Our belief, which will be challenged and probed, is that , at different points of history, social trends, inventions, and accumulated knowledge converge and give birth to unexpected new approaches to work and life. We are at such a convergence now.
Ten years ago, few of us expected to be working on computers, using wireless telephones/PDAs to connect with home and office globally, acting remotely as if we were local. Nor did we expect to be in such informal, networked and frequently changing work relationships.
Yet society has gradually accepted and embraced all of these changes, many of which were enabled by the maturing of the computer, the ease of global travel and interconnection, and, the development of the Internet and email. Most of us are experiencing the impact of change: the lessening of hierarchy and the growth of networks. We see new patterns but have yet to fully define them.
Similarly, we are involved in a transformation in how we define, acquire, develop and retain talent. An aging and smaller workforce, globalization, the Internet and all of its associated technologies, along with a rapidly and constantly changing workplace are intersecting to drive this change. It is a critical time for leaders in talent development to articulate the shifts that are under way. We start with new questions:
What is talent? Can it be "owned?"
What is the difference between a customer, supplier, employee, or consultant?
What will organizations do to, around, and with people over the next decade?
How will people get workplace skills, from whom, and where? Will there be a place for general competences that can be repackaged and used in a variety of ways and professions?
How is this infant century going to approach work and people?
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