Our Future: an Abundance of Connections and Resources

If I read the article I am writing today a year ago, I would probably struggle to envision what the person was talking about. But since I left my corporate career, things have changed for me. I started studying where we are headed in terms of how we learn, work and live our lives. I participated in several online workshops and researched many more in addition to observing how several professionals learn and work today.

This essay describes the future that I envision based on my personal experience, knowledge, and observations of the world. It's a version of the future that I fell in love with. And the one I plan to devote the rest of my life and work to help move it forward in every way I can.

My goal is not to convince you to agree with my views and assertions; but rather to guide you to visualize a version of the future that you can co-create if you choose to.

This is neither the only version of the future nor one that will develop rapidly. But compared to the other versions of the future - driven by the implications of the fourth industrial revolution - that we can merely observe as they develop before our eyes, this is one we can be part of its creation if it serves our beliefs, desires and aspirations.

Here we go...

What does this future look like?

By building and cultivating several community-like networks, we create an abundance of connections that enable people to collaborate and amplify the way they learn and work.

This future is based on a few basic principles that we've applied for a very long time. And that's the beauty of the whole thing; it’s simple and, most of us, are already accustomed to it.

We build networks, learn together, collaborate and amplify our work. We support each other to reach our goals.

Ultimately, as the network develops and evolves, we create an abundance of shared resources. Since each of us belongs in several other professional and social networks, these shared resources can be amplified and leveraged further in many more communities.

Nothing new so far, right? Please carry on.

What's actually changing today?

The current intelligence era we all live in – also known as the connection economy - enables us through technology and digital tools to establish connections much easier than ever before. These tools did not exist in the form they are available today even just a few years ago. Researchers, on the other side, have been collaborating and publishing scientific papers on their joint research for many years. So, the collaborative principles are not new.

What is changing now is that we have more user-friendly collaborative platforms and tools that everyone with an internet connection can learn to use without formal training or scientific background.

As I write this, many more of these collaborative tools are being developed that help us learn and share our work in an asynchronous manner. At the same time, new video conferencing tools make live communication absolutely seamless. And the cost to use these tools is becoming very affordable for many of us, especially as we start to connect small teams.

What role can we play in the future?

We can create one or more of these networks and participate in others or we can only act as participants of several networks.

The creators put together the adequate collaborative tools, activate the network, and provide the guiding principles for learning and work. It's worth noting that the role of the creator can be the actual teacher or merely the facilitator of connections.

The participants constantly collaborate with each other both live and in an asynchronous manner. They share resources, experiences, as well as, successes and failures of their work.

The participants focus either on their own individual project or a joint one while they are learning and sharing their work with the others. They provide feedback to each other as they all improve their knowledge and develop skills. Most of the learning is happening through their collaboration with others. They complete their own work and evolve it to a better version upon reflection on the feedback they receive from the whole network.

Who are the creators of these networks?

Obviously, not everyone has a passion for this type of network-based model. Many prefer to leverage their own matter expertise and create a business or training course based on their specific offering.

What drives the creators to organize and serve a network of people around a shared purpose is their desire to offer to them something bigger than their individual offering.

The creators are driven by their passion to create an abundance of resources beyond what they individually have, by enabling the network participants to contribute to the learning and work of each other.

In other words, the creators leverage the network-based model as a way to help others learn, do meaningful work and build a prosperous life. They also fulfill the fundamental need for human connections that we've experienced a scarcity of during the recent years.

Let's discuss a few specific examples of how this new model can actually work.

We are already experiencing the future in the new ways we learn, work, support philanthropy, and live our lives today.

I will reference examples related to learning and running a business (creating work). The same principles apply to supporting philanthropy. I plan to cover this in a separate article.

I'll discuss both the current traditional model and the new model that is already happening and, which I believe, will continue to develop further in the future.

The traditional model has its roots in the industrial era that defined our education, work and life as we know it. Those with an abundance of financial resources created businesses that offered jobs to thousands of employees. Professionals who did not want to become employees built their own businesses as consultants, marketers, coaches, and so on.

I am not the first one to tell you that employees have been choosing to become freelancers and entrepreneurs at constantly increasing rates. The new model applies to freelancers and entrepreneurs who aspire to co-create a new version of the future. I also hope it will inspire current employees to consider a new career path; one that's meaningful and fulfilling.

Let’s get started… 

Learning

Let's consider learning marketing as an example. I have direct experience through training courses I took as a corporate employee and a recent online workshop I participated in.

Traditional model: The marketing experts offer their services by leveraging their own subject matter expertise. This can be done in person during workshops or one-to-one consulting. They share their knowledge and help their clients develop their marketing strategy. In many cases, they may develop the marketing strategy for them. Some marketing professionals have published books and often give speeches. Many of them are now offering video-based online training courses.

Learning is happening by consuming content provided by the marketing expert. Many choose to read their books and also watch videos. They may work on their project independently or receive one-to-one coaching to improve their marketing skills.

New model: The Marketing Seminar designed by Seth Godin is a great example of the new way of learning that follows the basic principles I shared earlier. Seth developed a set of principles of marketing he wanted to teach us. He has and still offers several of the services offered in the traditional model. He has written numerous books and given numerous talks.

The new online workshop is designed to create a network of people who want to learn Seth's marketing principles and develop their marketing strategy during the actual workshop.

The participants collaborate with each other as they learn and work on their own project. They share resources, provide feedback to each other and constantly evolve their work. 

There are also coaches who guide the participants to expand their work and overcome their blind spots. It's a true community-based network that we contribute to each other's work and learning journey.

Does a brilliant and established marketer like Seth Godin have enough wisdom and content to create an impact under the traditional model only? More than anyone else I can think of!

Seth Godin pioneered the network-based learning because he is passionate about creating an abundance of resources by cultivating powerful network connections.

Several freelancers and entrepreneurs are rapidly following Seth's path by adapting the network-based learning method in their online courses and workshops.

The benefits of being part of a network while learning and doing our work are countless. And the beauty of it all is that we continue to be part of this network after we complete the training. And that, in and of itself, is invaluable. But that's a topic for another article.

Running a Business

Let's take a coaching business focused on leadership development as an example.

Traditional model: The coaches offer their services by solely leveraging their own subject matter expertise and experience. This is usually done in one-to-one coaching sessions, in person or virtually. The coaches develop a coaching plan and work with those we want to develop and strengthen their leadership skills. Several coaching professionals have published books and often give speeches.

They may also publish content on social media including articles and blog posts. Others, as they try to scale-up their business, may now be offering video-based online training courses often combined with one-to-one coaching. That covers most of the current landscape.

New model: We're seeing examples of coaches who start to build communities on social platforms; small and intimate accountability groups that help participants stay engaged.

I would like to share a hypothetical example that I've been considering as one of my new projects. I hope it will offer you some ideas to think about in your own line of business. Or even in coaching. Please share any ideas you may have!

When I announced my decision to conclude my twenty-year corporate career, several of my connections asked me if I was planning to start a coaching practice focused on leadership development. Some suggested to coach female leaders for senior and c-suite corporate roles.

If I were to pursue further this idea, I would embrace the new network-based model for the following reasons:

• Throughout my personal corporate career, I've learned more from my peers and network connections than I've learned through one-to-one coaching; which I have done only a few sessions and, in all honesty, it was phenomenal!
• Coaching is like every other project we work on. We need to own our coaching like we own our learning and our work. The process can be the same.
• I'm a big fan of the power of 'open-source coaching'; which means, that at any given time, we can identify and seek different coaches, as they fit our needs. This has been my personal approach to coaching and one that I'd like to teach and help others to learn.

In the new network-based model, I'd teach leaders to leverage the open-source coaching by creating an abundance of connections and resources to help them practice being the leaders they aspire to become.

To accomplish this, I would follow the following steps (this is merely a draft and not a fully vetted plan yet):

1. Build a network of leaders who aspire to level up their leadership skills.
2. Provide them with adequate and effective collaborative tools.
3. Develop videos and share content on the fundamental leadership principles.
4. Collaborate with other former corporate leaders and professional coaches that would serve as coaches during the workshop. Develop an open-source coaching platform.
5. All participants learn and practice the open-source coaching during the workshop. They develop their individual leadership development plans with specific actions. They seek feedback from the other participants and coaches in a collaborative setting. They practice in small (intimate) accountability groups. They iterate their development plans, practice, seek feedback, and take real-life actions. They repeat.

Philanthropy

The traditional model of giving back has been based on donating resources by those who have them in excess. Wealthy people (upper middle class and famous billionaires) provide financial support to those less privileged. The new model is based on crowdfunding and micro-financing, These are both good examples of leveraging a network of people aligned around a shared purpose to support those under-served. I will discuss philanthropy in a follow-up article and share examples of the traditional and new model.

The new model does not come without challenges! Here are a few to consider for starters:

The first challenge, as you can imagine, is to identify the members of each network and create it, if the network does not already exist. Finding those we seek to serve and gathering them around a shared purpose or a common unmet need is not trivial. Very often, we may need to identify those we seek to serve one person at a time. The best way to describe what we may be dealing with based on who we seek to serve is shown in this photo.

Photo by Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash

Another challenge is the speed by which we can build, cultivate, and grow each network. Those who have tried to create a network know that even when we have the best idea, a great marketing strategy, and the right collaborative tools, still it is neither easy nor is it quick. Human connections take time to develop because they are built on trust. We start small and deliver on our promises consistently. One person at a time. Even with the best business plan and an awesome idea, we won't be able to predict how big the network can become. It may stay small or scale up fast. Time will tell!

Photo by Brandon Mowinkel on Unsplash

If you are wondering why I'm so passionate about networks, this article on how I designed my education journey and built a twenty-year long international corporate career may answer some of your questions.

Long story short, I've been creating and leveraging network connections over the last three decades. They've been a key contributor to most of my life and career accomplishments.

I'll continue to study the network-based future of learning and work. I plan to start sharing available resources to help you design your own learning journey and create a meaningful work and life. That's how I plan to make an impact through meaningful work.

I want to give credit where it's due. Seth Godin has been my teacher and mentor throughout my personal journey of exploring the future of learning and work. He has done that for me and many others through his work - a combo of the conventional and the new model. Through his deliberate work – daily blog, a weekly podcast, 18 books, several workshops, videos, and numerous interviews - he has been guiding me as I transition from the third to the fourth industrial revolution (or as he likes to call it 'the connection economy').

I'm also immensely grateful to my new network of freelancers, entrepreneurs, and friends who have shared resources and provided their feedback on my work so very generously.

Maria is a storyteller, a blogger, and a change maker, on a mission to empower people to design their learning journey and build a sustainable career in the future of work. After twenty years in international corporate leadership roles, she advises enterprises on their growth strategies through marketing, innovation, and M&A. She believes that organizational agility starts with putting people in the center of everything we do. Maria aspires to be a servant leader who guides others through empathy and generosity to conquer the fear of change in their lives.