Cloudtasking begins as Multitasking becomes “old school”
Today’s blog entry is not specifically oriented on equity
compensation, but is instead oriented on how we all work today. I’m talking
about Cloudtasking. Cloudtasking is my new term for working while immersed in
our multi-media world. Today I noticed that I was listening to and watching an
online presentation on webcasting best practices while I was simultaneously
involved in a text conversation on my Blackberry, a Skype conversation on my
laptop, and a review of an old PowerPoint presentation. At the same time, I was
monitoring my e-mail and I posted a new job posting on the ECE site.
In today’s world what we once viewed as distractions are now
viewed as necessities. I’ve begun to wonder whether company processes and best
practices have been designed around this cloudtasking environment. Do we
specify that specific processes must be done with external distractions shut
down, or do we leave it to the professional and hope for the best? I wonder
about this in part because of a recent article that claimed multitaskers are
less efficient than single-taskers.
I think this issue is closer to home for equity compensation
professionals and for many other professionals. Equity compensation requires a
unique blend of both strategic and tactical expertise and very specific
knowledge regarding law, accounting, tax and administrative functionality. The
job itself has no natural home at a company. While we are most likely to see
equity compensation falling under the human resources Department, it can often
be found in many other areas of the company as well. While our “customers” are
obviously plan participants, they also include many corporate areas which
require reporting and the specific needs of the executives of the company.
So my question is this: how do we best perform in a world
where we must deal with a cloud of information and yet create clarity for each
individual constituent?
Would love to hear ECE members thoughts on this topic and
perhaps you can provide advice two other ECE members on how you handle this new
and growing complexity.