Technology that we refer to as new will be old hat to the next generation, so embrace it, says Trevor Gay, and you may even learn to love the electronic revolution.
If you work in an office you don't need a degree in sociology to realise something is going on. We are going through something that is challenging basic beliefs and values in the office. We are in an environment where a quality broadsheet newspaper can be produced in the spare bedroom of anyone skilled enough to use a computer. It makes me think about the world of office work 20 years from now. I am not into science fiction but what I am writing feels a bit like that.
The youngsters of today, and by that I mean six and seven year olds, have keyboards as extensions to their fingers. It is amazing to try and predict the world of office-based work for them. When I think back 20 years 'the office' is unrecognisable compared to today.
"Our children are being brought up surrounded by massive leaps of technological advance that feel like science fiction. They are going to arrive on the work scene 10 years from now with a totally different view of the world to mine."When I was a youngster starting my career in the 1970s everything was paper based. The computer was something that was being talked of 'coming to an office near you'. People were moderately interested and were prepared to see it as a marginal piece of office equipment that might possibly help them, but most did not really see it as anything but a futuristic piece of kit being promoted by a few eccentric folks. An understatement similar in magnitude to 'Houston, we have a problem'.
Then along came the World Wide Web and email. Nowadays if I want to know anything my first thought is to log on to Google and search. This ranges from:
It's not about trying to be clever, or smarter than the next person, simply that there are now no boundaries and no limits. We can ask anything we want and we do not have to ask a particular expert. We simply ask the world the question and there will be someone that will provide the answer. I am not making a judgement about whether the answer is correct but the days are gone when we must see the truth as being the sole province of one 'expert in the field'.
Why are patients turning up at consultations with challenging questions for the health professionals? The answer is complex but one reason must be access to information that all human beings now have – literally at their fingertips.
We have choices about this:
Choice number one
Accept the new world of IT-driven office settings and learn to accept it, then learn to love it, then learn to call for faster change.
Or
Choice number two
Refer to choice number one!
The days of rationality and having endless time to debate issues have gone. Of course many people want things to move at the more leisurely pace they have become accustomed to. The snag is the demands are different. We used to work in a situation where the customer did not drive the process. The customer responded to the foibles of the organisation. The customer today is calling the shots and is, in fact in charge. And by the way, the customer wants it now.
Smart organisations are ahead of the customer – historically the best performing organisations have great relationships with customers. The new world means organisations need to be very smart to be ahead of the customer.
Imagine this scenario: I have a budget to buy my new printer - say £100. I go along the high street to retailer A – the printer I want is available for £100. I go two doors down the street to retailer B – the same printer – also available for £100. What is it that will make me part with the £100 – probably the way I feel about the shop and the way I am treated by the sales folks.
As if that is not challenging enough for retailers, now imagine a further complication for both company A and company B.
I sit at home and go online to a whole range of sites to seek out the best price for the identical printer. Not only is it £20 cheaper it will be delivered within 48 hours to my home. I complete the sale online.
I conclude the purchase without leaving the warmth and comfort of my home. I did not have to pay for the privilege of parking my car, walk in the cold and rain to two shops. Now tell me the world is not changing.
I've recently re-visited Tom Peters's book 'Re-imagine'. It is full of examples of how the IT revolution is radically changing the world of the 'white collar' worker. Peters estimates that 80% of white collar jobs - as we now know them - will either disappear entirely or be reconfigured beyond recognition in the next 15 years! That is staggering but then Peters quotes the chief executive of General Electric who says that "75% of GE administrative and back-office jobs will disappear within three years"!
I believe the massive cultural challenges created by this information technology revolution should be faced head on and celebrated. There is simply no point in denying the existence of the new order.
Our children are being brought up surrounded by massive leaps of technological advance that feel like science fiction. They are going to arrive on the work scene 10 years from now with a totally different view of the world to mine:
* They are going to be more inquisitive
* They are going to bring new skills to the workplace
* They are going to challenge the way things have been done in the past
* They are going to develop a new language that some of us veterans will find hard to speak never mind understand.
Of course they are also going to make mistakes but their mistakes will be new mistakes not the old mistakes I and my father made.
There are going to be more one person businesses – call it service industry, call it what you like - but there will be more people being the chief executive of their own career.
How many youngsters (20 and under) of 2008 will retire having been on the payroll of one organisation? The days have gone when one's effectiveness is judged by how long you stay on the payroll. I suspect the career of the future will be determined by the needs and wishes of the individual in the white collar world, rather than opportunities presented to them by organisations.
My feeling is we should "get on the bus" (Tom Peters) and be prepared for a bumpy ride for the next few years. We should learn to enjoy the bumpy ride. The smooth ride is an option only for those who wish to remain asleep.
To see more reflections from Trevor you can read his last article on TrainingZone.co.uk or visit his Simplicity Blog You can contact him by email
Trevor Gay is an independent leadership and management coach, trainer, consultant and author with a self confessed obsession for simplicity and liberating front-line staff.
