If I Were the Dictator

In a previous post, I argued that it was time to retire the idea of jobs. My friend and CEO Francis often asks people what they would do “if they were the dictator.” Here’s what I would do with the ideas explored in my previous piece It’s Time to Retire Jobs.

Let’s start at the policy level because, really, this is kind of a top down problem now.

If I were in charge of policy, I would:

1. Have whole states test-run implementations of talent marketplaces that promise redeployment and utilization.
2. Lobby billionaires to front money for anyone who adds work of any kind to these platforms — bonus for inventing work that uses the skills people have.
3. And, in lieu of UBI type payments, people would get learning bonuses and a budget with which to employ others.
4. Simultaneously, I would organize a rogue group of bitcoin hackers to give me 10 ideas for the future of precision compensation.
5. Behavior designers and scientists would choose what we try.

If I were a CEO: I’d appoint someone in my C-Suite to be a Chief Talent Mobility Officer and have them read Flat, Fluid, and Fast, Reinventing Organizations, The Alliance, and Blitzscaling. They have 1 month to give me two plans to optimize agility, capital efficiency, organization-wide contributions, and learning at the same time. One plan has an unlimited budget and the other has a minimum budget. They choose their top squad and then we implement. They get a bonus if employee engagement goes up.

If I were leading a team in a lumbering organization: I’d assemble squads of creators, evolvers, and destroyers and pay them accordingly. Creators are paid for big business wins or creating work. Evolvers are paid for OKRs, and destroyers are paid when stuff is automated. This is inspired by the org structure and comp model of the company I currently call home, Invisible.

If I were running a coaching program for everyone looking for work:

1. I’d direct folks in miserable “stiff jobs” (my term for jobs that don’t change) to the research on job crafting and help them reinvent their tasks, relationships, or way of thinking about work — for their own benefit and the good fo the company!
2. I’d direct folks on the job hunt who have 3 months or more for runway to: Ditch the idea of a career path and explore their career landscape (link coming) and read “50 Ways to Get a Job.”
3. I’d direct folks who need immediate support to the work my friends at GatherFor are doing. This is a sort of short-term and long-term system for helping people navigate immediate needs and develop long term opportunities.