We are now in an environment where a quality broadsheet newspaper can be produced in the spare bedroom of anyone skilled enough to use a computer. Yes, of course, the paper then needs printing ….. but wait ……. does it actually need to be printed?!!!! ..why not have virtual readers only. Old language “read the paper” new language “read the screen.”

It made me think about the world of office work twenty years from now. I am not into science fiction but what I am writing “feels” a bit like that.

The youngsters of today ….. and by that I mean six and seven year olds ……have keyboards as extensions to their fingers. It is amazing to try and predict the world of office based work for them. When I think back 20 years in my career it is simply unrecognisable from today.

When I was a young in the 1970’s everything was paper based. The computer was something that was being talked of “coming to an office near you.” People were moderately interested and were prepared to see it as a marginal piece of office equipment that might possibly help them, but most did not really see it as anything but a futuristic piece of kit being promoted by a few eccentric folks in the office. What an understatement that turned out to be.

Then along came the World Wide Web and E Mail. Nowadays if I want anything my first thought is not to ask the boss … it is to log on to Google and do a search. This might range from:

That particular report I want …. to ….
How much cheaper can I find that holiday I want by shopping around? ….to …
What is the most effective current treatment for a complicated medical condition?

The point is not about trying to be clever, or smarter than the next person, simply that there are now no boundaries. We can ask what we want and we do not have to ask a particular expert. We simply ask the world the question and sure enough there will be someone in the world that can provide the answer. I am not making a judgement about whether the answer is correct but the days are certainly gone when one must see the truth as being the sole province of one “expert in the field.”

Why are patients turning up at consultations with challenging questions for the health professionals? The answer is complex but one reason must be access to information that all human beings now have – literally at their fingertips.

As always …. we have choices about all this;

Choice Number One - Accept the new world of IT driven office settings and learn to accept it then learn to love it then learn to call for more change

Or

Choice Number Two - Refer to Choice Number One

The days of rationality and having lots of time to debate issues have gone. Of course many people want things to move at the more leisurely pace they have become accustomed to in their career. The snag is the demands are different. We used to work in a situation where the customer did not drive the process. The customer responded to the foibles of the organisation. The customer today is calling the shots and is, in fact, in charge. And, by the way, the customer wants it now.

Smart organisations are always ahead of the customer – historically the best performing organisations have wonderful relationships with customers. The new world means that organisations need to be very smart to be ahead of the customer.

Imagine this scenario;

I have a budget to buy my new printer - say £100. I go along the high street to Retailer A – the printer I want is available for £100 … I go two doors down the street to Retailer B – the same printer – also available for £100. What is it that will make me part with the £100 – probably the way I feel about the shop and the way I am treated by the sales folks.

As if that is not challenging enough for retailers ….. now imagine a further complication for both Company A and Company B.

I sit at home in my cupboard now converted to an office … go online to a whole range of sites to seek out the best price for the identical printer …not only is it £20 cheaper …..it will be delivered within 48 hours to my home. I complete the sale online.

I have concluded the purchase without leaving the warmth and comfort of my home. I did not have to pay for the privilege of parking my car in the local car park, walk in the cold and rain to two shops. Now tell me the world is not changing.

I am just reading Re-imagine …. Tom Peter’s latest book. It is full of examples of how the IT revolution is radically changing the world of the “white collar” worker. Peters estimates that 80% of white collar jobs - as we now know them - will either disappear entirely or be reconfigured beyond recognition in the next 15 years!!! …that is staggering …. but then Peters quotes the Chief Executive of General Electric who says that “75% of GE administrative and back-office jobs will disappear within 3 years!!”

I believe the massive cultural challenges that are created by this information technology revolution should be faced head on and celebrated. There is simply no point in denying the existence of the new order of things.

Our children are being brought up surrounded by massive leaps of technological advance that do feel like science fiction …they are going to arrive on the work scene ten years from now with a totally different view of the world to mine;

• They are going to be more inquisitive

• They are going to bring new skills to the workplace

• They are going to challenge the way things have been done in the past

• They are going to develop a new language that some of us “veterans” will find hard to speak never mind understand.

Yes of course they are also going to make mistakes … but the mistakes they will be making will be “new mistakes” not repeating the old mistakes that I made and my father made.

There are going to be far more “one person businesses” – call it service industry …call it what you like really – I just think that there will be more people being the Chief Executive of your own career in the future.

I wonder how many youngsters (20 and under) of 2004 will retire having been on the payroll of just one organisation. The days have gone too when one’s effectiveness is judged by how long you stayed on the payroll. I suspect that the career of the future will be largely determined by the needs and wishes of the individual in the white collar world, rather than the opportunities presented to them by large organisations.

In summary, my feeling is we should “get on the bus” (Tom Peters) and be prepared for a bumpy ride for the next few years …. but learn to enjoy the bumpy ride – the smooth ride is an option only for those who wish to remain asleep