Review: Jennifer Government

The Five Scenarios project pushed my thinking about the future in a number of directions. Geopolitics, automation, game design, demographics and branding all came to the forefront. Getting a handle on a series of alternate futures is an exercise that stretches the imagination.

Along the way, I got into a series of conversations with Paul Hebert. Paul is the CEO of Incentive Intelligence (and a the author of a blog of the same name). He’s also a regular on Fistfulof Talent. (You might want to scan some of his writing there) Paul is an extraordinary thinker about motivation, talent management, corporate politics and branding, among other things.

Following the publication of last week’s installment of Five Scenarios on the all gaming future, I talked with Paul. Since his company develops incentive programs, I figured that a dialog about 24×7 performance management systems would fit right in. Paul responded, in part, by recommending that I read Jennifer Government.

Jennifer Government is a novel set in the not too distant future. Commerce is dominated by three entities: The Government and two affinity clubs. The affinity clubs have their roots in Frequent Flyer programs. The affinity programs have become dominant forms of business organization and there is great competition between the entities.

This is a fully outsourced future. The government has stepped away from many of its traditional roles. The two affinity groups have their own police, enforcement, military and prison systems. The plot swirls around one man’s mistaken outsourcing deal.

When a rogue marketing group at Nike (the folks in Portland must have loved this book) decides to increase sales by killing customers, the adventure begins. The new shoe line, Nike Mercury, has been in an inventory holding pattern. The company is constraining supply to accelerate demand. The killings take place in a crowded mall Nike store on the day that the inventory constraints are released. In the throng of teenage demand, a dozen or so shoppers are killed driving the demand for the new shoe through the ceiling.

The Nike marketing squad runs amok in a plot that includes military engagements between the competing affinity groups and the elimination of the government’s executive team. It’s performance management gone wild.

A thoughtful reader will notice some important questions for contemporary HR.

In an all outsourced world, employment branding and employee loyalty programs become complex and thorny questions. How do you motivate and incent teams built of people with multiple competing motives? At what point does an outsourced worker really represent the company? How do you manage the differences between tax identity and organizational identity? What governance works when the levers become binary (hire or fire)?

The story ends when the central figure gets out of jail. The closing scenes involve his search for work and the spin doctoring he does on his credentials.

Jennifer Government is satire at its best – just enough of a future to poke some serious fun while shedding serious light. Paul Hebert gets five stars for this recommendation.