MindStyleMagazine

Net
&
Nomadism

Intro

Future Concept Lab

An ever more extensive and complete communication network makes a nomadic lifestyle possible, even if often only on a symbolic level. This nomadic existence is defined in terms of hybrid experiences and a mind-boggling array of potential relationships the like of which has never before been even imaged. The new challenge for the next few years will be to imagine and anticipate the new life needs, realizing scenarios in which it is possible to try them out firsthand. It is in this context that the Internet can be seen to play a crucial role as a sort of guide and catalyst of experiences and energies that can lead to new and unexpected opportunities for both companies and private individuals.We have entered a phase in which the ingenuous enthusiasm for the world of the web is making way for more serious reflection on the new vital experiences that this extraordinary technological advance is rendering possible.
1. New horizons are opening up to us in terms of personal freedom and not only in a physical sense, but mental as well. Information Technology is changing the way we think and interact with other people, changing the customary space-time equation, accelerating the processes of change in all sorts of organizations.
2. The application of Information Technology to the workplace is bringing about a gradual destruction of the traditional organizational environment.
3. The importance of defining new «cognitive maps» is associated with the need to adjust oneself to the new organizational context. The high degree of flexibility found in the spatial-temporal realm of organization means we can realize new designs/projects and imagine new organizational environments.
4. Relational skills is the key concept around which the entire new organizational dimension revolves. Emotive intelligence is a fundamental tool for managing different levels of relationship. Sharing leadership is a modality by means of which it is possible to generate common directions and orientations.
5. The realm of design opens the way to new forms of sharing based on common values, a new form of relationship based on reciprocity and symbolic exchange.
6. Flows of network-related materials, flows of life and flows of thought: striking a new balance between the technological environment and the system of personal and collective values becomes a top strategic priority.
7. The work market becomes a talent market, full of energy and creativity; the business community forms partnerships with individuals boasting complex skills: flexibility, autonomy, innovation and design capacity.
8. Mobility as an element of professional life becomes new-nomadism in the sense of the desire to explore new horizons.
9. With his personal path, the neo-nomad blazes the trail in terms of new professional landscapes, seeking a new essentialness in the values of existence.
10. Nomadism and the management of the multiple identity become the most important challenge for the business community in the era of the new connectivity.

» from MindStyles Program 2002, by Future Concept Lab