The Future of Work: Attract New Talent, Build Better Leaders, and Create a Competitive Organization

Chapter 10Technology as the Central Nervous System

As mentioned earlier, technology is the central nervous system or the backbone of the future organization. However, technology is a broad term that can refer to almost anything. The core types of technologies that are really enabling the future organization are all centered on collaboration; in other words, getting people to share and work together. These technologies include everything from web-conferencing tools and task management applications to full internal social networks deployed within organizations.

Most organizations today have either deployed various collaboration technologies or are in the process of doing so. Unfortunately, the big challenge around these new technologies is actually getting employees to use them. After all, if employees don't use the technologies then things like flexible work, customized work, real-time recognition, collective intelligence, and many of the other things mentioned in this book are not possible. Simply said, there is no future organization without technology, and, specifically, collaboration technology.

Although a detailed strategic framework around collaboration was covered in my previous book, The Collaborative Organization, what wasn't addressed were the lowest common denominators that make organizations successful. In other words, what are some of the common things that the successful organizations are doing to help with adoption of collaborative technologies?

The 12 Habits ...