The future of work and some thought experiment...

Among all the potential forms, norms or means, those we have been discussing related to the future of work, one appears to be the front runner. “Project-based” is likely to become the mainstream definition of work in the near future.

Projects are everywhere around. Could be as tiny as writing an article, or holding the complexity of starting up a business or cleaning the ocean. As long as there is a goal, a timeline and dedicated resources, or let's say as long as non-routine, might be qualified as one. Looking from this perspective, we all are project managers. And if we are a good one, we are more likely to achieve our goals, regardless whether our projects are tiny or of very large scale.

In the project-based future, we would have to be great project managers. Not only as individuals though, as organizations, too.

We are about to step into a new era of work defined in projects

For several industries, projects are in fact the standard form of business. For construction or consulting or marketing, to name a few, the way of doing business is quite traditionally, shaped around clear-cut projects, pulling resources internally or externally. What we are at the edge of today however, is something beyond those project-based infrastructure tenders, consultancy services or event organizations.

Along with and enhanced by the shift towards leaner, much looser and agile structures with digitalized or virtualized business lines, the shift has been triggered and also is being nurtured by the changing demands particularly at three fronts. Those relating to the content of the work, of the workforce and of the overall transformation happening around. All together creating such a landscape, where traditional, complex and heavy organizational structures can no longer keep up with. An environment away from routine and repetitive, based on change. Based on projects.

In this new era, we are to deal with a different level of the concept, which concerns whatever and however we do in any organization. And at this scale, familiarity with the term in conventional contexts, is not likely to guarantee that we can easily switch to a project-based mode of work.

The fading away of functional and linear

In the coming project-based world, I believe an organization in its entirety, irrespective of the varying levels of complexity or scale, should be a projects unit, not only a part or parts of it.

With algorithms increasingly being efficient in handling routine tasks, indeed, the projects might soon become the only reason of existence for any organization. The concept therefore holds much more than outsourcing some projects or pulling them together under a projects department, call it a #PMO or a Special Projects unit.

Surely, as we are used to “departmentalize” all major task groups in our structures, like HR or finance or legal, we use to consider projects as one too. Coupled with the permanent hierarchies we establish, compartmentalized projects however, are merely a reflection of traditional structures those linked to the specialization needs and management trends of the past. In the future though, the need for specialization might be evolving into something more extreme, something polarized to the extend that the function-based organizational structures with permanent, linear hierarchies would become irrelevant. 

As the algorithms develop and take over more and more not only the routine parts of the work but also beyond, or even wipe-out some professions entirely, the more polarized the picture is likely to be. 

As I see things, in the future we would be needing more “generalists” with minimal (or no specialization in conventional terms at all) and at the other side, more “experts” (or perhaps “genius talents”) of specific areas. The #generalists in this spectrum, would need a well-developed ability of seeing and connecting the dots in between for a broad range of topics, ability of bringing together seemingly irrelevant topics in meaningful ways, along with a strong, profound judgment. They would need the capacity to understand and address highly complex problems of the future. While the #experts would possess either a special ability or an in depth understanding on specific and possibly new areas. And the large gap in between the two extreme ends of the spectrum, would make structuring around the functions (in classic terms at least), meaningless. Instead, we would need a model shaped around the two ends.

A hypothetical projects manager

For the purposes of making a thought experiment; perhaps a model for such an organization made of projects, might be of a #circular, lego-like, non-linear structure. “Magnetized” around vision, mission and values, categories of projects, forming the whole… 

Not to be confused with today’s circular organizational structures, those shaped around C-level view or hierarchy though. In this hypothetical organization, everyone is a project manager, a creative and great project manager, whether a strategic or an operational one. The blocks indicating the projects, whether grays or the rainbow colors, are all temporary. In such a project-based structure, there are no fixed or permanent roles. Rather, it is fluid, the members of each block, can be moving between the projects or can be working simultaneously on several as the need be. Specifics of the unique profiles, whether internally or externally sourced, is what matters when it comes to determining the teams for each and every project.

Operating in such a lego-like, giant circle, would bring particular challenges of course. First and foremost, the magnitude of the “magnetic force” needed. The vision, mission and philosophies of such a strength, that is powerful enough to keep all pieces together, not letting them disassemble. In fact, this magnitude would be the factor determining the radius of the circle, or in other words, determining the extend to which respective organization can grow. The second one I imagine, would relate to the need for designing “manageable” projects. Manageable for the workforce, made of internally and externally sourced generalists and the highly-specialized experts. In the absence of function-based and permanent linear command lines, while maintaining a circular and holistic view, the ability of keeping that view constantly up-to-date and translating it into meaningful and successful projects would be a real challenge after all.

Of course, the hypothesis, is actually nothing but just a hypothesis. Yet, one thing seems quite clear; not only the landscape but also the definition of work has to change profoundly.

As trends suggest, the permanent, massive organizational structures will be increasingly transforming into lighter and agile mechanisms, which are to be run based-on projects and in considerably looser structures with heavily hybrid workforces. And that, successful businesses of the future would be the ones those who can see and prepare for that today. Accordingly, for the organizations of the future, it will be a crucial skill developing the ability of defining, structuring and harmonizing the projects and managing them well. Managing both strategically, continuously questioning the purpose, the outcome and the topics interrelated, and operationally, employing the highly specialized talent as necessary. A skill that indeed might be determining an organization’s longevity.