On Learning + Growing + Technology

Recently I was running errands and swung into a small neighborhood discount store, one that has a little of everything all packed in tight quarters. I encountered an employee who appeared to be in his mid to late 60’s and asked if they had what I was looking for, he shared they don’t have a lot but immediately said “Follow me!” and sped off to show me where it might be. We hit a number of spots in the store and at each he would point out items and provide commentary on it. At one stop he said “They’re alway’s moving stuff around on me”, referring to products in the store. I complimented him on how well he seems to know it all and he replied, “I try, I gotta keep up on where things are!” He took not only his job (stock shelves, sort products, help customers) thoughtfully but he applied it to challenging himself, to keep up with the pace and adapt, even when it might not be the pace he would set.

This led me to think about growth and change on a bigger scale. First, how much we can lean in and grow regardless of our age or circumstance. And, conversely, how often we limit ourselves and others as being fixed, not capable of changing or keeping up. This fixed view limits potential and, in business, it limits the performance of teams. The amount of change we will encounter in the next few years will be big and we have to ensure we are open to steer toward our collective future.?

Earlier this year, the #worldeconomicforum released their Future Of Jobs report. It contains a lot of well researched and thoughtful information, spanning over 800 companies and more than 11 million workers and looks at the horizon of work through 2027. Not surprisingly, its full of technological disruption with much focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Of the 673 million jobs they look at, some big expected churn is anticipated; growth in 69 million jobs, offset by a decline of 83 million. And this leads to employers estimating that 44% of workers skills will be disrupted in the next few years. A few of the skills that will be on the rise to meet this new world are: Curiosity & Lifelong Learning; Resilience, Flexibility, & Agility; Motivation & Self-Awareness; and Service Orientation and Customer Service.

The top strategy the report mentions to meet this future is “Invest in learning and training on the job” To me, this must be about BIG learning, not just teaching someone to be able to perform a task, learn a new technology, or follow a process. It's about tapping into motivations and talents, connecting people with purpose. Look back at that list of skills, a number can be done by technology - AI learns (super fast and at huge scale), it’s agile as it learns, and can certainly be of service. But when you connect people with purpose and tap into what motivates them and their talents you get something no technology can bring - human spirit that is felt - and other people are drawn to that.

That’s the positive side, and yet, getting into big learning mode can be hard. You want to share a perspective that could help another person grow, maybe on a topic they don’t even see? Then you better be ready to get into difficult?conversations. While we all may share a desire to grow, being told about it can hit us hard. It happened to me earlier this year and connects to the image at the top of this story. I had observed a colleague both frustrated at times, and yet behind this frustration I sensed a bigger desire to help. I initiatied a conversation and shared what I was seeing and experiencing. She listened, she shared, I listened too and offered advice and my desire to see the best for her, the team and work. It was a necessary, important, and difficult conversation. A few weeks later a little poster of above image arrived along with a note. I was very touched, because WE all do matter, and when you invest in helping another person learn we feel our meaning even more!

This also applies to oneself, make sure and take the time to reflect and think about what you want to get better at. Being honest with yourself about what it is and seek the learning to get better at it. People will rally to support you when you do this too! It's a powerful act, and one that spreads…people will respond to your honesty.

The future will require us to be learning and growing even faster than we do today. You can keep yourself growing and growing those around you, helping our collective future. Our future will be a lot of “They’re alway’s moving stuff around on me”, just like the gentleman I encountered in the store. And, just like him, we can keep up with it and help each other find where things have been placed, and what’s new.