The Postnormal Shift to a Holistic Workforce

Generation Cohort

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How many books do you think there are on the subject of dealing with the generational divide in the workplace? With this many, the problem is solved... right?

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Of course, we’ve all heard the differences between the generations: what motivates them, how they view authority, how they learn, and how they communicate. Most of us can recite this information like

canon. And as we all know, this has been framed as another of the many “wars” that we fight.

Have you ever played Bingo? Does this information - tagging the generations with the common characteristics and making sure that we are covering all of our bases in the “war in the workplace” -

seem very much like playing this game?

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Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a

different result. Albert Einstein

This quote, often credited to Albert Einstein, speaks to this endless game of Bingo that we play in an attempt to solve the puzzle of “generational warfare” in the workplace. Could it be that the way we view generations is as much a product of our

thinking as any perceived “war” or literal divide? Is a shift necessary? Is that shift already underway?

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“All that was ‘normal’ has now evaporated; we have entered

postnormal times, the in between period where old orthodoxies are

dying, new ones have not yet emerged, and

nothing really makes sense.”

Ziauddin Sardar, The City University, London

We have entered the...Postnormal Economy

{Complexity

ChaosContradictionOpen-Sourced

DisruptiveNetworked

CollaborativeUncertaintyResilience

Imagination

Wednesday, August 22, 12

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Kedge, LLC Photo courtesy of Marcin Wichary via Flickr

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Kedge, LLC http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/162/generation-flux-future-of-business

Photo courtesy of andreas.hopf via Flickr

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The Creator Economy

The Knowledge Economy

The Human

Age The Molecular Age

In this Postnormal economy and age, we are experiencing a VUCA environment. Many are describing our new era as the Molecular Age (ever-increasing nano-based and shrinking/pervasive technology), the Human Age (a focus on human capital and a citizen-centric viewpoint), the Knowledge Economy (moving beyond a simple Information Age into the cross-pollination of knowledge and qualitative/open creativity across sectors and disciplines; a post-disciplinary age), or the Creator Economy (the popularity of a DIY and maker-centric landscape in which the population desires more involvement with consumption). With the accelerating change across domains and sectors, this is becoming our “new normal.” What does this mean in terms of changing the way we see and approach the concept of generational theory, generational knowledge transfer, innovation & creativity

and generations in the workplace?

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The transformational shift in society and business along with the convergence of emerging

technology, social change, and entirely new landscapes of complexity are causing the well-

defined concept of the socio-historical generation to begin to fade.

Generation Cohort

http://kedgelabs.com/2012/05/17/generation-cohort-how-the-great-transformation-of-the-21st-century-is-altering-the-concept-of-socio-historical-generations/

Generations are giving way to passion-oriented cohorts.

Welcome to Generation Cohort

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While there are still Boomers, Gen Xers,

Gen Y, and whatever the next generation is being

called, the lines are increasingly blurring.

In this new world where resilience and flexibility are king, the meshing of social tech and collaborative communities is not only allowing open-source ideas and grass-roots initiatives to thrive, but is rallying individuals from across the generations to activities of like-passions.

Generation Cohort What Does This

Mean?

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Generation Flux share many common

characteristics like resiliency, adaptability, and

the desire for passion-specific career paths (but not age). GenFlux often

boast non-traditional education and a unique

propensity to explore disciplines simultaneously.

Generation Flux, which was highlighted by FastCompany, is an excellent example of the Cohort trend.

Generation Cohort

The People Collaborative Linked Open Ubiquitous Disruptive

Kedge, LLC The ubiquitous, resilient, and open nature of Generation Cohort resembles the concept of Cloud Computing.

This shouldn’t be a surprise, as the Postnormal Age is being driven being the co-development of technology and culture, side-by-side. The acronym CLOUD helps us to understand the drivers & power of Generation Cohort.

Collaborative

Hyperlocal The concept isn’t new, but the idea of a well-designed community

whose primary focus is directed toward the

concerns of its residents is custom-

made for the connective mindset of the internet generation.

Hyperlocal networks and collaboration have begun to skyrocket in popularity, opening the door to sharing and innovation across worldviews, disciplines, and geographic boundaries.

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Gross national happiness is no airy concept. It helps us better to

understand what makes a qualitative difference in people’s

lives and, in turn, can improve national competitiveness in the

21st century. Many national statistics offices already collect this

type of data, including Finland’s Findicator and Australia’s

Measures of Australia’s Progress.

http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2012/04/19/guest-post-brazils-gross-national-happiness/#axzz1sXfnFspl

A number of recent studies have shown that in many developed countries, including Japan, happiness is not proportional to economic wealth. This is leading some to seek the development of a new economic model based

on principles of happiness and well being.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2110914,00.html

Gross National Happiness Photo courtesy of imaphotog via Flickr

Collaborative

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Photo courtesy of Marc_Smith via Flickr.com

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/successful-ceos-embrace-social-media/article2439952/

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Certification vs. Reputation

The accelerating pace of change is making most traditional degree and certification programs worthless. In fact, for many disciplines half of what a student learns

as a freshman is obsolete by her senior year.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/successful-ceos-embrace-social-media/article2439952/

The declining value of formal education coupled with the growing popularity of social media has shifted the

emphasis from “what you know” to “who you know” and an individual’s network (if it’s expansive enough) could

trump tenure or traditional experience measures.

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By 2020, half the global talent pool will be available to companies located anywhere in the world.

In order to remain competitive, companies will need to cast wider nets in that global talent pool.

http://rossdawsonblog.com/weblog/archives/2012/01/in-the-global-talent-economy-over-50-will-be-mobile-workers.html

Casting a Wider Net

Linked

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The Global Balance of Power

The nature of globalization is changing, largely due to a shift in the global balance of power

to developing nations.

Photo courtesy of Roland Urbanek via Flickr

Globalization 2.0: The Global Balance of Power is Shifting – Hay Group, 2011

Over the next 20 years, the global working population will increase by 21%. Developing

countries will see an increase of 931 millions workers or 24%,

but the workforce in the developed world will contract

by one million. Hays Oxford Economics Global Report, April 2011

Linked

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And speaking of a global balance of power... do our traditional concepts of generations even apply across international lines and societies? What happens if we retain the old concepts, and have to deal primarily with

workers outside of our culture?

McAfee formed a strong bond of commitment with the hundreds of unpaid technical experts in the larger marketplace. They invited these "McAfee Maniacs" to participate in much of McAfee's web-based technical support. McAfee's competitors were spending between 3-7% of their overall SG&A expenses on service; McAfee's became virtually zero, directly boosting the dollars they could contribute to R&D and other innovation efforts.

Leveraging the Power of the Cloud

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/02/social_means_freedom_for_bette.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Photo courtesy of Ted Van Pelt via Flickr.com

McAfee did something transformative to their

service exchange by using social.

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Former Boston hedge-fund manager Salman Khan stumbled upon the idea for his free web-based academy while trying to teach math to cousins in New Orleans.

In an effort to bridge the time and distance gap, he started making 10-minute videos of math lessons and

posting them on YouTube. Much to his surprise, Khan found his cousins

preferred learning from him via YouTube to learning from him in person. Quickly, the videos gained an online following,

grew like wildfire, and today Khan Academy has delivered more than 42

million lessons.

Learning

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The Open Office From flattened

hierarchies to open-plan offices,

organizations across the globe are

realizing that in order to encourage

collaboration and inter-generational

knowledge transfer, openness is not a “nice to have” but

must have. Ope

n-S

ourc

ed

http://www.techzim.co.zw/2012/03/are-new-social-media-disaster-apps-suitable-for-africa/ Kedge, LLC Photo courtesy of courosa via Flickr.com

Businesses are using gaming techniques to motivate their employees, and as a tool in

recruitment and screening.

The Gamification of Work

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/business/employers-and-brands-use-gaming-to-gauge-engagement.html Kedge, LLC

Some 70% of the world's top 2,000 companies will use game techniques as a behavioral

motivator to recruit, train, and enhance employee performance, as well as to encourage new ideas.

http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/04/10/games-job-recruiting/ Photo courtesy of .reid. via Flickr.com

Kedge, LLC http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/162/generation-flux-future-of-business

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/jobs/for-a-working-parent-an-arrive-late-leave-early-schedule.html

http://rossdawsonblog.com/weblog/archives/2012/01/in-the-global-talent-economy-over-50-will-be-mobile-workers.html

VirFlex (Virtual/Flexible) Work Models

“Our work practices and cultures were built during the time of the single-earner family. We expect modern workers in a variety of life situations to conform to this traditional standard.”

Technology is not the only factor accelerating the People Cloud trend. Changing

demographics and family models are also encouraging the adoption of employment

models in which employees need not be physically present for work.

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In today’s world, the recognition that hiring for potential rather than by skills alone is opening doors for thinking & innovation that isn’t limited by organizational culture or assumptions. This approach also allows for new ideas that essentially “hack” an existing system, highlighting the weaknesses and opportunities that an organization would otherwise miss.

Harness Hacking

Photo courtesy of ramblingrovers via Flickr

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Resiliency

In a VUCA environment, it’s no longer about “sustainability” because no strategy, product offering, or employment status

is really sustainable. Instead, firms (and individuals) must focus on developing resiliency.

Agility is the new leadership

competency and the talent to learn,

unlearn, and relearn will be the most sought after

skillset.

Disruptive

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Holistic Workforce

As a result of this fundamental shift in business, technology, and culture - and the new way of thinking around generational theory in the workplace - we have the opportunity to seize a new holistic

workforce. Yes, this will require a shift in organizational values and skills!

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With individuals living longer, career paths are evolving. The potential for many people to live to the age of 100 or older is causing many to reconsider the industrial age

model of retirement at 65. Longer career paths will mean that in the future individuals will more strongly consider

pursuing their passions.

Research on Gen Y in particular is already showcasing this trend – tomorrow’s leaders will

want more than a career, they will want a calling. Photo courtesy of jimflix! via Flickr

The New Career Path

Holistic Workforce

Kedge, LLC http://www.good.is/post/could-apprenticeships-replace-the-college-degree/

A Triple Bottom Line Mentality

Firms have begun realizing that leveraging social responsibility in development programs can significantly strengthen their talent pipeline.

The result is a place like "P-Tech", a new high school in

New York City that's the result of a partnership between

IBM and the City University of New York.

Holistic Workforce

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The school is also implementing a 'MicroSociety' learning program. Students create their own 'society' becoming sellers of goods and electing officials while earning wages in the school's currency.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/713194

Whole Person Education

Recently, the Ford Motor Company partnered with

community leaders to create a public school

designed to address the whole child.

Holistic Workforce

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Worldwide, 60% of entrepreneurs work in a corporate environment before starting

their own business.

Spa

rkin

g In

nova

tion

Motivated “solopreneurs” are quickly becoming the talent-of-choice for some of the world’s most successful enterprises,

with leading edge corporations realizing that collaborating with start-ups can kick start innovation.

Nature or nurture? Decoding the DNA of the Entrepreneur, Ernst & Young, 2011 http://gigaom.com/collaboration/the-future-of-work-fiercely-independent-and-agile/

Photo courtesy of f1uffster via Flickr

Hol

istic

Wor

kfor

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Kedge is a minority-owned foresight, innovation, creativity, and strategic design consultancy. We help our clients to thrive in a world of complex ideas and practices, uncover emerging trends on the horizon that will impact their business, and discover unseen opportunities for strategic advantage and development.

Yvette Montero Salvatico, Partner/Principal Holding a bachelor’s degree in Finance and an MBA from the University of Florida, Yvette has over 15 years of corporate experience with large, multi-national firms such as Kimberly-Clark and The Walt Disney Company. Before becoming a partner at Kedge, she lead the effort to establish Future Workforce Insights at the Walt Disney Company, identifying future workforce trends and leveraging foresight models and techniques to assess potential threats and impacts, emerging ideas, and exciting opportunities for the organization. Yvette is an experienced speaker, addressing large audiences on topics such as business policy, diversity, and foresight.

Frank Spencer, Partner/Principal Prior to founding Kedge, Frank worked for 15 years as a leadership coach and developer with entrepreneurs, social communities, networking initiatives and SMEs, helping them to advance human development, local and global innovation, and open-source collaboration. He holds a Master of Arts in Strategic Foresight from Regent University, and is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists and the World Futures Studies Federation. With a strong background in both business and academic foresight, Frank taught a course on futures and foresight for developing solutions to wicked problems at the Duke TIP Institutes; is on the organizing team that is developing an MSc in Foresight and Innovation at ISTIA/The University of Angers in France; and has worked on strategic foresight projects for companies such as Kraft, Mars, Marriott, and The Walt Disney Company.

Yvette Montero Salvatico Frank W. Spencer, IV Principal, Kedge, LLC Principal, Kedge, LLC 2905 Boat Dock Road 12 Drake Drive Kissimmee, Florida 34746 Savannah, Georgia 31406 407-973-1172 912-660-6726 e-mail: yvette@kedgefutures.com e-mail: frank@kedgefutures.com www.kedgefutures.com

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Thursday, August 23, 12