Monday, October 17, 2016

#futureofwork : Careers that need a digital mindset!

Earlier this month, I was fortunate to be gifted an autographed copy of Abhijit  Bhaduri's latest book -The digital tsunami. The book is now available at Amazon

It is simply unputdownable.Abhijit has included so many examples of how disruption has become very much a part of our daily life, that it is hazardous to ignore the changes that are being thrust all around us. And with the accelerated pace technology and globalization, we can no longer be complacent & sit back..and say it will not affect us!! 

It will. The questions, therefore to be asked, are

-how soon do our jobs/skills get redundant
-what can we do to prevent ourselves from being extinct in the job market

And the book is an amazing aid for self-help. T here are a large number of examples that keep reminding us to move from an analog way of thinking to the digital way.

Appendix 1 gives us exercises to build digital appreciation. Some habits we ought to do by ourselves, and some by engaging our extended network

Appendix 2 goads us to be open to a workshop..required for boundary-less thinking!

For me, there were quite a few suspicions vindicated.

1.       The digital world is about discovering the uniqueness of the human being and technology is merely the enabler..to be faster , data driven (individualized) and so one will see the repercussions in hiring the right talent.
2.       He also referred to a pyramid of skills. Commoditized (that quickly taken as granted), Marketable ( that can be acquired by formal education) and Niche ( that are learnt informally by talent networks). And one must constantly be reinventing ourselves to pursue and possess the skills to navigate the career ahead!
3.       If in the past one could get by, being a specialist in one domain ( referred to as"I" in the past), being a “T shaped” person  (“great at this one thing and familiar with all this other stuff”), one is likely to be a handicapped in a world being taken over by “Pi” shaped thinking talent (building expertise in multiple domains)


Now its time for us to walk the talk. Do let me know what your takeaways were from the book!!

PS And yes, here is a fine summary- again from a Forbes article that Abhijit has contributed to last year!




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