VUCA? Yes, VUCA is the acronym coined by the U.S. Army in the 1990s to describe the post-Cold War world: volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. The idea of VUCA has since been embraced by leaders in all sectors of society to describe the nature of the world in which they operate: the accelerating rate of change (volatility), the lack of predictability (uncertainty), the interconnectedness, of cause-and-effect forces (complexity) and the strong potential for misreads (ambiguity).
From driverless cars to virtual reality prototyping, 3D printing, AI and robots that can work for us, ideas that once seemed like science fiction are quickly becoming reality. This pace of change drives a continued shake-up in the business world, where adaptability and innovation have become the keys to success—or even survival.
A new report predicts that by 2030, as many as 800 million jobs could be lost worldwide to automation. … Only 5 percent of current occupations stand to be completely automated if today’s cutting-edge technology is widely adopted, while in 60 percent of jobs, one-third of activities will be automated.
“Should we be worried of our current and future jobs prospects?”
Millennials are the most affected lot. They are the sandwich generation. They face a future of
- taking the tab of personal and financial needs of their retired and aging parents and rearing their own young children
- staying gainfully employed in a VUCA business world.
In Seth Godin’s book, “Linchpin: Are You Indispensable”, he writes about the qualities and characteristics of linchpins – those people in every organization who are the go-to people, who are the ones who seem essential and indispensable, who don’t know the meaning of the phrase “not my job.”
“There used to be two teams in every workplace: management and labor. Now there’s a third team, the linchpins. These people invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. They figure out what to do when there’s no rule book. They delight and challenge their customers and peers, (to become his/her tribe). They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art.” (from the book jacket).
– To focus on being than doing – to be an artist than another cog in the wheel. Create an unique interface between customers and an organization
– To be a passionate creator than a follower, a special kind of creativity that your co-workers couldn’t figure out how to do.
– To handle a project of great complexity. To take initiative of giving great service, overcoming the fear of taking risk & being non-comformity of operations manual, for good reason=>tame the ‘lizard brain’ (amygdala) impulse.
– To have a deep domain knowledge, a geek (really good at something that the job demands). To go beyond failure, to learn, relearn and unlearn those that do not help us (such as the damaging educational system which we are made to follow or go through)
– To be the first and exercise the concept of participating in the gift economy – giving value for free without expecting anything in return – a benefit which eventually comes back many times over in the form of deeper and lasting relationships.
In a nutshell, to be an indispensable employee to his/her employer.
Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli historian cautions workers in the 21st century that they should be prepared to change jobs and to learn new skillsets, once every ten years or so, in view of the exponential growth of disrupted technologies, like AI and robotics. He advices people to learn the following core skills:-
- Emotional Intelligence
- Resilience in technology disrupted workplace
- Mental flexibility and balance in adapting to ever-changing working landscape
- Keep on learning new skillsets, to stay relevant
He once said, “Think of working in an organization as building a tent, not a solid house with foundation. It can be folded and move to another location without fanfare.”
“Every man makes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.” – Arthur Schopenhauer.
The ball is in your court.
Think and swim or sink!
You’ve to make a choice!
“It is better to be unborn than untaught: for ignorance is the root of misfortune.” – Plato
You may be interested to read about how to not only survive and but thrive in the new economy.
