Predictably inaccurate: The prevalence and perils of bad big data Issue 21 | July 2017 SpecialSPECIAL ISSUE:issue: NavigatingNavigating thethe futurefuture of workwork CanCan wewe point business,business, workers, workers, andand socialsocial institutionsinstitutions inin thethe same same direction? direction? CONTENTS ISSUE 21, JULY 2017 8 Predictably inaccurate: The prevalence and perils of bad big data By John Lucker, Susan K. Hogan, and Trevor Bischoff When big data contains bad data, it can lead to big problems for organizations that use that data to build and strengthen relationships with consumers. Here are some ways to manage the risks of relying too heavily—or too blindly—on big data sets. Future of work 26 Navigating the future of work: Can we point business, workers, and social institutions in the same direction? By John Hagel, Jeff Schwartz, and Josh Bersin From the individual 9-to-5 workday to how entire industries function, work is changing faster than ever. Big shifts threaten to create massive societal and economic disruption unless we look seriously at making the future of work productive and rewarding for everyone. 46 Meet the US workforce of the future: Older, more diverse, and more educated By Patricia Buckley and Daniel Bachman An analysis of shifting workforce demographics suggests that the future American labor force, even as it becomes more heavily weighted toward older workers, is getting more diverse and more educated than ever. What could this mean for employers? 62 Catch the wave: The 21st-century career By Josh Bersin In an age where skill sets can become obsolete in just a few years, many workers are scrambling just to stay current. How can organizations encourage continuous learn- ing, improve individual mobility, and foster a growth mind-set in every employee, year after year? 80 Tech fluency: A foundation of future careers By Anthony Stephan, Martin Kamen, and Catherine Bannister Technology permeates virtually all aspects of our lives—and our jobs. Without a strong foundation of knowledge about technology in the workplace, workers will likely find it harder and harder to contribute to enterprise value—and to grow professionally. www.deloittereview.com CONTENTS ISSUE 21, JULY 2017 94 Radically open: Tom Friedman on jobs, learning, and the future of work By Cathy Engelbert and John Hagel Smart machines, businesses as platforms, and a waitress at Perkins Pancake House— all of these and more figure into Friedman’s buoyant riff on where the future of work could be taking us. 108 The rise of cognitive work (re)design: Applying cognitive tools to knowledge-based work By Thomas H. Davenport Cognitive technologies and business process reengineering could be a match made in heaven, but only if organizations do the work to redesign their processes with cognitive technologies’ specific capabilities in mind. 126 Reconstructing work: Automation, artificial intelligence, and the essential role of humans By Peter Evans-Greenwood, Harvey Lewis, and James Guszcza Some say that artificial intelligence threatens to automate away all the work that people do. But what if there’s a way to rethink the concept of “work” that not only makes humans essential, but allows them to take fuller advantage of their uniquely human abilities? 146 More real than reality: Transforming work through augmented reality By Joe Mariani, Brenna Sniderman, and Cary Harr It’s hard to wire a wind turbine while juggling a thick technical manual, or to ask offsite experts for help without being able to show them exactly what you see. Augmented reality can help, overlaying digital data onto the real world to give workers immediate access to vital information. www.deloittereview.com CONTENTS ISSUE 21, JULY 2017 164 Beyond office walls and balance sheets: Culture and the alternative workforce By Sonny Chheng, Kelly Monahan, and Karen Reid Managing organizational culture, often a challenge, is getting even harder with the rise of the alternative workforce. How can leaders bring independent contractors, telecommuters, and gig workers into their organization’s culture when so many of the traditional levers don’t apply? 182 Making the future of mobility work: How the new transportation ecosystem could reshape jobs and employment By Burt Rea, Stephanie Stachura, Laurin Wallace, and Derek M. Pankratz From truck drivers to eldercare professionals, occupations of all sorts are facing shifts driven by the future of mobility’s vision of widespread ridesharing, autonomous vehicles, and the seamless integration of different modes of transportation. EXECUTIVE EDITORS EDITORIAL DESIGN Luke Collins Editor-in-chief Creative director Deloitte Services LLP Junko Kaji Troy Bishop Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Deloitte Services LP Deloitte Services LP Mark Cotteleer Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private com- pany limited by guarantee, and its network Deloitte Services LLP Editors Lead art director of member firms, each of which is a legally Matthew Budman Kevin Weier Craig Giffi separate and independent entity. Please see Karen Edelman Deloitte Services LP http://www/deloitte.com/about for a detailed Deloitte Consulting LLP Deloitte Services LP description of the legal structure of Deloitte Graphic designers Touche Tohmatsu Limited and its member Jeff Schwartz Krishna Kumar Emily Koteff Moreano firms. Please see http://www.deloitte.com/us/ Deloitte Consulting LLP about for a detailed description of the legal Ramani Moses Joanie Pearson structure of the US member firms of Deloitte Aditi Rao Sonya Vasilieff Touche Tohmatsu Limited and their respec- DISTRIBUTION Rithu Mariam Thomas Deloitte Services LP tive subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and Amy Bergstrom Deloitte Support Services regulations of public accounting. India Pvt. Ltd. Alexandra Kawecki MULTIMEDIA Copyright © 2017 Devon Mychal Editorial advisor Sarah Jersild Deloitte Development LLC. Haley Pearson Kelly Monahan Alok Pepakayala All rights reserved. Shraddha Sachdev Deloitte Services LP David Scholes Deloitte Services LP CONTACT [email protected] @du_press #DeloitteReview linkedin.com/company/deloitte-university-press www.deloittereview.com 6 Leader Time for action and experimentation EADLINES attract clicks • How do we reengineer work and jobs in an era of rap- Hand sell newspapers, but idly advancing artificial intelligence? they don’t always provide a • How will we use new tools and technologies, such as nuanced view of the topic at augmented reality, to reshape the way we work? hand. So I’ve found it to be with the future of work. Most • As industries evolve and converge, how will jobs and of the media coverage I’ve work change as well? seen on the subject focuses • How can an organization manage its culture when on the rise of the robots— a growing proportion of work is done off company everything from “Robots will premises and/or by freelancers and independent con- take our jobs, how terrible!” tractors? Jeff Schwartz to (slightly less prevalent) Deloitte Consulting LLP Global Human Capital leader, “Robots will free us from • If every company, in some sense, is a technology com- marketing, eminence, and drudgery, how wonderful!” brand pany, what tech skills will workers need? Lost in the noise is a recogni- At the center of this discussion is a massive transforma- tion that the future of work involves a much broader set of tion agenda for every individual, business, and govern- issues. The growth of alternative workforce arrangements, ment at all levels. How can we adapt to create meaningful including the freelance economy and crowds, is one. The work, jobs, and careers for ourselves, our employees, and evolution of talent and customer markets based on “pull” our citizens? rather than “push” is another. And, yes, the accelerating use of robotics, cognitive technologies, and artificial intelli- We must surely adapt. The future of work is itself only part gence in the workplace is still another—though one whose of a larger set of transformations on the horizon. These in- impact will almost certainly be more complex than many clude the growth of the digital enterprise, the emergence foresee. of network- and team-based organizations, the deliber- ate design of customer and employee experiences, and Given the impact, speed, and pervasiveness of these de- new ways of understanding and managing the risks and velopments, it’s time to move beyond the headlines to a costs of labor in business. To deal with the scope of these conversation that’s less about predicting and more about changes requires a refreshed conversation that starts with navigating the future of work. The need goes beyond understanding how these forces and opportunities inter- understanding how jobs and work will change in the fu- act, not as threads, but as part of a larger fabric. ture; we should also consider what we can do to manage and, ideally, benefit from these changes today and in the It’s time to focus on aligning priorities and actions in an coming years. Questions to ask ourselves as workers, as age of experimentation. Every worker and every leader employers, and as a society include: will need to prepare and make choices about how to act when faced with the new and the uncertain. How will we • How can we enable people to engage in the lifelong choose to navigate the future of work in the years and de- learning that will likely be necessary to remain produc- cades ahead? tive for an extended working lifetime? www.deloittereview.com Editor’s introduction 7 O robot proofreader, where art thou? HIS PAST May, I experienced the best conference I Technologies dealing with Tnever attended. The keynote speech, various presen- artificial intelligence often tations, breakout sessions, even side conversations with figure into discussions about other attendees—all were streamed directly to my laptop, what the future holds for nestled snugly on my home office’s desk. Why the best? workers and employers.