New Skills are Required to Remain Marketable
Artificial Intelligence, virtual reality, robotics, biomedical engineering, nanotechnology and many other advances are happening rapidly. Are you preparing or are you simply putting your head in the sand and hoping it doesn’t affect you? The reality is that it will affect most of us in the near future. It won’t affect just those that work in factories but knowledge workers as well. In fact, according to a study by McKinsey & Company, current technology could be adapted to replace at least 20 percent of CEO’s work activities. If this is true, then how do we survive? What skills do we need to start learning to be able to remain profitable in this new Smart Machine Age?
What I’m Learning to Help Me Compete
I have never considered myself to be extremely smart. My SAT scores were above average at best. I didn’t finish last in my college class but I was a long way from the top. However, I have never avoided new technologies or new ideas. I believe I am pretty good at influencing others and believe communication is key for good business. When a friend recommended I read the book, Humility is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age by Edward D. Hess & Katherine Ludwig I was intrigued to find out what I really needed to know in order to remain relevant. This book provides a very thorough analysis of what it takes to compete in the future.
According to Hess and Ludwig, there are 3 major skills required to remain marketable and stay relevant in the Smart Machine Age:
3 Skills Required to Compete in the Smart Machine Age
- High-level thinking (Critical and Innovative)
- Creativity (Original expression of ideas and thoughts)
- High Emotional Intelligence (Emotional engagement that fosters relationship building and collaboration)
In order to compete profitably in the future you will need to excel at the kinds of jobs and skills that either complement technology or those that technology cannot do well.
