the ki work blog

How Workforce Management magazine predicts glowing future for ki work

New year's the time for 'experts' to make predictions. They're all pretty gloomy. There's no debate as to whether the cup's half full or half empty. Instead optimists hope for a refill in 2010 while pessimists or, perhaps, realists expect a longer wait. That probably makes 'sobriety' one of the key words for 2009.

Fortunately ki work offers a home-brew alternative to fill your own (virtual) glass or better to share a pitcher. Who wants to work (or drink) alone? The good news is ki work's collaborative, work-sharing, guerrilla outsourcing model is finding friends everywhere, even if they don't know it yet.

The leading HR magazine and website Workforce Management lists 60 top predictions, most of which are in total accord with the ki work model. In fact there's so little to contradict the ki work philosophy that it makes my job hard. 

Normally I'd point readers to some small nuggets that back up my argument. This time I can only recommend you read the whole article. Believe me, it's fascinating.

Indeed, the one key prediction that writer Ed Frauenheim picks out to introduce the article is: "There will be more emphasis on collaboration and using technology to support it." Well, of course.

Another couple of quotes I'd pick out are:

"The talent market will look a lot more like eBay than Monster or Yahoo HotJobs."

And:

"The concept of offshoring will cease to exist. Talent will exist globally and companies will go where the talent is. The purpose will not be to get the lowest-cost labor, but rather the highest-quality talent."

There are a couple of key points where I think the article is fundamentally wrong because it assumes most conventional business organizations will be agile enough to cope with the seismic changes that are taking place. I believe that most current business models will prove unsustainable. (But then if I was writing an article for HR professionals I'm not sure if I'd want to be the one to tell them their profession was on the verge of being swept aside by the tide of history.)

My other disagreement with the Workforce Management article is it's postulating these changes ten years away in 2018.  The dramatic shifts in the way we work are going to happen an awful lot sooner than that. Sign up free for ki work and see how you can be part of the work revolution.

Here is tomorrow's news

Image via Wikipedia

The demise of newspapers will be a sad loss for local communities, democracy and journalists. (Okay I know the last is a little selfish but it has been my profession for too long so I have a vested interest.) But seriously, papers at their best do hold local politicians to account and they provide some sort of social cohesion. Without them it'll be difficult to find out what local sports teams are up to, what's playing at the multiplex and even who has died in the neighborhood.

Although as I said in my last ki work blog posting I believe traditional printed newspapers cannot survive or even reinvent themselves I do think there's room for a new type of local news source which uses traditional skills. To show how it could work I'm going to develop a theoretical model here.

Local news reinvented

We'll start with a journalist called Jack who has been laid off when the newspaper he was working for closed down. Fortunately he's got a bit of cash in the bank from his final pay-off to cover not so much the start-up costs of his new business but to enable him to eat while he develops revenue streams.

As a reporter and a resident he'll have developed good local contacts including with the police, churches, schools, politicians, shopkeepers and all the people who keep a community running. He might not have a printing press, but he does have a PC and an internet connection so putting their stories online is pretty simple.

Using blogging software he creates a local website covering the same things as his old paper. It is a great deal of work as even so-called 'user-generated content' has to be chased and often delicately rewritten. He can't afford to alienate contributors.

One thing he probably won't have to worry about is search engine optimization. As his audience is geographically focused publicizing the site is a combination of word-of-mouth, flyers and ads in stores. In that context Google ranking doesn't matter too much.

Undercutting the corporations

The central point about his whole operation is that it's cheap. He already has a PC and broadband. Hosting his site costs less than $10 a month. His investment isn't cash, but time. It's a sea change from his old newspaper with hundreds of staff, expensive offices, printing and distribution to pay for. Image by ~jjjohn~ via Flickr

But old papers face one challenge in common: finding revenue. The easiest way to monetize a site is through contextual advertising such as Google's AdSense. There are also thousands of affiliate schemes which give website owners a percentage of sales income from the likes of Amazon. These are simple schemes to set up, but they're unlikely to give Jack a living wage.

A more effective way of earning money is to sell ads and sponsorship to specific businesses. This is not an easy task for a journalist. The problem comes in retaining any vestige of independence when speaking to a local business. Is it advertising that he's after or a story? And will an advertiser get editorial preference?

The ki work model

Image via Wikipedia

This is a completely different form of organization from that which controls most newspapers today. Instead of a few companies with a large number of employees it is a network of skilled individual entrepreneurs. In many ways it's a return to the way newspapers used to be locally owned and run.

The solution is to hire somebody to sell advertising. That person does not have to come from the neighborhood. All that's required is for Jack to supply a list of the right contacts and phone numbers. And, hey, we've got the beginnings of a ki work virtual business selling ads for a number of these news microsites. Advertisers can then be offered packages covering several areas. But the whole thing's flexible unlike a newspaper with its fixed staff and other costs.

There are other ways for Jack to develop his virtual business across the internet. Resources can be shared. He could strike a deal with a movie site to provide reviews for the shows at the local multiplex. Both sides will gain traffic. In ki work terms it represents a form of collaborative capitalism where small businesses are able to undercut large corporations. Big may be beautiful, but in the online world it's not always financially viable.

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What can Ants teach us about Business?

When it comes to organization you might have thought ants were pretty close to perfection. Every member of a colony knows its knows its place and exactly what its role in life is. It's a system that's worked for probably millions of years, but recently one species has found there is room for improvement. And it's having a devastating effect on every other life form that comes into contact with it.

There is a frighteningly detailed report in Science Daily describing the 'new pest'. Well to us it might be a destructive and disruptive pest, but to this fairly unknown group of ants this is success. If they were people they'd be dominating their market.

The 'lasius neglectus' species got its name because it was ignored by science. Not any more. It's now creating 'super-colonies' which are destroying everything in their path as they cut a swathe across Europe. The secret of their success is the presence of multiple queens in a single colony. Other ant organizations fall apart when their single queen is taken out.

Could a similarly loose form of organization have a similar effect on the world of work? As global businesses with fixed goals and structures crumble under the impact of the credit crunch it's a vital question.

At ki work we believe there is an alternative in the form of 'collaborative capitalism'. The development of loose, flexible business organizations able to adapt without cost almost instantly to change poses as much of a threat to 'traditional' companies as the 'lasius neglectus' has had on the ecosystems it's come into contact with.

Until recently the ants didn't pose too much of a threat as they don't fly. But they've also found a new way to travel, hitching rides in flower pots transported across borders. Is this the insect internet?

Have ants found the answer to business growth?

Reuters writes about boom in online job seeking

This is one of an increasing number of articles that show how the recession is driving people to join professional social networking sites such as, in this case, LinkedIn and Xing. Online networks a magnet for job-seekers | Technology | Reuters

The fact that it was written by the Reuters news agency means it will be very widely read. Reuters has traditionally made its income from charging newspapers, television and radio stations across the world for the right to publish it articles.

For people who are insecure in their jobs this type of article represents both good and bad news. The increasing popularity of social networking services means employers will turn to them as a means of filling vacancies. But how do you differentiate yourself from the millions of other people also registering in the hope of improving their job prospects?

One of the people quoted in the Reuters article says it took him a long time to build up his network to the point where it helped him to find a job last year. Now it's much more difficult.

There is a powerful argument for investing a little cash to boost your online career. If nothing else it means you'll probably be competing in a space that's a little less crowded. After all if you're unemployed you've nothing better to do all day than post copies of your resume on free sites.

You'll still need to put some effort into networking. Money alone won't buy you friends. But it is worth cehecking out the premium options offered by social networking and employment websites.

On ki work's site we offer the option of paying $50 a month to become an accredited expert. This gives increased prominence to your online brand, allows you to certify professionals and buyers while, most importantly, giving you the opportunity to earn from leveraging your network. You'll find plenty more information here at ki work.

Of course most people won't pay a subscription for any online service and many of them may prosper. But is worth thinking about whether it might be worth boosting your earning prospects by investing a little cash along with your time.

Cloud computing: future model or fashionable fad?

In the world of technology you have to be quick to use the latest terminology. Wait too long and the useful phrase morphs into jargon and meaningless sales-speak. That's what seems to be happening to the term 'cloud computing'. I used to think I knew what it meant and saw how it could link with the ki work model. Now I'm not so sure.

I certainly would not want to disagree with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. (Well I'd certainly think twice before arguing with him  face to face!) According to the Wall Street Journal's Business Technology blog this is how he recently described cloud computing at Oracle's analysts' day:

"The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than womens' fashion. Maybe I’m an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about. What is it? It’s complete gibberish. It’s insane. When is this idiocy going to stop?

“We’ll make cloud computing announcements. I’m not going to fight this thing. But I don’t understand what we would do differently in the light of cloud computing other than change the wording of some of our ads. That’s my view.”

Maybe Ellison's right. It is often the latest buzz phrase that marketing departments apply to products that last week used to be called software as a service (SaaS), webware or just about anything that can be manipulated through a browser. Funnily enough much of this sounds rather similar to the 'thin client computing' Ellison used to champion a few years ago.

He probably hates the way 'cloud computing' lacks a precise definition.

But that lack of clarity rather fits with the idea of something big, slightly opaque without a clearly defined shape. I certainly see the cloud that way and if it's really SaaS, webware or something else, frankly I don't give a damn.

What I'm looking for are services that enable me to run a business from anywhere I've access to a browser. I want to have corporate-style software, but without the financial outlay. It never ceases to amaze me, but that's what I'm getting. For instance, I'm writing this blog using Writer, part of the Zoho suite of software. This started as an online alternative to Microsoft Office, but it's gone way beyond that to include modules such as CRM, invoicing and even HR. And almost all of it's free to small businesses. I don't care if it's not strictly cloud. It's what I need.

In fact it doesn't matter to me if the services I choose to run a business are even software. There are facilities that were recently only available to businesses of a certain size with a physical office. Now there are online services to transcribe dictation  or virtual assistants who can be found through ki work. These are services provided by human beings.

Until recently I would have seen this combination of downscalable software and human-driven services as a way for small businesses to compete with corporations. That was an underestimation. In reality many new small businesses actually have an unfair advantage over 'traditional companies'.

If they are virtual businesses they won't be saddled with the debt, expensive real estate and old ways of working which can hamper their older, larger competitors. Through the cloud, or whatever you want to call it, collaborative online ventures have access to productivity tools which are often as powerful as those used by major corporations.

No wonder big business CEOs (and that includes Ellison) are nervous. Once knowledge workers start to organize themselves  there's a real threat to the corporate model.

It's already happening. Mozilla's Firefox has taken a substantial share of the browser market, despite Microsoft's dominance. Linux continues to grow in popularity as an operating system. And millions of small retailers earn money through eBay.

We have the tools so all that knowledge workers require is a platform, a place on the internet where they can work together to develop businesses and sell the output. Take a look at ki work and see how virtual business outsourcing can work in practice.

freelancers of the world unite to combat credit crunch

One of the widely predicted effects of the current financial crisis is a large increase in the number of freelance workers. Even before the world's financial institutions started to tumble freelancing was growing fast along with flexible working and outsourcing. But could freelancing soon be as outmoded as the 'job for life'?

The original 'freelances' or 'freelancers' were mercenaries, literally 'free lancers'. Today we're hired more because of our skills in writing or programming than for our jousting prowess, although the thought of riding into an office on horseback does have a certain appeal.

From a company perspective freelances (without armour!) have long offered a cost-effective means of hiring specialist skills to complete short-term projects or to cope with the ebbs and flows of business. At a time of economic turbulence, freelances have provided a way of filling gaps and grabbing opportunities without the long-term costs of employing permanent staff. Freelances are sometimes cheaper and always more disposable, but their relationship with a company is still basically that of an employee.

But this downturn comes at a time when knowledge work has changed dramatically. Many of the practices that have continued since mass production created the industrial revolution are now obsolete. Large offices are just factories for knowledge workers where businesses reaped the economies of scale from sharing resources, most recently in the form of data networks. Now, for millions of workers, there is no real need for them to physically vist the office to access those resources.  They're available anywhere with a dial tone. Physical offices are often just a drain on resources.

The internet means companies can use the best and most economical knowledge workers wherever they are in the world. You only have to look at the growth of flexible working and global outsourcing to see how businesses are taking advantage of these possibilities. But they're also having to change their working practices.

Partly this is because you can't see what anybody is doing if they're not in the office. The focus has to be on outcomes. Logic might suggest that requires the creation of very detailed and specific goals. The problem is if there is no room for manoeuvre the results are unlikely to surpass the lowest common denominator. Improvement is actually discouraged because it might not fit the detailed specification.

Arguably, the most effective form of outsourcing is one which uses collaboration rather than instruction. Outcomes may be drawn up more loosely so there is room for initiative from the individuals or groups doing the work. At some stage the outcomes will become more important than the organisation.

If that point is a little too philosophical, the current financial crisis is also creating conditions which encourage alternatives to freelancing. Although the length and depth of the downturn is impossible to predict, it's certain that credit will be harder to find and more expensive. Immediately, that's going to cause problems for companies lumbered with large amounts of real estate. Even if they downsize, outsource or otherwise reduce their cost base, they're still going to be left with a dubious physical asset on their balance sheets. They're going to face a threat from newer, unencumbered businesses.

And, when the downturn ends, credit is still going to be tight even though companies need to invest to survive. If your business is, for example, selling phones, MP3 players and computers, you'll be left behind if your designs are two years old. Somebody else is going to be making something faster, more desirable and cheaper.

One way of continuing development through the credit squeeze is by spreading risk and reward. Instead of employing freelances to complete projects, allow them to self-organise as partners. It's not a new idea. Any even slightly complex product we buy is a combination of components from different manufacturers with a multiplicity of intellectual property owners. The internet enables collaboration on a massive scale to create products such as the Firefox browser and Linux operating system. On a commercial level eBay and Amazon provide a platform for hundreds of thousands of small businesses.

Ki Work is another platform that has the potential to extend the collaborative, virtual and flexible way of doing business. It offers a low-cost framework for knowledge workers to come together to create highly-flexible virtual organisations. These can either sell their services to larger businesses or, as may become more the pattern of modern commerce, collaborate with other organisations to create something so new we don't really have a name for it yet.

Welcome to the 'virtual collaborative corporation' - virtual business, powered by freelancers. Is this the new wave of employment that will rise out of the destruction of the financial system?

Nick Clayton

(photo credit: leicester county council)

Where are the lifeboats to weather a financial storm?

With the desperate bailing out of AIG and Merrill Lynch accompanying the collapse of Lehman Brothers it is clear America's financial institutions are going through an enormous crisis. What nobody knows yet is how deep or how widespread the impact on the rest of the world is going to be or how long the resulting economic depression will last. That will only be revealed in hindsight and that's not much use now.

Even in the midst of economic turmoil, however, there are some certainties. Unemployment will rise while average house prices and incomes fall. But most people will not be homeless, starving or unemployed. Some will even prosper through the economic catastrophe.

The other certainty is the breakdown of global financial institutions will have a massive impact on the way businesses are run and people are employed. The collapse of Lehman Brothers, the takeover of Merrill Lynch and instability of what was the world's largest insurer AIG shows how global companies can effectively disappear overnight.

Although few us are directly affected by the problems of these institutions, such is the complex interrelationship of the of world financial markets that nobody can say their job is secure. But that doesn't mean we should simply wring our hands and cry: 'We're all doomed.'

Instead we need to look for the lifeboats. At worst we have to find ways to keep afloat. At best we may find ourselves somewhere better than the place we inhabit now. That's where we like to think Ki Work fits in.

It's a truism that companies which thrive after an economic downturn do so because they've emerged leaner and fitter. But, in common with most truisms, it's only partly true. Companies that become too lean either starve to death or they are not strong enough to take advantage of an upturn when it comes. And that assumes they recognise the upturn and respond accordingly.

Every downturn is followed by a series of false dawns. Move too soon and the market may not be ready. Leave it too late and chance being left behind by the rush. Ki Work offers a way of both reducing the risk and being nimble enough to take advantage of opportunities.

A 'traditional' company that has weathered the economic storm is likely to find it a struggle to expand. Its premises could be too small to accommodate additional staff. It may even lack the experts to recruit new team members. Ki Work offers businesses the opportunity to employ virtual teams who are accredited, used to working together and do not require a physical space to complete projects. But that's the old-fashioned way of doing things.

Far more exciting is the possibility that Ki Work offers of creating entire virtual businesses that are flexible, economical and bring together the best people in the world, regardless of geography. If you have valuable skills, there is no point in waiting to start developing these relationships, getting the accreditation and exploring potential opportunities that this brings.

Nobody is suggesting Ki Work alone has all the answers to surviving and thriving through an economic crisis. There are many ways of developing the relationships that will see you through. Social networking with LinkedIn, Facebook or Ecademy, for instance, are all valuable. But we believe Ki Work offers the best combination of tools for building virtual outsourced businesses.

The point is to get involved now even if you still have a job or a contract. As the global economy turns downward the social networks are going to get quite crowded with people trying to make their mark and post their resumes. Now is the time to make friends and influence people.

It doesn't take a crystal ball to see we're going to be going through a period of painful economic change for some time to come. Change also brings opportunities for those able to grasp them. And they're not necessarily out of reach, even from a lifeboat.

Nick

new ways to build your ki work network

To help you grow your ki work network into an effective, searchable database of other professionals and colleagues who work online, we've added a whole range of features to the ki work network section.

find people by name
search for online professionals who you know are already on ki work then invite them directly

set a unique invite url
set up your own url to send to people via email or IM - by clicking it they'll automatically join your network

invite people by email
do it the old-fashioned way, and add new contacts by sending out invites by email

invite your webmail contacts
invite contacts en masse by selecting relevant people from any webmail services you use

Please let us know if there's any other features you'd like to see added. There are more updates coming soon..