the new american workforce

The NewAmericanWorkforce

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How Pre-boomers, Boomers, Gen X-ers, and Millennials Can Survive, Thrive, and Collaborate

Effectively in the 21st-Century Workplace

• We are drowning in data• We are increasingly mobile• The lines between work and life are

increasingly blurred• Enterprise collaboration is becoming

the norm• Our brains are struggling to adapt to

information overload• For the first time, four generations are

working together

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The State of Today’s Workforce

Copyright © 2012 Mindjet LLC

• 116 Billion 16GB iPads

• 64,800,000 years of HD video

• 1,800,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes

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1.8 zettabytes of new data were created in 2011, compared to 0.6 zettabytes in 2010. That’s the same as:

Drowning in Data


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It’s no wonder that interruptions caused by information overload cost U.S. companies $650 billion a year.

Source: Basex – Information Overload: We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us

Drowning in Data


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There are roughly 60 million mobile workers in the U.S. alone. That’s over one-third of the workforce!

Help your team thrive in the 21st-century workplace.

Mobilization of the Workforce


https://www.mindjet.com/?source=ssworkforce

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2 in 3 information workers use software/devices for work and personal purposes.

Blurring Lines


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"49% of organizations will have invested in enterprise social software by the end of 2012.“

Source: Forrsights Software Survey, Q4 2011

Enterprises are betting heavily on collaboration

The Collaborative Enterprise


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• We need to know where to find information rather than how to remember information

• The rapid flow of information can exceed our cognitive load

• Constant interruption hurts productivity and effectiveness

The demands of the 21st-century workforce are forcing our brains to adapt:

Changing Brains


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Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains, argues that to cope with information overload, our brains are literally changing.

Consequences of information overload include:

• Shorter attention span• Skimming vs. reading• Lack of deep knowledge

Changing Brains



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For the first time in history, four generations are working together, all with different work styles, communication preferences, strengths, and challenges.

Changing Generations


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In Context• Ages: 67 and higher• 5% of the workforce• Came of age during the Great

Depression and World War II• Their workplace was

revolutionized by: the telephone, the typewriter, the copy machine

At Work• Attitude: No nonsense, pragmatic, waste not want not• Values: Hard work, stability, respect, loyalty• Communication style: Formal, precise• Strengths: Deeply committed, moved by needs rather than fads• Challenges: Adapting to change, finding balance between traditional institutions and

modern business needs

Pre-boomers


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In Context• Ages: 48 to 66• 39% of the workforce• Came of age during the

major social changes of the 1960s

• Their workplace was revolutionized by: women entering the workforce, the personal computer

At Work• Attitude: Optimistic, confident, proud• Values: Self-reliance, strong work ethic, face time• Communication style: Person-to-person• Strengths: Highly adaptable, skilled networkers, deep experience and expertise

Challenges: Workaholic, command-and-control style of leadership, slow to adopt new technologies, struggle to delegate

Boomers


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In Context• Ages: 30 to 47• 32% of the workforce• Came of age during the

materialistic 1980s and the stock market crash of 1987

• Their workplace was revolutionized by: working moms, the Internet, IM

At Work• Attitude: Lone-wolf, flexible, realistic• Values: Independence, clear expectations, professional growth• Communication style: Email-centric• Strengths: Extremely independent and resourceful, act as a bridge between Boomers

and Millennials, well-suited to change management• Challenges: Can come across as cynical, limited loyalty, overly self-reliant

Generation X


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In Context• Ages: Under 30• 25% of the workforce• Came of age during the .com

boom and the Great Recession• Their workplace was

revolutionized by: social media, smart phones, telecommuting

At Work• Attitude: Constantly connected, high self-esteem, idealistic• Values: Meaningful work, flexibility, transparency• Communication style: Instantaneous and deeply social• Strengths: Digital natives, natural work-life integrators, strong communicators• Challenges: High-maintenance and high expectations, managing the information

deluge, struggle with de facto authority

Millennials


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Not only are four different generations trying to work together; the ways we work are constantly evolving. And the future is nothing but chaos.

"The next decade or two will be defined more by fluidity than by any new, settled paradigm; if there is a pattern to all this, it is that there is no pattern.“

~Fast Company, Jan 2012

The Way We Work


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The Evolution of a Job

• Work 1.0: (Yesterday) Having a job for life

• Work 2.0: (Today) Increasing flexibility and collaboration but still within a static workplace environment

• Work 3.0: (Tomorrow) Independent workers who are remote, mobile, and highly connected in real-time, getting projects doneHelp your team thrive in the

21st-century workplace.

The Way We Work



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The Three Elements of Any Successful Project

Seeing Doing Avoiding Silos

XThe Way We Work


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Most collaborative work management tools fall into one of two camps:

People-centricDocument-centric

The Way We Work


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Collaboration shouldn’t be either-or. In today’s highly-connected work environment, traditional models for working together break down.

The solution must be both Document-centric + People-centric

The Way We Work



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#1: Use the power of visualization

• Overcome information overload

• Enable common understanding

8 Tips for Successful Collaboration


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#2: Lead by example

• Become a user yourself

• Appoint “social ambassadors”



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#3: Join vision (seeing) and action (doing)

• Forcefully break communication silos

• Foster a culture of transparency




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#4: Set team goals and expectations

• Make them SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely)

• Hold your team accountable



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#5: Hold “collaboration retrospectives”

• Focus on improving how you collaborate

• Don’t just point out weaknesses. Celebrate successes, too.



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#6: Choose the right tools

• Combine seeing and doing

• Join people and content

• Intuitive to use

• Available whenever and wherever you are




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#7: Make time to turn it all off

• And just THINK!



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#8: Check out and follow the Mindjet blog

• For more tips to help your team collaborate effectively, visit blog.mindjet.com



http://blog.mindjet.com/

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• Knowledge will flow across and between organizations and people

• Seeing and doing will be tightly connected

• Technology will be an enabler, not a barrier

The Future of Collaboration


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Thank you!Help your team thrive in the 21st-century

workplace. Try Mindjet free:

