In the early part of the 20th Century Arthur C Clarke said
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Business technologies seem to be advancing faster than we can grasp. To the unsophisticated user like me, they are a bit like black magic, particularly when something goes wrong. The rate change and the system interdependencies are both very disruptive. Still, they really do offer enormous potential to change the way we work in many positive ways. It’s almost as good as waving a magic wand to transport you to where the action is, when you can
- Can access information from a cloud,
- Are only 4 steps removed from anyone in the world now we have social computing,
- And can be as productive on the move as in the office
Really getting the most from these technologies is going to mean some changes to the way we work, both as individuals and organisations. Security is obviously a big consideration when we are so connected and we have digitised our identity. Organisational structures will probably need changing to make best use of easy access and mobility. Decision making, learning, conversations, all key aspects of knowledge work, take on challenging new dimensions, when we rarely meet the people we work with and there is so much information available to work with. It’s been said that drawing information from the internet is like trying to get a glass of water from Niagara Falls!
So it’s worth thinking through how best to translate this overwhelming tide of opportunities into more productive knowledge work. Yesterday morning, at Unysis UK HQ, I had the privilege of chairing a breakfast meeting designed to explore these issues (Twitter #HKMWorks). It was very thought provoking, because of three excellent speakers.
First up was Rob Chapman, Managing Director of Unysis UK. In his years in the industry he’s seen lost of major shifts in technology. The advent of the PC, Client-Server architectures, Open Source were certainly all major trends, which changed the way we worked. But each had their own time – there was breathing space before the next one. Today it is very different. Multiple trends are happening at the same time – trends that are influencing the way IT systems are designed and delivered. Unisys has published its view on the convergence of 6 major trends that are reshaping the delivery of IT services to organizations. You can read more about their predictions by downloading the briefing sheet from here . Cyber security is the really scary issue. Individuals are obviously concerned about identity theft, but organisations are facing attacks from sophisticated organised crime cartels, that target new financial opportunities the instant they are released. The CIO has to become the Chief Information Security Officer too.
It certainly made me reflect on how the risks and rewards of something that is simply an enabler, depend heavily on human intent and behaviour.
Next we heard from Dr Christine van Winkelen, from the Henley KM Forum. She talked about how knowledge can be put to work more effectively by improving decision making process and joining up learning initiatives. Amongst other things improvement is very dependent on personal reflection (see an earlier entry on this blog). One of the key messages was the importance of individuals knowing where they fit in terms of what they can do to put their knowledge to work. They can only do this when they understand the business purpose. Then they see how they can contribute positively. Then they can align intent with behaviour. To get that purposeful message across really requires “more communication than you can ever imagine”. This is obviously where technology in the form of social media, can play a helpful role internally. It was good to hear that Rob finds his weekly blog is a great way to keep people in touch with senior team thinking and engage them in meaningful conversations about what matters to the business. Christine’s slides are available here, and many of the detailed maturity models and coaching frameworks are also available on the same page.
The third speaker was Jim Downie. He has the delightful title of Knowledge Networker in Unisys Chief Technology Office. Jim brought us back to the practicalities of life in organisations now. His focus was the value of integrating the range of emerging technologies into the firm’s business processes in ways that helps individual’s do their jobs more easily. This really accelerates and enhances collaborative activity, and allows people to keep in touch wherever and whenever they need to. Unysis are using social media as a one of a whole suite of tools for getting knowledge moving more effectively. Starting with serendipitous conversations through instant messenger, request for help, status reviews and twitter to using Sharepoint for communities’ conversations and giving access to the latest learning about good practice from the experience of working with clients. One thing that came across loud and clear from Jim’s session was that purposeful business activity was where Unysis started; people not technology were considered to be the key to success; simple and social were essential for engagement with the opportunities that so many disruptive technologies offer. Jim’s slides are also available here
We had an interesting discussion with the audience around the keys to adoption of social media inside organisations. Was it age related or driven by the momentum of a trend that was too powerful to ignore? The conclusion was that it there has to be
BOTH
a powerful “what’s in it for me” factor for everyone, because that overrides the risks and disadvantages of not having face to face contact. That could be better career, improved reputation, greater recognition or simply fun and informal social involvement. Probably it is not a monetary incentive, because that often drives the opposite behaviour.
AND
a “what’s in it for the business” factor. If you are thinking of increasing the opportunities for conversation (which uses time and energy) it’s important that people have a sense of which conversations are worth having. They get that if they can relate their interactions to something that makes it easier for the organisation to achieve some beneficial purpose. Then people work within a relevant set of boundaries.
When you can both sides get what they need, and you align the interests, you get a win-win equation which keeps compounding. It starts a virtuous circle of learning and change. People get interest in being involved in sharing through social media, the experience and involvement lead to positive results, which further encourage interest and involvement.
There are lots more questions we could have discussed
- How technology is changing the relationship between the enterprise and the individual.
- How mobile technologies are changing the way we work.
- How we need to think differently about security as a consequence of technology developments.
- How new approaches are needed to integrate information, knowledge and connections between people.
- How learning is the basis for the organic evolution of organisations in dynamic environments.
- How mindsets need to change to make individual and collective reflection part of how we work in knowledge-based environments.
And there aren’t any easy answers to any of them. Rob seemed to be suggesting that answers will emerge as people work with the technology trends. The other message of the morning was that to realise technology’s productive potential takes a lot of deep and careful thinking about how to handle the darker side of the magic, alongside an ability to focus its magical properties on a worthwhile business purpose. This comes through thinking how to align individual human interests with mutual rewards from participating in a meaningful enterprise.
Time was against, and having consumed some excellent coffee and pastries everyone disappeared off to deliver some productive work in the office, or on the move. I left thinking that it is an exciting time and we have many changes to look forward to, so the ability to adapt and learn is an even more important skill than it has ever been.