Ecosystem in a bottle, DIY'ers = the future, ChatGPT vs workshop on"employee ownership, Top Inside-Outsider reads in 2022
World’s Oldest Terrarium / Sealed Bottle Ecosystem by David Latimer
Internal sustainable ecosystem augmented by external input.
This is fascinating to me, as I study organizations, looking for traits they have that make them sustainable.
Do you have a self-sustaining ecosystem that knows how to benefit from light? By light, I’m thinking of ideas, input and contributions from the external world. I don’t want to over simplify, but the combination of internal sustainability and external input is powerful.
A bottle garden works by creating a self-sustaining ecosystem through plant photosynthesis and recycling nutrients.
Light is the only input needed externally. Providing energy for food and growth. The light shines on the leaves and is taken in by protein-containing chlorophylls (green-colored pigment). The plant stores a portion of the light as ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for energy. The remaining amount is used in the plant roots to get rid of electrons from water….
The article link in the title takes you to the Biologic Performance website and the March 2022 article written by Davin.
‘DIYers’: How the Great Resignation Created the Worker of the Future
This article is extremely positive. That is to say, positive for a certain category of workers.
I noted that it is written by A.Team who describe themselves as” a members-only movement of highly-skilled product builders and bold companies teaming up to build what matters. We’re saying no to boring work and rigid structures, and yes to building things that matter with teammates you love. We’re changing the way the world works, and we’re not going back.”
My questions to you: is this vision doable? Or is it an illusion? Is it only for very specialized workers?
Read the article and let me know what you think.
Author Jordan Teicher introduces the idea:
“A new class of highly-skilled workers has emerged: Prioritizing flexibility and a sense of purpose over full-time employment.”
“It’s not just about setting your own hours or picking your assignments,” said Peter O’Leary, a longtime engineering executive who now works as a consultant for tech companies. “It’s about taking back and controlling the narrative about yourself.”
Employee Power in Turbulent Times: Why Now and How
I reported on a workshop at the Drucker Global Forum in the series of “shape the debate” workshops at the 13th Global Peter Drucker Forum.
The theme was “The Human Imperative”.
Workshop participants were Moderator: Christian Rangen CEO & Co-Founder, Strategy Tools and Engage, Toshio Gotō Research Professor, Japan University of Economics, Christian Stadler Professor of Strategic Management Warwick Business School, Radoslaw Kedzia Vice President of Huawei CEE & Nordic Region and Moon Jérin Co-Founder- Chief Marketing Officer at Vlinder, Industry Associate at UCL CBT.
The existential question of the session was: What is the impact when employees have strong influence in decision-making? This would be the case if employee ownership were in place. The answer from the workshop is resoundingly positive: It helps organizations thrive, from both financial and human dimensions.
Underlying themes of the conversation reflected deep changes needed in order to wisely benefit from employee power:
Redefine the role of business in society to achieve sustainable, long-term, people-oriented values
Rethink corporate structure and governance to make the new values real and actionable
Recognize and enable the new mindset of seeking purpose, to ensure that top talent is energized and engaged
You can read the full article here.
Let’s compare the “human imperative”, and the “AI imperative”
I’m playing on words here! What I mean is we all have an imperative to understand what AI can do and how it can work for us. I’m currently reading AI 2041 by Dr. Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan. It’s enlightening. Technical, clearly written explanations combined with science fiction stories. I’ll write more later. I recommend you read it!
In the meantime, I had some fun with ChatGPT.
I asked Chat GPT this question: Why is employee ownership not common in organizations?
The full answer: “Employee ownership is not as common in organizations as other forms of ownership, such as private ownership by a small group of shareholders or public ownership through stock market listings, for a number of reasons. Some of the factors that may contribute to the relative rarity of employee ownership include:
“The cost and complexity of setting up and managing employee ownership structures: Employee ownership typically requires the establishment of specialized legal and financial structures, such as employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) or worker cooperatives, which can be costly and complex to set up and manage.
“The difficulty of balancing the interests of employees and shareholders: In employee-owned organizations, the interests of employees and shareholders may not always align, and managing this tension can be challenging.
“The lack of experience and expertise in employee ownership: Employee ownership is still a relatively new and evolving form of ownership, and many organizations lack the experience and expertise needed to effectively implement and manage employee ownership structures.
“The potential for employee ownership to limit the growth and competitiveness of organizations: Some critics argue that employee ownership can limit the growth and competitiveness of organizations, as employees may be less motivated to pursue profit and growth than traditional shareholders.
Overall, while employee ownership has many potential benefits, it is not as common as other forms of ownership due to a number of practical and conceptual challenges.” (end of ChatGPT response)
I found the answers reasonable and worth digging into.
Try ChatGPT yourself.
There are many ways of using it as a quick search on the internet will illustrate. The website is here. There so much discussion (and controversy) on the internet about ChatGPT today, you owe it to yourself to give it a spin. Please share your comments below!
Top Reads 2022….from Inside Outsider, my LinkedIn newsletter
Inside Outsider after one year.
You can find all the 2022 issues here on my website with clickable links to the individual articles. You can also see them on LinkedIn where you can comment and add your thoughts. Some issues triggered very good discussions that you can jump into.
The top four topics in 2022 were:
Issue 2. How did lockdown change your behaviors?
Issue 9. Communicators have a battle to fight against lack of trust.
Issue 10. Influence change from the inside.
Issue 13. Critical thinking and why it is missing today.
Which topics interest you the most? What topics do you suggest for 2023?
Thank you for reading Gig Mindsetters – A Bold New Breed
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I’ll be offline for most of February on a personal break, and will be back early March. I wish you a stimulating and thoughtful start to 2023.