Does Virtual Collaboration Virtualize Continual Improvement?

What does Isaac Asimov have to do with virtual collaboration, COVID-19 and continual improvement? Some people will tell you that the future of work, and consequently how we improve, will be utterly changed. Others cannot wait to return to their old ways of working. Rather than believe there is a single truth, continual improvement is part of an evolving system of labor, behavior and belief. Many of the concepts we think are innovative and recent are, in fact, old and well established. This presentation examines the connections among the principles underpinning older and more recent approaches to continual improvement. It looks at practices that we should probably try to conserve and practices that are best laid to rest. Sociological and neurological research of the past decades has provided many lessons for improving how we work. How does virtualization and social distancing impact these lessons learned? What Asimov knew 70 years ago may still be of value to us today.