I fear the often quoted adage of author Thomas Wolfe “… you can never go home again” will increasingly resonate with all of us as, incrementally, we gleefully rip the masks off and try to reposition ourselves as we once were prior to 16 months ago. Provided however the directing minds do not mandate universal wearing of masks. If so, less glee but return we shall. Like a fish flopping on the wharf we will quickly realize our surroundings are uncomfortable. We will continue to flop, attempting to find a more comfortable position. This will be the state of “the new norm”.
It will be turbulent, disruptive and demand change.
Every business, every sector, every organization will experience ‘the quickening’. This new industrial age created by the Internet of Everything will present wonderful opportunities waiting innovative minds to exploit. With this new world comes humongous challenges.
As an aside, Gary Hamel’s bestseller: “Leading the Revolution” outlines five initiatives organizations can implement that will promote innovation. (See article)
In the earlier OP ED article I discussed briefly the emerging employment challenges the new industrial age presents. Robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomous cars and trucks, drones, smart homes etc. are dramatically reducing demand for training and the skills required by the old industrial age, and presenting a tsunami of new modalities that must be quickly identified and adopted by the education institutions before they become irrelevant, and or replaced by the private sector. If interested view Bonus Material: Internet of Things – YouTube .
In the earlier article (link) I spoke specifically as to what competencies and attributes would be required by these new Internet of Everything jobs.
In this post I continue to provide my thoughts as to what materials, specifically, institutions must provide when crafting their curriculum or fade from the scene like ‘buggy whips and carriages’ at the turn of the 1900s. Recall the photos from the earlier article.
At the risk of unsettling my colleagues I think it is instructive to consider educational institutions as businesses. Regretfully I fear I am in the minority to bring forth such a proposition. However if this is true, then the basic 101 strategic questions provided by Peter Drucker must be asked and responded to — Specifically: Why does your organization exist? Who are your customers? What do they value? What are your products? And —What are the results? — In essence, what is the value proposition that your institution offers your three stakeholders- students, business and government?
Having chaired three national conferences and asking this question- “What do they value?”…we found the common thread. It was that the trajectory between what academia was ‘producing’ and what government and business needs was more and more divergent. The sectors examined were nursing, financial, and the oil and gas sectors. See article. “Educational Learning Trajectory Widens”–Mine Bus Edge. Insert link,
So against this background what should the new curriculum for the Internet of Everything’s workplace look like?
We start with understanding the market segment identified as one in which the institution can compete with the resources they have available. In order for the directing minds to identify their sweet spot in the marketplace they will undertake a processes like the three C’s and the waterfall method for crafting strategy, business, and marketing plans—see Strategic Thinking Concepts-Three Cs – YouTube and the link to the waterfall method. With the data collected, models completed, and emerging trends reviewed they attempt to identify a Blue Ocean for the organization. NOTE. A lesson plan materials is provided: A Blue Ocean Training Session. (Announcements to follow – Subscribe if interested).
The requirement to adopt new mental models may be a challenge for those who been schooled in and retain academia’s old mental models. It requires a right brain view of new mental models and the willingness to accept these new teaching modalities – modalities that align with the needs of the market segment identified by this process.
One of the major demographic segments are millennials.
Currently much of academia is not producing the advanced factor endowments that Canada will need in this new global, political and economic interconnected ecosystem. If this is true the marketplace will not take long to fill the vacuum. The private sector has already commenced taking portions of education markets by tailoring their offerings to their customers’ specific needs.
Sun Tzu’s quote seems to fit: “… it is too late to cover your ears, after you hear the thunder clap.” Sun Tzu 1 Too late to cover your ears – YouTube
What do you think?
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Watch for the next Op-ed… Given the need for academia to adopt a right brain perspective when crafting new curriculum then it must consider ‘a viewpoint diversity curriculum’ and place less reliance on the left brain curriculum where one-size-fits-all.
(Terrance Power is a professor of strategic and advanced international studies with the faculty of management at Royal Roads University in Victoria. He can be reached at anchorgaepublications.com)
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(Title of Thomas Wolfe’s novel You Can’t Go Home Again.)
Look Homeward, Angel: Amazon.ca: Wolfe, Thomas: Books
