The meeting was as compelling as the venue. Our agenda began with Richard Judy taking us on a journey into FutureScape: A Look Ahead at the Drivers of Change. Judy is chairman and CEO of Workforce Associates, Director of Workforce 21st Century Studies, and co-author of the Hudson Institute'sWorkforce 2020. He is currently working on writing the sequel to that work with Carol D'Amico, Workforce 21st Century, and engaged us in brainstorming about what are shaping up to be the first and second order drivers of change over the next decade or two. Some of the potential candidates:
Environmental sustainability, accelerated by global climate change
Democratization of science, technology and innovation (Proofpoint: Fifty percent of U.S. patents today are issued to foreign nationals, not Americans.)
Rise of zealotry, ethnic and religious conflict, terrorism
Greater personal interconnectivity and networking facilitated by advanced technology
Multi-generational workforce
Rising importance of skills beyond science, technology, engineering, math, such as problem-solving, interpersonal relationships, creative thinking that stimulates innovation. The need for these skills will be complicated by the growing failure of large numbers of Americans to acquire basic education and workforce competencies.
Family breakdown -- Here some of our members voiced strong objection (!)
Widening gap between haves and have-nots; growing inequality and the bifurcation of both the workforce and society
In case your organization is interested, this forward-looking publication will be underwritten in similar fashion to its predecessors, which involves a graduated plan of corporate sponsorship from $25K - $100K, the higher levels of which involve one of the co-authors visiting your company to present and discuss the findings with your executive team, or even writing a special supplement to the book that focuses on how the findings will directly affect your company. For more information, contact Richard Judy.
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