Pioneering the Future of High-Performing Organizations
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Join us for our next read.
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March 21 - April 1, 2022
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A Radical Enterprise
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BY MATT K. PARKER
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The fastest growing and most competitive organizations in the world have no bureaucracies, no bosses, and no bullshit. Discover the revolutionary shift to partnership and equality and the economic superiority that follows with A Radical Enterprise.
In this interactive book club with author Matt K. Parker, we'll be exploring the four imperatives of radical collaboration and the future of work.
The book club will feature discussions in our private Slack workspace as well as interactive video conference sessions with the author and fellow book clubbers.
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How Book Club Works
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The IT Revolution Book Club is an interactive, virtual club run on our private Slack workspace. We highly encourage participants to read the book before book club begins, as this is the way to get the most out of the club. For that reason, we do require that you share proof of purchase with us before you can enter the club.
Each day on Slack we focus on a different section of the book and post discussion questions, topics, and exercises. Participants are encouraged to post their responses throughout the day/club, and to post their own questions or discussion topics. Participate at the time of day that works for you.
We'll also be conducting four virtual workshops with the author on the four imperatives of radical collaboration featured in the book.
After the book club is over, we leave the Slack space open so you can continue to interact and discuss with the community
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How to Participate
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1. Sign Up
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It's easy! Fill out the form below, and we'll email you the details about how to submit your proof of purchase to join the club.
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2. Purchase
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Email Receipt
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Send us ([email protected]) your receipt or proof of purchase by following the instructions in the email we send you.
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3. Read
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Finish Book
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We recommend reading the book before the book club begins. Participation from readers is what makes this so rewarding. All formats are currently available from all major retailers.
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4. Converse
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Join Slack
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Our interactive book club takes place on Slack and via Zoom. We'll email a link to join the Slack workspace before we begin. Zoom links will be shared in Slack and via email.
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The Author
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Matt K. Parker is a writer, speaker, researcher, and third-generation programmer. Over the last two decades, he's played a variety of roles in the software industry, including developer, manager, director, and global head of engineering.
He has specialized in hyper-iterative software practices for the last decade, and is currently researching the experience of radically collaborative software makers.
He lives in a small village in Connecticut with his wife and three children. You can contact him by visiting mattkparker.com.
He has specialized in hyper-iterative software practices for the last decade, and is currently researching the experience of radically collaborative software makers.
He lives in a small village in Connecticut with his wife and three children. You can contact him by visiting mattkparker.com.
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An Excerpt
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It’s summer 2021. Vaccinations to the COVID-19 virus have already reached a majority of American adults. Summer camps have reopened; schools are preparing for full, in-person enrollment in the fall; and businesses and governments are heralding a “return to normal.” Yet a quick glance at the articles of any major American news outlet paints a troubling picture:
A study by the Harvard Business School found that over 80% of workers don’t want to go back to the office full time, while a similar study from the global data intelligence company Morning Consult found that 40% of workers would rather quit than go back to the office full time.
Researchers at the global jobs site Monster.com found that “a whopping 95% of workers are considering changing jobs, and 92% are even willing to switch industries to find the right position”—a shift driven, at least in part, by “burnout and lack of growth opportunities.”
In April 2021, nearly four million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs—“the highest monthly number ever reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics” according to the Dallas News.
Yet, despite high unemployment, the US is experiencing critical labor shortages, according to the New York Times, with businesses from “the biggest metropolitan areas and from small towns” reporting a “catastrophic inability to hire.”
For the first time in history, a vast cross-section of workers are leaving the workforce en masse, leading the American economy to face an unprecedented crisis of voluntary unemployment that economists have dubbed “The Great Resignation.”
For some industries, like hospitality, this phenomenon was predictable. As the New York Times reports, unemployment insurance and pandemic relief-benefits often rival the former income of many hospitality workers, like waiters and cooks. Why go back to a job marked by low wages, long hours, and high stress—not to mention dangerous working conditions due to COVID-19—when you can make just as much money staying home, staying safe, and spending more time with your family? Or, as many of these former hospitality workers have done, why not choose to pursue a career in construction, commercial trucking, or even retail, where education requirements are commensurate yet wages are higher?
But what is perhaps less expected is that many highly paid knowledge workers—like programmers, designers, and product managers—are also quitting their jobs rather than go back to their offices. Although the popular image of the white collar knowledge worker includes high salaries, nine-to-five hours, and cushy benefits, the reality is that even before the pandemic knowledge workers were plagued by long hours and “always on” expectations from managers, leading to high levels of burnout and stress, which has only worsened during the pandemic, according to the Gallup.
At the same time, with their offices closed and their bosses physically removed, knowledge workers have experienced greater autonomy in their jobs and greater flexibility in their lives. Many have chosen to ditch a strict nine-to-five schedule, according to the Gallup report, preferring to shift their hours or spread their work tasks out throughout the day to achieve a better work/life balance (a factor that 83% of millennials rate as their number one consideration in their jobs). Others have taken their laptops into their backyards, to a park bench, or even a beach, allowing them to take advantage of the significant physical and mental health benefits of being outside that scientists have recently validated and quantified, according to a recent study.
Lastly, with less managerial oversight or interference, many knowledge workers have collaborated more freely with their peers (according to Harvard Business Review)—spending less time in large meetings and more time deciding among themselves what to do and how and when to do it.
So, as vaccinations roll out and as exasperated business owners clamor for a return to the office, knowledge workers have begun to ask themselves: “What do I stand to gain by going back—and what do I stand to lose?”
Keep reading...
A study by the Harvard Business School found that over 80% of workers don’t want to go back to the office full time, while a similar study from the global data intelligence company Morning Consult found that 40% of workers would rather quit than go back to the office full time.
Researchers at the global jobs site Monster.com found that “a whopping 95% of workers are considering changing jobs, and 92% are even willing to switch industries to find the right position”—a shift driven, at least in part, by “burnout and lack of growth opportunities.”
In April 2021, nearly four million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs—“the highest monthly number ever reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics” according to the Dallas News.
Yet, despite high unemployment, the US is experiencing critical labor shortages, according to the New York Times, with businesses from “the biggest metropolitan areas and from small towns” reporting a “catastrophic inability to hire.”
For the first time in history, a vast cross-section of workers are leaving the workforce en masse, leading the American economy to face an unprecedented crisis of voluntary unemployment that economists have dubbed “The Great Resignation.”
For some industries, like hospitality, this phenomenon was predictable. As the New York Times reports, unemployment insurance and pandemic relief-benefits often rival the former income of many hospitality workers, like waiters and cooks. Why go back to a job marked by low wages, long hours, and high stress—not to mention dangerous working conditions due to COVID-19—when you can make just as much money staying home, staying safe, and spending more time with your family? Or, as many of these former hospitality workers have done, why not choose to pursue a career in construction, commercial trucking, or even retail, where education requirements are commensurate yet wages are higher?
But what is perhaps less expected is that many highly paid knowledge workers—like programmers, designers, and product managers—are also quitting their jobs rather than go back to their offices. Although the popular image of the white collar knowledge worker includes high salaries, nine-to-five hours, and cushy benefits, the reality is that even before the pandemic knowledge workers were plagued by long hours and “always on” expectations from managers, leading to high levels of burnout and stress, which has only worsened during the pandemic, according to the Gallup.
At the same time, with their offices closed and their bosses physically removed, knowledge workers have experienced greater autonomy in their jobs and greater flexibility in their lives. Many have chosen to ditch a strict nine-to-five schedule, according to the Gallup report, preferring to shift their hours or spread their work tasks out throughout the day to achieve a better work/life balance (a factor that 83% of millennials rate as their number one consideration in their jobs). Others have taken their laptops into their backyards, to a park bench, or even a beach, allowing them to take advantage of the significant physical and mental health benefits of being outside that scientists have recently validated and quantified, according to a recent study.
Lastly, with less managerial oversight or interference, many knowledge workers have collaborated more freely with their peers (according to Harvard Business Review)—spending less time in large meetings and more time deciding among themselves what to do and how and when to do it.
So, as vaccinations roll out and as exasperated business owners clamor for a return to the office, knowledge workers have begun to ask themselves: “What do I stand to gain by going back—and what do I stand to lose?”
Keep reading...
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IT Revolution’s mission is to bridge the divide between the front lines of organizational digital transformation and the agents of change helping to deliver better value through software faster, safer, and happier.
At IT Revolution, we work together with industry thought leaders to expand the dynamic repository of knowledge available to the technology and business community.
At our DevOps Enterprise Summit, we bring the community face-to-face with innovative thinkers and practitioners in the midst of transformation.
And now, we’re thrilled to introduce a new opportunity that brings together the DevOps Enterprise community and the breadth of learning available in the books we’ve published—the IT Revolution Book Club.
At IT Revolution, we work together with industry thought leaders to expand the dynamic repository of knowledge available to the technology and business community.
At our DevOps Enterprise Summit, we bring the community face-to-face with innovative thinkers and practitioners in the midst of transformation.
And now, we’re thrilled to introduce a new opportunity that brings together the DevOps Enterprise community and the breadth of learning available in the books we’ve published—the IT Revolution Book Club.
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