People often ask, "If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we solve global hunger?"
People often ask, "If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we solve global hunger?" That very question demonstrates the fatal flaw in the dominant way of dealing with difficult social challenges: they're treated like straightforward technical problems. Organizations do a few studies, establish some goals, devise a plan, and attempt implementation. As a look around the world sadly shows, this hasn't worked.
Issues like poverty, ethnic conflict, and climate change are incredibly dynamic and complex, involving an ever-shifting array of factors, actors, and circumstances. They demand a more fluid and adaptive approach. The answer, says Zaid Hassan, is social labs.
Social labs bring together a diverse a group of stakeholders not to create yet more five-year plans but to develop a portfolio of prototype solutions, test those solutions in the real world, use the data to further refine them, and test them again. Their orientation is systemic-they are designed to go beyond dealing with symptoms and parts to get at the root cause of why things are not working.
Hassan builds on a decade of experience-as well as drawing from cutting-edge research in complexity science, networking theory, and sociology-to explain the core principles and daily functioning of social labs, using examples of pioneering labs from around the world. He describes a fast-growing global movement around a new generation of ambitious social labs that are tackling big challenges such as dramatically reducing global emissions, preventing the collapse of fragile states, and improving community resilience. The Social Labs Revolution offers a new generation of problem solvers an effective, practical, and exciting new vision and guide.
2024
1998
Moses paints a vivid picture of the current dislocations in the workplace-the extraordinary productivity pressures, the erosion of personal time-and their gut-wrenching effects on individuals and their families. She reveals how changes in the workplace have affected different generations differently-from 20-somethings trying to get a foothold in the workplace to 30-somethings concerned about getting ahead to aging boomers recently displaced from the workforce-and examines their values, their psychological profile, and their future opportunities. She also presents a striking vision of the future, showing what it will be like to live and work in tomorrow's world, where we will all be free agents.
In clear, practical terms, Career Intelligence shows how individuals can benefit from key future trends and details the skills they will need to succeed-from learning how to self-market to being able to communicate in powerful ways, from understanding business trends to preparing for areas of competence. Chock full of concrete examples and anecdotes that everyone can relate to, Career Intelligence also offers advice to parents concerned about "career proofing" their children; gives managers insights into how to promote career independence and self-reliance in their staff; and discusses solid ways organizations can improve morale and productivity. Comprehensive, practical, and eminently readable, Career Intelligence provides a visionary blueprint for ongoing career success.
2015