David Allen's formative years

This a great article on David Allen (GTD) and his formative years. I posted this article earlier this year on my facebook profile. http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-10/ff_allen?currentPage=all

A changing world and Malcom Gladwell's interview

I read yesterday, a great interview that Malcolm Gladwell was giving in the business section of the Globe and Mail.

In this interview, Gladwell talks about the impact of technology, policy making, the link between corporations and public schools and how the changes happening now will force all of us to adapt in ways that we can only feel without clearly knowing.

http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071001.wrgladwell1001/BNStory/robNews/home/?pageRequested=all

I enjoyed reading the author of Blink and The Tipping point for his sharp, clear and original vision of what the future of our current work transformations might look like. Whoever is interested to learn more about how the meaning of work and the call to leadership, that each of our life calls for, will enjoy the path that Gladwell opens up and explore briefly.

In essence, he talks about the necessity for a shift in our training priority to accommodate more science base education (where are the maths?) but also how the shift from fixed place work to mobile, flexible context of work will force corporation to rethink the way they organize there workforce. I can asses that in many organization, leaders are still not psychologically ready to allow for more flexibility, more education and training and more patience for the people they select. It is also quite a confirmation of what has been known today as knowledge work (Peter Drucker), to explain our modern context of work where front-end (executive type of decision) are being made throughout the organization and not only by a handful "at the top", like this use to happen. And you can be sure that the amount of input that we are receiving today is nothing compare to what we will have to face (and our children) with the acceleration of information input. I find, that even today and around me, people don't seem to grasp fully the importance of that shift and what it means for our future, whether we are artists or accountants (OK, I guess you can be an artistic accountant, but those are rare!), freelance or employee.