The realm of “virtual” and “outsourcing” is helping the age of industrialism pack its bags.
No longer can a leader go run and hide from the onslaught of social activity in their office. In fact, the idea of an office with 4 four walls, a fancy desk, and a secretary out front … is becoming a relic of the past. Ivory & mahogany are being replaced for living room sofas and cafe-feeling Starbucks with grinders abuzz.
Virtual is here to stay. Your office … well … maybe not.
Walls to offices during the Industrial Age intended to guard leaders from the daily onslaught of activity and requests. Today, leaders are bombarded with Facebook requests, Twitter feeds, texts, IM pings, SPAM, an eMail from their boss demanding the most recent numbers in a report, and another eM just below the eMail from the boss … from a friend sending a stupid “forward” eMail with cats in it.
Where’s the walls now to your office? Not so clear anymore … is it?
The cotton gin and telephone switchboards have moved on. Has your office? Long are the days where someone placed a memo or a fax on your desk to read the next morning and a secretary ran out to get your coffee and WSJ. We’re more agile in how we work today. More nimble. More transparent. More connected.
So, how about you?
What does your office look like? Are you becoming a dinosaur with your office? Do you have a Steve Jobs or Eli Whitney bobble head on your credenza?
