The Corporate University Brainstorming Meeting on Feb. 24

We thank everyone who attended this morning's brainstorming meeting.

We appreciate your direct, honest input and  feedback. We don't know about you, but it seemed that we had just gotten started when it was time to finish. Would you like to continue the conversation? If so, please do so in this electronic format.

We pose, once again, the last few questions from this morning. We invite your ideas, comments and responses. It is our hope to continue this discussion in an ongoing fashion; we invite your participation in shaping the training offerings through The Corporate University to respond to your needs.

Consider the following:
What do you think your professionals will need to develop their skills and abilities one to five years from now?

How will your workplace look and how will it be different one to five years from now?

Are your workforce plans changing substantially when you look ahead to 2015? 

Ch-ch-ch-changes

The change of the seasons; the circle of life, the cycles of business: does everything old become new again? Is there chaos in the cyclic nature of life or is there comfort? If we want to know where we are going then we should look at where we have been. When I compare my life as a baby boomer to that of my parents and grandparents, it gives me pause. My grandparents saw the world move from an agrarian society to the start of the industrial age; my parents saw the miracles of the industrial age as the new technologies of electricity led to time-saving devices; I remember the first hand-held calculator (that really only fit in your hand if you were a giant); I marvel at the changes my children will see as technology becomes even more mobile because of wireless technology. As the devices we use become portable, will the workforce become portable as well? My grandparents, like the crops they grew, were firmly planted in the land. My parents, standing along the assembly line, had security and stability without mobility in their employment. When the onset and rapid change of technology dawned in my professional life, change and obsolescence became the norm. As the wireless age of work approaches, what will the youth see in their careers? Will they be techno-gypsies moving from assignment to assignment or will they stay home and work through the Internet? Will their horizons expand globally? What are your thoughts?