Work Disrupted

by Jeffrey H. Schwartz

If you only read one book on the future of work, Work Opportunity, Resilience, and Growth in the Accelerated Future of Work should be that book.

The future of work swept in sooner than expected, accelerated by Covid-19, creating an urgent need for new maps, new mindsets, new strategies-- and most importantly, a trusted guide to take us on this journey. That guide is Jeff Schwartz. A founding partner of Deloitte Consulting’s Future of Work practice, Schwartz brings clarity, humor, wisdom, and practical advice to the future of work, a topic surrounded by misinformation, fear, and confusion. With a fundamental belief in the power of human innovation and creativity, Schwartz presents the key issues, critical choices, and potential pitfalls that must be on everyone’s radar.

If you're anxious about robots taking away your job in the future, you will take comfort in the realistic perspective, fact-based insights, and practical steps Schwartz offers. If you're not sure where to even begin to prepare, follow his level-headed advice and easy-to-follow action plans. If you're a business leader caught between keeping up, while also being thoughtful about the next moves, you will appreciate the playbook directed at you. If you're wondering how Covid-19 will change how and where you will work, Work Disrupted has you covered. Written in a conversational style by Schwartz, with Suzanne Riss, an award-winning journalist and book author, Work Disrupted offers a welcome alternative to books on the topic that lack a broad perspective or dwell on the problems rather than offer solutions. Timely and insightful, the book includes the impact of Covid-19 on our present and future work. Interviews with leading thinkers on the future of work offer additional perspectives and guidance.Cartoons created for the book by leading business illustrator Tom Fishburne bring to life the reader’s journey and the complex issues surrounding the topic.

Told from the perspective of an economist, management advisor, and social commentator, Work Disrupted offers hope--and practical advice--exploring such topics

How we frame what lies ahead is a critical navigational tool. Discover the signposts that can serve as practical guides for individuals who have families to support, mortgages to pay, and want to stay gainfully employed no matter what the future holds.

The importance of recognizing the rapidly evolving opportunities in front of us. Learn how to build resilience—in careers, organizations, and leaders—for what lies ahead.

Why exploring new mental models helps us discover the steps we need to take to thrive. Individuals can decide how to protect their livelihood while businesses and public institutions can consider how they can lead and support workforces to thrive in twenty-first-century careers and work.

"Jeff's marvelous book is a roadmap for the new world of work with clear signposts. His insights will help readers discover opportunities, take action, and find hope in uncertain times. The ideas are fresh, beautifully crafted, and immediately applicable. This is not only a book to be read, but savored and used."—Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; Partner, the RBL Group; Co-author Reinventing the Organization

Genres: Nonfiction, Business

240 pages, Hardcover

Published January 7, 2021

Reviews

[Geoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

On a positive note, this is a good summary of current work trends: work with robots vs against them, we all work from home now, and plan to up-skill for your next job. Apart from the accuracy of these observations, I was missing that insight of learning something new and unexpected.

[Fred Cheyunski · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Promised Than Delivered - When I saw this title, I had high hopes. The book does provide good documentation of the societal and workplace disruptions we have experienced due to continued technological development and the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., see also my review of Zakaria’s “Ten Lessons for a Post Pandemic World”). However, as with many other such tomes, actual solutions are very sketchy. This text appears to be geared to those such as the consultant authors and others in corporate settings leaving many others behind (see also my reviews other Deloitte related books such as Hagel et al’s “The Power of Pull”and Kane et al’s “The Technology Fallacy”).

None the less, the book consists of a Foreword, Introduction: ((1) From Fear to Growth: Mindsets and Playbooks for Twenty-first-century Careers and Work) and nine other chapters in three parts. Namely, in Part I Find Opportunity in a Time of Accelerated Change: Redesigning Work, Workforces, and Workplaces, there is (2) People and Machines Working Together: Integrating AI and Workers on Every Team, in Every Job; (3) Making Alternative Work a Meaningful Opportunity: The Workforce Will Include More Part-time, Contract, Freelance, Gig, and Crowd Workers; and (4) Working from Almost Anywhere: Redesign Workplaces from Where We Work to How We Work: Onsite, Online, and Everything in Between. Within Part II Build Long-Term Resilience for Uncertain Futures: Reimagining Careers, Organizations, and Leadership comes (5) Plan for Many Careers, Not One: Realistic and Energizing Transition Strategies for Multichapter Lives (6) The Rise of Teams: Reinvent Organizations, from Individuals and Hierarchies to Teams and Networks; and (7) Leaders as Coaches and Designers: Moving Beyond Managing Workflows and Controlling Direct Reports to Creating, Influencing, and Building. Finally, in Part III Playbooks for Growth: Charting Paths Forward for Individuals, Leaders, Citizens, and Society, there is (8) Carpe Diem: As Individuals, Strengthen Adaptability and Choice to Face Great Opportunities and Disproportionate Responsibilities; (9) Create Opportunity: As Business Leaders, Unlock Value by Reimagining Jobs and Partnering with Workers to Build Resilience and Dynamic Careers; and (10) Set New Agendas: As Citizens and Communities, Reset Education, Labor Regulations, Job Transitions, and Societal Norms to Reflect Our Values. At the end of the book Acknowledgments, Notes, information About the Authors, and an Index are included.

Parts of the book that stood out for me were the authors’ framing of the challenge and proposing the need for “new maps” For instance, (in Kindle Location 596), Schwartz et al indicate “. . . dizzying advances in robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), digital technology, and new ways of working have created haunting images of a dystopic future world where machines and software can perform most jobs, and human workers are largely unnecessary.” Then, (in Location 606-09), they suggest “. . . [The real task ahead seems to be] not to compete against the machines, but to compete with machines . . . Thomas Malone calls the remarkable power of people . . . and computers working together ‘super-minds.’” Next, (in Location 613-16}, the authors explain that “In the midst of these dramatically different depictions of the future of work—a robot apocalypse versus humanity unleashed—many seek to understand what is different from other periods of great technological advances, where do they fit in, and how can they navigate this landscape . . . My [our?] aim is to provide that guidance.” A little later, (in Location 719-30) “Maps tell stories. Maps are knowledge. Maps provide context. . . the power of great maps to help us condense and visualize data . . . Today, GPS apps on our smartphones, from Google Maps to Waze, offer near-instantaneous options . . . This is a story about the value of mapping, the importance of direction setting, and the need to create new maps and mental models when traveling in unchartered terrain.”

While Schwartz and company provide some interesting concepts and references, like with most offerings today there seems to be more promised than delivered. Ideas such as the cultivation of a “growth mind-set” and descriptions of the ways business leaders are grappling with these issues abound. Advice comes in the form of statements such as (in Location 4388-93) for individuals to “Shift your mental model to plan for a long life . . . Choose employers where learning and work are highly integrated . . . Your way forward involves viewing your life as a portfolio of careers and chapters. . . Family, friends, networks, and relationships, in and across communities, will be part of proactively building lives planning for and incorporating the longevity dividend.” However, toward the end of the book comes the admission, (in Location 5568), that “Our challenge is to explore how we can make our journey in an economy of transactional work provide a livable wage and a good quality of life. What can we do to help reskill low-wage earners so they can transition into family-sustaining jobs? – The bridges to the future must support millions of Americans who need to move from low-wage work to stable careers that offer a path to advance” Even with its overreach, it is useful to get these consulting firm/corporate views to add to the perspective to those such as Weise’s on “Long Life Learning” (see my review) to help understand major issues today and in the immediate future.

[Paiman Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Design thinking allows business leaders and managers to focus on the person and the experience, not only the process.
When leaders act like coaches (with a focus on future performance) more than commanders (who judge past efforts), better results ensue. Regular check-ins with team members, leaders and employees lead to understanding what works and what needs to change to achieve desired outcomes. Leaders should encourage employees to focus on improving the consumer experience. They should facilitate rapid prototyping, testing and tweaking of promising ideas – core aspects of design thinking. Cost matters less than creating products and services that impart meaning and value.
Adopting a growth, rather than a fixed, mind-set is vital. Those with a growth mind-set believe they can develop their abilities, skills and intelligence. Those with a fixed mind-set think people are either born with talent or intellectual ability in a given area, or they’re not – they can’t develop them. Individuals can prepare for a long, successful career by applying a growth mind-set in seven ways:

Continue learning – Seek out new challenges and experiences. See difficulties as a chance to grow. Embrace interdisciplinary education and work opportunities.
Embrace career pivots – Prepare for career transitions by making yourself more adaptable. Seek support from friends and family when you’re undergoing a career shift. Foster professional relationships, in person and online.
Become a team player – Diverse teams are the heart of the future of work. Practice good communication and hone your listening skills. Build and participate in diverse teams.
Work with the machines – Focus on developing skills that machines lack, and consider how machines might augment your capabilities. Develop the ability to use and understand data.
Boost capabilities and well as skills – Unlike skills applicable only in specific contexts, capabilities are abilities you can apply in any context. Nurture capabilities like curiosity, problem solving, empathy and love of learning, as well as more narrow capabilities, like knowledge of a certain type of technology.
Prepare for a longer, more varied career – Workers today will work well into what was once considered retirement years. But you will not work all of those years full time at the same position. Utilize your working years for consistent reinvention, learning, and opportunities to develop and practice new skills.
Be proactive – Take an active role in charting your path forward. Learn and practice new skills and capabilities. Seek new job opportunities, even if you’re happy with your current employment.

[David Maywald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in early 2021, amidst the lockdowns and Covid disruption. This 170-page densely-written book contains a synthesis from Jeff’s experiences: as a senior HR consultant; interviews with prominent businesspeople and leaders; recitations from other authors; lots of different perspectives about jobs, workplaces, companies, strategy, and the future…

“The top three skills needed to survive in the future of work are complex problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity”

It does read as a bit dated already, due to missing the post-Covid recalibration. But there’s plenty of material that retains value: careers have changed for many people (more jobs in each lifetime, retraining, portfolios of roles); the education systems need to radically catch-up with the changed nature of business/work; businesses continue to struggle with the incorporation of values and purpose into their mission.

“we will need to increase our expectations for how our educational institutions, governments, and businesses will support these ongoing career reinventions and transitions. Current institutional models will need to adapt and expand to meet the growth and transition needs of lifelong learners and workers.”

Schwartz and his co-author Suzanne Riss, as well as their editors, have certainly called out almost all of the buzzwords: collaboration, resilience, design thinking, agile methodologies, interdisciplinary, behavioural economics, VUCA environments, and AI…

“The challenge we face when working with technology is to use it to augment workers, not replace them.”

There are huge challenges ahead for universities, and other higher educational bodies, to remain relevant. Long degrees that take up several years with static content now appear to be a relic of the ancient past, and students are seeing less value in this format. In fact, more young people are being attracted to start-ups, social enterprise, shorter technical education, and earn-while-you-learn models:

“The people that are incredibly successful today are the people that fall in love with something. Fall in love with the problem, and then go figure out what they need to learn to solve that problem. It’s much more in the flow of work and the flow of passion and much less about applying what you’ve learned.”

Don’t read this book expecting all of the solutions. Read it to understand a broader range of perspectives, which are currently feeding into the challenges that we face.

[Laura Skladzinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a great summary of trends in the working world, and was also up-to-date enough to include some of the initial impacts of COVID19. I appreciated the insights; however, it was also very dry and took me several months to finish, as I wasn't compelled to keep picking it up. While the subject was interesting, I found that the book as a whole came across as a bit heavy-handed, and probably would have benefited from skipping the "action items" sections and allowing readers to draw their own conclusions as to how to manage. Perhaps more real life stories would have been a better way to guide readers to apply the insights.

[Maryam Nada · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing new here. Things that a thousand writers have reiterated a billion times.
The unfortunate part is, the writer even failed to package his information in any creative way to at least give his book a facade of usefulness!

[Irene Gracesiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye-opening book. So many insights for individuals, organizations prepare for future work. back up with great references. highly recommend!

[Bill Scudder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very groundbreaking. Basically put in writing what we all have observed, especially during the pandemic. A good summary of what you probably already know.