STAYING RELEVANT IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Throughout time human beings have been the most resilient of all the living beings. Because, whatever the age we have upped our capabilities and adapted accordingly. Gaurav Goswami talks about the skill sets and the ways to hone them, resulting in us becoming a success in our chosen field, in the present digital age.
Today’s picture
Technology continues to grow and create changes in ways that we live our lives. It is no secret that one tweet, photo or video can make or break a company or a relationship in ways we couldn’t have imagined few years back. So, if we don’t evolve and grow new skills, our value to our self, our work place or our family will diminish in time.
The way forward
The good news is that we can harness these technological changes, instead of either fearing from them or intentionally ignoring them. The reason is that the difference between winning and losing; like in every age, is to understand the questions of where to? And how to? And then start to work diligently at it so that we are better prepared for the future disruptions.
An important point
The most basic quality that we or for that matter any company can cultivate is honesty. This is because like people in our personal relationships, our customers in work place can also smell a rat from afar, be it a marketing ploy or when a company is wasting their time trying to pull the wool over their eye. So it is important that we are upfront in our dealing and let it be known beforehand. Honesty is most certainly the best possibly.
First things first – embrace
We need to challenge our self to embrace the technologies that are most relevant for us. This may mean to acquire our self with the new technological know-how or upgrade our smart phones with the latest apps. If it is social media that is vital for our professional life, embrace that, don’t just think, I am too old to learn new things.
Continuous learning
In professional life, is our education adding value to our everyday conversation and giving us benefits in managing our official works? If the answer is no, then can we attend industry events and conferences to improve our abilities? Can we enroll in that online webinar and programs to bridge that gap? There are a number of podcasts and e-books available that can come to our rescue. We can also take the advantage of watching various TED talks. Another way is to hire a mentor to provide us the necessary knowledge.
Practice wisdom
The digital revolution can be a double edged sword that can both build and break relationships between people, businesses, customers and employees. So in this constant push and pull, it is best to remind our self that: knowledge without wisdom can be dangerous. We need to cultivate active listening and follow tolerance.
Build the capacity to unlearn
We must remember the importance of unlearning. This is because when a tea cup is full to the brim, then how can we pour more tea into it, as any more tea will naturally spill out. The challenge is to keep alight the torch of re-inventing our self.
Finally some pointers for your professional life
How businesses should help the employee to learn, which in turn will help the business:
· Identify future capabilities that give employees clarity and guidance on what the future of their job looks like.
· Offer regular customized training and digital learning tools to help employees be better at work.
· Keep asking for regular feed back to see where advancement is needed to be done.