A thoughtful, practical read about the future of the flexible office.-Adam Grant
Most people have experienced office shock during the past two years, with the pandemic disrupting where and how they work. It's clear that we can't go back to the office the way it was. This book reimagines the office and shows how we can plan for more sustainable ways of working.
Instead of just focusing on the present moment, Office Shock includes a FutureBack perspective, which refers to thinking back from the future and allows us to anticipate directions of change. The book starts by exploring the history of the office and then looks to the future to navigate office shock. It identifies key spectrums of choices, including purpose and desired outcomes, for better office futures and offers FutureBack recommendations for individuals, organizations, and policy makers. The book ends with a series of possible action steps we can all take together.
We're in a decisive decade, and this book offers a way forward that is based on adaptability and agility.
Leading futurist Bob Johansen shows how a new way of thinking, enhanced by new technologies, will help leaders break free of limiting labels and see new gradients of possibility in a chaotic world.
The future will get even more perplexing over the next decade, and we are not ready. The dilemma is that we're restricted by rigid categorical thinking that freezes people and organizations in neatly defined boxes that often are inaccurate or obsolete. Categories lead us toward certainty but away from clarity, and categorical thinking moves us away from understanding the bigger picture. Sticking with this old way of thinking and seeing isn't just foolish, it's dangerous.
Full-spectrum thinking is the ability to seek patterns and clarity outside, across, beyond, or maybe even without any boxes or categories while resisting false certainty and simplistic binary choices. It reveals our commonalities that are hidden in plain view. Bob Johansen lays out the core concepts of full-spectrum thinking and reveals the role that digital media-including gameful engagement, big-data analytics, visualization, blockchain, and machine learning-will play in facilitating and enhancing it. He offers examples of broader spectrums and new applications in a wide range of areas that will become possible first, then mandatory. This visionary book provides powerful ways to make sense of new opportunities and see the world as it really is.
Over the next decade, today's connected world will be explosively more connected. Anything that can be distributed will be distributed: workforces, organizations, supply webs, and more. The tired practices of centralized organizations will become brittle in a future where authority is radically decentralized. Rigid hierarchies will give way to liquid structures. Most leaders-and most organizations-aren't ready for this future. Are you?
It's too late to catch up, but it's a great time to leapfrog. Noted futurist Bob Johansen goes beyond skills and competencies to propose five new leadership literacies-combinations of disciplines, practices, and worldviews-that will be needed to thrive in a VUCA world of increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. This book shows how to (1) forecast likely futures so you can "look back" and make sure you're prepared now for the changes to come, (2) use low-risk gaming spaces to work through your concerns about the future and hone your leadership skills, (3) lead shape-shifting organizations where you can't just tell people what to do, (4) be a dynamic presence even when you're not there in person, and (5) keep your personal energy high and transmit that energy throughout your organization.
This visionary book provides a vivid description of the ideal talent profile for future leaders. It is written for current, rising star, and aspiring leaders; talent scouts searching for leaders; and executive coaches seeking a fresh view of how leaders will need to prepare. To get ready for this future, we will all need new leadership literacies.
