Noticing this AppGap blog is subtitled:

“A conversation and resource on the future of work“

sent me scurrying for my copy of Tom Malone’s 2004 book, The Future of Work: How the New Order of Business Will Shape your Organization, Your Management Style, and Your Life.

At minimum the full book title indicates the potentially far-reaching scope for conversations here, although the stated focus for this AppGap blog is narrowed to:

“future of the office and how new tools are addressing age-old challenges of organization, collaboration, and creation.”

Technology and tools were certainly central to a webinar I attended today where high profile academics and thought leaders Tom Davenport and Andrew McAfee debated their competing views on the value and impact of Enterprise 2.0 tools. Credited with the “Enterprise 2.0″ term Andrew Mcafee sees power in the new social tools. Wearing his “doubting Thomas” hat Davenport pounds the table arguing he doesn’t see any major change. While admitting the technologies are interesting and warrant experimentation, Davenport argues overall organizational environments are not changing. He observes that frankly CEO’s don’t want people lower down in organizations quibbling with them on strategy.

This issue of where control lies is central to Malone’s Future of Work. The book jacket and web site highlight:

“The shift from “command-and-control” management to “coordinate-and-cultivate,” and the new skills that will be required to succeed”

A premise of Malone’s Future of Work book is:

“a convergence of technological and economic factors—particularly the rapidly falling cost of communication—is enabling a change in business organizations as profound as the shift to democracy in governments. For the first time in history, says Malone, it will be possible to have the best of both worlds—the economic and scale efficiencies of large organizations, and the human benefits of small ones: freedom, motivation, and flexibility.”

As The AppGap blog launches I’m interested in your thoughts about the future of work:

1. How significant is technology in changing the work you do and how?

2. If you had a magic wand what technology and/or tools would you implement today to make the greatest gain in your effectiveness at getting work done?

3. And if new tools aren’t enough to maximize your work productivity, what other changes are needed?

Thank you in advance for sharing your thinking here.