A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE #FUTUREOFWORK WITH A FEW FRIENDS.
We didn’t know what was going to happen. But lots of people in tech knew that #remoteworking was going to be BIG. How? As technology was always going to play a key role in the next stage for humanity.

As I said in 2015… (See left…)

This seems rather apt for a budding futurists to say. And so I stand by it.

The future of work is going to be about the technology. Who uses it and on who.

But it won’t be just about technology.

The future of work is going to be about. Who you decide to work with. Or remote work with. And who you decide to collaborate with.

As at Your FLOCK our little tech startup helping support people whilst they remote work, we are all about collaboration, not just as a brand value but as an action point.

As something to stand by.

We work together or we fall apart. You can either go fast alone — or you can go far together.

What do you think?

DO YOU COLLABORATE ENOUGH?

In this new world, for many, of remote working and working from home. It’s the people who you work WITH that can raise your spirits and lift your heart. It’s not just your work colleagues but who you partner with, who helps you, who you pick as suppliers.

The whole ecosystem.

As much wise people than I have said:

“It takes a village… to raise a child”

And it takes a MUCH bigger village to create a successful start up or business. It truly does. Perhaps that’s why we built office blocks and cities?

The more and more time we spend apart the more we realise we need each other. Nothing is alone. Everything is part of a larger whole.

As businesses we have to start using technologies that help support our people more whilst remote working.

For example, you could use Your FLOCK to discover your values. You could invite your colleagues to Your FLOCK too. To help them discover their values and where they might need more support. And if You are a team leader — you could become more of a coach than a boss. As working out more about Your colleagues whilst they are working from home is going to be key to understanding the BIG issue in 2021.

And what’s that key issue…

RAPID CULTURAL CHANGE:

It’s going to kill off some businesses — let me tell you. But for now — the take home is that You have to get to know your people more. You have to get to know WHO you are working with. Whether remotely or otherwise.

“Your company culture cannot be the office when the office is no longer there.” Dan Sodergren 2020

The who you work with IS your company.

In more than one sense of the word….

You company in the new world. Will need everyone to lead. As I said in Jeremy Blain’s new book — The Inner CEO

“The future of work is all about the very soul of our organisations. It’s about human values. And how people work together. It’s not just about technology.”

And technology will help. Ideas like Zoom* and Slack**, and Trello and Your FLOCK are all built to help teams be better remote working. But it’s deeper than that. Which is why I was happy to write this.

“To succeed in the modern workplace organisations need to adapt, challenge traditional structures. And unlock the power within the changing workforce. That is done by a culture shift that underpins a new age of empowerment.”

THE INNER CEO

What I like about the book The Inner CEO is that it provides the rationale and the blueprint to make it happen for real. With a more collective approach to organisational leadership, that encourages everyone to step up and go beyond their job description.

This is the new worker. The future worker. Where the employee is willing to become much more and much more productive because of it.

But we will only do this for companies that we believe in and that we share values with.

Which is why now more than ever you have to stand for something.

You have to work out your values. You have to find your tribe.

A great example of this was a non-company collaborative meet up of fellow thinkers and doers arranged by a large telecoms and tech business. Very few of us have met more than once in person — but we all share some of the same values.

So a big thanks to you all.

If you don’t follow them already you should.

Lovely to be with:

@nigewillson @BillMew

@sallyeaves @edbrewster

@WearablesExpert @katieeking

@cgledhill @hdduncan

@NeilCattermull

And my alter ego too @Ukmarketinghelp

The point is that … The strength of the future of work will be around the strength of your collaboration and Your tribe.

Which reminds me. We have some seriously cool collaborative work coming out before Christmas for www.YourFLOCK.co.uk

Thanks Huawei for the invitation too — most kind.

Now there’s a company with some strong values and culture. So strong that WHOLE books have been written about it…

About the author

Dan Sodergren

Co-Founder YourFlock.co.uk; Head of Diversity, Manchester Publicity Association; Founder, Great Marketing Works; Technology futurist and advocate as seen on BBC TV and News and BBC Radio.
['Dan']
['Future Of Work', 'Company Culture', 'Collaboration', 'Your Flock', 'Startup']