I've been at a conference this week and haven't been out and about much in the e-world.

One of the things this conference reminded me of is how theoretical I am. I'm much more likely to ponder something with philosophical and structural implications than work out a pragmatic solution.

The sessions I went to seemed to have some important common threads that overlap: 1) That more and more people are looking for a satisfaction in their work that goes beyond just getting paid; 2) That people are needing a greater integration of their whole life, so that the work environment is harder to isolate from the rest of their life; 3) That companies who want to keep their best employees had better increase their transparency and sense of partnership with their employees, considering not only what the company gets from the relationship, but also what the employee gets; 4) That companies need to pay closer attention to an environment that fosters the employee's own intrinsic motivation, by increasing their sense of autonomy, their sense of competence, and their sense of connectedness; 5) That companies need to consider the spiritual dimension of their employee's life.

So, it was a very interesting time.