Free Birds Revolution - First Impressions

The Future of Work & The Independent Mind

Unsolicited and unexpected, this book arrived at my house yesterday. I didn't order it. Checking with my wife, she didn't either. Where did it come from and why?

Looking at the book more closely I get some clues. Published a few days ago, the author is Miles Everson, the current CEO of MBO Partners. Being an independent worker that works with MBO Partners, that must be why I was a recipient. A gifted copy. Thank you, Miles, and MBO Partners.

I'm not being sponsored to write a review of the book. It just happens to be that I've revived my website blog at a time when the book arrived and, I'll admit, the book looks interesting. So why not talk about it?

First impressions after getting through the introduction. I think the author has set a good foundation for the rest of the book. It's written with multiple chapters in each of the 2 parts.

Part 1

• Chapter 1: Life in the Fast Lane Force 1: The Rate of Change Is Accelerating

• Chapter 2: Get Your Memory for Nothing and Your Chips for Free Force 2: Progress is Deflationary

• Chapter 3: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together Force 3: The Fractionalization of Everything

• Chapter 4: You Can't Touch This Force 4: From Knowledge Stocks to Knowledge Flows

• Chapter 5: We Are the Champions Force 5: Winning the War for Talent

• Chapter 6: I Can't Get No Satisfaction Force 6: The State of Independence in America

• Chapter 7: Interlude: Take This Job and Shove It The Changing of the Social Contract

  
  

Part 1 looks at the six forces shaping the future of work and how "the future of work is independent" as a result of the digital revolution of the past two decades, accelerated in part by the "work at home" policies implemented by the COVID-19 response. It describes how employers must open their eyes to understand the totality of their workforce which will include the "captive" full-time employees and their contingent "independent" labor sources. To be successful, employers of tomorrow will need to strategically recognize that the growing pool of skilled independent workers are going to have a growing significance in their workforce to address in-demand skills.

According to research commissioned by MBO Partners, there are now more than 72 MILLIION independent workers in the United States -- working either occasionally, part-time, or full time, and working in an "unbundled" manner from traditional full-time employment. Top performers simply no longer wish to be traditional, long-term employees. Some cited data points include:

• Today's average employee tenure is down to just 4.1 years

• Employees under the age of 35 have an average tenure of only 2.8 years

• Bankrate's 2023 job seeker survey reported that 56% of American workers will look for a new job within the year

• Technology sectors have an annual turnover rate of 13% with the largest tech companies reporting an average employee tenure of one to two years, even with all of their employee "perks"

Typically, turnover is seen as a bad thing... interviewing, onboarding, and on-the-job training all taking time and money. But when plugging in independent workers, those top-talent workers, there's a certain savings found in people that can get up to speed quickly, especially if they're being brought on for a specific task that utilizes their existing expertise. The work becomes personalized to the independent worker rather than trying to fit each person into a general functional role. The independent worker comes and goes as needed to match uncertain times.

So, if the future of work is changing, what can companies and individuals expect? Quoting from the book:

• For the company: Unbundling work enhances agility and innovation, and it benefits the bottom line

• For the individual: Unbundling work expands freedom of choice, increases satisfaction, and produces high income levels

Part 2

• Chapter 8: I Love Story (Miles's Version) Own Your Own Narrative

• Chapter 9: I Want to Break Free Freedom | Courage | Decentralized Authority

• Chapter 10: Go Your Own Way Authenticity

• Chapter 11: Gonna Fly Now Grit

• Chapter 12: Forever Young Lengthened Life, Health Span, and Work Span

• Chapter 13: Learning to Fly Growth Mindset | Lifelong Learning

• Chapter 14: With a Little Help from My Friends Community | Connection | Communication

• Chapter 15: Margaritaville (It's Five O'Clock Somewhere) A Flexible When and Where of Work

• Chapter 16: Has Life Been Good to Me? Independents, Enterprises, Society, and Money

• Chapter 17: New Kid in Town Innovation and the Younger Generations

Part 2 is about explaining "The Independent Mind of a Free Bird". Miles describes that an alternate title for Part 2 could be "Leading Your Business to Become the Client of Choice for the Independent Workforce." In other words, there are strategies that small business owners and corporate leaders will need to understand to attract talent. They already know that people are their most important asset with a direct impact on their business bottom line. But their traditional business model that views their entire workforce as having full-time "captive" employees needs to be adjusted to include independent workers, according to the author, at a rate of 20% or more of the company's workforce.

But from what I see, Part 2 is more for the independent worker and how they can succeed as independent workers. Many may find this work environment desirable, but success is not going to be automatic. It's going to take work to successfully walk this path and that's what I garner from the chapters.

Final Thoughts

Adding some personal insights on this topic, I would say that unlike traditional full-time employment which has performance expectations but also a certain level of acceptable mediocracy, independent workers have to understand that they're going to have to maintain that "top talent" perception by actually delivering high-quality products, on time and on budget, from engagement to engagement. An independent worker's ability to capture new work is going to be based on a long list of successful past performances.

If you're a worker looking to go independent, please do the rest of us "free birds" a favor and do your utmost best so that the critics of us blush in shame that they ever doubted us. The future of work may be "independent", but only if we do our part to make it so. From what I've seen so far, this book is the best on the topic and worth checking out.

NOTE: This post is unsolicited, and I am not including an affiliate link for purchasing the book. This is just my honest thoughts with more to follow when I finish the book.