Future of Work: Implications for ED?

CoreNet Global has launched an exciting new initiative focused on where work is headed in the future. A series of important research premises are being made. See below. Managing corporate real estate is the central application of the research. I like the approach.

My question is: "If this is where corporate real estate executives see work going in the future, what are the implications of these new directions for economic development. For example, if the network becomes the enterprise, where does this leave communities in a globally linked network of enterprises and industries?" My answer is that the ED infrastructure needs to evolve to become a global network as well. This is something I have been saying consistently over the past two years. It's time, folks. Let's do it. Read on.

The Changing Nature of Work and the Workplace

Research Premise: Based on our research to-date, we believe that by 2010, the network will be the enterprise -- where the enterprise will be agile, but sustainable, and built on an integrated infrastructure that is capable of supporting the continuous adjustments needed to balance and optimize work. Work, itself, will be done by collaborative teams operating across time and space to leverage the knowledge and talent of a global workforce. As a result, the role of the workplace will be transformed, as traditional boundaries become irrelevant.

The Strategic Role of Place

Research Premise: In a networked world, we believe that the number of strategic choices available to firms will be greatly expanded -- extending the envelope for rational decision-making. And, as the envelope expands, leaders will be forced to seek new tools to assist them in making location decisions that optimize the use of assets and the value of the overall network.

Service Delivery and the Transformation of the Service Provider Industry

Research Premise: An even greater number of services will be outsourced, with a corresponding degree of risk and responsibility being shifted to the firm's interconnected network of service delivery partners. This topic will also address the changes in the service provider industry required to support the new business paradigms and changing needs of corporations.

Integrated Corporate Infrastructure Management

Research Premise: Integrated corporate infrastructure management will be an essential element of how healthy companies compete. It is where real estate, technology, and other elements of the infrastructure will be seamlessly integrated to provide workers with the tools and environments they need to develop and deploy products faster and more efficiently than before.

Asset Management and Portfolio Optimization

Research Premise: As the enterprise becomes more complex and geographically dispersed, the task of managing the nodes as well as the network will become more complex. Leaders will be pressured to improve the utilization of individual assets as well as the performance of the overall network. As a result, a greater focus will be placed on managing and maximizing the value-add of assets and more sophisticated technologies that will evolve to provide decision-makers with the ability to optimize the overall configuration of their portfolios.

Technology and the Web

Research Premise: The networked enterprise will rely heavily on new technologies designed to support the work of different teams with different tasks all working toward common goals.

Skills and Competencies for Successful Enterprise Leaders

Research Premise: New leadership skills will be required for both corporate real estate professionals and the service providers who support them.

CoreNet Global website.