How we work isn’t working. What now?
The hope was once that computers would help people to work smarter and more efficiently. And that the advent of the network society, some ten years ago, would increase people’s options and thereby empower them. For example, by collaborating effectively together, they could achieve things while sidestepping old and existing management structures. So they would no longer be held back by layers of management, hierarchy or bureaucracy. In addition, knowledge and innovations would circulate much faster within a network society and thus realise its potential. Technology would reduce, or even eliminate, the friction between issues and solutions. And the intermediate links in the value chain (retailers!) could disappear.
The five pillars of Digital Fitness
– Digital awareness: the impact of the network- and information society, where technology plays an important role, is enormous, and brings with it new rules. Digital awareness is about what this requires of us as people and organisations in terms of knowledge levels, attitude and behaviour. And how we should organise things differently where necessary.
– Digital hygiene: in effect an extension of social hygiene. Employees should agree, preferably at team level, what digital tools they should use, when and how. As well as how to clean up their digital clutter, prevent digital scams, best organise backups, handle passwords, etc.
– Digital skills: an estimated 90% of computer users need to brush up on their digital skills. This will save a lot of time and so increase effectiveness. Sparing people a lot of digital stress and freeing up hundreds of hours a year.
– Personal knowledge management: the latest generations of digital tools let employees ‘capture’ their knowledge much faster and share it more effectively with colleagues. An application like Notion, an online whiteboard like Miro, or note-apps like Evernote and Roam Research are all tools that help you ‘liquify’ your knowledge.
– Personal growth through technology: most knowledge workers want to continue developing themselves, preferably through lifelong learning. This contributes to and enhances their sustainable employability, and technology can really help here.
Please note: the relative importance of the various pillars varies per knowledge worker, depending on their position, role and responsibilities. So while for a programmer, digital skills will outweigh digital awareness, the opposite is true for their CEO.
Credits
Martijn Aslander
Technology Philosopher | International Speaker
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
martijnaslander.nl
www.digitalefitheid.nl (Dutch language)
lifehacking.nl (Dutch language)
world.hey.com/martijnaslander
Felix B Bopp
Producer of The Future Now Show
clubofamsterdam.com
The Future Now Show
clubofamsterdam.com/the-future-now-show
You can find The Future Now Show also at
LinkedIn: The Future Now Show Group
YouTube: The Future Now Show Channel
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