The Essence of Automation: 15 Skills to Pay the Bills
20 years ago, algorithms executed fewer than 5% of all trades on Wall Street. Today, 80% of trading is automated. Yet human traders are essential workers.
Why are there still so many jobs? When automation happens, human judgment, creativity, and problem-solving become more important. Here are 15 human skills that will always pay the bills:
Adaptability. Drop a driverless car in a city it’s not trained for and it stops.
Judgment. AI can’t schedule a birthday party (start at 14:00).
Design. Ever see the paintings AI makes? They stink.
Management. Your new boss won’t be an algorithm.
Teamwork. Teamwork, not tools, helped Panera Bread adjust to COVID.
Empathy. Joaquin Phoenix rocks the movie, but Her is fantasy.
Engagement. Automation makes services matter more.
Humor. AI can’t make you laugh.
Sales. Zig Ziglar says timid salesmen have skinny kids. Algorithms don’t have any.
Invention. Humans create; algorithms don’t.
Vision. Be micro-ambitious.
Service. It is good.
Curiosity. How we learn.
Humility. How we rise.
Entrepreneurship. Combines all these skills!
Jobs are being automated away. New jobs will appear. To ensure success, develop the right skills to pay the bills.
This article was inspired by the World Economic Forum's top 10 skills for the automated future. But I thought their list was a little flat, so I did my own.
And, yes, I was listening to the Beastie Boys when the title came to me!
