My Challenge to the Class of 2017: Read the River

My one piece of advice to the Class of 2017 is “read the river”, by which I mean the following: If you are in a canoe or raft on a river, you need to paddle hard to get where you want to go, but you also need to be aware of the currents. 

No matter how hard you paddle, you won’t be able to overcome a strong current. On the other hand, catching a favorable current in the direction you want to go will carry you faster and farther than you ever could go on your own. 

As you choose your careers, you will need to “paddle hard” to succeed. But you also should seek out and understand the larger trends -- demographic; technological; environmental; financial; etc. – that will affect you. These trends will destroy many jobs and institutions, but they also will create many more. The most talented and hard-working lamplighter had no chance for a successful career once the electric light appeared, but for a talented young electrician the opportunities were unlimited. Many future trends are predictable, and in fact are being predicted by futurists today. 

So take the time to understand the larger forces that will shape the world around you over the next few decades and make sure you are paddling with the current, not against it.

More Advice to the Class of 2017:

Lowell McAdam: Think Beyond the Tweetstorm