Dynamic Work : agility

E-Lance Economy

brucelynn — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:51:07 GMT

The Microsoft Netherlands joint research piece with Erasmus University also cited the seminal work of Thomas W. Malone Robert J. Laubacher’s coining the term E-Lance Economy over 10 years ago in their Harvard Business Review article, ‘The Dawn of the E-Lance Economy.’

“The fundamental unit of the e-lance economy is not the corporation but the individual. Tasks are not assigned and controlled by a stable chain of management but rather are carried out by autonomous or independent contractors. E-lancers connect into fluid and temporary networks to produce and sell goods and services. When the job is done, the networks dissolve again, whereas the e-lancers start seeking for new assignments. Of course, this view still applies to a small portion of the economy yet it is clear that larger parts are moving in this direction.”

One of the aspects to the new world of work that first drew me into the subject was the parallels between the ‘modularization of the work system’ and the modularisation of computer systems. In particular, the parallels with the trend of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA). The slide below is taken from one of my standard decks on SOA. Change a few words and labels and the concepts mirror the Malone/Laubacher chart very closely.

Tired Dragons

brucelynn — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:50:53 GMT

In honour of Father’s Day, I thought I would pay homage to inspiration by my father, Rev. Edwin Lynn, to my exploration of Dynamic Working. Dynamic use of spaces where people come together must be in my genes. You see, 36 years ago, decades before carbon concerns, economic crises and intensified pressures of two income families, my father, wrote a book called ‘Tired Dragons’, subtitled ‘Adapting Church Architecture to Changing Needs.’

His introduction could just as readily describe the increasingly outdated fixed and fractured workspaces in outdate office buildings where so many labour every day...

“Once upon a time there were church structures built with dignity, sustained by belief, and strengthened with community purpose. Many of these structures are today’s tired dragons, their energies spent, their fire nearly extinguished, their tails drooping.”

His words on the simple seating in the church could have been taken out of a business justification for removing all the fixed desks in our office (something my team and a number of units at Microsoft has instituted)…

“In the context of order, pews have taken on a theological importance. Their symmetry symbolizes the desired order--not the extreme social order of the pew renters and purchasers of colonial times but the order of religious tradition. However, to sit securely in the pews, smugly oblivious with present changes is inconsistent with a revitalized, meaningful religious belief. Architects have created fancy building shapes and spectacular roof structures, clergymen have inspired changing worship forms. Nevertheless, congregations have refused to change their attitudes, and their immobile seats confirm their rigidity. The obstacles are difficult to overcome. Until the rigid pew structure is changed, the church will not substantially alter its present course. The pews are where the people are, and unless they are willing to alter their patterns, there is little hope for the tired dragons. This does not mean that by destroying all pews we would have a revitalized church; it only means as long as pews are worshiped, there is little hope for a relevant church.”

In the world of Dynamic Work, as long as desks and cubicles remained fixed in place, there is little hope for a ‘relevant’ business.

Dynamic Operation

brucelynn — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:09:47 GMT

I recently spoke at a meeting of Microsoft Alliance Partner Hitachi Consulting on the topic of Dynamic Work and Andrew Barlow, Hitachi’s Head of Strategy, shared with me their whitepaper on ‘Building an Agile Response to Change’.

What I like most about the paper it’s reinforcement that ‘agility’ comes from a number of different perspective and dimensions. In ‘Dynamic Work,’ I have looked the parallels between increasing flexibility in computer systems (eg. SOA) and ‘human’ systems (eg. flexible working), but Andrew takes the concept even more broadly. At the outset, he proposes...

“Agility is derived from two core enterprise-wide competencies:

· the physical ability to act quickly and appropriately (what we call ‘response ability’)

· the intellectual ability to find appropriate things to act on (what we call ‘business insight’)”

He goes on to explore four ‘pillars’ (see diagram above) of which the ‘Reconfigurable Structures’ piece particularly evokes the principles of flexibility in both system and organisational design...