We use amazing technologies to connect, build remote teams, be location independent, telecommute and work from a beach in Thailand or Bali.
The millennial generation is taking over, shaping work culture and the offices of the future—changing jobs more often than gadgets.
Hierarchies are flattening and authority now needs to be earned, not taken for granted. Many people we all know personally will lose their jobs to automation, robots, artificial intelligence over the next few decades.
Work will never be the same.
Inspired by a comment on my previous article, I figured we’d discuss next what can we do about it.
We have three main options, like with everything else that’s changing, really. We can:
- Reject it
- Embrace it
- Create the next version of it
1. Reject it
This will be just about as effective as a postman going on strike against Gmail.
Metaphors aside, there are multiple organizations that can and will survive for a few more years without any significant change, for various reasons. For example, how traditional phone services will hold their ground for a little longer before succumbing to the likes of Skype, Whatsapp, Google Hangout etc. This is down to powerful monopolies and the amount of time needed to affect real change in some industries. Baby Boomers and Gen Z are still a big part of the workforce and are also contributing to this holding pattern.
But generally, those who won’t acknowledge the changes currently underway, and tweak accordingly, will be made irrelevant in the foreseeable future.
So, if this is the option you’re going for, cash in while it lasts.
2. Embrace it
Take time to understand what’s happening. Attend events, read, network, listen. Be open. Times of change are extremely rich in opportunities for those who don’t hold on to the past.
Build your business to take advantage of it
Read more about how to do it as an entrepreneur here.
Build your career to take advantage of it
Read more about how to do it as an employee here.
Don’t go into a dying industry.
It doesn’t matter how clever you are, going into a dying industry is really hard—unless you’re at the disruptive end of it. If your job is going to be taken by robots, make sure you’re the person learning to code the robots, rather than the person whose job those bots will be pinching.
3. Create the next version of it
The slate is clean here and the world is your oyster. If you’re a visionary giving it some thought, I want to hear from you, stalk your social media and pick your brain.
So, what will you do about it?
