I believe that one of the most
important shifts in the future will be around the power of communities. The
drivers are the combined forces of technology (remember those five billion
connected people) and globalisation (where anyone, anywhere can join the global
talent market). At the same time, the downside of the De-Fault Future – in
particular isolation – will create huge potential energy around emotional
connectivity.
We cannot really be connected to
everyone – so what will be the key communities that will really make a difference
to work in the future? I’m going to suggest that every working person will need
three well developed communities to create value for themselves and also have a
reasonable quality of life.
#1: The Posse
I learnt about the Posse when we
researched Gen Y’s last year. In conversation with a 23 year old Jill, we asked
her how she got her job done. She pointed on her computer to a row of names and
faces. ‘These are my posse- they ride with me and we help each other out’.
Jill’s story reminded me of the story
of Frank and Fred I told in my latest book Glow.
Both were given a tough project. Fred immediately rang his wife to say he would
be late home for the next couple of weeks, closed the office door and told his
PA not to disturb him. Fred’s idea was that only he knew the answer and that
the more he remained undisturbed, the more he would find the answer to this
tough challenge.
Frank did the opposite. When
given the challenge, he immediately phoned a couple of people, he knew well, to
ask their opinion. He then sent an email to a couple of others whom he knew
might also have some ideas. Like Jill, Frank was using his posse to really get
this challenge solved. Here is what I think a great posse is and can do:
- It’s a relatively small group of people, who have
some of the same expertise that you have – so there is enough overlap for
you to really understand each other and add value quickly.
- Your posse trust you – they have ridden out with
you before – you have been there for them in the past. So, these are folks
you have known for some time and who like and support you.
They come to your rescue quickly
precisely because they can understand what you are up against and can help
without distracting. However, the great advantage of the Posse (they know you
well and have overlapping competencies) is also the source of their disadvantage.
They can help you sort out the challenges that they and you understand – but
because they are so similar to you they are not really going to be where your
next big idea comes from. To do that you need another sort of community – what
I would call, your Big Ideas network.
#2: The Big Ideas Network
You know how it is – someone
introduces you to someone else and suddenly you find yourself enthralled by
what they are saying. You can see all sorts of possibilities in what they are saying
and how it could influence what you could do. I remember meeting a chocolate maker
in the little Spanish town I live in. He is one of Spain’s most celebrated
makers of chocolates and as we talked, I realised that the ideas behind the
book I was working on – Hot Spots –
could be illustrated by making a box of chocolates, flavoured to represent the three
core elements of a Hot Spot. It was a
great idea – OK, perhaps not a Big Idea – but never the less one that amused me
and others for the next couple of years.
Everyone will need in the future
a Big Ideas network – connections to people who are completely different from
you. It’s in the combination of their ideas and your ideas that the Big Ideas
emerge. Here are the marks of a great Big Ideas network;
- They are people you just happen to bump into – or a
friend of a friend. Completely different from you, yet together you are
prepared to jump across the boundary to make a connection.
- There are lots of them – your posse could be as few
as three people – your Big Ideas Network could be hundreds – perhaps even
thousands.
Many of those in the Big Ideas Network
will be virtual – you link in on Face Book or follow them on twitter or read
their blogs. So where does that leave the physical world? That’s where the third community – the Regenerative
Community fits in.
#3: The Regenerative Community
The challenge with our emerging
global/technical world is that before you know where you are, all your
communities are on-line because the virtual world will become so seductive (and
emotionally easy). That’s going to leave you potentially isolated and lonely
with very little of the stuff we humans need – kind words, warm hugs, good
spirits.
That’s where the Regenerative
Community fits it. Unlike your Big Ideas network – this is not located in
cyberspace; and unlike your Posse – these are not people who are similar to
you. Your Regenerative Community are real people who you meet frequently, who
you laugh with, share a meal, tell stories – relax with. They are going to be
crucial to your quality of life.
Hard to predict right now just how
these Regenerative Communities will emerge. It could be that more people choose
to live communally, or move to a small mixed community where people walk around
and bump into each other, or perhaps it’s the return of the extended family
with people choosing to stay close to family.
In many ways this is potentially
the most exciting and interesting aspect of networks and communities. Because
whilst the virtual will naturally evolve faster than a wink of the eye, the
physical will also have to evolve – and this time we cannot expect
technologists to take the lead.
How do you see Regenerative
Communities emerging?
