SheepWalking

Seth Godin writes about the phenomenon of SheepWalking

I define "sheepwalking" as the outcome of hiring people who have been raised to be obedient and giving them a braindead job and enough fear to keep them in line.

The corporates are largely stocked by people like this.  It's the norm, it's ok, you look along the street and you see all these people SheepWalking to work, and yet, if you're in a room with them, and you humanise them, you realise just how intelligent and warm people are.  So it's not their lack of intelligence, it's the system.  We crave security.

What I've been pondering recently, are Gen Y and Gen Z going to work at corporates, such as a bank. Decades ago, you loved to join a corporate because they had the latest technology to play with.  Word Processors, Fax Machines, email, computers, telex!!  And yet over the last decade we now have more up to date technology at home than at work.  When did this happen?  So what will a Gen Y or Gen Z make of a corporate work environment where they can't use Chat, Twitter, Wikis, Blog, SMS, Mobiles.  They won't have Vista, OSX, or Linux, you won't be able to use Office 2007 at work for a few years, and yet you can pick it up down the road, or probably use it in school.

So most of the knowledge tools you now use to communicate with colleagues and friends can't or won't be able to be used at BigCorp.  What is a new starter going to make of this backward step in technology.  Will they stay or will they go?  Will they fall in line like most of us did all those years ago, or will they walk away?  If they walk away then who is going to do the SheepWalking at work?

And having just come back from Perth and witnessing a SuperBoom in the economy there, it's set me wondering about if I want my kids to actually have a "University Education" get a degree and then go SheepWalking in a corporate.  I think I'd prefer them to learn "Tradey" jobs and then how to grow a business based on their technical knowledge and great service. 

My Dad used to say to me, "Become an accountant and the world's your oyster."  I think that's because maybe he'd wished he'd become an accountant.  I want to say to my son Jay, "Become a Plumber and the world's your Long Tail!"  Maybe that's because I'd like to be a plumber, but without the poo!!

Comments

[Flotsam]

Ever felt the pain of running a corporate network, Tony? That's why restrictions are in place as to what people can do and use on the network. It only needs one user to launch an infected file to bring the whole network down. Who pays for it? The network owner, not the user. Who gets the grief? The network admin, not the user.

[none]

Not sure how you calculated 'University == Corporate Job' ... But I think you'd be daft to not encourage your kids to go to University. Higher education is not about getting a flash job in a large building... Degrees in Philosophy, Anthropology, Mathematics etc are subjects to light the spark of wonder. Get your kids BA's in Philosophy, and then send them off to become tradesmen.

But if you're hellbent on wanting to stop your kids wasting their time in education, I'd encourage them to give high school the finger... What a waste time that was.