Apr 13, 2016

It’s a Brave, New World!

According to TED presenter Perry Timms, “in business, leaders are seeing a revival of values that are more geared towards relationships and mindfulness…instead of employing people to do jobs, companies are looking for people to provide solutions to specific problems. This had led to people offering their services on their own, or in collaboration with others”. All of this, according to Timms, is as a result of the digitisation of the world. The way things have been done is being disrupted; people can work anywhere, on their own devices and in their own time.

Three of the key “disruptors” that Timms highlights, which I found significant were: the demise of the job as we know it; learning for all; and a demand for craft.

Demise of the job: Timms believes that jobs as we know them, routine and repetitive, will change and work will be put out on offer via technology i.e. the “gig” economy. So you and I could very well be bidding for work on our own or with colleagues, on a project by project basis. To some extent, contractors are possibly working this way already.

Learning for all: with the plethora of training media around, it is possible to study almost anything, in a multitude of ways. On-line learning, virtual classrooms, YouTube or whatever, mean that learning is available for continuous personal improvement. Lest I talk myself out of a job, there IS a place for actual interactive learning in a classroom environment! The point here is, that learning doesn’t only have to be via formal pathways anymore, or physically attending institutions of learning.

Demand for craft: Timms believes that people want to do jobs that have meaning. This in turn means that there is more pressure on management to provide a workplace that is flexible and varied. I think this also implies that the work we do on a daily basis, must be aligned to our personal values and interests.

So it’s a brave new world right here, right now and any preconceived notions of the workplace need to be ditched and/or realigned.

South African Weekend Argus December 6 2015
Perry Timms Bucharest TED talk on You Tube