The job market’s future
LOOKING AHEAD: FOCUS ON THE FORCES THAT SHAPE YOUR TOMORROW
THE SHIFT – The future of work is already here
Author: Lynda Gratton, a professor of management practice at the London School of Economics.
Year: This riveting book was released in 2011.
The book was written to enable Lynda Gratton to give sensible advice to her children if they were to ask her for it. The research and book were prompted by a conversation she had with her children who shared with her what they wanted to study.
She observed drily that teenagers hardly ever ask their parents about what to study, yet she felt it necessary to undertake what is arguably a great piece of work and research, to equip us to handle this query should the need arise.
She pulled together a team of researchers and a consortium of corporations to study what she calls five forces that shape your future. She invited Absa in South Africa for that purpose.
The book is divided into eleven chapters organised into five parts: the forces that will shape your future, the dark side of the default future, the bright side of the crafted future, the shift and notes in the future.
She and the teams then identified what they regarded as drivers of change: the needs of the carbon economy, the rapid advances in technology increasing globalisation, profound changes in longevity and demography a key societal changes.
Each of these changes is looked at for the good it carries, as well as its dark side and makes it an interesting assessment of current breathtaking changes and their likely projection.
It is really a fascinating glimpse of the new world already in our midst as the subtitle suggests.
She explains she undertook this enormous task because accuracy of beliefs about the future influences our advice to others, choices we make, competences we develop, networks we focus on, who we work for and organizations we join.
She also maintains that “it is wise to develop coping strategies in the face of uncertainty”. She challenges us to re-examine our assumptions by asking three questions:
What are the potential milestones or events that could particularly affect me and those around me?
What are the most significant factors that will influence my working life, and how could these play out?
Therefore, what should I be doing in the coming five years to ensure I am on the right path to creating a future proofed career, particularly in view of the turbulent times around?
In other words: “how do you ensure your working life is robust, purposeful and valuable? That you do ‘meaningful work’?” She recommends we undergo three shifts;
From a shallow generalist to a serial master, a isolated competitor to an innovative connector. A voracious consumer to an impassioned producer
She believes “how you express yourself creatively through what you make is infinitely more important than expressing yourself through what you buy”.
She also says creativity is not the preserve of a few doing jobs designated as creative, but possible for many. Billions of people are choosing to take control of their working lives and craft them in a way that resonates with their own values and aspirations.
She cites an American commentator called Robert Reich who claims five careers will matter most in future: computing, caring, catering, coaching and consulting.