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There are many people who love lists. Andrew Hanelly, who describes himself as an “amateur sociologist and professional human”, gives a reason why. “Everybody reports to somebody — whether a boss, client, or board,” he says. “Those reports usually include a PowerPoint, a Word document or at least a succinct email with a series of arguments. And the common elements in all of them are listed items.”
The love for lists comes early when you learn your ABCs. And education these days is still a matter of memorising listed items and formulae. The mnemonic, often humorous or scatological, is God’s gift to the examinee.
In the workplace, lists abound. It could be a mission statement or safety rules. You may not realise it, but you are filling up lists every day, from an expense account to an internal survey. Your address book on the mobile is a list.
There is a broader category of lists that talks of future trends. When they relate to technology and work culture, they could be important because they dictate what corporate rules and workplace habits will be like.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has recently done a study among schoolchildren. The basic finding is that “India’s post-Millennial generation seems set to overtake the preceding Millennial generation or Gen Y, taking communication over social networks like Facebook and Twitter and instant messaging modes like Whatsapp to newer extremes.” In the workplace, Blackberry is out; new generation employees can do perfectly well without it.
Tech trends are a hot topic all over the world. Here is Tina Wells, CEO of the Buzz Marketing Group, with her top six predictions: Conscious Consumption (the economic slump hasn’t slowed new generation spending); Profitable Purpose (simply writing a check won’t do); Cake Baking (the process of making the products is more important than the brand; watch out for outsourcers in Bangladesh or Apple factories in China); Instanity (I want it now); Hand-me-ups (tweens and teens are swapping newer technology devices with their parents); and Wharholism (this generation is not obsessed with fame).
Here’s another list from Deloitte. “Mobility, social, analytics, cloud and cyber represent five imminent technology forces for business innovation,” says the firm.
You can find such lists, each more arcane than the other, all over the place. How useful are they? “You must remember that change is rapid,” says an analyst. “Even Facebook and Twitter will be transient. The smart phone will be replaced by the tablet. It’s like making a cupboard to store abacuses and slide rules when that technology has a limited lifespan.”
How does a CEO decide what is transient and what a little more permanent? Several important investment decisions could depend on that. Ask the manufacturers who are going in for diesel cars when petrol vehicles are the order of the day. Says the analyst: “There is nothing much you can do about it but believe in the Tina Wells principle of instanity”. In a high-pressure world, changing plans at the drop of a hat may be insanity. But it is the only thing that works. The CEO who wins is the one with the fastest finger first.
MILLENNIAL BEATS
The top 10 youth trends in India in 2012 (%):
Uses Facebook 92
Accesses net from home 84
Uses Facebook/Twitter to communicate socially 74
Owns a mobile phone 65
Accesses the Internet to chat/connect/blog 63
Buys movie tickets online 62
Owns a smartphone 59
Owns an Android-run smart device 54
Uses a Samsung-branded electronic device 48
Shops online 37
Source: TCS survey
