Links for this week (weekly)

• Comment les marques font-elles face à “l’ubérisation” ?

  “Ubériser ou se faire ubériser, telle est la question. Pour s’adapter et participer à l’économie de partage, les marques doivent repenser leur rapport au marché et aux consommateurs. “

  tags: sharingeconomy uberization ondemandeconomy

  • Au risque de disparaître, les marques devraient donc s’adapter à l’économie on-demand – synonyme d’économie collaborative – un “modèle disruptif qui appelle un nouveau regard sur l’innovation et sur le leadership”
  • Pour cela, les marques doivent comprendre que l’usage prime sur la possession.
  • développer des produits pour lesquels la durée de vie prime sur le prix.
  • les marques traditionnelles se doivent donc de participer, en lançant son propre modèle ou en créant une extension externe,
  • “Le leadership de l’économie de partage repose sur 5 traits essentiels : créativité, adaptabilité, expertise, humilité, collaboration“, qui s’articule autour d’une vision.

• « L’Internet des Objets va emmener des incompréhensions, des chocs générationnels »

  “Microsoft Ideas est allé à la rencontre de Nicolas Gaume, directeur de la division Developer eXperience de Microsoft France chargé, entre autres, des programmes de l’entreprise en faveur de l’innovation et du soutien à l’entrepreneuriat ainsi que des relations avec l’écosystème, et de Guillaume Pelletier, CEO de Dotvision, qui développe depuis plus de 10 ans des produits et services dans le domaine de l’Internet des Objets.”

  tags: iot internetofthings connectedobjects security

  • L’Internet des Objets n’est certainement pas une mode, mais la nouvelle phase d’un processus ancien et durable.
  • La vertigineuse accélération de la captation automatisée d’une masse de données grandissante et leur traitement de plus en plus instantané crée une nouvelle dimension.
  • Par définition, on ne sait pas de quoi sera fait l’avenir. Il faut tester, échouer, évoluer pour au final réussir.
  • J’émettrais deux alertes. La première a trait à la sécurité. C’est franchement effrayant : d’énormes trous de sécurité existent actuellement, en particulier dans le domaine des villes intelligentes.
  • La seconde alerte est qu’il n’y a, selon moi, pas assez de connexions entre ceux qui font du hardware et du software. Je ne vois pas comment il pourrait y avoir des millions d’objets connectés sans les entreprises pour les faire…
  • Passer par ce type d’objets est normal dans le cadre d’une proof of concept, mais après il faut investir dans du matériel. Et ça, très peu d’entreprises le font.
  • Il faut rester d’une extrême vigilance sur la question de la vie privée.
  • Cela va amener des incompréhensions, des chocs générationnels. Mais il n’est pas non plus interdit d’être positifs !

• Research: Technology Is Only Making Social Skills More Important

  “As machines increasingly perform complex tasks once thought to be safely reserved for humans, the question has become harder to shrug off: What jobs will be left for people?

  A new NBER working paper suggests it’ll be those that require strong social skills — which it defines as the ability to work with others — something that has proven to be much more difficult to automate.”

  tags: skills socialskills softskills automation robots work jobs collaboration communication

  • 
  • 
  • So why are social skills so prized in today’s labor market? One reason, Deming explains, is because computers are still bad at simulating social interaction. And something that’s become more important in the modern workplace is being able to play off a team member’s strengths and adapt to changing circumstances.
  • Part of what being good at working on a team means is being able to adjust when your comparative advantage changes.
  • What he found was that people who have higher social skills, as measured by the survey, earn more money — even after controlling for things like their education, their cognitive skills (measured by standardized scores), what type of job they’re in, etc. — than those with poor social skills
  • Employers are constantly stressing the need for workers who can collaborate and communicate on teams. Meanwhile, the evidence on how automation effects employment remains inconclusive. (Other studies have posited that robots might be improving productivity, rather than costing jobs.) But while it might be too soon to start bracing for a dystopian no-jobs future, it’s not too early to think about whether people are learning the right skills they’ll need to succeed in tomorrow’s workforce.

• Collaboration – from ‘nice to have’ to business priority | simply communicate

  “”After an initial stage where organisations looked more at number of users, communities and posts, the market is now experiencing a new focus on the business value of social collaboration – What’s the impact on the future of work?””

  tags: futureofwork collaboration

  • In this economic age, most organisations are trying to do more with less. Not surprisingly the first driver is then to cut costs – it is clear that our current way of working, management and leadership models are not fit with the expectations of employees, but also of customers.
  • Best practice is to make social business a multi stakeholder project – IT, HR, IC, Legal but also the rest of the business, from Customer Service, to Sales, Marketing and Innovation.
  • Ultimately, any large change process comes together when there is both a bottom-up and a top-down commitment.
  • This is a key topic for global corporations. One of the goals of collaboration is to build bridges across countries, branches and offices regardless of the time zone.
  • Cultural traits are crucial in facilitating or restricting global adoption. The right values, an aligned rewarding system, the ability to work with other teams, the freedom to innovate, the relationship with your manager all represent an important baseline for collaboration.
  • Email is the proof that we can collaborate too much, and especially in the wrong way.
  • Collaborating for collaboration sake is just a waste of time; it is not particularly appealing to employees as not everybody likes to spend his time writing wiki pages or posting to a blog. Being able to reach your targets with less time and effort looks like a much better motivation for change.
  • My first piece of advice is to not start from technology.
  • A good starting point is to spend the right amount of time and effort in clarifying how a social tool can support the strategy you already have in place.
  • It is about understanding what collaboration can do from a business perspective, as well as what it cannot do – a social tool is not the solution for all the issues we have in the workplace
  • Secondly, it is about evaluating the proficiency and the readiness of the employee base.
  • We use a lot of co-design techniques. We apply them not only to listen, but also to transfer ownership and let key stakeholders steer the change inside their organisation.
  • People are social animals and at the very beginning of any collaboration project, they need to ‘feel’ each other, and to shake hands.
  • many CEOs or senior stakeholders have started to look for new levers to react.
  • This is not the future – this is happening already. In a sense there is no longer a choice.

• 5 Major Ways Freelancers Will Change The Economy By 2040

  “The 9-to-5 job is dying. But what will an increasingly independent workforce mean for the economy?”

  tags: freelancing economy work jobs

  • 1. Work Will Consist Of Many “Short-Term” Assignments

      

    It used to be that having a job meant security and success for Americans. Since the recession, the idea that a good job is the centerpiece of the “good economy” was proven wrong, as people realized having a good job doesn’t equate to job security.

  • 2. There Will Be More Platforms Aimed At Mitigating Economic Risk

      

    As traditional jobs—with their health insurance, retirement planning, and tax withholdings—disappear, we will see more platforms and institutions develop to help workers and their families manage exigencies and mitigate risks

  • 3. There Will Be More Talent Agencies Looking For The Standard Worker

      

    In the past, talent agencies were reserved for performing artists and athletes, but in the next economy, talent agencies and headhunting firms will start to play a bigger role in the lives of the everyday professionals looking to further their career. The report says:

  • 4. Small-Business Growth Will Lead To A Boost In Wages

      

    The rise in self-employment will inevitably increase wages (think: you’re no longer suffering under an underpaying employer).

  • 5. Everyone Is Responsible For Their Own Success

      

    Sure, you’ll be free from an underpaying employer, but this also means your career success relies solely on you.

• Companies Like Amazon Need to Run More Tests on Workplace Practices

  “A recent New York Times article about the business culture at Amazon triggered spirited reactions and a lot of media attention. Some “Amazonians” backed up the article’s description of a brutal, unrelenting workplace. Others — including CEO Jeff Bezos himself in a memo to his employees — questioned its accuracy.”

  tags: casestudies management amazon work change experimentation

  • But even if you’re adhering to principles of data-driven management, why not instead conduct controlled, randomized experiments to find out which practices are the best at promoting productivity, worker satisfaction, and innovation?
  • So it seems surprising that more companies don’t rigorously test work and management practices or policies that they are considering.
  • One is they do not want to give their employees the impression that the company is experimenting on them — or even worse, is trying to find way to squeeze the most out of them. Another is they worry about potential inequalities in the sense that employees who, by chance, ended up in the group subject to the new practice may benefit from it in terms of productivity, innovation, and work satisfaction, while those who are part of the “control group” (i.e., the group for which the practice is left unchanged) may not.
  • Running controlled, randomized experiments on work and management practices may not always be feasible (when it is, here’s a five step-approach to follow). But it is a method that has proved effective in many contexts, from medical research to government policies and education.
  • Similar benefits could be gained by applying the logic of randomized experiments to white- and blue-collar work.

• How to Stop Micromanaging Your Team

  “Micromanaging is a hard habit to break. You may downplay your propensities by labeling yourself a “control freak” or by claiming that you just like to keep close tabs on your team, but those are poor excuses for excessive meddling. What can you do to give your people the space they need to succeed and learn? How should you prioritize what matters? And how do you get comfortable stepping back?”

  tags: management micromanagement

  • Reflect on your behavior
    The first step is to develop an awareness of why you micromanage. “You need to understand where this is coming from,” says Dillon.
  • Get feedback
    “Often there is a significant disconnect between what leaders intend and what the team is actually experiencing,” says Chatman. You may merely suspect you have a problem while your team members are already annoyed by your constant hovering “Feedback is essential to see how significant the issue is.”
  • Prioritize what matters—and what doesn’t
    “A good manager trains and delegates,” says Dillon, and you can’t do that if you’re taking on everything—regardless of how important the task is—yourself.
  • Talk to your team
    Once you’ve determined your priorities, the next step is communicating them to your team, says Dillon. “Have a conversation about the things that really matter to you—the things that they’ll need to seek your guidance and approval on—so your direct reports can get ahead of your anxiety,”
  • Step back slowly
    Fighting your micromanaging impulses might be hard at first so pull back slowly. You need to get comfortable, too. “Do a test run on a project that is a bit less urgent and give your team full accountability and see how it goes,”
  • Build trust
    Because your team members are used to you not trusting them, they may want to come to you for approval before taking charge of a project. “Acknowledge this is a growth opportunity for the person and say that you know in your heart of hearts he or she will rise to the challenge,”
  • Know your employees’ limitations
    “Some people will over correct by pulling away too much; but it’s smart to give appropriate support,” says Dillon. “Talk about how you will help them problem solve and how you’ll support them” even if you’re not deeply involved in a particular project or task.

  • Do:

     

     
    • Ask yourself why you micromanage and reflect on your need for control

     

    • Refine your to do list by prioritizing the tasks and projects that matter most to you

     

    • Talk to your team about how you’d like to be kept apprised of their progress

     

     

    Don’t:

     

     
    • Renege on your vote of confidence—tell your reports you trust them and let them do their jobs

     

    • Overact when things don’t go exactly as you’d like them to—take a breath and figure out a way to correct the situation if it’s truly necessary

     

    • Go too far—you don’t want to become a hands-off boss

• Productivity Is Soaring at Top Firms and Sluggish Everywhere Else

  “Either technological progress is slowing down, or it’s speeding up. Which view is right? At the OECD, we believe the research from our Future of Productivity project helps to resolve this paradox.”

  tags: productivity change technology

  • Our research shows that the slow productivity growth of the “average” firm masks the fact that a small cadre of firms are experiencing robust gains.
  • 
  • Seen from this perspective, the productivity problem isn’t a lack of global innovation. It’s a failure by many firms to adopt new technologies and best practices. Indeed, the main source of the productivity slowdown is not a slowing in the rate of innovation by the most globally advanced firms, but rather a slowing of the pace at which innovations spread throughout the economy: a breakdown of the diffusion machine.
  • First, global connections need to be extended and deepened, so that firms can learn from successful counterparts across the world
  • Second, new firms need to be able to enter markets and experiment with new technologies and business models. The productivity slowdown coincided with a near-collapse of overall business investment and a slowdown in business dynamism, reflected in a decline in business startups.
  • Third, better “matchmaking” is needed across the economy, to ensure that the most productive firms have the resources—labor, skills, and capital—to grow. The larger the frontier firms become, the greater the extent to which their good performance gets reflected in overall economic growth. Unfortunately, the most productive and dynamic firms do not always grow to optimal scale.
  • Fourth, investment in innovation should extend beyond technology to include skills, software, organisational know-how (i.e. managerial quality).

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.