Sharpen The Saw

At the World Economic Forum at Davos earlier this year, the Reskilling Revolution was launched, wherein both companies & governments pledged to re-skill & up-skill 1 Bn people across the world by 2030.This massive initiative aims to build capability of the workforce for the changing demands of industry & offset the half life drop of an education/skill, which is the time (post acquisition) at which said skill will become irrelevant.Over the last few decades, this has decreased greatly, implying that while our parents could work their entire careers basis their prized degrees/diplomas till retirement, today's formal education does not guarantee a career beyond 5 years.

However, one's capability & career trajectories are too important to not take personal charge of & it is essential to trigger self-reorientation every few years; in fact it is a prerequisite to creating a positive feedback loop for long term success. If time is available, it maybe a good idea to put oneself on a professional bootcamp for the next 6 months,to aid the daily newspaper,monthly/quarterly magazine & the odd bestselling book.A broad guideline towards personal skill building is as follows :

1. Foundational : These are basic digital skills, that will let you create better presentations, spreadsheets, graphics, videos, artwork, dashboards, business intelligence, data modeling, analytics, reporting etc.The objective is to increase efficiency, easier decision making for you or your leaders & sophisticated look & feel in your work.Depending on whether you use a Thinkpad or a Macbook, pick the set of softwares you need to master & check youtube tutorials (free) or eLearning modules at Linkedin,Coursera, Udemy (paid) to what can help. Take a class if you have to, several small companies are doing some great work & have passionate facilitators who take half to 2 day classes on the weekends. Remember, virtual learning is very budget friendly.
2. Inspirational : These are the big ideas & the latest thinking in your area , which help you find creative solutions to the functional challenge at hand & also leapfrog & step change your thinking. Find topics of interests & web searches will show up well researched white papers & gold standard articles from reputed thought leaders & top consulting firms on emerging trends relevant to your industry/function that can provide fresh perspectives to strengthen your thinking & back your suggestions. Most senior leaders are very keen on understanding a well formed proposal & a deeper interest in its practical application often leads to a favorable decision.
3. Transformational :These are skills that will make you a more impactful leader, not just in your function but in the organization at large. Do you need to be a better storyteller or up your negotiation & influencing skills or want to drive better customer centricity or drive higher business profitability or be an inspiring coach? Several independent agencies or institutes have pacy programs; peer through their agendas & participant reviews, you may find one that sparks your interest. Ask your peers & friends or a senior at work, people readily share references if they have personally had a good experience.

My submission would be to select learnings that will be directly applicable in your current stream of work & leverage them immediately.As my playlist reaches Katy Perry's crooning of 'Eye Of The Tiger' on a loop, I reflect on the importance of staying focused, confident & having a never say die attitude at this time. That & Make time to sharpen the saw.

The Matthew Effect of Accumulated Advantage: For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing,even what they have will be taken away- The Sports Gene, David Epstein