLEXITY order leads to chaos chaos leads to order
Engine – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mercedes_V6_DTM_Rennmotor_1996.png Traffic Organizations Com plication Com plexity ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Cars
“IN ALL THINGS OF NATURE THERE IS SOMETHING OF THE MARVELLOUS. IF ONE WAY BE BETTER THAN ANOTHER, THAT YOU MAY BE SURE IS NATURE'S WAY.” Aristotle Public domain image https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpg
the customer is king
it’s all about shareholder value the customer is king
our people are our greatest asset it’s all about shareholder value the customer is king
IN FACT IT’S ALL IN THE COMPLEX MIX
"THE PURPOSE OF BUSINESS IS TO CREATE AND KEEP A CUSTOMER.” He was right at the time in offering previously inward-looking firms a more appropriate beacon. Peter Drucker Image by jeffmcneill, cc-by-sa 2.0, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drucker5789.jpg
HIS DICTUM IS, HOWEVER, WRONG FOR OUR TIME. It’s insufficient in sustainability terms – concerned with the health and resilience of living systems such as organizations, society and the environment. Image by Philip Sheldrake, cc-by-sa 2.0, https:// www.flickr.com/photos/philip_sheldrake/14533489335/ http://www.philipsheldrake.com/2015/04/what-exactly- is-the-purpose-of-business-an-answer-post-drucker/
WHEN ONE STAKEHOLDER GROUP IN AN ORGANIZATION TAKES PERMANENT PRIORITY OVER ANOTHER, THAT’S NOT ORGANIZATION
WHEN ONE ALWAYS LOSES A LITTLE WHEN ANOTHER WINS A LITTLE, ALL LOSE A LITTLE
BUSINESS EXISTS TO ESTABLISH AND DRIVE MUTUAL VALUE CREATION http://www.philipsheldrake.com/2015/04/what-exactly- is-the-purpose-of-business-an-answer-post-drucker/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/philip_sheldrake/2642723527/ INFORMATION FLOW + CODE =
“THE WINNERS WILL BE THE ONES WHO DEVELOP A WORLD-CLASS DIGITAL NERVOUS SYSTEM SO THAT INFORMATION CAN EASILY FLOW THROUGH THEIR COMPANIES FOR MAXIMUM AND CONSTANT LEARNING. … TO THINK, ACT, REACT, AND ADAPT.” Bill Gates, 1999
NOW, THE WINNERS WILL EQUIP EACH AND EVERY PARTICIPANT WITH THE SAME KIND OF I.T. THAT USED TO BE THE DOMAIN OF A CORPORATE FUNCTION. FOR SENSE-MAKING. FOR AUTONOMY. FOR CONNECTION. FOR ORGANIZING. … TO THINK, ACT, REACT, AND ADAPT. Image: wirearchy logo by Gaping Void’s Hugh McLeod. See Jon Husband, http://wirearchy.com/what-is-wirearchy/ WIREARCHY IS A DYNAMIC TWO-WAY FLOW OF POWER AND AUTHORITY, BASED ON KNOWLEDGE, TRUST, CREDIBILITY AND A FOCUS ON RESULTS, ENABLED BY INTERCONNECTED PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY.
NOW, WE’RE LEARNING FROM NATURE. WE’RE ORGANIZING AS NETWORKS. WE’RE ORGANIZING FOR RESPONSIVENESS. WE’RE ORGANIZING FOR MUTUAL VALUE. Image: Dave Gray. Reproduced with permission. http://connectedco.com
WE’VE SEEN THIS PLAY OUT IN OUR SOCIETIES. NOW WE’RE MAPPING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF COMPLEXITY TO ORGANIZATION SO THAT OUR ORGANIZATIONS MIGHT RESPOND TO COMPLEXITY. Y. Bar-Yam, Complexity rising: From human beings to human civilization, a complexity profile, Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS UNESCO Publishers, Oxford, UK, 2002) http://www.necsi.edu/projects/yaneer/Civilization.html
“JUST LIKE THEIR ALLIES IN AL QAEDA, THIS NEW TALIBAN IS MORE NETWORK THAN ARMY, MORE A COMMUNITY OF INTEREST THAN A CORPORATE STRUCTURE. … TO DEFEAT A NETWORKED ENEMY WE HAD TO BECOME A NETWORK OURSELVES.” Retired Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_A._McChrystal#/ media/File:Defense.gov_News_Photo_030414-D-2987S-060.jpg It takes a network, Foreign Policy, https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/02/21/it-takes-a-network/
AN ORGANIZATION OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE. Paraphrasing President Abraham Lincoln It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, just whether networks for mutual value are more responsive, more sustainable, more competitive than alternatives. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Abraham_Lincoln_O-77_matte_collodion_print.jpg
Image by Mark Warner, cc-by, https://www.flickr.com/ photos/senatormarkwarner/19588717540 ‘SHARING’, LITE DECENTRALIZED* MONOPOLISTIC COMMERCIALISING SURPLUS EXTRACTIVE VALUE BIGGEST THREAT = SHARING, ORIG. SHARING, ORIG. *DISTRIBUTED NATURAL LIBERATING SURPLUS MUTUAL VALUE A DECENTRALIZED SYSTEM DECENTRALIZES LOCATION BUT NOT CONTROL. A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM ALSO DISTRIBUTES CONTROL.*
The Business of Influence, Sheldrake, Wiley, 2011 http://www.eulerpartners.com/influence-flows/ SIX INFLUENCE FLOWS 1 3 2 5 6 4 THE ORGANIZATION STAKEHOLDERS THE COMPETITION
THE SOCIAL BUSINESS MUTUALITY STACK MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING www.philipsheldrake.com/2014/03/social-business-mutuality-stack/ understanding points of view and reasons for those points of view
THE SOCIAL BUSINESS MUTUALITY STACK MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING MUTUAL INFLUENCE www.philipsheldrake.com/2014/03/social-business-mutuality-stack/ mutual revision / adaption of opinions and behaviours
THE SOCIAL BUSINESS MUTUALITY STACK MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING MUTUAL INFLUENCE MUTUAL VALUE www.philipsheldrake.com/2014/03/social-business-mutuality-stack/ recognizing the value contributed and the value derived
“THE MOST UNIVERSAL CHALLENGE THAT WE FACE IS THE TRANSITION FROM SEEING OUR HUMAN INSTITUTIONS AS MACHINES TO SEEING THEM AS EMBODIMENTS OF NATURE.” “ORGANIZATIONS LEARN ONLY THROUGH INDIVIDUALS WHO LEARN.” Peter Senge Image by Americans4Arts, cc-by 2.0, https:// www.flickr.com/photos/americans4arts/3644561380 References: https://www.fastcompany.com/36819/learning- change and the Personal Mastery chapter of The Fifth Discipline
“They get their smarts from below. … In these systems, agents residing on one scale start producing behavior that lies one scale above them.” “All new organisational forms, no matter how radically new, are combinations and permutations of what was there before.”
DELIBERATE STRATEGY EMERGENT STRATEGY The dominant approach today. Top team sets strategy and aims to cascade down into operations. Frequently an annual drumbeat. Sensitizing the organization, and developing an organizational fabric with the agility to react appropriately, to exploit opportunity and close down risk. Deliberate and emergent, by design. http://www.philipsheldrake.com/2014/07/deliberate-emergent-design/
“CULTIVATE A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF YOURSELF BY IDENTIFYING YOUR MOST VALUABLE STRENGTHS AND MOST DANGEROUS WEAKNESSES. ARTICULATE HOW YOU LEARN AND WORK WITH OTHERS AND WHAT YOUR MOST DEEPLY HELD VALUES ARE. DESCRIBE THE TYPE OF WORK ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOU CAN MAKE THE GREATEST CONTRIBUTION.” Peter Drucker Image by jeffmcneill, cc-by-sa 2.0, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drucker5789.jpg
SELF-ORGANIZATION A process where some form of global order or coordination arises out of the local interactions between the components of an initially disordered system. THE ORGANIZED-SELF Equipped with an ‘organization agent’ – software representing us in finding opportunities to create mutual value with others, and helping to realise that value.
The quantified self, the quantified organization, and the organized self. http://www.philipsheldrake.com/2015/02/the-quantified-self-the- quantified-organization-and-the-organized-self/ SELF autonomous and interdependent ORG people organized to common purpose QUANTIFIED data collection and analyses ORGANIZED -SELF QUANTIFIED -ORG QUANTIFIED -SELF
SOCIOVEILLANCE SUR SOUS SOCIO Apersonalandprivateservicemonitoringour interactionswithoursocios.Acomponentof organized-self. Negotiatesdataexchangewithothers’ serviceaccordingtoourrespectiveprivacy policiestoenrichourmutualunderstanding withincomfortableboundaries.
SOCIOVEILLANCEWHAT IS SOCIAL BUSINESS?
DO YOU HELP ALL THE INDIVIDUALS ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR ORGANIZATION BUILD WORTHWHILE RELATIONSHIPS WITH EACH OTHER AND OTHERS, COALESCING BY NEED AND DESIRE, KNOWLEDGE AND CAPABILITY AND SHARED VALUES, TO CREATE SHARED VALUE http://www.attenzi.com/seventy-two/ http://www.philipsheldrake.com/2013/09/3m-thinktank-conference-getting-social-business/ ?
“THIS IS A CONNECTED WORLD … BUT THE SHADOWS OF THE INDUSTRIAL AGE ARE LONG AND RUN DEEP.” “THE HEALING MESH OF SOCIAL BUSINESS … CREATES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEW KIND OF SOCIAL FABRIC, WOVEN TOGETHER OUT OF CONNECTED INTENTION. THAT KIND OF CO-OPERATION CAN BE THE FABRIC FOR AN EMERGENT CIVILIZATION.” Anne McCrossan Image by jeffmcneill, cc-by-sa 2.0, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drucker5789.jpg Interviewed by Stowe Boyd: http://stoweboyd.com/post/74638842971/socialogy-interview-with-anne-mccrossan Archived blog post: https://web.archive.org/web/20131027035037/http://www.visceralbusiness.com/blog/brand/social-business-social-fabric-and-the-healing-mesh/
THE HI:PROJECT CHAMPIONS THE HUMAN INTERFACE. YOUR INTERFACE FOR YOUR LIFE. www.hi-project.org
WORK WILL SUCK LESS WHEN > WE DEFINE ITS PURPOSE TOGETHER > WE PURSUE ADAPTATION AS NORMAL > WE NAVIGATE COMPLEXITY > WE WORK IN NETWORKS > WE CREATE MUTUAL VALUE