The future of work excites me. Technology is rapidly breaking down barriers and changing perspectives. Millions of people wake up every morning and decide what they will work on today. Platforms like Upwork and Uber have freed them from the traditional concept of being an employee. They decide when to work, how much they would like to work and most importantly whom they would like to work with. While this is reality for only a select few people today, this is what the future is going to look like. This will require a fundamental shift in how companies attract, recruit and retain the people who work for them. The balance of power will now solely be with the individual. Companies will have to pay far more attention towards defining who they are and what they stand for.

For the individual, honing on your craft is now more important that ever before. What you do, how you do it and what makes you remarkable matters. In a sea of people all of whom could do the same job faster or cheaper, why would someone pick you? As these changes slowly permeate throughout our world, there will be a lot of disruption. The average companies and people will rally hard to maintain the status quo. A place where they can hide behind the covers, just chugging along. However, revolutions do not work that way. Just like the industrial revolution changed our world forever, we are on the brink of a similar event.

In the Future, Employees Won’t Exist This article talks about the rise of the on demand economy. The article mentions many platform that are enabling people to choose how and when they work. In the next 5 years nearly 40% of the workforce is projected to be contractors. This will radically change how organizations work and structure themselves.

The Freelance Economy This article follows a similar theme to the one above. It is based on a company called WorkMarket which aggregates knowledge workers and helps companies manage them. The most interesting part of this article is actually found in the comments. There is a very lively debate around this change and what it truly means for everyone of us.

What’s one thing you’ve learned at Harvard Business School that blew your mind? I learned a lot from this article. It breaks down the first 10 classes you take as part of your HBS curriculum. There is a single lesson from each class which breaks down the class in greater detail. For anyone who is interested in the inner workings of an organization this is a great read.

43 lessons growing from $0 to $1+ million in revenue, twice This article is full of useful gems. The author shows with clear examples how he was able to break the $1+ million revenue mark with two products. Key pieces of advice include charging straight away and what price levels you need to break. If you are a SaaS based business this has to become a book marked resource.

Performance Data and the ‘Babe Ruth’ Effect in Venture Capital Many people do not exactly get the economics behind a venture capital fund. This article provides some great insights into key aspects like the power law and other important aspects of how a fund operates. Understanding the workings of venture capital is important for any entrepreneur.

On writing Writing well is a skill I am working on this year. The internet is awash with advice for up and coming writers. Paulo Cohelo is a true master of this art. This article on writing was a very enjoyable and insightful read. This quote stood out for me “Above all else, the writer has to be a good reader.” If you want to get serious about your writing skills, I would definitely recommend this article.

Customer Interviews: So you’ve decided to take your startup seriously Customer validation is a critical component of starting a new venture. If you want to build something customers want, you need to speak with them first. Running a customer interview well is a challenging exercise. This article provides a great break down of how to run one well and what to look out for.

Have a great week ahead!