Having the Courage to Make Yourself Irrelevant

Overcoming Technological Resistance On The Shop Floor

Nobody wants to feel irrelevant or unimportant, and therein lies a key point - how we respond to technological advancement in manufacturing really matters. You can either perceive tech-induced change as a threat, or leverage it to accelerate your growth and give you a leg up over the competition.??

I’ll admit, I’m not very good at this myself. After all, ChatGPT might have allowed me to create the draft for this blog post quicker than doing it the old fashioned way. That said, I made a deliberate choice not to - likely to try and preserve any sense of creativity and originality I might possess. (and because I genuinely enjoy writing the old fashioned way.)?

I’m sure many of us can relate. As human beings, we all have the desire to avoid unnecessary threats and ultimately survive and thrive in this world of constant change. This common trait of our humanity makes me consider the many manufacturing professionals who have spent years perfecting their craft. Perhaps you’re a senior CAM programmer of 15 years experience. Maybe you have a magic touch for shop scheduling that can’t be matched. Perhaps the whole business would fall apart entirely if you weren’t there to handle the estimating and quoting process. In either case, you might be a linchpin to your employer’s success, and you might be dang proud of it, too. (rightfully so!)?

Now along comes advances in AI-powered manufacturing software that threaten to disrupt how you approach your daily work. Skills that took you years to master are now simplified by large language models and algorithms that make it look all too-easy.

How does one even respond to that?

A few days ago I was listening to a recent episode of the MakingChips Podcast, and towards the end of the episode, podcast guest Al Whatmough said something that really struck me. When asked if he had any nuggets of wisdom to share with the audience relating to tech adoption, he said:

“Have the courage to make yourself irrelevant. When you make yourself irrelevant, you free yourself up to solve the next problem.”

This struck me because it acknowledges three essential elements of the tech adoption process. These same elements could supercharge your future success as a manufacturing professional, if you’re willing to step outside your comfort zone to do so:

Have the courage.?

Embracing change, learning new things, and letting go of old things takes courage. It's not easy to abandon the old and reliable way of doing things in pursuit of something new and somewhat unknown . This is especially difficult if you are accustomed to some sense of routine and being able to control the outcome. I’m reminded of a former manager who loved to tout “Nothing ventured, nothing gained!”. Easy to say, but hard to do. “Having the courage” can feel like scary business.?

Make yourself irrelevant.

Let's be clear that, “making yourself irrelevant” doesn’t mean “being irrelevant”. I’m not suggesting that you put your livelihood at risk. Quite the opposite actually! If you’re able to outsource your tasks to a more efficient process or technology, you’d do well to consider it so that you can take on higher-value tasks that move the needle forward. What we need to remember is that our ultimate goal as team members in a manufacturing environment is to solve problems in a way that contributes to increased business performance. At their core, manufacturers are problem solvers on a mission to find new and better ways of doing things. When they do so successfully, society as a whole typically prospers.?????

Solve the next problem.

When a task is reduced, replaced, or made obsolete by a new business process and corresponding technology, we’re unshackled from the former to pursue the next problem. That’s good news! Rather than fear the change that comes with technological advancement, see it for what it is - a new and more effective way to solve an existing problem. As a problem solver, you’d do well to learn about the new technology. If it’s useful, champion it within your organization and showcase how it will move the business forward. You never know, you might just supercharge your career path in the process.?

How will you respond?

This three-step process has arguably created modern society as we know it. Our modern day automobiles are very efficient and reliable. Life expediencies are much longer now thanks to modern medicine, and I could go on. All of this was made possible because the world’s innovators throughout history looked at the existing way of doing things, and realized it could be made better. It took courage for them, too.

It’s late 2024, and Bob Dylan’s hit from 60 years ago is particularly relevant to where were at in the manufacturing industry:

"And you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times they are a-changin’"

When I speak with manufacturers today, there is a huge divide between the shops that have embraced technology and those that have avoided it. It’s genuinely concerning and will ultimately result in many small shops closing their doors for good because they simply can’t compete. The exact opposite of what needs to be happening.?

Like I said at the beginning of this post, nobody wants to feel irrelevant - and ultimately that responsibility rests on your shoulders. Information is abundant and education is free in many cases. The barrier to entry is incredibly low, as is your list of excuses. So, consider well how you will respond to the next wave of tech innovation that disrupts the shop floor. Will you wait for someone else to de-risk the technology first so that you can play catch-up later? Or perhaps you’ll find the courage to make yourself irrelevant so that you can solve the next problem. It’s your call.?