tim ragan - business engineer

Summary

Think your work world is turbulent now? You ain't seen nothing yet... [21-March-2020 note: This summary was written several years prior of our current corona virus global pandemic. The work world is definitely highly disrupted with this immediate crisis -- my belief is that well after this particular crisis abates, we'll continue to receive massive shocks to the system in the years ahead. If you believe the same, you might want to read on.] My big takeaway from 35 years of incredibly varied technology infused work projects: we have entered a multi-decade period of increasing turbulence that is impacting each of us in profound - and often unsettling - ways. Unfortunately, our institutions and work concepts are designed around historic models of employment and work practices, and are highly resistant to the adaptation, agility, and rapid evolution demanded by our modern economy. Until we tackle this fundamental design limitation, our organizations will continue to struggle to deliver the performance demanded of them, further stressing the work teams they depend on and driving increasing levels of disruption and stress in our individual careers. Re-purposing ourselves, our teams & our organizations for sustainable success in our modern world is the design challenge that fascinates me; it is where I focus and apply my skills and training in systems-thinking, strategic design, team alignment, and process and tool development. My work fascination covers four themes: 1 -- how to help us each become more effective Free Agents (a Business of One); 2 -- leveraging the Free Agent workforce to build greater levels of adaptability and resilience into our organizations; 3 -- business models that leverage Free Agents collaborating to create new offerings; 4 -- evolution of our social safety net to encourage Free Agency across the broader economy. Have I got it all figured out? Not by a long shot. It's a massively complex area that will keep me engaged for years to come... To date, I've developed a set of practical and easy-to-implement "performance tool kits" for driving career, team, and organizational success. I'm continually researching, piloting, and adding new tools to the tool kit. Want to dive deeper into this? Please reach out and connect up so we can explore how to collaborate to mutual advantage... I'm looking forward to meeting you! http://calendly.com/tragan