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When the future seems uncertain, it's good to know we already have the tools to meet the challenge. In 2007-2008, we conducted a study on the future of management (Management Futures: The World in 2018), commissioned by the Chartered Management Institute (UK), which aims to inspire leaders and organizations. The study used FMG's Eltville Model, which took place during the last financial crisis when it was difficult to look beyond immediate challenges.
In the report, we discussed what organizations would look like in 2018. While we couldn’t foresee a pandemic, the insights are still relevant today for leaders seeking inspiration.
Key predictions for 2018 included:
Business models would shift toward more virtual, community-based enterprises.
Organizations would need technology to capture and share knowledge.
The workforce would become more diverse, requiring emotional intelligence and creativity from leaders.
Work-life integration would replace the traditional work-life balance.
The report also suggested that organizations would have a small core team, with diverse, self-sufficient professionals brought in as needed. It recommended focusing on six key organizational topics:
Liveliness (Purpose and belonging)
Clarity (Transparency)
Flexibility (Adaptability)
Genuineness (Values-driven decisions)
Innovativeness (Creativity)
Openness (Collaboration and trust)
One key takeaway: business structures will become more fluid and reliant on self-sufficient professionals. To prepare, we must start with the basics.
In many organizations, however, there's a tendency for some to take on too much responsibility for others, undermining trust and accountability. It's important to differentiate between responsibility and commitment:
Responsibility is a moral duty to ourselves—to our happiness, health, and growth. We cannot delegate this to others.
Commitment involves promises we make to others—verbal or written—that we must honor. We can end commitments.
In organizations, everyone is stand-alone and an equal partner at eye level. Each person is self-responsible, a self-sufficient professional “satellite” within a network of teams and reporting lines. When we take responsibility for others, e.g., to motivate them and keep spirits up to have them engage more, we make a crucial mistake. We degrade people in the most profound sense.
But if we leave the responsibility where it belongs, we not only win back time, energy, and resources; we respect our people in the most profound sense.
Thus, we can use the freed-up time to honor our commitments at the beginning of the working relationship and afterward (contracts, agreements, having said yes to anything). This is where we need to improve.
Honoring commitments while returning responsibility to its proper place is a powerful tool for change. It builds trust and strengthens accountability.
By doing this, we can move towards a more flexible, transparent, and innovative culture, preparing ourselves for the future. It is an evergreen strategy.
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