Career in the Collaborative Age | The Fourth Revolution Blog

The Fourth Revolution and the CEO mindset’s transformation

The latest IBM CEO study gives some interesting insights into how CEO’s role and priorities change over time. In 2012, this study of more than 1,700 CEOs came with 3 strong topics:

For Employees: Empowering Employees through Values
For Customers: Engaging Customers as Individuals
Amplifying Innovation through partnerships

The study highlights that now at last CEOs of large corporations see that investing in internal social networks (for collaboration) and external social networks (for engaging customers) is mandatory.

One conclusion of the study is “As CEOs ratchet up the level of openness within their organizations, they are developing collaborative environments where employees are
encouraged to speak up, exercise personal initiative, connect with fellow
collaborators, and innovate“.

While only 16% of them do it now, in 3 years time it is expected that a majority of them will get on external social networks:

It is interesting to note how the focus of CEO’s changed in the past decade or so

We can see how the focus changed from revenue growth to change, accounting for complexity and leveraging on employees. This looks like the trajectory of the Fourth Revolution revealed! It is clear that CEOs are “abandoning command and control” (link to an excellent paper by Alexandra Levit) to more collaborative ways of working. This Forbes article “If you don’t have a social CEO you are going to be less competitive” is also a great reference on the IBM study.

There is obviously a big limit to this study: it only considers corporations. When will the corporations feel that they might not be the best value-producing form of organization? When will IBM also study what happens in other organizations? Already today the CEOs need to be much more entrepreneurial. This trend will only further develop and grow. I’m already looking forward to the next studies!

Useful Reminder: We Are All Artists Now

Useful reminder from Seth Godin in this short manifesto inspired by his last book to be published at the end of the year: We Are All Artists Now (click to view on ChangeThis).

There are some nuggets in there, like:

” Why Make Art?

Because you must. The new connected economy demands it and will reward you for nothing else.

Because you can. Art is what it is to be human.”

Or:

“Art isn’t a result; it’s a journey. The challenge of our time is to find a journey worthy of your heart and your soul.”

A good and inspiring week-end read. Enjoy!

How the Anonymous are a Precursor of the Collaborative Age Organization

This interesting article in the Guardian “Disorganized but effective: how technology lowers transaction costs” highlights how lower the transaction costs has allowed the development of such amorphous groups such as Anonymous or the Occupy movement.

Interestingly, the article takes a perspective on the dramatic change of our capabilities in terms of ‘transaction cost’ that is very similar to our Fourth Revolution concept based on our communication capabilities. It is the same of course. The previous Fundamental Revolutions always saw the creation of more organized bureaucracy – the Agricultural Age’s bureaucracy paving the way for the Industrial Age’s Corporation. The Fourth Revolution is the era of chaos and complexity. And for the first time we can organize chaotic groups that deliver effectively.

Not just the Anonymous, Occupy, other activists but also many groups that are not so much on the dark side, like all the Open Source movement: these are all amorphous groups without visible structure; their weak structure is constantly evolving and never fixed, completely akin to turbulent flow. They rely heavily on technology to communicate, using automation and a choice of synchronous and asynchronous tools.

These groups are in advance on their time; soon we’ll all participate to such groups because chaos begets creation, the value engine of the Fourth Revolution. They are the real precursors of the Collaborative Age turbulent organization.

Welcome to a chaotic, and effective world – Welcome to the Future of the Organization!

When you most feel like giving up… what should you do?

There is an interesting statement by Robin Sharma:

“When you most feel like giving up is when you most need to be keeping on“. How much is that applicable?

The need to be persistent is a mantra of self-development books. And indeed, it is a very important parameters to beat the Resistance that tries to prevent us from creating anything new (re-read the “War of Art” blog post and the “The War of Art” book if you’re not sure any more about what is Resistance).

I have experienced it first hand in my entrepreneurial venture. I have decided to give it 2 years before deciding to continue or ditch it. And when I feel miserable, stressed and depressed I remember this (or my wife does remind me), which gets me back on track.

There are some instances, though, where it might be better to stop and start something new. They are rare. It is very difficult to identify these rare instances because Resistance tricks us into believing that any difficulty is candidate for stopping. To get a full review of this important issue, re-read “The Dip” by Seth Godin. From a practical perspective, here’s a useful and simple process:

define first some “breaking parameters and criteria” and write them down
Decide that you will stop if you reach those breaking parameters
Be very strict that you apply the exact parameters and criteria that you had written down a few months earlier

Be persistent. And know what are the rare instances where not to be.

What really is stardom nowadays? Can’t you just be the star of your tribe?

In the article “How the internet killed Carly Rae Jepsen” on MTV hive, the author explains how Carly’s new album is (relatively) a flop. Is that contradictory with our recent post on her incredible viral summer success ‘Call me maybe?’ (“Done! The Fourth Revolution put the music industry upside-down!“?)

I would like to argue that it is not because her album has a slow start start it does not mean that she will not succeed on the long term as a noticeable artist. Anyway she is now geared to participate to Justin Bieber’s concerts for the next few months. She is releasing videos and continuing promoting her work.

But the most important thing is that the internet / social network age is all about tribes, and not necessarily mass consumption. Stardom in the industrial age was necessarily at the level of the entire population, of an entire country: you could not so much have several products competing for different sections of the population. Following country-level sales made sense. With the Fourth Revolution, this kind of stardom is doomed to extinction, or will at least be less important. Stars will be stars of smaller global tribes of a few million people scattered over the world. These tribes will often not be defined geographically but more by taste and lifestyle. A star’s influence can be greater through a tighter connection will less people than with a looser connection to everybody.

In any case Carly sold more than 100,000 albums – how many would-be singers would kill to achieve that? She might not be on the road to become a global star, but she certainly is building a strong base for success, within a certain tribe on which she will have a great influence. Will she manage to establish herself as a star for her tribe? Time will tell!

Hat tip to Laurent Riesterer for the link to the MTV hive article.

Why do we consider that people can’t change their mind?

Recently another perverse effect of the fixed mindset became obvious to me as I was in the US watching a presidential election debate (but this can be observed in any country).

Commentators and debaters alike spent their time referring to positions, votes, declarations, papers, etc written by the candidates in the course of their career. They used these references – sometimes decades old- to pinpoint inconsistencies in the declarations of candidates.

A striking question that came to me is “why can’t people be allowed to change their mind?”. Why can’t we understand that in some instances, people do change their point of view? Of course you would not necessarily expect people to change fundamentally their values (or then very slowly). But on a number of issues, faced with new evidence and experience, people should be allowed to change their minds!

For example, a politician suddenly becoming president of a large, powerful country will certainly encounter experiences in this unique position that will lead him to reconsider certain of his beliefs or opinions. Still he/she is not to show any of this publicly. It is as if our society would not accept any growth and change from these people.

What is amazing is how difficult it is for us to accept that people can indeed change their mind on some fundamental issues. And this is probably caused by our ‘fixed mindset’ inheritance.

The next time someone you know dares say that he/she changed his/her mind on something important, support this person. It is tough to say this in our societies. Let change it and support growth and change. We collectively need it.

Escape from the ‘Talent’ illusion: do you have a “fixed” or a “growth” mindset?

I read a great book lately: “Mindset” by Carol Dweck. She is a renowned researcher in the field of motivation. She explains that there is a significant difference between achievers and others: it all depends whether you have a “fixed mindset” or a “growth mindset”.

Mindset, a book by Carol Dweck — Carol Dweck

“Fixed mindset” people consider that talent is innate and you can’t just change it. They tend to avoid any situation of failure and consider that their talent is limited by their endowment at birth. “Growth mindset” people on the contrary consider that intelligence and talent develop through hard work and that difficulties are challenges are just obstacles that need to be overcome.

This seems quite straightforward but the book is backed up by decades or research and stunning experiments about the consequence of one’s mindset. And people seem to have generally one or the other.

If you want to know if you have a growth or fixed mindset? Just take the simple mindset test on the book’s website.

Did you test positive to the “fixed mindset”? Read on, a new life will start for you soon! The great thing is, you can change your mindset from “fixed” to “growth”. Even short term! And also on the longer term with some practice. And that’s what happened to the author, by the way. All it takes is the realization – the mindset – that talent is not innate but the result of great work.

Still hesitant? Observe around you how the really talented people are the result of years or decades of work. Grow and learn. And you can also change the world!

Here’s again the link to the book on Amazon.com: “Mindset” by Carol Dweck.

How having ‘skin in the game’ is necessary to grow and do incredible stuff

As I am struggling with some aspects of my new entrepreneur life, I was reading “Uncertainty: turning fear and doubt into brillance” by Jonathan Fields, an excellent book about what it takes to lean out of one’s comfort zone, and how to survive it. A quote struck me particularly:

“Risk of loss has to be there. You cannot create genius without having skin in the game. Kill the risk of loss and you destroy meaning and one of the core motivations for action” – Jonathan Fields

Right now I am facing activities which I must absolutely do for my new business to live further but that I don’t like doing: networking, meeting people to pitch products. I rather prefer to write clever reference documents and books in front of my computer! Still, that’s what I seek to learn; and because I now have skin in the game (the success of my venture, my family’s comfort, my money), I’ll force myself to do it. And I’ll do it for sure. That’s quite compelling in fact: if I don’t do it, no new business, no more adventure!

Because I have skin in the game, I’ll go up the steep learning curve and lean outside my comfort zone much deeper – another justification why creating one’s company is much more powerful than doing and MBA or an expensive education program.

Having skin in the game... and what sometimes happens

Because I have skin in the game I’ll also probably get hurt some place down the way – or at least get some hard knocks. But that’s probably what’s going to teach me resilience and patience, two other important learning points for me.

Yes, definitely I have chose to have skin in the game. That’s tough, but three months down the road I am already amazed at the way I’m gone. That’s probably the only way to really do things that you didn’t think you could do. The only way to create amazing things that will astonish the world.

And you, did you put your skin in the game? How could you do that?

Fourth Revolution in action: online universities are becoming mainstream!

Online universities are becoming recognized and deliver more and more degrees.

We had touched upon this issue in the post “Another Institution under Siege from the Fourth Revolution: Universities – Will they Reinvent themselves in time?” with the example of Udacity, a revolutionary online university.

online university — Online universities are becoming mainstream

Traditional universities are now coming into play. The MIT had its courses available online for a while, but now it is a real rush towards the ever growing market of university degrees online.

Recently, the MIT and Harvard announced the creation of edX, a platform for online studying and learning (visit the edX site here and read the edX press release here). This platform has an exciting ambitious growth plan, offering classes online for free for millions (but probably paying degrees!).

This excellent post by OnlineUniversities.com, “8 nations leading the way in online education” summarizes the situation and what are the most advanced countries in the field of online education: USA, India, China, South Korea, Malaysia, UK, Australia, South Africa. Many of these countries are geographically very large or serve as a hub for a large region, offering education opportunities for many.

Online education cannot probably replace face-to-face education in all disciplines but it can in many scientific ones. It is an incredible occasion for people to grow themselves for free. It is an incredible occasion to grow the knowledge base of humankind into the remotest corners of the planet.

Those countries and those universities that will miss this revolution will trail behind and eventually disappear into oblivion. When online universities will do more than just broadcasting, when they will unleash the power of collaboration, they will dwarf Industrial Age universities. This will happen soon.

When will you start taking the classes you always dreamed of taking online, for free?

The 5 career things I did believe, but don’t believe any more

I liked the idea of this post of Amber Naslund about thinking about the things that we did believe, but do not believe anymore. She did it in the field of her career.

looking into the rear-view mirror of your life: what do you see?

I’ll do it in the field of the Fourth Revolution’s K.E.E.N.’s (Knowledge Enhancing Exchanging Networker) career. Here are a few things that I believed, but do not believe any more.

Corporate jobs are safe

Corporate jobs are not safe any more, and in particular if you get closer to the top or older. There are many examples on a daily basis. Or, they are not safer than being on your own. Still companies would like us to believe that it is safer to be with them because it simplifies their management.

The only career path is to climb up in a specific function

I had many recommendations to try to be a specialist in a single function, and I used to think that the only career path was upwards; I found much more satisfying occupations when moving side-ways and becoming a generalist. It even increased dramatically my worth and marketability. But for some reason the normal career path is up through a narrow funnel.

Expatriation is just a must-do temporary assignment

Expatriation is generally presented nowadays as a must-do for career development; but at the same time it is not recommended to stay too far from headquarters for too long or be forgotten – the rule is to come back quick!. I found the expatriation experience a life-changing experience; and as a K.E.E.N. now, while I feel that my roots are still in France, I don’t mind continuing to live wherever I can best exercise my talents.

Protect your ground to avoid being eaten up by more ambitious

Lots of the corporate life is made of battles to consolidate one’s chiefdom; and this generates all the internal politics. Collaboration is, on the long term, a much better strategy; the K.E.E.N. exchanges its knowledge and creates conversations to create new, disruptive insights at the interface between specialties and industries.

The corporation needs to defend itself from the outside by all means

The traditional corporation is a closed world with limited relationship with the outside. Discussion with stakeholders is strictly regimented. Social networks are forbidden. Those corporations will be overtaken by the evolution of the world. Openness, creating conversations and a tightly knit network of supporters and followers, is now necessary for the organizations to thrive.

And you, what are the beliefs you had that you don’t believe any more?

Organizations today “are leading a workforce of communicators”

Contrary to what you might think, this is not an assertion by some hyped Californian startup leader.

Admiral Gary Roughead on social networks

It is a very serious statement by Adm. Gary Roughead, until recently the Chief of Naval Operations of the US Navy.

Like any other organization, the military finds that it is good to adopt social networks and a proactive social networks policy. Just erecting high walls and prohibiting people from using social networks would be a disaster.

And the Navy has found how social networks like Facebook can bring tremendous value to their action. Compared to official reporting, social networks give a more agile and deeper communication system, allowing to touch people directly, allowing a community to form and help on a local level, complementing the traditional hierarchical system of command.

As an organization, through social networks, the Navy also engages successfully the community of the sailors families, future recruits and any other person concerned by a Navy’s operation.

Adm Roughead goes on to mention three challenges for leaders in the Fourth Revolution:

the limit between work and private life is blurring considerably;
a balance needs to be found between accountability and empowerment;
resist the temptation to make it about you – don’t be ego-driven.

A final quote from Adm Roughead:

“it would be a strategic error of the most basic nature to not do everything you can to empower your workforce to communicate on behalf of the organization”

I encourage you to read Adm Roughead entire speech on social networks.

If the military can open to social networks and even leverage on them to be more effective, why are you still shy of adopting them in your organization?

Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans

This ultra-famous quote from John Lennon resonates daily with me.

life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans — What happens to you while you had made other plans!

I am particularly future-oriented and I like to have plans. And I don’t like things that have not been planned. And guess what – my long term plans are often defeated by the reality of life. On a daily basis.

Is the solution not making plans at all? I don’t think so, because only plans allow to move forward toward what we have chosen at that time to be our goal. Only through planning can we have follow-through. Still, flexibility is necessary to accommodate what really happens. Does that change our goal, our purpose? Not necessarily, it just makes the way to get there more uncertain.

Lennon - life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans — John Lennon

Those moments where the plans we had made and cherished for weeks or months find themselves completely torn apart by the reality of our life are fundamental moments that define our destiny. When we realize that reality does not fit any more with our plans is when we take the true bold decisions that will determine the direction of our life. These are the decisions to life with a partner, to have children, to change fundamentally one’s career…

The key is to be able to see that the discrepancy between your plans and reality increases to a point where a fundamental reframing has to take place. It should not happen too often, it should not happen too rarely. But when it happens… let it be!

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