The current post-industrial – technocratic – era will transform organizations. Before, you (as put nicely by Seth Godin) needed to comply. A set of rules, a book of norms, and 100 page manual. Your job was to follow the rules and punch the card. Now, I am starting to see a new type of organizations based on the value of individual contribution.
An organization that considers its existence as a mere game of building a factory out of humans, will find itself empty and bland. Individuals are the ones that bring unique propositions to the problems that need to be solved. Obviously, I am talking about individuals who are capable and willing to bring in value.
Working in an organization where you are replaceable with the next copy out of the 3d printer just points to a place where you shouldn’t be. You are not being/allowed to be a risk-taker, change-driver, good-seeker. And why is this important?
Organizations that will thrive in the future, are not the ones that brought the factory-industrial model to the future, but that will embrace the diverse, creative and disruptive force of the individual. This will create smaller, cohesive teams, that are problem-solving oriented and motivated. In result, organizations will have longer tenures, easier execution of long-term plans, and a sense of uniqueness that is centered on the contribution of individuals that will be appreciated by the marketplace.
But for that to happen, the incentive needs to be equity. Individuals need to reap the benefits of their contributions. Soon all the repetitive, mundane and physically intense work will be done by robots. But for the creative, risk-taking and empathic solutions, organizations will need to be built around the premise of equity distribution and individual recognition.
If you are an individual, make sure to find the place where you can bring to more value. If you run an organization, start to buy robots and hire Hi-value individual contributors.