Year: 2024

2024

The Competition Between Knowledge Workers and GenAI
by Alex Adamopoulos

I just came back from attending one of the world’s largest technology conferences where the sarcastic comment of the week from speakers was to promise they wouldn’t bring up the term ‘AI’. We have a huge problem looming that’s related to AI. It’s already become a confusing buzzword that most can’t define or explain. When asked, the common response is that AI is ChatGPT or another GenAI tool. This lack of clarity and confusion about AI is compounded by the AI fearmongering that exists in the media and within organizations that want everyone to believe we’re all going to be replaced by robots or a bot. There’s also a perception of division between the knowledge worker (people) and the AI (the tools).[
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2024

The Next Management: Leading with the Long View
 by Johan Roos

The Evolution of Management Success

Management innovation has been a key driver of human progress. Over decades, organizations have successfully adapted their practices to meet emerging challenges, creating unprecedented prosperity and advancement. While many organizations continue to operate with industrial-era practices focused on hierarchical control and short-term financial metrics, pioneering institutions are demonstrating that a different approach is not only possible but delivers superior results.[
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2024

From Hierarchies to Haier-archies: The Return of Internal Ecology Management as a Form of Agility and Decentralization
by Ekin Ilseven

At the World Management Agility Forum that took place in Lisbon in September, a panel of founders and managers of successful decentralized companies shared their insights. Lars BrĂŒning described how chemical giant Bayer is undergoing full-scale restructuring, defying the organizational charts that are at best matrix-shaped: he visualizes each department as a cycle that self-manages itself, setting its own goals, strategies, and plans. The focus is on consumer experience. [
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2024

Analyzing Two Different Views of ‘Next Management’
by Steve Denning, Heidi Musser, Hugo Lourenco

This article compares two different views as to how management might evolve. One view, hereafter called ‘Next management,’ is described in our article. “How To Transition To The ‘Next Management’”[1]

The other view—hereafter called ‘humanistic management”–is presented in “Restoring Humanity to Management (and wisdom to intelligence)” by David Hurst.[2][
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2024

A New Age of Generativity
by Joseph Pistrui and Dimo Dimov

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” — Neil Armstrong, Astronaut

With these iconic words in 1969, Neil Armstrong marked a moment of human achievement that transcended its immediate context. His words symbolized not only a monumental accomplishment but also the broader potential for human progress.
That same year, Peter Drucker foresaw a different leap for mankind: the rise of the knowledge worker. This prompted different thinking about resources. Unlike physical resources, knowledge is renewable and can be expanded in novel ways. Thus, managing and empowering knowledge workers presented new challenges for modern management, where innovation and continuous learning became essential in the knowledge economy.[
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2024

Restoring Humanity to Management (and wisdom to intelligence)
by David K. Hurst

Anglo-American management theory has often been portrayed as a chaotic battleground, where scientists and humanists clash, embodying ‘hard’ versus ‘soft’ management styles. It’s time to understand that this conflict is not a flaw but a defining feature—a critical tension that reflects the human condition. Our paradoxical nature is the essence of our humanity, and it is through the practical integration of seemingly irreconcilable opposites that we weave the very fabric of our existence.[
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2024

Public Perception of AI: Bridging the Gender Chasm
by Jayshree Seth

With artificial intelligence (AI) poised to reshape work and the global workforce, a troubling pattern has emerged: a significant gender gap in the adoption and usage of AI. This disparity not only reflects existing inequalities but also threatens to exacerbate them, potentially impacting the future of knowledge work in ways that could set back progress on gender equality for generations. Addressing this imbalance is not just a matter of fairness—it’s an economic imperative that will determine the competitiveness of nations, the public perception of emerging technologies and the inclusivity of our technological future.[
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