Every day we are presented with new headlines that touch on the future of work and how things like robots, artificial intelligence and millennials will impact or disrupt industries. In most of these articles, the common denominator ushering in change is technology. But while technology itself can catalyze and accelerate changes in the workplace, it is not the only thing.
Often neglected are things like collective behavior, culture, management and leadership — all of which make up a workplace’s organizational structure. And interestingly enough, they are beginning to see major disruptions as well.
The traditional hierarchical organization structure cannot keep pace in the knowledge age. That is why we see young organizations disrupting large and established organizations at an accelerating frequency. For example, only 12 percent of Fortune 500 Companies from 1955 still remain on the list today. That is no coincidence.
