The Nine: The Tectonic Forces Reshaping the Workplace
Phil Simon
Racket Publishing (April 2023)

A thorough examination of nine of the forces that are reshaping the workplace

Long ago, I concluded that — in essence — strategies are “hammers” that drive “nails” (i.e. tactics). In this book, Phil Simon focuses on nine separate but related forces that are now reshaping the workplace. The process is well underway and these forces will have varying degrees of impact in months and years to come. Here they are:

1. Employee empowerment (See Figure 1.1, Page 6)
2. Physical dispersion (2.2, 40)
4. AuTomation (4.3, 96)
5. Generative AI (5.4, 107)
6. Blockchain (6.4, 146)
7. Immersive technologies (7.1, 156)
8. Unhealthy analytics (8.2, 191)
9. Fractions (9.1, 199)

As I worked my way through this book, I was again reminded of another, The Innovation Ultimatbum (2020), in which Steve Brown examines the impact (thus far) of several disruptive technologies: artificial intelligence (AI); Sensors and the Internet of Things (IOT); autonomous Machines — robots, cobots, drones, and self-driving vehicles; distributed leaders and blockchains; virtual, augmented, and mixed reality; and connecting everything and every one: 5G networks and satellite constellations. I agree with Brown, and presumably so does Simon: “There is a massive and rapidly widening gulf between the capabilities of companies that invest in technology and those that don’t. It is a time of reckoning. Emerging technologies will empower brave innovators to make giant steps forward, while those without vision, courage, and agility will wither and perish. Winners will change the world.” Quite literally, here’s the imperative: “Innovate or die.”

Many workers fear that one or more of the aforementioned technologies will “take away their jobs.” I am convinced that they will be replaced by those who know how to collaborate with technologies.  This is precisely what Alvin Toffler had in mind when predicting (in Future Shock, 1970 ), “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

I agree with Simon that techtonic forces “are fundamentally altering how, when, and where we work. Unlike the changes that rocked the newspaper industry, these forces are playing out much faster. They’re [begin italics] already [end italics] upending myriad workplaces. As we’ve seen, some organizations are unrecognizable from their prepandemic counterparts on several levels.” Quite true.

So, how to cope with a business world that is much more volatile, more uncertain more complex, and more ambiguous than at any prior time that I can recall? In the final chapter, Phil Simon offers six options to consider. They are best revealed within his narrative, in context. “In response to the nine forces, senior leaders can opt for one of the six approaches. Hope is not one of them.”

Here are two concluding suggestions: Highlight key passages, and, keep a lined notebook near at hand while reading The Nine in which you record your comments, questions, action steps (preferably with deadlines) and page references as well as your responses to end-of-chapter “Key Points.” These two simple tactics will facilitate, indeed expedite frequent reviews of key material later.