Are you riding the digital wave?

The Digital Revolution is coming of age, and the impact of new technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, Internet of Things, and 3D printing, combined with an unbalanced globalization and shifts in demographics and values are drastically redefining how people worldwide live and work.

Shockingly, the jobs that are in highest demand today did not exist five years ago. And we’re not done! 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 do not exist yet. Robots will replace millions of today’s jobs, and disruption in a highly competitive and smaller world is already the new normal.

What will this future will look like? 

Despite some alarming headlines, the future of work does not mean the elimination of humans in the workplace. While some jobs will disappear, new ones will be created that require more social, emotional, and logical reasoning, plus creativity skills. 

The future of work is not only more collaborative across teams, it will also be more collaborative between robots and humans.

The future workforce will be diverse, multi-generational, and highly skilled. The talent war will intensify.

Technology will play a central role in the winning playbook of any company in any industry. 

But one of the challenges with this new revolution is the speed at which everything is changing. It’s much faster than the previous revolutions and accelerating rapidly.

Are you positioned to thrive through these changes in the next 10 years?

We must prepare, ourselves to ride this wave or we will be swept away by it like a tsunami.

It is our responsibility as business leaders to:

1. Reduce the digital skills gap so our workers have the right skills to thrive.
2. Implement agile and flexible processes so we can innovate and execute fast.
3. Capitalize on the vast data available to create deeply personalized employee and customer experiences.
4. Develop future leaders who can spur meaningful innovation while delivering stellar performance and attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse pool of top talent so they can win with balance in the new digital and global world.

The challenge is how to prepare for something that is being created on the fly while constantly chasing fires to keep up with the increasing daily pressure to stay afloat.

Overwhelm seems to be the new normal, but creating the future requires reflection, research, and planning.

I suggest you start by taking some time to answer the following questions:

• Do you have a clear understanding of the opportunities ahead of you and what is at stake?
• Do you understand how you could uniquely contribute to the future while remaining relevant and profitable in the market place?
• Is innovation embedded into your culture? How many times a month do you evaluate and test new ideas?
• What are your main roadblocks to implementing changes? Lack of awareness? Limited capacity? Lack of talent?  Lack of time?

The future of work will impact all types of business in all industries. We cannot slow it down, but we have the choice to prepare ourselves and our organizations to become game changers and thrive in the next 10 years.

What changes are already completed or underway in your business? What hurdles are you facing? What is your view about the future of work? I would love to hear from you

Former tech executive, Cindy Montgenie is the CEO of New Skies Nation. As a high-performance strategist, keynote speaker and trainer, Cindy Montgenie helps business leaders to win in the disruptive digital era, without losing their sanity by using a game changer mindset.