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June 2009

From Jim and Charlie

We're struck by the way the future seems to be getting even more uncertain than we thought possible just a month ago. General Motors declares bankruptcy and the stock market jumps several hundred points. President Obama nominates the first Hispanic woman to be the Supreme Court and launches yet another attempt to "fix" the Middle East  in his Cairo address. A domestic terrorist takes the life of a Doctor – in a church no less! China appears more confident about our mutual economic future than most western leaders. We're convinced that these events—and many more—are signs of fundamental, far-reaching transformation.

Transformation:  "a change in form, appearance, nature, or character," according to the folks at Dictionary.com. Is transformation inevitable? What drives it? Can it be managed? How does it change us as individuals, as organizations, as a society? Those are the "small" questions we've chosen to address (once again) this month.

Our feature article looks at transformation across all of society, while the Compass piece, a conversation with our good friend Bruce J. Rogow, brings transformation down to the level of individual organizations and their business processes. Then in Notes from the Field we go back "up" a level to a consider how a major world city copes with global transformation. We think you'll like Richard Leyland's first-person observations about how the Big Changes in the global economy are playing out in his beloved home city of London.

We also have two very special announcements this month. First, our client SCAN Health has just received the IFMA Orange County Award of Excellence for the AWESOME project that was designed and led by our good friend Diane Coles. Warmest congratulations to Diane, her whole team, and the SCAN executives who made the project possible. You can read more about the project and the award on our blog at this link. Second, don't forget to register for our Future of Work/Mobile Workforce Summit in Chicago on June 22. There's more information in the What's Happened/Happening section of this newsletter.

Enjoy.

Charlie and Jim

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Feature Article:  Scotty, Take It Up To Warp Factor 5.6!

We started this series last month with a discussion of what fundamental change looks like. It's irreversible, substantive, changes our identity, and shifts our purpose. This month we take a deep dive into where that kind of dramatic change is happening and consider what it may mean for our collective future.

Compass: Putting the Horse Before the Cart

We are pleased to share with you some excerpts from a recent conversation we had with Bruce J. Rogow. Bruce is an experienced IT/business consultant and researcher who conducts an annual "listening" tour with over 100 senior IT executives and CEOs. He's been kind enough to provide us with a summary of several very important insights he's picking up from his recent conversations.

Notes from the Field:  Where Next for London?

This first-person note serves as an "on the ground" example of exactly what we're talking about in the feature article, above. Richard Leyland lives and works in London, advising companies on the future of work and the workplace. He freely admits he is far from an independent observer of all things London. Over the last twelve months this city has undergone a seismic shock, which could scarcely have been greater had the very buildings fallen.

What's Happened/Happening?

A short note about where Jim and Charlie have been, are, and will be, holding forth in public conversations and other activities.

As usual, your comments and reactions to any of these articles are more than welcome. Please send your thoughts to us at any time.

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