References Client Case Studies White Papers Great Quotes Blog

PRINTER-FRIENDLY

A far-reaching and profound revolution sweeping America is changing the very meaning of what we value. Twenty years ago Richard Cornuelle, author of Reclaiming the American Dream, recognized the beginning of this revolution in the phenomenon he described as "de-managing America." Today, Daniel Pink has described the rise of "free agent nation" and has documented the changing values and work habits of Americans as they strive to create a better balance among work, family, and play.

Work today, Pink suggests, "is not just about making money. It's also about making meaning." The emerging free agent work ethic described by Pink reflects the growing value we place on four key conditions: freedom, authenticity, accountability, and self-defined success.

With the growth of the free agent ethic, the world of the "Organization Man" -who gave his loyalty to one company in exchange for a lifetime's security- has been turned on its head. The Free Agent economy differs from the Organization Man economy in two fundamental ways. First, as power has shifted from organizations to individuals, talent has replaced capital as the economy's most important resource-and a new talent market has emerged to organize, price, and allocate it. Second instead of being humdrum and personality-free, work has become more emotionally complex (Daniel Pink in Free Agent Nation).

Management expert Peter Drucker has called attention to the need for individuals to develop skills of self-management. But what does this mean? Drucker recognizes that the new world of work and relationships that is opening up to us requires us not only to understand our business but also to better understand ourselves.

Do I work well with people or am I a loner?
What are my values?
What am I committed to?
Where do I belong?
What is my contribution?

Many people intuitively know the answers to these questions, but because they do not work through them systematically, they often sell themselves short. So we find ourselves in an unprecedented place: The most educated people in history, with a world full of options for meaningful work, and yet unsure of just where we belong (Peter Drucker in Management Challenges of the 21st Century).

The growing need for self-management fundamentally requires us to understand the nature of value and how we create it. Only when we know what we value are we free to pursue it. Only when we know how we create value are we able to work in the way best suited to our unique nature. Only when we define what success means to us can we establish systems of personal accountability for our performance.

05 January 2009