If you're copying a business model, you're building in obsolescence and extinction.
Established corporations known as manufacturers, like General Electric, are working to reposition themselves as tech companies. GE is moving its headquarters to Boston, a decision we believe is intended to move the company closer to innovation hubs like MIT.
NV “Tiger” Tyagarajan, president and CEO at Genpact, LLC, recently shared with us that Genpact does not have corporate headquarters and instead spreads its teams around the world in hubs close to their customers. He also noted that their ability to use robots made communication with customers instantaneous.
Through the robot interface, the customer, sitting in New York, could meet the team – based in Poland – that would work for his organization and understand how its processes would be managed. It is quite revolutionary.
Changing Demographics
Much is written today about the millennial generation. And much of it is derisive: “Millennials don't want to work hard. They want to be immediately rewarded with big jobs.”
Go back 30 or 40 years and read books and articles about the young people coming into the workforce, and you'll see the same criticisms and concerns. In fact, the same themes were a part of social commentary 1,000 years ago.
Yes, millennials are different, but every new generation has challenged conventional ways of doing things. And there is one constant: the entry-level generation cannot understand why they are not getting the big jobs in three years. And they have much to say about how things should be done.
Millennials have more sophisticated information tools and are usually more adept at using them in the workplace. In other words, most have the data and social skills to back up their assertions.
Children today know more because they can discover information much more quickly – and with the right environment, they can use that information to create exciting products and services. Today's 5-year-olds can create items that a 12-year-old could not create 10 years ago, or adults a generation ago.
There always has been, and always will be, generations that challenge the status quo with more knowledge and creative capability than their predecessors. But the new dynamic is how different generations must coexist in larger numbers in the workplace.
Increased health and longevity has a huge impact on the workforce. For many, retirement at the end of a career no longer makes sense, but sabbaticals during careers may.
In the past, people retired at age 65, expecting a lifespan of about 10 more years. Today, many young people can expect to be active and productive for 20 or 30 years past age 65. The 100-year life will be a reality for many. The trend also means there will be many generations at work. This is the first time in history that five generations are in the workplace together.
Globalization Is Now
The ability of more people to move around with easier access to transportation has created huge upheaval in societies. It is hard today to find a truly homogeneous national culture. Even the traditionally insular country of Japan finds itself needing to embrace immigrants from other parts of the world to fuel its economic growth.
Going back to where everyone is “just like us” is not an option. The old days are gone forever – or rather – the perception of the old days.
Humans are explorers by nature. And we're naturally cautious. Whole societies were set up to ward off onslaughts of others into their tribes. The story here is not just globalization and demographic shifts, but how easy it is for people to move around the world now – whether virtually or in person.
Societies are no longer as homogeneous as they were before, which can create tension in how work is done. This new era of globalization is a business phenomenon that is outpacing societies and outpacing companies.
Talent mobility has increased dramatically and that trend will continue. Once people get the taste of new workplace opportunities, as well as new products and services, they can never go back.
Shock and Awe
Along with change comes disruption. And with disruption comes opportunity. Jobs and companies are going away in the blink of an eye, and start-ups are appearing just as fast. How many cell phones have you had in the past five years? The pace of change is only increasing.
The author Alvin Toffler predicted this in his seminal book, Future Shock. The future that Toffler predicted in 1970 is upon us – and has been for many years. He predicted the explosion of information sharing and the disruption of the formalized workplace culture.
Despite the writings of Toffler and other futurists, most people – and most companies – have not stayed ahead of the waves of change.
We have seen through our research, discussions with leaders, best-selling authors, and many of our Fortune 500 clients that the three waves of change are causing the following six factors to emerge. These factors have everything to do with how we deliver goods and services, motivate and engage people, and build relationships to fulfill our shared need for a sense of contribution in our daily lives.
Six Factors of Change
Here are six factors transforming the workplace from the twentieth to the twenty-first century.
These factors require considerable reshaping of fundamentals in any enterprise:
● How you develop people
● How you organize work to deliver value to your customers
● What human relations practices you put into place to advance your workforce
Google, and other forward-thinking companies, have proven that emotional connections are the key to a successful twenty-first-century business. And all six of these factors require a fresh look at the human side of business.
Robots and Artificial Intelligence may demonstrate logic, but they have yet to exhibit heart and emotion (unless you are the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz). They aren't able to display the truly unique aspects of humanness.
We may be in the midst of a digital revolution, but it's the people revolution that will determine whether we ride the waves of change or drown.
Let's look at these six factors in a bit more detail.
1. Leadership
More has been written about leadership than probably any other business topic. Search for “leadership books” on Amazon and you'll get to sort through almost 200,000 results.
Still, for some reason, we often get it wrong.
We've seen management in the financial sector ignore technology, choosing to resist computerization with the excuse of not wanting to disrupt their employees. As a result, entire departments, and companies, were wiped out.
In the end, company success boils down to leaders: what they value and how they behave.
While much was espoused about empathic leadership, the twentieth-century leadership style was, and still is, predominantly “command and control.” According to Harry Kraemer, former CEO of Baxter, and professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, only about 20 percent of leaders practice inclusive, people-focused, and values-driven
