In a world on the cusp of A.I. domination, do relationships still matter?
Robert Solomon
Consultant, coach, and workshop leader, author of the widely read and respected book, "The Art of Client Service," expert in achieving behavior change with advertising/marketing/PR agencies, clients, and individuals.
Hardly a day goes by without a story – in print, on-air, online – about Artificial Intelligence and how it is going to take over the world, including our world, the world of advertising and marketing.? The consequential question for many of us is, “Will I lose my job?”
You might think being in a technical field – an engineer, an analyst, a digital expert – would insulate you from becoming a vestigial, soon-to-be-extinct relic.? I certainly thought as much, but then I read a recent New York Times story where the authors take exception, pointing out there are several skills that trump technical ones:
“Our abilities to effectively communicate, develop empathy and think critically have allowed humans to collaborate, innovate and adapt for millenniums. Those skills are ones we all possess and can improve, yet they have never been properly valued in our economy or prioritized in our education and training. That needs to change.”
Reading this, I took stock of my qualifications:
I have a graduate degree, but it’s not an MBA; it’s a master’s in literature.? My undergrad degree?? In American Studies, a landing pad for undecided, I’m-still-making-up-my-mind-about what-I-want-to-do students, which ultimately led me to become an account person, a perfect haven for generalists.? All of which is to say:?
Nearly a dozen years ago, I railed at the investor and misguided, short-sighted billionaire Peter Thiel, who advocated not attending college, in a post where I claimed:?
“I went to school not so much to?learn, but rather how to?think, how to be disciplined, how to solve problems.? I learned how to write, how to research, how to collaborate with others, and most of all, how to forge relationships, all of which sustained me in my as I pursued my professional ambitions.”
According to the New York Times article, these are the very skills you need – how to think, write, collaborate, and forge relationships – in a world being over-run with A.I.? In fact the authors assert,
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“Communication is already the?most in-demand skill?across jobs on LinkedIn today.”? Further claiming, “soft skills were more important to their organizations than highly technical A.I. skills.”?
Got that?? Let me repeat it for you:? “soft skills were more important to their organizations than highly technical A.I. skills.”?
If you were to check the first chapter of The Art of Client Service, “What Makes a Great Account Person?” you’d find this:
“Now, what about skills?? Communication is at the top of the list, both written and oral.? You’ve got to be good on paper.? An agency might teach you to write a conference report, a creative brief, a point-of-view letter, a strategy deck, or at least show you examples you could use as ‘go-bys.’? What the agency won’t teach, shouldn’t have to teach, is concision and clarity, style and organization. “You also have to be good on your feet – in meetings, on the phone, in presentations, over dinner, or wherever you connect with clients and colleagues.”
So if someone were to ask me, “What’s the book’s core virtue?,” I would reply,?
“Lots of books tell you ‘What.’? A few tell you ‘Why.’? Almost none tell you ‘How.’? The Art of Client Service is clear on the ‘what’ but doesn’t dwell on the ‘why,’ preferring to focus instead on the ‘How,’ as in how to build and sustain enduring client relationships with clients and colleagues.”
It’s a good thing too, assuming you agree with the Times story, which says,
“Today the knowledge economy is giving way to a relationship economy, in which people skills and social abilities are going to become even more core to success than ever before.”?
Do I believe we are living in a “relationship economy?”? You bet, and to prove it have a book that has endured for 20-plus years through three editions, this blog, and a raft of workshops, all demonstrating just how serious I am about this.
The long arm of A.I. is touching many aspects of work, ideally (I hope and pray) changing it for the better, but the one thing it cannot touch is the one thing that matters most to people invested in better serving clients and colleagues: ?relationships.
If you too want to get better at the art and science of relationship-building, but need help, reach out.? I’m always happy to connect at [email protected] .
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