With every blog, there must be a reason. That is unless of course it wants to purport to be anything other than a series of disconnected musings, unfocused rants and unfiltered spewing of inconsequential thoughts.

This blog purports something wholly different, often opinionated, sometimes antagonistic, but certainly thought provoking. It seems as if everything under the sun has been talked about when it comes to Human Resources, Human Capital Management, or whatever is the term du jour. We are however seeing a sea change in attitudes, in environments, in markets. Over the past 18 months, we have experienced the most wrenching changes to our economy in our modern history.

Coupled with these macroeconomic changes, we are observing the numerous changes in organizations and new expectations about the nature of work. The information age demands new types of workers prepared for the rigors of the knowledge economy. The skills are more specialized, the talent harder to define, and pace of change daunting. All of this demands a new paradigm in how we understand the nature of human work and the means by which we produce work in a meaningful endeavor.

WingSpread is dedicated to understanding and bringing a sense to what human work means and how organizations can best nurture a highly productive workforce. I hope to illuminate these truths observed over many years and many companies, and to use this as an opportunity to provide much needed insight into building the next generation companies ready to compete in the 21st century business environment.

Most of all, I am looking to a lively and spirited debate and many comments. With that, I welcome you to the WingSpread blog and look forward to speaking with you soon.

- Mark Birch
Vice President of Marketing and Strategy