Julian – “How these trends interact and intersect with the energy & environmental phenomena of the 21st C”. Exactly. In this report on the greening of work from The Work Foundation (http://tinyurl.com/ox535y), the author says “for many people climate change seems such a large problem that it overwhelms them”.

Practically, I worked with manufacturers who used energy audits to great effect. Being able to identify and quantify sources of energy use and waste changes behaviour. This is going to be particularly pertinent for the younger generation, already choosy about seeking employers with demonstrable values – I expect them to include environmental and energy awareness in their shopping list of things they look for in an employer.

Having said that, young people need to made aware of issues around ‘decarbonised working’. Their preferences for flexible work and digital connectedness carry envoironmental costs, as this recent article from in the Guardian suggests:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/jun/23/teleworking-carbon-emissions

Steve and Graham – “retaining the idea of themselves as corporations”. Interesting that you are picking up this fear of viability of changing organisational forms, Steve. I wonder if their fear is for operational integrity or for loss of identity?

My initial thought is that the Japanese auto manufacturers clearly demonstrate that it is possible to retain both. I became aware of this at Cranfield, when some of my fellow researchers were working with Nissan. 80% of car components are made in the supply chain (eco-system). The auto makers assemble the bits and yet Nissan retains the identity. The Japanese auto makers also show how to manage agile, distributed structures made up of multi-tiered configurations. John Seely-Brown talks about Toyota’s ‘learning architectures’ in a podcast link you included in one of your blog posts, Graham. I will see if I can find the link.

Steve – “My fear is that we will consign people to the scrap heap in alarming numbers”. Yes and unforunately it was ever thus. I wrote about this on an earlier post, G20 Reflections. I noted that industrial decline in Scotland has been replaced 30 years later by thriving knowledge industries (bio-tech and gaming). It is a new generation that benefits. Meanwhile, a whole generation of men in their 60s and over drink themselves to death.

Of course, this could be because they are talking to me and they recognise my views and business practice. Or… perhaps they detect that the seismic shift is close?

My fear is that we will consign people to the scrap heap in alarming numbers as many of the ‘older’ generation do not have the ‘nous’ to network well and the ‘younger’ generation have yet to translate social networks into productive business organisational forms.

Or perhaps this is just an ‘oldie’ speaking!

Steve