This is the June 2010 issue of our free monthly newsletter, Future of Work Agenda. We welcome comments on any of these articles. You can also access the newsletter directly on our website, at this link.
June has busted out all over, and sadly the month is almost over. But if you, like us, are based in the northern hemisphere, you are finally enjoying the beginning of summer. For most of us it’s been a long, cold, wet spring. We’ve earned that sunshine and warm weather! If you are south of the equator, have a nice winter.
But our joy at summer is tinged with sadness—and anger—over the continuing oil spill and ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and along the shores of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Our prayers are with the families of those killed in the oil rig explosion and with all of those whose livelihoods and futures are under siege. And we’re not just sad, but deeply concerned, about the devastation that’s being wreaked on our planet and on millions of living creatures.
We’ve all been reminded once again that not only the future of work, but our basic future as a species, is by no means a sure thing. We’ve all got to learn to live and work in ways that help to sustain (and even repair) this very fragile planet. With that in mind, we offer you two thought pieces this month that are aimed dead center at that necessity.
This month we’re also launching a new series, Meet the Associates, in which we introduce you to the incredibly talented members of the new Future of Work Collaborative that we announced last month. We’ll feature two or three Associates each month, in the firm belief that you’ll be so impressed you’ll want to meet them yourself sooner rather than later (we’re also looking forward to having many of them contribute articles and blog posts to this ongoing global conversation about the future of work).
Finally, you’ll also find our regular “The Future of . . .” notes, pointing you to interesting and important articles, blog posts, events, and ideas about the future of work that we want you to know about.
Enjoy.
Charlie and Jim
Click on any Headline below to access the full story.
1. Feature Article: Sustainability With A Big “S”
Sustainability is about much more than environmental impact analyses. True long-term sustainability for both businesses and the communities where they reside must also include attention to wealth generation and the building of social capital. Using the BP oil spill disaster as a case in point this article presents a practical view of how both public and private sectors leaders can move towards true Sustainability—with a capital “S.”
2. A Practical Approach To Sustainability
Ted Ritter, President of the Greater Phoenix Chapter of IFMA (International Facilities Management Association) offers some very practical advice about Sustainability to facilities managers. He led the formation and operation of a “Facilities Managers Green Peer Group” that both educated its members and produced dramatic real-world results.
3. Meet The Associates
We’ve recently invited a small group of people to become Future of Work Associates, a new community of world-class experts who, like us, are committed to helping create the future of work. Each month for the foreseeable future we’re going to introduce several of the Associates here, in the belief that the more you get to know them the more you’ll want to engage with us and them as you create your own future.
4. The Future of Technology
Did you know reading is now a social act? And if you’re looking for the right collaborative tool, we’ve got the perfect place for you to start searching. Finally, a new look at Silicon Valley’s Big Three tech firms and their competing views of the future of the Internet.
5. The Future of Place and Space
Some useful data related to the growing strategic role of corporate real estate.
6. The Future of People and Organizations
A first-person look at how millennials view the workplace, and the organizations they work for.
7. What’s Happened/Happening?
Brief announcements and notes about where Jim and Charlie have been, are, and will be, holding forth in public conversations and other activities.
