Debunking the Over-Hype of BYOD

BYOD: A movement that streamlined communications and empowered employees. Well, perhaps not.

We believe that Bring Your Own Device may well go down in history as one of the most overused and overhyped terms in business jargon history. And here we explain why, and beyond this… what may be next for the workplace that is truly forward-thinking and harnessing the innovations of tomorrow.

Getting to the surprisingly simple nitty gritty of most BYOD schemes

Let’s not talk in corporate-filled jargon, and let’s define what most BYOD schemes really are and the (rather few, and rather basic) tasks that they are used for. To this end, for the most part, the majority of BOYD schemes simply consist of: always on-the-go and accessible emails, the use of and sharing of documents (wherever and whenever), the partaking in the odd conference call or two and communication that is made lightning fast (with the help of an IM program).

When all’s said and done this isn’t the technology harnessing of the next century. This is business as usual. Only always on the go. This is why it’s time to debunk the hype of BYOD and recognize it for what it is.

Goodbye BYOB. Hello CYOD slash EOD hybrid

It’s predicted by trusted industry insight body, Gartner, that by 2020 there’ll be in excess of 60% of the workforce (across the world, no less) that use their own device for at least some work tasks. However this isn’t the same as saying that 60% of people will be part of a fully-fledged BYOD scheme. And what’s more it seems that from the very start that BOYD neglected to truly fulfil its promise. Most specifically it was a movement that appeared to completely neglect key enterprise examples and industry segments: from defence based bodies through to construction companies, BYOD offered little and delivered even less, with specialist applications and capabilities by such industries seriously lacking on what were, after all, just personal devices.

Specialized enterprise devices

A further complication to the traditional BYOD scene is the range of devices that any one enterprise can support. And with new models coming from Apple, Samsung and every brand in-between on an ever more frequent basis companies are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with a list of allowed devices that is even half way up-to-date.

The future: CYOD: Choose your own device / EOD: Enterprise Owned Device

CYOD / EOD schemes promise to overcome many of the limitations of the standard BYOD scheme, and what’s more specialist enterprise devices are also promising much in the way of improved security. Contrary to BYOD schemes in which, amongst other security holes, defy email security best practices to no end.

For the industry where specialist devices are required (such as upon the average construction site, where workers could benefit from specialist wireless communication provided through robust devices) CYOD / EOD seems set to truly meet their needs in a way that BYOD never could.

Stop focusing upon the over-hyped BYOD scene, and concentrate on what CYOD and EOD can bring to the workplace of tomorrow.

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The Opportunity for Irish SME’s

The Irish economy has come through an economic crisis of unprecedented proportions since 2007, but over the past couple of years it has started to emerge with a level of vigour and momentum that few would have predicted. The recovery that effectively commenced during 2014 has been sustained and built upon in 2015. The external trade performance continues to be strong; manufacturing activity is vibrant; the labour market is continuing to improve; the public finances are getting steadily better; construction activity is bouncing back from a very low base; tourism is doing very well with the number of inward visitors to the country growing steadily; and consumer spending is gaining strength. In other words the economic recovery is becoming more broadly based and this trend looks set to continue. Over the next couple of years GDP looks capable of expanding at an annual average rate of around 4%, assuming that there will be no significant external shock.

Ireland has been fortuitous in the sense

that factors outside of the country’s control have developed in a very favourable manner. Two of the country’s main export markets, the US and the UK have been doing well and this has helped insulate the economy from the weakness in the Euro Area; the euro has fallen significantly against the dollar and sterling; and oil prices have fallen sharply. In addition, the domestic policy pursued in relation to the public finances and the banking sector is gradually proving successful. Ireland’s recovery is due to a combination of positive external developments and generally sensible domestic economic policy.

The Employment Imperative

One of the most important areas of the economy is the labour market. From an economic and social perspective, unemployment is an evil that causes severe social problems such as forced emigration and inequality; it imposes a major burden on the Exchequer through the loss of payroll taxes and increased social expenditure; and it represents a loss of potential output in the economy. Consequently, one of the key metrics for success or failure should be the number of people at work in the economy. Ireland is now doing reasonably well on that count. The number of people unemployed declined to 206,500 in August, which represents a decline of 66,800 over the past 2 years, and the unemployment rate stood at 9.5% of the labour force down from a high of 15.2% at the beginning of 2012.The latest employment data from the CSO show that in the second quarter of the year the number of people at work in the economy stood at 1.96 million, which represents an increase of IDA client companies make the following contribution to the Irish economy:

They pay €8.5 billion in wages and salaries;
They purchase €2.6 billion in materials in the Irish economy;
They purchase €11.3 billion in services in the Irish economy;
They pay corporation tax of €2.8 billion;
They account for €124.5 billion in exports of goods and services; and
They engage in total expenditure of €1.4 billion in in-house R&D expenditure.

In summary, IDA supported companies make a very significant economic and financial contribution to Ireland and the potential for further growth is very significant.

In its latest strategic outlook the IDA has set a number of ambitious targets for future FDI.

Specifically, by 2019 it is seeking to achieve the following targets:

Direct employment of 209,000 in companies supported by the IDA by 2019;
900 new investments;
Grow the portfolio of client companies from 1,195 to 1,350;
Win a greater share of investments made by European and Growth Market FDI companies;
Win a cumulative €3 billion in new RD&I investment projects, including in-house and collaborative RD & I projects with companies and universities, and encourage 120 additional companies to engage in R&D across the FDI portfolio; and
Increase Irish economyexpenditure from €22.4 billion in 2013 to €26.8 billion by 2019

The Growth Potential For The SME Sector

FDI makes a very significant contribution to all aspects of Irish economic and financial wellbeing. It has set ambitious targets for

2019, but based on the long-term track record and recent trends, such targets look eminently achievable provided Ireland preserves its corporation tax status; its focus on supplying a well educated English speaking labour force with other language skills; and preserving a competitive cost environment, where the ability to do business is strong.

The big question for the indigenous Irish economy, which is dominated by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), is the extent to which the growth in FDI can feed into the SME sector to a much greater extent than we have seen in the past.

The SME sector accounts for around 54 per cent of total employment in the Irish economy, and 70 per cent of total private sector employment.

Most people recognize that the re- building of the Irish economy over the coming years will have to depend heavily on the SME sector. This is not to suggest that the multinational sector will not have a role to play, in fact the very opposite is the case, as demonstrated by the recent track record and the targets set by the IDA. However, in an increasing competitive global environment for FDI, indigenous SMEs will have to play an increasingly significant role in the future development of the economy, and particularly in the regional economies that are currently lagging the Greater Dublin area in terms of economic activity and employment creation.

The SME sector is incredibly diverse. It ranges from single person operations to operations with up to 500 employees; and from trout farming, to car sales, to engineering, to IT, and a lot more besides. Despite the wide diversity within the sector the issues facing it are very similar.

Lack of demand

The lack of demand in the economy over the past few years has obviously been the biggest issue. At a more structural level however, it is clear that many SMEs are very good at doing what they do, as in manufacturing a product or providing a service, but they are a lot less good at developing other necessary attributes of the business such as marketing, developing export potential, innovation, and driving efficiencies and economies of scale in the business.

A major challenge for many small Irish companies is to move from Small to Medium to Large. Many lack the capability of completing this business transformation.

Those multinational companies who invest here can play an increasingly important role in developing the indigenous SME sector.

Between 2015 and 2019, the IDA is targeting an increase of 155 extra multinational companies in Ireland, taking direct employment up from 174,488 to 209,000, representing an increase of 34,512 in total FDI employment. Based on IDA employment multiplier, this would result in the creation of an extra 24,158 indirect jobs, taking that total up to 146,158. This would take the total number of jobs supported by IDA sponsored companies up to 355,158 from 296,488 jobs at the moment.

It is estimated that the value of global sourcing by Irish-based multinational companies is around €80 billion, with just €11 billion in services and €2.6 billion in materials sourced in Ireland. A large part of the expenditure on goods and services is likely to be on services such as water, energy and other utilities, which cannot be sourced elsewhere but locally.

Trading potential

Potentially, the multinationals operating in Ireland offer enormous trading potential for indigenous SMEs, and could alleviate the pressure to grow export markets to achieve scale, a process that many Irish companies find very difficult to achieve. However, this is easier said than done.

One difficulty for Irish firms in securing greater trading linkages with multinationals is the fact that many operate centralised global procurement systems and significant changes to global supply chain management approaches.

To exploit the potential growth emanating from the multinational sector in Ireland SMEs need to achieve a number of attributes. They need to be of sufficient scale to satisfy the requirements of a demanding client base; they need to be efficient in production and priced competitively; they need to be able to comply with multinational procurement systems; they need total quality assurance; they need high quality financial management; they need high quality HR management; they need very strong IT systems and capability; they need top quality customer service systems; and they need to engage in R&D and be as innovative as possible.

All of these attributes are essential if the potential to service a very sophisticated and demanding multinational client is to be realized. Most Irish SMEs are nowhere close to achieving all or even some of those objectives, but they should be given whatever assistance is required to help them move up the value chain. State agencies should provide whatever support and mentoring necessary, but every effort should be made to get FDI companies to help SMEs achieve the objectives. This would be good for the multinationals, the SMEs and the economy in general.

If the necessary attributes were to be achieved and success attained in servicing SMEs, the projected number of indirect jobs supported by FDI companies in 2019 could easily be 75,000 higher than the projected 146,158 jobs.

This clearly is an agenda worth pursuing, because if the Irish SME sector were to achieve success in servicing the FDI sector to the greatest extent possible, it would put them on to a platform from which building export capability would be the next logical step.

The Opportunity for Irish SMEs
Jim Power, Economist

This is an extract from the CPA Ireland Report – Charting a Course for Growth. The report is being serialised exclusively on smallbusinesscan and other articles will be related in the coming weeks.

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Freedom and Passion Beat Nearly Any Job

As an entrepreneur, I am fascinated by people who have a paid job. I went to the dark side and had permanent, pensionable job for four years. Loved it. A regular salary and not having to chase the next contract. It was comfortable. And then it started to niggle, I wanted to be an example for my kids and I realised that Hence Bookbuzz and Smallbusinesscan.

Entrepreneurship is the future

freedom and passion beat nearly any job.My standard advice to every employee is to consider entrepreneurship. If you want to be anti-fragile in the labour market of the future, you will have to.

Hacking your work

The next back thing is for you to take some lessons from “Hacking work”, which is about reinventing your work. There are a lot of interesting books about work, the meaning of work, controlling your own destiny and all that. Even the Dalai Lama wrote a book about happiness at work.

Why is that important? There is a strong economic rationale behind being happy at work. Happy workers are 10-25% more effective (from “Emotionomics”).

Being out of control whilst trying to be in control

“Hacking work” is about organisations being out of control whilst trying to be in control. Corporate big brother. The problem is that Big Brother uses outdated systems that are no longer relevant. It does not allow for meaningful dialogue with your staff, let alone with your customers. It does not allow to do great work (as distinct from mediocre work).

“Hacking work” preaches quiet revolution. Personnel taking control back, creating their your own systems and ensuring their personal return on investment as well as the ROI of the business.

As CEO or owner manager you should take note. The power is shifting towards the workers (Marx is back!). If you don’t allow for this revolution in your workplace, your competitor will. With the consequent a negative impact on staff and customer retention.

A few tips for CEOs:

Presume all your workers have ADD (attention deficit disorder). Actually presume your customer you have the same disorder.
Give your staff a few hours a week to spend on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc..
Embrace a policy of radical transparency
Engage in dialogue with you staff (using social media the same way you would use for dialogue with customers).

ROWE

Or consider adapting to a Results Only Work Environment

I bet that a lot of you go to work and give everything you have. And I bet you are treated like children who, if left unattended, will steal candy.

You go to work and watch someone who isn’t very good at their job get promoted because they got in earlier and stayed later than anyone else.

You go to work and sit through overlong, overstaffed meetings to talk about the next overlong, overstaffed meeting. You see talented, competent, productive people get penalised for having kids, for not being good at office politics, for being a little different.

Ditch the mindset

If any of this resonates with you, then you are by definition an employee – and the organisation you work for holds outdated beliefs about work based on assumptions that do not apply in today’s 24/7 economy.

This is the message in “Why Work Sucks – and how to fix it” by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, who claim that there has to be a better way. This better way is only possible when we change our focus from hours to outcomes, when we ditch our traditional Monday through Friday, 9-5 mindset. The 40-hour work week, say the authors, is outdated and outmoded.

ROWE

The authors developed a radical workplace experiment known as ROWE – Results-Only Work Environment, where you control when, where, and how long you work. As long as you meet your objectives, the way you spend your time is entirely up to you. Work is no longer a place you go to, it’s a thing you do. ROWE has no mandatory meetings or fixed schedules, you stop doing any activity that wastes time, no one criticizes you for “leaving early” or “coming in late,” and if you do your best work at midnight or on Sundays, that’s fine.

Guerrilla HR bomb throwers

In case you are tempted to regard ROWE as a utopian fantasy, be aware that it is already a reality at the Minneapolis headquarters of consumer electronics chain Best Buy.

According to the authors, ROWE not only makes employees happier, but also delivers better results. Businessweek describes the authors as guerrilla HR bomb throwers. Intuitively, the idea of treating employees like grown-ups sounds great.

After all, entrepreneurs, freelancers and salespeople already use ROWE principles in their work. No one can seriously doubt that an incredible amount of time and energy is wasted at work.

At least consider to be an entrepreneur at work. You will be happier.

Let us know what you think. Tweet @smallBC, use #hackwork

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Managing Friction in the Workplace

A workplace needs all kinds of personalities, strengths and approaches to be successful. Unfortunately, sometimes certain traits clash and cause friction in the workplace. This is just human nature. Even the closest of families or the best of friends don’t always get along.

Although minor conflicts are to be expected, as a manager it’s your job to make sure any friction is nipped in the bud before it becomes a serious issue and impacts on the business.

Melanie Astbury, HR Manager at Office Kitten, gives her tips for minimising workplace friction:

Be aware

Not everyone who has an issue with a colleague will be confident enough to come to you. It’s your responsibility to be aware and initiate resolution.

To do this, you will need to develop a heightened awareness. Are voices being raised? Snappy comments or tones being heard? Are there any personalities that don’t seem to click as well as others?

It might also be the things you don’t hear that provide telling signs. Are there certain co-workers who don’t speak or choose not to work together? Using your discretion, either ask them directly or ask other colleagues why this is the case, to understand if there are deep seated issues that need to be addressed before they flare up.

Then ultimately you have the decide whether to take action. Are these signs of looming disaster or can you comfortably ignore them as part and parcel of office life?

Set out guidelines

It’s obviously important to encourage workers to use their initiative and try and resolve disagreements between themselves. But be warned that this can lead to further misunderstandings if not handled sensitively. That’s why it’s important to make sure you have a set of protocols in place to deal with conflict, and that everyone is aware of your company guidelines. That way everyone knows the approved way to deal with situations as they arise.

Miscommunication

Miscommunication is the most common cause of workplace conflict. Tensions rise through confusion. To limit this you should make sure each member of the team has a clearly defined role and their remit is shared with everyone in the team. This prevents any “but I thought you were responsible for this!” recriminations.

Also, if you or fellow managers are setting work, it is important you are aware of demands placed on team members from other areas of the business. This is to ensure you’re not applying unfair pressure. This is because unfair pressure leads to stress, a key tension trigger.

Creating harmony

In most workplaces it will fall to you to help build relationships that foster harmony. There are simple ways to bring colleagues together, for example a trip to the pub, charity fundraisers or a Christmas party. They needn’t cost much but are effective in encouraging staff to see each other as people rather than just colleagues. This in turn creates a sense of togetherness that translates back to the office as workmates realise their colleagues are essentially nice people and that work-based problems can be resolved if they are talked through as people on the same team.

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Entrepreneurship: Go Bold

An asteroid killed off the dinosaurs in a blink of an eye.

You will be extinct

If you are a large company, you are likely to get killed off the same way the dinosaurs went. Killed by exponential change in robotics, ICT, sensors, AI, synthetic biology, genomics, nanotechnology, 3D, infinite computing, to name but a few of the asteroids. Some of these trends going 5X as fast (biology).

Entrepreneurs will survive

The same way the mammals survived the dinosaurs, so will the entrepreneurs survive the next wave of destruction. In fact they will thrive.

Your time to make a dent

For the first time in history a committed individual can have access to the technology, the capital and the minds to make a dent in the universe. But to make a dent in the universe, you need to understand how exponential works.

Exponential

Exponential has become the new buzz word. The trend that makes everything possible. The trend that will change the world. Probably best described in “The second machine age”, but that books comes with a huge health warning. Exponential also means winners take all.

You can do it too

And now the winners have decided to jump on the band wagon and help others to win as well. It started with “From zero to one” and then “Exponential organisations” and now “Bold”. You can do it too.

6 Ds

There is no doubt that digitisation leads to disruption, to demonetisation, to dematerialisation and eventually to democratisation when it becomes available to everyone for nearly free (as predicted by Chris Anderson in his book with the same title). In between these 5 Ds is deception. You don’t see it coming and suddenly it is there. And that is the phase where most of the large companies like to stay in. For large companies the 6 Ds are the six horseman of the apocalypse.

The 6 horseman of the apocalypse

They are also the 6 horseman of the apocalypse for your job too. 80% of the jobs can be done better by computers. So you might as well accept it, poke the box and become an entrepreneur or in case of a large company, disrupt yourself out of a job.

BOLD

What do you need to do according to BOLD:

Learn from the old skunk works set up
Focus on business as unusual
Set high hard goals and create a higher purpose
Belief in what you do
Create a siege mentality
Isolate your team
Built for speed and for rapid iteration (if you are not embarrassed you launched too late)
Focus on at least 10X better (that why Google has a “captain of moonshots”) so normal assumptions are not applicable and you need to shift perspective
Cut ties between you and expert assumptions
Vocally commit so there is no way back
Create a family
Built a reputation
Always say yes, and……

Flow

When you strive for truly high goals you are tapping into the collective creative accelerant. If you are lucky it will result in flow, the moments of total absorption. Flow follows focus and follows clarity of goals. When goals are clear the mind does not need to wander. Entrepreneurs are more likely to achieve flow for those reasons. Novelty, unpredictability and complexity all add to this as well. So does passion. And finally a high challenge/skill ratio. Entrepreneurship is the ultimate computer game. And flow, particularly collectively becomes a critical success factor.

Golden rules

The authors then shares some of their gold rules. I am sure they mean well, but here they are and they are as glib as the “Create your own monopoly” from “Zero to one” by Peter Thiel.

If anything can go wrong, fix it! (To hell with Murphy!)
When given a choice—take both!
Multiple projects lead to multiple successes
Start at the top, then work your way up.
Do it by the book . . . but be the author!
When forced to compromise, ask for more.
If you can’t win, change the rules.
If you can’t change the rules, then ignore them.
Perfection is not optional.
When faced without a challenge—make one.
No simply means begin one level higher.
Don’t walk when you can run.
When in doubt: THINK!.
Patience is a virtue, but persistence to the point of success is a blessing.
The squeaky wheel gets replaced.
The faster you move, the slower time passes, the longer you live.
The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself!
The ratio of something to nothing is infinite.
You get what you incentivise.
If you think it is impossible, then it is for you.
An expert is someone who can tell you exactly how something can’t be done.
The day before something is a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea.
If it was easy, it would have been done already.
Without a target you’ll miss it every time.
Fail early, fail often, fail forward!
If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.
The world’s most precious resource is the persistent and passionate human mind.
Bureaucracy is an obstacle to be conquered with persistence, confidence, and a bulldozer when necessary

Musk, Bezos, Branson, Page

It then takes some further lessons from Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Larry Page. Passion, first principles, having fun, experiment, protect the downside, don’t leave it on the table, you need to go all in and radical customer centrism. Disregard the impossible. Being negative is not a way to make progress. Experiment. Fail.

Ask the question “What is NOT going to change?” Ask whether you are missionary or a mercenary? Ask “Why not?” and “Why not bigger?” Apply the tooth brush test.

Are you wasting your time

Are you working on something that is changing the world? If you are not, according to BOLD, you are wasting your life. 99.99999% of us are in that mode at the moment. Are you making a dent in the universe?

All building blocks are there

Once you have established that as a principle, the authors argue that all the building blocks are in place to allow you to do it. You have 5 billion people to have a collective conversation with, access to trillions of free hours and access to the best minds. The crowds are there (fiverr, Freelancer, Tongal, 99designs, Gigwalk, Topsider, uTest, Topcoder) the funding is there (Kiva, Kickstarter) and the technology platforms (Amazon, Google, Techshop, Etsy) are there for you to do anything you want. There are even the competitions to point you in the right direction (Xchallenge, Netflix, Qualcomm).

Do it

The only thing stopping you is you. Instigation capital. The just DO IT. If the purpose is transformative and interesting enough, others will follow and you will become a movement. Together you will start solving the big problems in the world. You will be expressing your creativity and passion and you will access the (collective flow). You will be happy. You will make a difference.

Taleb, Godin, Priestly, Robinson, Gratton, Kelly

And although it is highly unlikely you will become the next Elon Musk, it does confirm everything that Ken Robinson (The Element), Seth Godin (Poke the box), Nicolas Taleb (Antifragile), Jason Priestly (The entrepreneur revolution), Linda Gratton (The Shift), Kevin Kelly (Do it!) and many others are saying.

Entrepreneurship is the future. Tell us what you think. Tweet @smallBC, use #gobold

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5 Personal Finance Books to Add to Your Reading List

What have you been reading this summer? Every person reading this post likely has a different answer. Some prefer lightweight reads in the summer months such as young adult fiction or romance novels. Other prefers historical fiction, political satire, or biographies. Maybe sci-fi and fantasy are more your speed. Whatever you have been reading, hopefully you’ve enjoyed it.

Now, let’s talk about a few books you should be reading as your autumn closes out. When it comes to personal finance books, everybody could use a little bit more information, and a little more education. Whether the authors are giving advice on saving money, living on a budget, or investing, books on personal finance are great additions to anybody’s summer reading list.

This is why we have put together this list of 5 books on personal finance that you should read before the weather turns cold.

Women and Money – Suze Orman

Suze Orman has provided insightful financial advice to people for decades. She continues this pattern with “Women and Money”. Suze Orman recognizes that when it comes to money women need both education and empowerment. This book includes a 5 month program that helps women establish financial independence and personal freedom. Many books provide a lot of heady, high level information.

Ms. Orman takes a more practical and relatable approach providing women with specific steps that they can take towards improving their financial situations.

Why didn’t they Teach me this in School: 99 Personal Money Management Principles to Live – Cary Siegal

Cary Siegal wrote this book upon realizing that his children and their peers would graduate from high school and college without any formal, personal finance education. In spite of covering 99 principles, this book is quite easy to read and the lessons are conveniently parsed out.

This book targets young adults, but there is valuable advice here for any age group.

The Success Principles: How to get from where you are to where you want to be – Jack Canfield and Janet Switzer

Do you have plans and life goals that you have yet to achieve? Maybe you would like to start a business or go back to college. Whatever your plans are, it can be easy to feel stuck where you are, and getting to a place where you have achieved your goals can seem impossible.

This book is a goal-oriented book that gives financial advice that relates to conquering your next challenge. The authors include daily action steps, ways to increase your confidence levels, and practical advice on living in the modern age.

Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki

Rich Dad Poor Dad is a book about money lessons learned from two different men and the influence those lessons had on the author. The lessons he learned from the rich dad in the novel gave the author the opportunity to retire before the age of 50. In this book, he passes that knowledge on to others.

Many readers will be surprised to find that what they have been taught about money is completely off base.

Total Money Makeover – Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey is a well-known author, financial guru, and a nationally syndicated radio talk show host. Ramsey has a very easy to read writing style, and provides a lot of great practical advice to his readers.

The best endorsement of Ramsey’s is advice is simply the success that his readers and listeners have achieved by following his advice. Many are put off by Ramsey’s tendency to be extreme in his rhetoric, and that is a valid criticism. However, if that can be ignored in favor of focusing on just his financial advice, readers can learn a lot.

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The Gig Economy:To Gig Or Not To Gig?

Entrepreneur Anonymous

I had the pleasure of moderating a panel session at entrepreneur anonymous about the gig economy. So I did some research. The USA, UK and Dutch figures are very interesting.

Figures USA

In the USA the number of free lancers is 53 million. That is 34% of the USA labour market. Intuit estimates that this proportion will grow to some 40% by 2020. A 2015 survey of over 1,000 American workers noted that about 60% received 25% or more of their income from freelance work. It is a $715 billion market in the USA.

Figures UK

There are 1.4 million British freelancers working across all sectors. This has grown 14% in the past decade. It is a £ 21 billion market in the UK. Apparently 50% of people in the UK want to start their own business. Only 1 in 20 do. Which I think is tragic.

Holland

In Holland, the revenue commissioners only defined “freelancers” in the 80s. In 1988 there were 1800 of them. Now it is a 1.1 million and growing. That is 1 in 6 of the total Dutch labour market. In the 90s it was 1 in 17.

Jobshift

In 1994 William Bridges wrote “Jobshift” and predicted fundamental shift in the labour market. He talked about the cake layer model of the labour market, with a winner takes all at the top and the rest serving the top earners. He has not been far off.

The future is entrepreneurship

In my view there is no question that the labour market is shifting. And that the future is entrepreneurship. As an entrepreneur on the labour market or as entrepreneur running their own business. The reasons I belief that is because of “Jobshift”, but also books such as Lynda Graton’s “Shift” and the must read “Antifragile”

Job security does no longer exist

Company life cycles are getting shorter and shorter. Professor Richard Foster estimates that by 2020 more than three-quarters of the Fortune 500 will be companies that we have not heard of yet. Which suggest that job security does no longer exist, that we are all becoming portfolio workers and will be forced to change jobs on an ongoing basis.

Skynet is near

“The second machine age” predicts that 70% of all current jobs will disappear an that robots and IBM’s Watson will take over. Skynet is near and job security is an illusion.

Pension as an argument?

You will also live longer. If you belief in exponential change in health and technology, we all live to be far over a hundred. That is a long career and it will fundamentally change the current pension system. It will collapse. In my view the “security” of a pension is also an illusion.

Your choice

The choice is whether you decide to be in control of your own destiny, or have a someone else (your manager) decide your faith. My belief is with Ken Robinson, Seth Godin and Chuck Blakeman

Build a long term family business

Entrepreneurship, following your passion and your heart and building a sustainable business. And if you are smart you examine the German way of doing business and you create a family business that creates multi-generational long term wealth.

Lots of questions

It raises a lot of questions. The definitions of gigger, freelancer and entrepreneur. I am not sure if they are the same thing. Is it for everybody? Will you have a choice? What about job security? Getting a mortgage? Your retirement? Your ongoing professional development? Stress, your health and dealing with financial insecurity?

I Belief

I belief (I am ware I have used “belief” already 3 times and yes, for me entrepreneurship is a religion):

That financial institutions will respond to this a € 660 billion market opportunity in USA and UK alone (look at what RBS is doing with ESPark and that is just the beginning).
That the sharing economy will make it easier to sweat personal assets in so many ways, that we will all become at least giggers and have income streams on the side.
That the gig, freelance economy will grow faster then most of us expect.
That a race to the bottom is a real threat.
That is could create a winner takes all society.

Which is why I think/belief that basic income will become a reality.

The only question

The only question is how far you will push this, how secure you think you are at the moment (NOT) and how much control you want to take of your own destiny. At entrepreneurs anonymous I pontificated that I regard myself as a failed parent if my children (Alice and Luca) do not become entrepreneurs.

What do you think?

I am really interested in your views. Tweet us @smallBC using #entreligion

The post The Gig Economy:To Gig Or Not To Gig? appeared first on Small Business Can.

Beating Distraction at Work: Top 7 Tips for Staying Super Focused

Have you been feeling uninspired at work lately?

Are you finding it arduous to meet the tasks at hand effectively?

Five minutes of distraction and bam! You are left with no idea about where you left off. There goes your productivity down the drain. When you look at your colleagues, you can’t help but wonder how they get so much work done in one day.

According to research, nearly 50% of American employees work only 15 minutes before becoming distracted at the office, while 53% report wasting an hour or more a day because of disruptions.

From constant background noises and overflowing inboxes to feeling exhausted and overloaded – these are just a few of the things that can cause people to lose focus.

However, you can work on staying more productive and getting most out of each day.

Wondering, how to go about it?

Here are a few ways that can help you stay sharp and focused at work.

1. Declutter and Get Organized

Organize your work desk in order to be more focused and flow in the zone.

That family photograph or the box of chocolates can be big distractions and muddle your focus at work. Don’t let these visual distractions divert your attention. Have only what’s necessary on your desk such as your laptop, work diary and other essentials. Don’t forget your water bottle.

Moreover, make sure to neatly pile them on your desk and ensure that they are within your arm’s reach.

2. Break down Big Tasks into Manageable Chunks

A scientific fact suggests that the human brain can only be attentive on a limited amount of information, for a limited period of time.

Handling a huge project can be overwhelming and difficult. ‘Work till you drop’ shouldn’t be the mantra to follow here. In fact, the smartest thing to do would be to plan first, develop strategies and split up the project into small chunks. This way you will be able to accomplish your tasks effectively and on time.

For instance, let’s say you are an agency named Charlotte Web Design and you provide a myriad of web design services. If you’re planning to work on the content of your website, then first plan and list the subjects you plan to write on. Avoid doing everything simultaneously. Go step-by-step.

3. Schedule Email Check and Social Media Sites

According to a survey, 60% of disruptions are caused due to disturbances from cell phones, emails, and social networks. It is best to limit your use of social media sites when at work, lest you should end up thinking about futile matters. Moreover, staying away from them will provide you uninterrupted time to work efficiently.

You’ll be able to remove a majority of distractions by scheduling your email check and use of social media websites. You will, therefore, be able to accomplish your goals sooner than you may have expected.

4. Make To-Do Lists

So, what are the things that need to be accomplished today?

Ask yourself this question before you begin to work and make a to-do list. This way you will be able to stay on track through the day and won’t end up wasting your time figuring out your tasks. A to-do list will provide you with more clarity on your routine tasks.

Ensure to work on the most difficult and challenging tasks during the first-half of the day as that is the period when one feels relatively fresh and energetic.

5. Take Small Breaks and Prevent Procrastination

Of course, you don’t want your brain to burn out. It makes sense to take small breaks between your tasks. Taking more breaks is synonymous with being more productive. However, this doesn’t mean you spend a major chunk of time taking breaks.

Wondering how taking small and quick breaks can help you?

Breaks tend to allow us to regroup our thoughts and focus our attention on the task at hand. Moreover, they help freshen up our mind.

Also, it’s important that you work on one task for a specific period of time. Assign deadlines to the tasks. They will help you stay motivated and focused on your tasks. Moreover, this way you won’t procrastinate, thereby keeping the project humming.

6. Use Technology to Your Advantage

Using social media sites frequently can hinder productivity to a huge extent. However, in several cases where the right technology and software is used, it can work the other way round.

Collaborating technologies like Yammer and Jive Software and communication services such as Skype and Google Hangouts can help you solve problems and complete projects at a relatively rapid pace. To-do list applications such as Evernote and Wunderlist can help you jot down tasks and prioritize them based on your required criteria.

Make sure to use the right software and applications to boost your productivity.

7. Put on Headphones and Get Some Coffee

Continuous and loud background noises at work can make your mind wander. In order to prevent this, consider listening to music while working. Good music can help you stay focussed, motivated and help you sustain your focus through the day. However, make sure that you choose the kind of music that will help increase your output and doesn’t work the other way round.

Want to know another way to increase your alertness at work?

Coffee can be your answer. A little burst of caffeine can amp up your productivity to a great extent.

Conclusion

It is common to be surrounded by a plethora of events and people throughout the day at work. This can, however, distract you and make you lose focus from the task at hand. By following the above-mentioned tips, you will be able to keep distraction at bay and stay productive all day long. It is important for you to be passionate about your work, know your priorities and stick to them. So, what are you waiting for? Implement the above tips in your daily routine, prevent slacking off, and stay super focused.

The post Beating Distraction at Work: Top 7 Tips for Staying Super Focused appeared first on Small Business Can.

Social Selling: Generate More Sales using Social Media

Of course selling has always been social but technology has now led to different behaviours on the part of buyers and sellers. Sellers who effectively use social media now outperform other sales professionals and much of today’s buying process is completed before the buyer completes the purchase.

Mespil Academy is delighted to announce a special half-day’s training session facilitated by International Social Media trainer, Greg Fry, on how to generate more sales using social media.

Topics covered will include:

Using advanced searching techniques to identify leads
Creating content to attract customers
Building a social sales funnel
Ensuring customers become sales advocates
Using personal branding to establish your reputation

Grey delivers regular social media training and workshops, and has worked for the likes of Ulster Bank, Microsoft, Fáilte Ireland, UPC, Abbott Labs, Symantec, Coca Cola, the Digital Marketing Institute and the Digital Skills Academy.

Greg will be joined on the day by some special guests and industry leaders who will take part in a breakfast discussion on using social media for sales.

This is the second live training event run by Grey and Mespil Academy. Earlier this year, they ran an event on social media strategy. The following video gives an overview of what happened at that training day and what to expect from the next event: ‘Social Selling: Generate More Sales using Social Media’.

Tickets can be purchased online for a special early bird price of €99 and the event takes place on the 20th of October at the Chartered Accountants House, Dublin 2.

The post Social Selling: Generate More Sales using Social Media appeared first on Small Business Can.

5 Recruiting Trends Of 2015

The way companies recruit is constantly changing depending on the technology available and the state of the economy. Furthermore finding good talent can be very time consuming and expensive. Understandably improving your recruiting process is often an overlooked area of concern as business owners often have “bigger fish to fry” so to speak.

But recruiting may be eating up more time and money than you realize. By leveraging new platforms, websites and tools you can find better leads on better recruits faster and cheaper. Since generally this is what all recruiters want, most trends in 2015 are focused on just that.

Also most recent trends address the need of companies to have a more human connection with candidates that could potentially live all over the world. The ironic thing is that they are doing this through social media and other forms of technology.

Whether you believe these trends are leading recruiters in the right direction or not, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the competition

Improved Applicant Tracking Software

Those fill-in-the blank forms can get annoying, but large companies need a computerized system to keep the application process organized. However, companies are seeking to improve the software they use to make it more convenient for applicants, and are expanding these tools to manage the entire recruiting process from start to finish and help improve the candidate experience.

There are many Saas companies that focus specifically on platforms that improve the recruiting process. Investing in research about these companies may result in a platform that is a perfect for your business. However, you don’t have to look only at recruitment specific software to find a solution. Many companies are utilizing one of the top CRM’s they may already have in use or are looking at using and using it to double as an internal relationship manager as well. Surprisingly many companies are finding that the functionality to manage sales leads naturally works just as well for recruiting. If you have a sales department, you can kill two birds with one stone with a CRM solution.

A Positive Candidate Experience

Making it incredibly difficult to apply for a job, failing to respond to queries, not sticking to promised deadlines and treating candidates with disrespect during the interview process damages a company’s brand. Not only that, but it prevents the top candidates that they are trying to attract from seeking a job with the company, and could even offend potential customers or allies further down the road. Companies need to constantly reevaluate the hiring process to see how the candidate’s experience can be improved.

Sourcing through Social

Social media is no longer new, especially when it comes to using LinkedIn. And lets be real, LinkedIn is heavily spammed and not near as effective as it once was.

However, new tools have started to come out to help companies refine their social media searches. These tools include Entelo, TalentBin and Gild, among others. Entelo helps recruiters to discover top talent that may be considering a move but hasn’t popped up on the regular radar yet. It also contains a huge database of profiles and contact information along with a filtering tool.

Most have free offerings with the option of premium pricing plans if you are a heavy recruiter.

Social Talent Networks

Of course, social media is useful for much more than just finding email addresses. Many companies have started creating talent networks that include everything from potential job candidates and clients, to fans of the company. These networks are great way to promote a company’s employment brand, so more talent comes to the company, rather than forcing the company to go out and find it. Businesses have even sprung up to help companies create these networks.

You can buy lists from existing networks, or simply begin creating your own internal database of people in networks you recruit from.

New Assessment Science

Personality and other assessment tests have been around for ages, but there has been a recent surge in assessment software. Many newer companies use cloud computing and big data to offer something new to this space.

Evolv offers tools that utilize big data to scour through huge databases of potential hires, and analyze the employee life-cycle to help reduce employee turnover rates.

Logi-Serve is another company entering this arena that offers analytics to predict a candidate’s performance in key business areas. There are literally hundreds of these services popping up, so businesses would do well to take a good look at this growing market.

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Monthly Archives: October 2015