I received the latest copy of INNOVATION and two items jumped out at me. Seeing both I was reminded of the books/movies? Playing for Time and I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can. The technology continues to chew up and spit out workers at a brisk rate. Those going into consulting are advised by Peters to adopt a bit of a soft shoe routine as they peddle their wares. arthur cordell ====================================================== MIDDLE MANAGEMENT BRACES FOR ANOTHER ONSLAUGHT Business processes are changing rapidly and middle managers could take the brunt of the realignment, says Oracle president Ray Lane. "This is a whole new economy, nothing short of it." He warns that managers 40 to 50 years old who have been positioning themselves to practice what they've learned over their 20- to 30-year careers may find that things are now moving faster than they can keep up with, and that "the digital kids" are set to challenge their more traditional ways of doing things. The influence of technology is affecting company structures, business processes, corporate economics, and cultures and attitudes, says Lane. "The metrics of doing business are changing rapidly. Transactions costing $100 to process now cost $10, bills that cost $10 to send now cost a dime. Companies will compete based on knowledge. It's what you know about what a customer is thinking, and how fast you act on it. You have competed, but not by building a factory or opening a store." (Mo Krochmal, "Oracle President Warns Management to Duck," TechWeb 27 Apr 99) http://www.techweb.com/ YOU ARE YOUR PROJECTS Management consultant and author ("In Search of Excellence") Tom Peters says that "project work" is the work of the future, because only through distinguished project work can a knowledge worker become a "star" and thus earn protection from his job being eliminated or transformed beyond recognition. ("More than 90% of white collar jobs are in jeopardy today," says Peters.) To become a star, you need to "use every project opportunity that you can get your hands on to create surprising new ways of looking at old problems." That means looking for a narrow project with wide implications that really matter to the organization. When you find it, make it your own by rethinking the assignment, challenging it, reshaping it; don't accept someone else's conceptualization of what the project is all about. Then, when you're in middle of the project, think of execution as a series of rapid prototypes, because holding onto it until you get it "right" is wrong; life, after all, is a series of approximations. And as you work furiously to make your project great, don't stop having fun, don't lose the emotion and let the project get dry, don't talk the thing to death in meetings, and don't stop "selling" your belief in the project's importance. (Tom Peters, "The Wow Project: In The New Economy All Work Is Project Work," Fast Company May 99) http://www.fastcompany.com/online/24/wowproj.html ======================================================================== INNOVATION, 3 May 1999 Innovation Weekly -- A NewsScan (R) Service ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Innovation Weekly, written by John Gehl and Suzanne Douglas, reports on trends, strategies, and innovations in business and technology to give the reader an executive briefing on the future. Paid subscribers may access back issues at < http://www.newsscan.com/archives/ >. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
