The Future of Work: Self-Directed And Digital
You need to rethink what business is, while there’s still time
Since 2012, I have consistently said that the future of work will be self-powered, ever-changing and decentralized.
It will comprise a network of entrepreneurs who collaborate dynamically rather than an assembly line of specialists who work linearly.
Simply put, I think full-time employment will likely go the way of the record.
I came to those conclusions within days of launching my own company in 2012 at NYC’s co-working innovation hub called NeueHouse. I was introduced to an ecosystem of fellow entrepreneurs I’d never have encountered if I’d simply leased space in a building and siloed everyone in our own bubble, like nearly everyone else at the time.
Often the lines blur between these things, as they will when you’re in an environment that cultivates fluid connection and collaboration above rigid corporate orthodoxy. What started as one thing quickly became another, as clients became friends, friends became collaborators, and some became all three.
The primary reason this happened is that none of us had any obligations to one another. There was no ladder to climb, no hierarchy to navigate, no conflicts of interest to solve, and no…