The future of teamwork

I trust that the focus on the ‘Future of Work’ and how we prepare for the business take-off in 2021 is of interest to you as much as it keeps my mind pushing me all the time.

Today, I would like to cover three areas in the ‘Future of Work’, hoping that you will start a dialogue so that we can all learn:

Topic 1 – Generations in the workforce of the future

We are increasingly faced with the fact that at least 3 generations are facing each other in companies today: the baby boomers, the millennials and the centennials. What issues do we have to deal with?

• The young ones want to become the biggest asset of your company

• In dealing with them, we have to be brave and think out of the box

• We have to find ways to dream jointly, inspire a team, be different, question everything, take risks and lead change

• As baby boomers we have no choice to embrace the millennials and centennials.

You agree?

Topic 2 – Move over millennials, here come the centennials

• Many companies complain about unrealistic expectations of millennial workers and that millennials are sometimes difficult to manage and likely to quit at a moment’s notice

• Generation Z – born into the Age of Information, are not only digital natives; they are a generation born into a flux of very fast technological advancement, heightened digital consumption, and hyper connectivity

• Centennials believe that the things that they own, reflect the kind of people they want to be and the ideal world they want to create; as such they expect brands to be aligned with their personal values before they want to be employed and invest their time and creativity in the brands’ products and services

• We need the right combination of high-tech and hightouch in human relations to attract and keep the right people; sustainable products & services and integrity & ethics are

high on their agenda. You agree?

Topic 3: Is there a middle ground between employment and entrepreneurship?

• How can internal entrepreneurship ensure business growth momentum?

• Intrapreneurship is a very good way to encourage entrepreneurship inside the organization, but leaders have to be courageous

• Creativity is not a product; we need somebody to take the creation and make it into a product

• Promoting entrepreneurship will advance the goal of sustainability but it has to be a collective effort

You agree? If you do, let’s complicate matters a bit:

Topic 3b – Navigating the GIG economy

• Companies are starting to embrace the new work setup and are employing freelancers for certain projects or tasks

• It is important for organizations to strike a balance between keeping a regular set of full-time employees and hiring remote experts as consultants for specific tasks and specific times, as we are living in a volatile, complex and ambiguous world

• Most freelancers want to become ‘solopreneurs’! You still agree?

I sincerely hope for plenty of feedback so that we can all learn as we move forward; contact me at hjschumacher59@gmail.com