Originally published at Boston.com
In my last blog, I argued that the world needs more systems thinkers given the scope of problems/opportunities we face. I believe our major systems have a long way to go, and I write from that angle and set of assumptions. But having an awareness of how our systems, and therefore work habits, are changing is a critical skill for anyone in this economy, not just social change enthusiasts.
There are two ways to look toward the future of work: What might the world need from us in terms of the companies we build or work we do? And to what degree are we prepared to navigate industries and work environments that are changing fast whether we like it or not?.
Many folks have written about the shift we’re undergoing now from an Industrial age/manufacturing economy to a post-Industrial, creative economy, cross-sector collaboration, and the kind of work environments required for Gen Y-ers/Millennials to thrive. Fast Company (and Fast CoExist), Forbes, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Boston’s own Root Cause are all over it. Everyone seems to be talking about how work is becoming more networked, flexible, and adaptive. But what does this larger shift to a creative economy mean for the individual? For the 20 something early in the process of building his/her career? or the mid-career professional considering a change?
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by Lex on February 7, 2012
We can only find satisfaction in a high-tech, hyper-connective present/future if we are careful to use these advancements to build upon—not separate ourselves from—a meaningful, collective intimacy. –Alex Steed
As Gen Y-ers/millennials—I’m grouping the two together since the lines aren’t clear and it still feels like such a new century!—we are a generation inclined to share. Thanks to social media, largely Facebook, we are a generation inclined to “like” things and “share” things. Which is to say, like all generations that have come before us, we like things and share things. Bear with me… What I’m saying is, we share information and ideas about work or art that interests us and sometimes work or art that we create as human beings have always done. Only the means of this sharing have changed, right? So why does it feel like everything has changed?
Sometimes when you feel like everything is changing around you, it’s because you’re 25 (or 27 in my case), and life opens up wider than you could have ever imagined in your 20s. Other times it’s because everything around you is indeed changing and you live in a remarkably interesting time in history. Due to an explosion of technologies and applications changing the methods and frequency by which we communicate and share (read John Freeman’s The Tyranny of Email), I’d say we live in a particularly interesting, deeply transformational time. Technological advances have radically changed the ways in which we engage with the world and with each other, the very way we live our lives.
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by Lex on January 25, 2012
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