Everyone is talking about the importance of collaboration in the immediate future. Rightfully so.    The world has been trending toward working across boundaries and platforms through collaboration for some time. Not stepping into the collaboration model is like driving a 1908 Model T Ford when you have a 2019 Tesla Model S in your garage. It's irresponsible, ineffective and says more about the driver than the vehicle. That being said, here are four things you need in an honest collaborative model.

Your people must be up to speed on the future of work or the future of success or the future of effectiveness.  Organizations that are not aware of how important collaboration will be in future success cannot embrace collaboration. It simply doesn't make sense to them, especially if they've experienced non-collaboration success in the old world. It would be the same as if your team were still using the typewriter when you should be updating them on the opportunities of using a laptop. Typewriters aren't bad, but laptops are better, especially if you want to stay a viable concern. www.fastcompany.com/3024246/why-collaboration-is-crucial-to-success

Collaboration involves getting away from the usual suspects.  We all have go-to people we lean on when looking for ideas or even evaluations. The dynamic nature of the next few years is going to require us to get out of our comfort zones and tap into sources and people we usually don't.  Profound ignorance is bred in isolation. Become proactive and seek out collaboration with new people .  This leans toward inclusiveness, adventures outside of what you're used to, new friends and a team that looks a lot different than your Tuesday night bowling league. www.huffingtonpost.com/sylvana-storey/inclusion-engagement-coll_b_5566445.html

You must have adaptive portals.  It's one thing to get cool, new ideas, but its another thing to create an organization that has portals that allow those cool, new ideas to be tested, then possibly incorporated into your system. Organizations that don't have those kinds of portals are simply giving lip service to the idea of collaboration, but don't have any real intention on implementing things that could transform the operation. Those organizations just want to look good. Make sure you have a way to allow appropriate opportunities to get into your organization.support.aha.io/hc/en-us/articles/202685415-Create-an-ideas-portal

Develop a collaborative philosophy or vision statement for your team.    There is a reason why Ubuntu, the southern African philosophical construct that says "I am because we are, we are because I am" is the world's fastest growing philosophy. It is a reflection of what's necessary for success in the new world. Simply put, it is an idea that says all of us matter.  Once the philosophy is in place, it is easier to find the opportunities in it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KzGZyO_lSU&list=PL8umA1gwLlGVbbD8Xhnsqeuq4Ix0kY-Mp

PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW
I know a personal development coach who has an impressive online classroom and development program that quite significant. If you're looking for help on your personal or professional journey, click this link to Michanda Lindsey. Make sure you tell her you heard about her work on A Futurist's Briefing. michandalindsey.com/   

Oxfam just came  out with it's new report about income inequality in the world.       This latest report says income inequality  is  racing  ahead at levels we've never seen before. In fact,  the top 26 billionaires in the world have as much wealth as the bottom half of the entire world's population.  You may say "well, I don't really care what other people do with their money Chet.   That's not my problem." Here are four ways you should care and how this dramatic concentration of wealth and power is affecting your day to day world.

EDUCATION:  In a recent report, the Organization for Economic Co-operation found that the concentration of wealth takes it out of circulation in communities, which means there simply is less to go around. From their 2014 report, they found that children  feel the brunt of this. Children from the bottom 40 percent of households (a huge chunk of the population) are missing out on pricey educational opportunities. That makes them less productive employees, which means lower wages, which means lower overall participation in the economy.

CRIME; While many countries have enjoyed several years of a falling crime rate, individual communities will and have  started to see it on the rise again. That's according to  a 2016 London School of Economics study. For instance, their study found that greater income gaps between neighboring U.S. neighborhoods led to more property crime in the richer neighborhoods. “Income differences create an incentive for those relatively poor to steal from richer households,” the authors explain.

HEALTH: In a stunning 2015 report from the Seven Pillars Institute, dramatic income inequality leads to a health crisis. The report says "The impoverished members of society are subject to disproportionate occurrence rates of certain kinds of illnesses. Access to quality health care and healthy food is sometimes limited or unavailable for poor individuals. The result of a substantial poor population, a defining feature of economic inequality, is a less effective lower-income work force, higher disease and mortality rates, higher health care costs, and progressively deepening poverty for afflicted groups."

INTELLIGENCE: Professor Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri, of Miami University led a group of researchers who discovered that people don't end up in poverty because they are less intelligent. It's the other way around. Poverty makes people less intelligent.   Published in  The Journal for Preventative Medicine in 2016, the report says falling into poverty appears to make people become less intelligent and become old before their time. Researchers found life on the breadline for 20 years was “strongly associated” with “worse cognitive function” and premature aging. And they suggested the potential causes of this phenomenon included the stress of having little money, inadequate housing and sanitation, and an unhealthy lifestyle – a poor diet, smoking, alcohol and too little exercise.

SYSTEMIC RACISM: Last year, The Washington Center  for Equitable Growth provided a paper written by researcher  Robert Manduca. His conclusion from his studies is simple:  "rising income inequality has disproportionately harmed African Americans, negating substantial improvements in relative terms and preventing what would otherwise have been a meaningful, if incomplete, convergence in incomes between blacks and whites. In short, inequitable growth over the past few decades is a major driver of our nation’s persistent racial income gap."

If left to our own devices and without some action being taken, we are transitioning into  a poorer,  dumber,  sicker, dangerous, racist future.
Fortunately, that's not the end of the story.:

WHAT WE CAN DO:

If you have a service, product or message that can provide tools, resources, consultation and vision for freelancers and entrepreneurs in middle class and working communities , I'd love to talk to you. Myself and my global partners have created an agile, scalable, cooperative platform that allows us to get your product or service to them. We are leaning into the gig economy, entrepreneurship, empowerment, connectedness and feminine principle leadership. Our desire is to help bring abundance  to communities where  unemployed, underemployed and  lost hope are rampant.   You  have the tools. Let me get them out there for you.  Write me directly at chet@chetsisk.com

Yes!

Chet

 
There are clear signs that a global recession may be imminent.  While this could make life even more difficult for the millions everywhere living paycheck to paycheck, it could also create opportunities to emerge that will help us push the reset button and break old cycles. Let me share with you six things trending that we  may  want to take advantage of   during the recession.

Technology will make this recession different. Unlike the worker-intensive days of the past, advance AI and robotics will keep many parts of economies around the world functioning, so the recession won't be as severe to business as it was before. It will, however, push more people out of the job market -- permanently. We at UBR are creating "Super Groups" around the world that takes the resource of human potential and are creating teams of people who are re-thinking and re-imagining how communities can thrive and succeed with this level of change. This is an opportunity for us to move from human doing to human being. http://www.leadtheshift.com/ubr-super-groups.html

An explosion of  hydroponic gardening.  This form of indoor gardening is a method of growing plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. It has already been on an upward growth trend globally due to the rise of food security concerns, climate change forecasts and advanced technology which keeps making it easier.   A recession will be another big factor in driving this growth. This is the year you  partner with others in your neighborhood to create a hydroponic gardening opportunity. https://www.thespruce.com/beginners-guide-to-hydroponics-1939215

The continued growth of cremation.    It's not surprising you're hearing a lot of your friends speak of being cremated instead of  having a formal burial  when they die.  That's because cremation is simply a dignified, time-tested, cost effective way to manage the passing of a loved one. The growth of income inequality and the press of a recession will make cremation a logical choice for the budget minded. Even more, many people are questioning the  very practices of the burial-industrial-complex and asking "is this really necessary?" If you're thinking cremation may be right for you, get your plans in writing now so there is no guess work with your family members.   https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cremation-rates-reach-all-time-high-us-180964478/

Seeking  out something to believe in.  Under stress, we collectively tend to re-prioritize our values. For those who already embrace a particular religion, there will be a re-aligning with those ideas. Over the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic retreat from traditional religions but that has not stopped those people from looking for something to believe in and carry them through difficult times.  Non-traditional practices in yoga, meditation and mindfulness will flourish in this time as the "un-churched" seek comfort and understanding.  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fitness-yoga/in-times-of-economic-crisis-people-turn-to-yoga-idUSTRE50B2HN20090112

Opening up to  economic restructuring. The boom and bust cycle can be exhausting and hazardous.  More and more people have been asking if there is a better way forward. The coming recession, buoyed by new technologies that are changing the landscape of societies, will empower more people to ask that question in their personal lives as well as for their communities.  https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/sep/15/rethinking-prosperity-credible-alternatives-ecomonic-system

The return of the rent party.  When I was younger, rent parties were all the rage. People in your building were asked to bring a dish, a couple of bucks and a good attitude to a party to help you pay the rent for the month. While there are no hard statistics on this, there is a trend of people looking for ways of connecting with their neighbors in a world driven by social media separation. Even some of the people in gentrified communities may follow suit.

UBR SUPPORT

Looking for professional support? Sign up for UBR. We've put together a package of tools for your life journey.

In the Vision/Goals segment of this app, you'll find six categories: Belief, Health, Income, Plan B, Recreation, Relationships. These categories are provided so that you'll have the opportunity to develop your personal plan in relationship to this time of shift. We'll provide you  with suggestions of what you'll want to put in your vision/goal sections. Use it as a guide to make sure you're staying on track.

In the Classroom (Resources) segment of this app, you'll find potential partners, ideas, suggestions, clients and opportunities to share your business, service or product with thousands of others around the world. You can place your promotion in this segment. Another bonus is that you'll receive audio samples from Chet's latest book Above and Beyond All That We Know.

Use the Calendar segment of this app to schedule a Zoom meeting with Futurist Chet W. Sisk. Ask the questions you want his predictions, thoughts about your personal or business life or his predictions for the immediate future.

.To sign up for the year long subscription, click here: http://www.leadtheshift.com/what-is-ubrsubscription.html


Yes!

Chet

For a  time in the West, individualism or "rugged individualism" was extolled as a virtue.  Recent   data says that mythic concept of self  may be incredibly unhealthy.  The evidence is overwhelming that we're better together. Individualism may be fueling the expansion of the mental health crisis in the States and other places around the world.

This article from Forbes says our inability to be in cohesive groups of friends and family may trigger real tangible health challenges such as hunger, thirst and physical pain....http://fortune.com/2016/06/22/loneliness-is-a-modern-day-epidemic/

Some may believe the loneliness epidemic is being caused by the growth of the elderly population around the world. As people get older, many of their friends may have passed on, leaving those who remain with fewer people to interact with. But in this new study reprinted in US News and World Report, young people are suffering the most from loneliness....https://www.usnews.com/news/health-care-news/articles/2018-05-01/study-many-americans-report-feeling-lonely-younger-generations-more-so

In this article in INSIDER, the authors suggest  that it's not that people are choosing to be lonely, but that  modern societies are not structured   for meaningful connection. Even more, this report says loneliness is contagious...https://www.thisisinsider.com/why-do-i-feel-lonely-2018-6

Is  social media part of the problem of the loneliness epidemic? Of course, but maybe differently than we think. Check out this article from  PsychologyToday....https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-gen-y-guide/201702/the-2-reasons-why-so-many-people-are-becoming-lonelier

WHAT WE CAN DO TO REDUCE OUR LONELINESS.

Based on my interactions in social groups around the world and even managing my own bouts with loneliness, there are four strategies I would highly suggest. These are not substitutes for those of you who may be suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder, but as options for those of you who feel you can do more to reduce your loneliness periods.

1. Set "touchstone" dates with your friends. I have a male friend who I connect with at least once a week at lunch. Not a text, not an email, not a phone call --- an in-person hour or two over good food.         In our societies, we have a tendency to wait for these kinds of interactions to happen  spontaneously. The truth is that they must be organized and planned as part of our schedules.    The more regularly they are planned, the more they will become a touchstone that allows you to keep in touch with your humanity.

2.  Reduce your social media time. I know, you've heard it before, but reducing your time on devices, gives you more time to reclaim. You can put that time to use scheduling a luncheon date with a friend and have true social interaction.

3. Embrace Ubuntu as your belief system. The mythology behind rugged individualism has created infrastructure that supports loneliness in our societies. It's time to embrace a new belief system that supports healthy connection and interaction. When I used to teach leadership classes at the University of Kwazulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, I was introduced to the philosophy  of Ubuntu --- we are all connected, thus our challenges and our successes are shared.  My suspicion is that  having this as a belief system will help us  create connected  supports.

4. Host a dinner, once a quarter with friends as well as strangers.  There is nothing more powerful than breaking bread together.   Invite a bunch of people over your home for a potluck get together for conversation and good food. This increases your human interaction touch points, expands your field of friends and associates and can put your culinary skills to work.

Over the next 3-5years as we walk through an unprecedented global paradigm shift, we'll need each other to help us navigate the rough waves to create new possibilities.

Yes!
Chet