As 2006 comes to a close there’s no lack of predictions or discussion about what we’ll see in talent management in 2007. But how about in 2016? An interesting paper titled, “The way to work: Space, place and technology in 2016” explores four scenarios for a Blade Runner style future:

1. Disciples of the Cloud: Businesses control all intellectual property and determine where and when work takes place.
2. Electronic Cottages: Businesses control all intellectual property, but workers are able to determine where, when and how they work.
3. Replicants: Businesses depend on specialist consultants, their expertise and intellectual property. Work is much less predictable and reliable, but workers are free to choose where, when and how much they work.
4. Mutual Worlds: Businesses operate as cooperatives of independent contractors. Intellectual property is controlled by workers, who focus on small local ventures, often connected to networks of similar ventures elsewhere to give scale.

Clearly, strategies for effectively managing talent will become even more important business drivers as the years go by. What passes for science fiction today sometimes becomes a reality tomorrow. The report quotes the writer William Gibson's comment in The Economist, June 23, 2000:

"The future is already here – it’s just unevenly distributed."

Happy New Year!