Digital Common Sense

The internet and digital technology require us to redefine ourselves, manage ourselves, educate ourselves, upgrade ourselves, integrate ourselves and quantify ourselves in order to do well – at work and at home. But what does 'good' look like? And who shows you how to do it? Digital Common Sense answers these questions by guiding readers through a set of common-sense activities, some of which they may already be doing, but others they probably won't. The seven chapters of the book are based on the seven parts of the 21st Century Human Capability Model which have been co-created, researched and delivered with many organizations that have practically used the approaches suggested in the book. Each chapter has a key message for the reader, a suggested measure so that the reader can assess their competence level in each area, practical tools to help the reader upgrade themselves and a career outcome. The second core theme of the book focuses on the need for those who grew up before the digital age to become more 'digitally curious', and how to 'get' IT. The only way we can keep up with digital natives and learn how people are achieving new ways of working in the digital world is by asking them, so we need to develop that muscle. It's just digital common sense.

Bob Barker has over 35 years' experience in the technology industry, working as an executive in companies including Oracle, SAS, NCR and Leading Edge Forum, both in the UK and internationally. In his own struggle to become more digitally savvy, he found that many others faced the same challenges from social media, too many technology choices, too much information and messaging overload. As he set about raising his own level of digital competence, he helped to co-create with clients and colleagues the approaches, models and content for a range of workshops that enable executives to develop digital common sense. These now form the contents of the book 'Digital Common Sense'.