Future of Work
We are now competing with machines in terms of our ability to learn and increasingly that will be an important part of human competitive advantage
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a period of extraordinary change,” he reckons. “We have moved from a period where we used to learn about products in order to use them, to using products and services that now learn about us.” Stating the above, he adds that this ecosystem has changed our relationship with the economy and the things we use. “We are now competing with machines in terms of our ability to learn and increasingly that will be an important part of human competitive advantage.” Here are three aspects that humans must think about to stay competitive: • Think about how products are learning about us • Think about how much value that is generating in our economy • Think about what the two points above mean for us as we go to work | october 2020
How is your role impacted by the evolution of jobs?
The existing and expected economic environment demands agility, continuous learning, and being prepared for any new challenges that come our way. While one often addresses skilling from a workforce perspective, it is becoming increasingly important to also reflect and assess skilling from an individual perspective. What does the rapidly evolving world of work mean for your role? How is your role impacted? What do you need to do to stay skilled and relevant? Recalling the Flynn Effect as established by Professor James Flynn - our cognitive skills evolve to meet the demands placed on them. Critical to survival, there is a need to adapt to a growthmindset. Mindsets are belief
systems, noted Garrad, that are great for building culture, values, and shared behavior, as well as building individual competence. “Growth mindset can help you build a shared set of beliefs around the importance of learning all the time.” On an organizational level, Garrad said, “We need to be able to ask ourselves what does it take to be an organization that actually has this learning and growth mindset. How can we bring that to life?”
Soft skills or core skills?
Organizations today are increasingly focused on technology talent, willing to offer significant reward premiums in these roles, “because at the cutting edge of expertise, is the application and development of new technologies.” However, despite the growing demand for technology-