A New Day
After a little pause, I’m blowing off the dust and settling into the writing seat again. Things have been unusually busy, with business planning and academic studies. You can tell from the photo what has been on my mind, and everyone else’s too. These are tough times for business.
For every Black Friday there is a new dawn. A forest fire devastates the habitat. But the removal of the canopy of tree cover allows light to fall onto the forest floor, and shoots to rise from the ground. A new forest starts to emerge, and a new generation of fauna gets to have its day. Sadly, it isn’t clear if this particular fire is out yet. Not nice, very painful.
The events of recent weeks and months will undoubtedly be a catalyst for all sorts of change in businesses. Much of the noise is being, and will be, cut out. Traditional assumptions are being challenged, and faster and cheaper ways of doing things earnestly sought. New technology will be a part of delivering on that. New forms of knowledge management. New forms of marketing. New forms of selling. Little will be left untouched.
The industrial age saw the automisation of traditional job roles. The next phase on the information age sees the automisation of knowledge work with technology. It will change how we store and transmit information and how we communicate. That includes inside of the business and outside. The changes were already underway. Marketers are moving more of their budgets on-line, IT managers are exploring open source collaboration tools.
Upcoming posts will talk about how to do more with less. How to market differently. How to use new tools. Together with ideas from some of the best minds in the space, via book reviews and research summaries. If you don’t already, do follow the blog.
You see work getting more automated? Hmmm, I see more judgment being required.
I’m chuffed at Teresa’s comment on my blog (from MAPP Penn). She was trying to reconcile the Hero’s Journey of the mytho-poetic tradition with positive psych.
I think positive psych will come alive with social media where we are all at the centre of our own community – active, agentic, subjective and constructionist – rather than the objects of someone else’s study or direction.
Do you read Steve Roesler BTW? OD extraordinaire. http://www.allthingsworkplace.com
Are you thinking of going to the Centre for Applied Positive Psych conference 1-3 April 2009 here in UK – on flourishing communities? I also want to go to the BAWB meet in June in Ohio – positive management theorists.
I don’t see ‘automation’ and ‘more judgement required’ as opponents to each other. If the each processes are taken care of by tools, that leaves the harder things to deal with.
I think positive psychology will have more and more of a contribution to make. Rather than man breaking machines, we have machines that break man – witness the rise of stress related issues as more technology has entered the workplace.
The conference looks interesting. I look forward to more of your posts Jo!
Lol, just sorting out class notes on stress.
I am not happy with the way much of this is taught or used in the workplace.
The simple principle is to make sure the machine assists us and not the other way around!
German psychology that emphasizes agency and control is little more useful for getting at our relationship with technology and organization theory and management for making sure we use psychological knowledge that is freely available and has been for a long time.
Jane McDonigle (google at South South West conference) asks why we can design compelling games but not compelling work. She talks of happiness engines. There is the link back to positive psychology.