Welcome & Introductions

This year's Global Leadership Summit is all about the future of work. But what does the future of work really mean? At BGS headquarters we discussed this recently and concluded that different people from different parts of the world can have different ideas on what the future of work would look like.

For instance, my thoughts on the future of work revolve around the idea of companies moving past the typical norms of selling a product or providing a service and into the space of social good/development. I think of it as an evolution of what consumers expect from companies. We already see this with companies becoming more environmentally conscience, building ad campaigns that focus on social issues and listening to their customers. I don't see this a fad or trend that will go away and if anything, will become a much larger focus for corporations in the future.

What is your vision of the future of work? And does the country you live play a role in determining your vision?

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Matt Plodzien
Senior Manager, Marketing and Communications
Beta Gamma Sigma
St. Louis, MO
mplodzien@betagammasigma.org
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Hi everyone!

I do believe the country one lives in impacts our way of thinking. This doesn't mean that it is determines it, but different backgrounds means different ways of seeing life. In the particular case of the future of work, I would agree with you with companies moving past the typical norms, although here in Mexico, it would apply just to medium and large companies, but not for small ones. Most small companies here haven't got access to tech or new means of selling their products/services. I would be more worried not how work will change for them, but if it will exist at all. And that is kind of worrying, since we've got more than half of the population depending on such businesses to survive. 

As both a business engineer and a computer engineer, I know what AI can do for us... and to us. Most of our population make a living from FAMILY businesses that barely survive (and not because they fail to innovate, but because they just can't). What will happen when they become completely obsolete? My point is that for some it's not a matter of moving past certain techniques, some (most) are at risk of not surviving. What will happen to those families? 

By no means am I being negative. I have always believed in the power we all have to change things for the better through tech and business, but failing to acknowledge the differences can lead to creating solutions that might not be as useful to everybody. I guess the question I would like to ask is not what's the future of work?, but rather: how can we define the future of work?

What do you all think?

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Pablo Ruz Salmones
Grupo Ya Quedó S.A.S. de C.V.
Mexico City AA
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If there's anything these last few weeks of COVID-19 lockdown have shown us, it's that we are capable of a far more remote approach to work. While many companies advertise flexible work schedules and work-from-home arrangements, there is a widespread reluctance to truly practice a remote work model. Sometimes the reluctance stems from the more traditional belief that we need to show some face at the client site. Sometimes it stems from managers' fear that their staff are not staying focused at home. Whatever the reason, this reluctance has oftentimes been embedded into the culture of a company, making work-from-home arrangements more of an occasional perk and less of a routine way of business. 

Now that new social distancing requirements have shut down most physical office spaces and much of the workforce has been required to work from home, we are actively proving that working virtually is feasible and business can go on as (almost) usual. Given this experience, I think many more companies will truly rely on a work-from-home model in the future. After all, it allows employees additional flexibility, eliminates time spent commuting to the office or even to the meeting one floor down, and may allow some businesses to downsize their office spaces and cut some costs. Though we all might be going a little stir crazy after weeks of quarantine, this is a good time to hone our virtual-work skills for what will most likely be a more virtual and remote workplace in the future.

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Sydney Wawrzyniak
Georgetown University
Reston, VA
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Hi Sydney,

As with pretty much anything … I've started THINKING … about all the positives/negatives that can come out of a situation (COVID-19 lockdown) like this.  The INSIGHTS that you've (already) come up with are FANTASTIC!  It will take some TIME to properly evaluate these (in the "real world") but I'm POSTIVE that we'll get there! 

Two pieces of additional THINKING … sorry, it's just the way I do things … are contained in the Power Point files I'll try to attach here.  1) The INSIGHTS/INTELLIGENCE (We're All In This Together.ppsx) I hope we'll LEARN from (again, Thank You for yours) … and (2) the INNOVATION (Innovators share the lessons they've learned_kk.pptx) element … where I want us to eventually get to….  

So, KEEP THINKING … we'll GET THERE! 

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Ken Kranz
Michigan State University
Fishkill NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-04-2020 17:16
From: Sydney Wawrzyniak
Subject: The Future of Work

If there's anything these last few weeks of COVID-19 lockdown have shown us, it's that we are capable of a far more remote approach to work. While many companies advertise flexible work schedules and work-from-home arrangements, there is a widespread reluctance to truly practice a remote work model. Sometimes the reluctance stems from the more traditional belief that we need to show some face at the client site. Sometimes it stems from managers' fear that their staff are not staying focused at home. Whatever the reason, this reluctance has oftentimes been embedded into the culture of a company, making work-from-home arrangements more of an occasional perk and less of a routine way of business.

Now that new social distancing requirements have shut down most physical office spaces and much of the workforce has been required to work from home, we are actively proving that working virtually is feasible and business can go on as (almost) usual. Given this experience, I think many more companies will truly rely on a work-from-home model in the future. After all, it allows employees additional flexibility, eliminates time spent commuting to the office or even to the meeting one floor down, and may allow some businesses to downsize their office spaces and cut some costs. Though we all might be going a little stir crazy after weeks of quarantine, this is a good time to hone our virtual-work skills for what will most likely be a more virtual and remote workplace in the future.

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Sydney Wawrzyniak
Georgetown University
Reston, VA
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