The Future of Work Is About Doing Better—Not Less

When technology makes it easier to do knowledge work, it doesn’t mean our contribution—the effort we put into our work—disappears. The direction of our effort simply shifts. It moves toward the aspects of our work that are more creative, that require strategic thinking, and of course, that we derive meaning from.

If the cake mix sleuths are right about Betty Crocker sales going up because of an emphasis on cake decorating, I need to find my equivalent of cake decorating. When a skill becomes generally accessible—like baking cakes from scratch in the 1950s, or writing today—it pushes us to find new ways to make it distinctly our own—like cake decorating, or ... See more

Being immersed in a cognitively demanding task can produce positive feelings of focus and enjoyment.

After literally selling like hot cakes for half a decade, in the mid-1950s, America’s cake mix industry saw a slump in demand. General Mills was at a loss. The company hired consumer psychologist Ernest Dichter to find out why the mix had stopped selling. Dichter interviewed the target customer—American housewives—to conclude that they felt bad abo... See more