Part of the massive change that's happening in the way we work and live has to do with when you're on and when you're off. More of us are on more of the time. We check email on the weekends. We're reachable via our mobile phones. We all talk about the intrusion of work into our personal lives, but the corrollary is also true: our personal lives are intruding more and more into work. And the technology which enables our employers to find us anywhere also enable us to get out of the office and still be reachable. The tools of subjugation are also the tools of empowerment.
It's clear that the 8-hour workday and 40-hour workweek are history. We are also not just employees any more--we are free agents who are employed based on a mutually agreed-upon contract. We are owners in our companies (through ESOP programs or just by having shares in our publicly traded companies) and we need to start acting like it.
If you've got a great idea, act on it! Worry about who gets paid what and who gets credit for it later. Document what you do, and be careful, but don't be afraid to jump in and make change where you are. Corporations are no longer ruled by people who have all the ideas; our jobs are no longer to simply fulfill what our leaders tell us to do. We are here to help our companies move faster, be smarter, and be more efficient. And that requires our brains.
So, the revolution will not be billable. Focus on the idea, the innovation. Not the money. Believe in the idea, and the money will take care of itself.
Hey, good stuff. Insightful. Sadly, I wish it were longer.
Posted by: Kevin | March 21, 2006 at 03:24 PM