Contextual Intelligence & The Future of Work

Your competitive advantage is not where you work or what you do.

Your competitive advantage is the accuracy in which you scan the macro environment and the way you interpret and articulate those observations.

Labor Day is a moment to pause and acknowledge all the the hard work that has built our nation and a celebration of economic vitality.

The best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing ~ President Theodore Roosevelt

I feel very lucky to have found my vocation ins building bridges between strategic intent and personal development. There has never been a better time than right now to integrate strategy, leadership and soul.

I often say, "you will know me by my links." Here are my favorite to provide contextual intelligence for #TheFutureofWork.

Scanning the macro,
Jennifer

1) Perhaps the most important attribute we can take into the future is resilience. Andrew Zolli offers a framework that can be used both for life at home and at work: If You Want to Build Resilience, Kill the Complexity.

2) Many talk about the importance of learning and reading to stay current and sharp. Yet, I often look at people's schedules and rarely have they built in time for processing information. How are we going to get better, stronger, smarter without built in capacity for learning? My friend Cameron Norman aka @cdnorman keeps us honest by asking How Serious Are We About Learning?

3) Our environment has much more impact on us than we'd like to accept. It is very important that you choose an environment where you own natural tendencies can thrive. John Hagel @jhagel from Deloitte is in the thick of corporate culture. Tracking and following the Shift Index is an important part of your staying current.

4) Data can be beautiful and informative. The Institute for the Future @iftf has created an elegant framework for leadership development. They don't call it leadership development, but I do. It is time that each employee assume they are leaders and also that they are in charge of their own person development. "Global connectivity, smart machines, and new media are just some of the drivers reshaping how we think about work, what constitutes work, and the skills we will need to be productive contributors in the future."

5) We cannot have work without an economy. It is a slippery slope when discussions of the economy often lead to politics. I am on the line here and this is as far as I'll go. Bravely I want to make sure you are aware of Jeremy Rifkin @JeremyRifkin. His latest work is about zero marginal cost and how the collaborative economy is taking capitalism on. Our ability to compete is our ability to know the landscape. Rifkin is creating ripples that make take years for effect; however, important that you are in this conversation: The Fall of Capitalism and the Internet of Things.

6) By 2025, over 75% of the workforce will be comprised of millennials, a group many refer to as the Facebook generation. This group is much more dynamic than employee pools of the past. Because of lifestyle choices and the need for mobility, the employment group is much more likely to select projects to ensure elements of freedom: 8 Reasons Why Your Next Job Will Be A Project.

7) And if this freelance thing is not your cup o' tea, I suggest you drink it longer to acquire the taste: The Freelance Surge is the Industrial Revolution of our Time.

9) Because the smartest person in the room is the room, it is important that your curate and cultivate great relationships with individuals who you learn and grow with by design. Global collaboration is catching wildfire: The Future of Talent Lies In Clusters.

10) Einstein tells us, "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." There is one source, however, that I cannot keep a secret. Friend Ross Dawson @rossdawson is a visual architect that has given us the future of work in an icon that can teach, inform, frighten and inspire. YES, it really has this many dynamic parts.

Thanks for coming this far. You indeed will be rewarded.

Jennifer