enClair - Phase 1 Discovery Report (Project Elba)

0 Project Elba: Discovery Phase


Who’s the consumer? I think it’s me or is it you?

More money, bigger TV. More money, bigger house. More money, but I don’t have time to watch TV and I am

rarely at home.

Honey, I promise I won’t miss little Billy’s softball game, I saved the date in my Blackberry...Sorry honey I got

stuck at the office.

What is work? What is play? How can I be “me” and be in two places at once? What is this work-life balance

that we are all seeking?

In the past century, we have defined and redefined work. Man was once the sole bread winner who

took pride in bringing home the prized killing – money. Then both man and woman joined the work force and

it was about work-family balance. We have learned to squeeze out every opportunity for efficiency and

continuously create / use products that promise to boost productivity so that we will have more time doing

things that are important to us. But just think about life after the email was created. We work longer hours

and do less productive work. We are asked to do more with less.

[Source: Kelly Services, Kelly Services says technology drives how we work and where we work, June 24, 2009]


What is the truth behind the man, the woman, the workaholic?

John Williams grew up in the slums of New York and his mother worked two jobs to give him the same

opportunities as the other kids. He dreamed of the big leagues and imagined what it would be like to be the

other kid. “Mama, I promise that when I get rich I will move you to a big house where you will never have to

work again”.

Joyce Carmichael grew up in a family of boys. Her father was an old school Texan who managed to

muscle his way to become a well known politician. Throughout her life, she was told that women should be in

the kitchen and take care of the children. Joyce thought differently though – she wanted to prove her father

wrong.

Billy James has always been an interesting character. He never believed in conforming to the norms of

society. As a kid, his parents said that he could be anything he wanted. Now he works for Google.

Growing up in North America, we were taught to work hard and look forward to retirement. What if

we work hard and never reach the promised land of retirement? Where we have all the time in the world to

enjoy what we truly love to do. Why should we leave all the great life experiences to the last 20 years of our

life; at a time when we are old and brittle?

With advancements in

medicine we have been able to

increase our life expectancy

dramatically and therefore the

motivation behind prolonged

life balance and happiness has

never been more important.


We have multitasked our way to an ADD epidemic

I can use instant messaging on my Blackberry while receiving Tweets from my followers who I have just

added to Facebook.

Do you enter every event on a calendar and then manage it with a to-do list? Do you forget your loved

one’s birthdays? These are just a few of the ADD related symptoms that are a product of your work

environment and the endless battle for efficiency.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, one sensed a kind of exuberance about the possibilities of

multitasking. Advertisements for new electronic gadgets—particularly the first generation of handheld digital

devices—celebrated the notion of using technology to accomplish several things at once. The word

multitasking began appearing in the “skills” sections of résumés, as office workers restyled themselves as high-

tech, high-performing team players [Christine Rosen, The Myth of Multitasking, 2008].

Dr. Edward Hallowell, a Massachusetts-based psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of attention

deficit/hyperactivity disorder calls multitasking a “mythical activity in which people believe they can perform

two or more tasks simultaneously.” In a 2005 article, he described a new condition, “Attention Deficit Trait,”

RESOURCEFUL

MAKE MONEY BEING ME

(WO)MAN

HAMMER

FIRE

WEAPONS

WORKING FROM HOME

MOBILE OFFICE

FOOD

WATER

LOVE

SECURITY

PROVIDER

FAMILY

PROTECTOR

COMPUTER

EMAIL

WWW

FACEBOOK

MARKET

BARTER

TRAVEL

AIRPLANE

AUTOMOBILE

MUSIC

EXPERIENCE DESIGN

CONNECTION

TRADE

CARING

TEACH

MONEY SERVICES

SELF REALIZATION

CREATION

EFFICIENCY

AUTONOMY

TIME

SELF EXPRESSION

LIVING LIFE

WIRELESS TECH

TELEPHONE

HEALTHLY LIVING

FRENCH FRIES &HAMBURGERS

VIDEO GAMES

SPORT

VOIP

AUGMENTED REALITY

3D TV

TECHNOLOGY KNOWLEDGE

CORPORATION

ELECTRICITY

MANUFACTURING

GOOGLE

PLASTIC

EDUCATION

SKYPE

SURVIVALSAFETY

MINIMALISTICME

LAPTOP

WORKSNUG

TRUE HAPPINESS


which he claims is rampant in the business world has the hallmark symptoms that mimic those of ADD

[Christine Rosen, The Myth of Multitasking, 2008].

The picture that emerges of these pubescent multitasking mavens is of a generation of great technical

facility and intelligence but of extreme impatience, unsatisfied with slowness and uncomfortable with silence.

[Christine Rosen, The Myth of Multitasking, 2008].

“I noticed that the more things I could do with ease on my computer, the harder it was to focus on any

one activity. My natural inclination to jump from one thing to another prematurely was now aided and abetted

by technology—the very thing that was supposed to be helping me. Then, after the PDA and cell phone became

a part of my daily life, I found myself, like millions of others, faced with even more interruptions, and it became

increasingly difficult to concentrate. The technological advances that once seemed so liberating had become

oppressive.” [Bruce Weinstein, PhD, The Ethics of Multitasking, BusinessWeek, September 2009]

The tides are changing...

Turnover is a major issue for many businesses because of the costs of hiring and training new

personnel, as well as the costs of not having departed employees working toward organisational goals [Boles et

al, 2001]. Working longer hours and the stress associated with tight deadlines, increased responsibility, or not

seeing your family can be seen as a key driver.

[Source: Kelly Services, Kelly Services says technology drives how we work and where we work, June 24, 2009]

Overworking not only affects your mental state but also married life. In a time when divorce is as

common as university degrees work-life balance has never been more important. The table below extracted

from Yamaguchi Kazuo’s research suggests that the greatest influences on marital satisfaction relate to shared

experiences and time spent together.


Environments that support employees’ work-life balance have been found to improve organisational

commitment – defined as a belief in and acceptance of organisational goals and values, a willingness to exert

effort toward these goals and a desire to maintain organisational membership [20:20 Series | The Case for

Work/Life Balance: Closing the Gap Between Policy and Practice].

However, the line between work and life are beginning to blur. Our coworkers have become our

friends on Facebook and you boss enjoyed the video you posted on YouTube of your trip in Europe. Employers

are beginning to realize the importance of corporate culture and retaining talent. The efficient robots of the

work force are beginning to express who they are. Imagine if you could do your laundry at work. Imagine if

you could gain inspiration for a new project in your kid’s playroom. Job satisfaction is a thing of the past. It is

now life satisfaction.

The solution to this information overload age is to understand how technology

should help us

The advancements in technology were meant to help us become more efficient leaving more time to

do more rather than to become workaholics. The “more” is up to us and depends on what our true desires

and aspirations are. The opportunistic corporate world has taken advantage of technology by leading us to

believe that being connected means being available to work.


Instead of leading a battle against the working world, what if we could change the definition of work?

What if work, play, and consumption all happened in the same place and your life experiences are not limited

by the four walls that surround you? Yesterday, the hype was about artificial intelligence. Today, the world is

moving towards technology that change the way you experience your world, learning about you through your

eyes.

SATELLITES

TELEPHONE

COMPUTER

AUTOMOBILES

APPLIANCES

DISTANCE

COMMUNICATION

CONVIENCE

HIGHER

PRODUCTIVITY

COMFORT

INFORMATION AT FINGERTIPS

INTERNET

WIKIPEDIA

VIRTUAL SCHOOL

SMART

PHONES

`FACEBOOK

BLOGS

WORKING FROM HOME

ONLINE

COMMUNITY

EFFICIENCY

REALTIME

ACCESS

ONLINE DIARIES

PILOTLESS

MILITARY

CLOUD

AVATOR

IPAD

VIRTUAL

REALITY

OFFICE

CENTRALIZED

INTELLIGENCE

MATRIX

3D TV

PORTABLE PERSONAL WEB

SMART

SEARCHES

WORKING FROM

ANYWHERE

EXPERIENCE LIFE OF ANOTHER PERSON

BLURRING

WITH MASS

MEDIA

NANO

MACHINES

WEB 3.0

PERSONALIZED ADVERTISEMENT

BEHAVIOR

SUGGESTIONS

REMOTE

SURGERY

TECH

SURROGATES

MEMORY TRANSFER

ARGUMENTED

REALITY

“SIMILATED ME”

VIRTUAL LIFE (VANILA

SKY?”

PREDEICTIVE ANALYSIS

ARTIFICIALLY INTERLLIGENT

HUMANOIDS

VIRTUAL

MARKETPLACE

WEB 2.0

REALTIME HEALTH

INDICATORS

MEASUREMENT

REALTIME

HEALTH

AWARENESS

MICRO-MRI


The days of multitasking and information overload is coming to a close as you can now control where

and how you would like to work. The result is true productivity, where you become the most efficient in your

space. For example, take a look at the iPhone app, WorkSnug (http://www.worksnug.com/). It is a tool that

connects mobile workers to the nearest and best places to work in the major cities of the world through the

use of augmented reality and location-based services. If you like working in coffee shops, this application will

tell you details such as connectivity, noise level, power provision, and even the quality of the coffee.

Another application, Life Balance (http://www.llamagraphics.com), promises to function as more than a typical

personal organizer. The remarkable part of this application is its ability to identify your physical whereabouts –

work, home, or leisure.

“U.S. online display ad

spending with behavioural

components that look at

audience interests and

intentions will reach more

than $1.1 billion in 2010”

-Behavioral Targeting to Grow, Adweek,

Feb 18, 2010


In another realm, advancements in the medical field are pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

Nanomedicine has introduced nanorobots to perform surgeries but also realtime monitoring of body functions

such as bloodless diabetes monitoring [Jennifer Chu, Technology Revew, Feb 27, 2008].

So where is this leading to?

GLOBAL

WARMING

HEALTH

AWARENESS

CULTURAL

VALUESWEB

DEVELOPMENT

PRODUCTIVTY

GLOBALIZATIONTHE “ME”

CULTURE

PERSONALIZ

CHILDLESS

BY CHOICE?

EDUCATION

REGULATIONS

CLOUD

STANDARD OF

LIVING

SELF

ACTUALIZATION

BABYBOOMER

RETIREMENT

EMPLOYER

TRENDS

PERSONALIZED

SERVICE/PROD

UCT

OPPORTUNITIES

IPAD

LIFE

EXPECTANCY

SATELLITES

TELEPHONE

COMPUTER

AUTOMOBILES

APPLIANCES

DISTANCE

COMMUNICATION

CONVIENCE

HIGHER

PRODUCTIVITY

COMFORT

INFORMATION AT

FINGERTIPS

INTERNET

WIKIPEDIA

VIRTUAL

SCHOOL

SMART

PHONES

`FACEBOOK

BLOGS

WORKING

FROM HOME

ONLINE

COMMUNITY

EFFICIENCY

REALTIME

ACCESS

ONLINE

DIARIES

PILOTLESS

MILITARY

CLOUD

AVATOR

IPAD

VIRTUAL

REALITY

OFFICE

CENTRALIZED

INTELLIGENCE

MATRIX

3D TV

PORTABLE PERSONAL

WEB

SMART

SEARCHES

WORKING FROM

ANYWHERE

EXPERIENCE LIFE OF ANOTHER PERSON

BLURRING

WITH MASS

MEDIA

NANO

MACHINES

WEB 3.0

PERSONALIZED

ADVERTISEMENT

BEHAVIOR

SUGGESTIONS

REMOTE

SURGERY

TECH

SURROGATES

MEMORY TRANSFER

ARGUMENTED

REALITY

“SIMILATED ME”

VIRTUAL LIFE (VANILA

SKY?”

PREDEICTIVE

ANALYSIS

ARTIFICIALLY INTERLLIGENT

HUMANOIDS

VIRTUAL

MARKETPLACE

WEB 2.0

REALTIME HEALTH

INDICATORS

MEASUREMENT

REALTIME

HEALTH

AWARENESS

RESOURCEFUL

MAKE MONEY BEING ME

(WO)MAN

HAMMER

FIRE

WEAPONS

WORKING FROM HOME

MOBILE OFFICE

FOOD

WATER

LOVE

SECURITY

PROVIDER

FAMILY

PROTECTOR

COMPUTER

EMAIL

WWW

FACEBOOK

MARKET

BARTER

TRAVEL

AIRPLANE

AUTOMOBILE

MUSIC

EXPERIENCE DESIGN

CONNECTION

TRADE

CARING

TEACH

MONEY SERVICES

SELF REALIZATION

CREATION

EFFICIENCY

AUTONOMY

TIME

SELF EXPRESSION

LIVING LIFE

WIRELESS TECH

TELEPHONE

HEALTHLY LIVING

FRENCH FRIES &HAMBURGERS

VIDEO GAMES

SPORT

VOIP

AUGMENTED REALITY

3D TV

TECHNOLOGY KNOWLEDGE

CORPORATION

ELECTRICITY

MANUFACTURING

GOOGLE

PLASTIC

EDUCATION

SKYPE

SURVIVALSAFETY

MINIMALISTICME

LAPTOP

WORKSNUG

TRUE HAPPINESS

GLOBAL

WARMING

HEALTH

AWARENESS

CULTURAL

VALUES

WEB

DEVELOPMENT

PRODUCTIVTY

GLOBALIZATIONTHE “ME”

CULTURE

PERSONALIZECHILDLESS

BY CHOICE?

EDUCATION

REGULATIONS

CLOUD

STANDARD OF

LIVING

SELF

ACTUALIZATION

BABYBOOMER

RETIREMENT

EMPLOYER

TRENDS

PERSONALIZED

SERVICE/PROD

UCT

OPPORTUNITIES

IPAD

LIFE

EXPECTANCY


Take a look and just see where technology is headed – we have just grazed the surface of the evolution

beyond the Web 3.0 era. In 2006, researchers were studying a young woman considered to be in a vegetative

state. Using MRI to scan her brain, they asked her to imagine herself playing tennis and touring her own home,

and found that her brain behaved in much the way a normally functioning brain does [Elizabeth Armstrong

Moore, CNET, February 4, 2010]. The question now becomes – how can these findings change the way we

live? Will this technology read my mind? Can it be integrated with augmented reality to create a virtual space

that is feels real at the same time?

SecondLife is an example of where work, play, and leisure all happen in the same place. In the pseudo

real-virtual space, gamers meet in a world where Stanford professors lecture and IBM employees conduct

conferences.


We are only beginning to see the potential of all these signals. As internet becomes an essential part of

life and wireless access gains widespread connectivity we will be able to work anywhere we want. Future

technology will begin to understand and monitor more than just our sugar level but our emotional state and

even our thoughts. When are we most productive? What makes us happy? What are we really thinking?

You will not miss little Billy’s baseball game because you are busy all day trying to do six things at once.

Life will become simplified. Life will be led by you.


Business Implications

Stakeholder Opportunity Models

Corporations Human Resources: Matching

corporate culture and interests of

individuals

Work productivity: increase work

effectiveness, creativity, mental

health

Software / service

subscriptions

Work auctions (reverse

auction)

Data management and

analysis Governments Reducing healthcare costs

Maximize GDP

You Self realization

Maximize potential

Intrinsic rewards

Enjoy life

enClair - Phase 1 Discovery Report (Project Elba)

Career

Transcript of enClair - Phase 1 Discovery Report (Project Elba)