The Best Job In The World
I am feeling lots of angst out there in the business world about AI. Everyone is reading about AI “taking over” jobs against the very real backdrop of layoffs by the tens of thousands at company after company. It is natural to link the two, then project forward that this is the inevitable trend toward unprecedented rates of joblessness, especially in white collar roles. This has you feeling uneasy at best.
Before you make that leap, I’d like you to consider something else. I draw my own conclusions from companies that I work with everyday, so admittedly this is anecdotal evidence, but fairly representative of the economy as a whole I believe. What I see is lots of firms and their leadership teams eager to exploit the benefits of every new and promising technology, AI included. What I don’t see is a deliberate plan to eliminate jobs one by one. The motivation is one centered on productivity, i.e. making the firm produce 3x, 5x, or 10x more with the same workforce. Paradoxically this makes the existing workforce more important, not less.
The folks out there (who should know better) are pushing a false narrative based on a flawed economic theory—the so-called Labor Lump theory. This means that there is only so much work to do and it is largely fixed, thereby a zero sum game when it comes to automating jobs. One automated task means one less human job. Labor Lump theory has been debunked by every reputable economist, yet it is still pushed by the media and so-called “Big Tech” former executives nearly every day. The fact of the matter is that labor continuously expands to cover all sorts of new categories of work, just like the role of “software development” that did not exist until the 1960s, but now employs millions. Technological progress often brings about this very expansion.
Ignore the pundits. Making your way in the world successfully these days is and always has been a function of the value you bring to the table. One way to do that is to express your value in more than one form. My favorite example is Shohei Ohtani, the stellar baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers. If he were only a great pitcher, he would be worth a great deal in the league. If he were only an exceptional hitter, he would be highly valued. The fact that he can do both at the same time leads to a phenomenal career, one that will no doubt earn him a place in the Hall of Fame (with a $700M contract already in hand).
I’m not suggesting that you go out and become a great athlete. But the lesson that Shohei teaches us is how to combine multiple skills in unique ways that makes us value creators in our organizations. I recently came across a talented young man, an industrial engineer at a manufacturing firm who taught himself programming. He was not only able to optimize production operations, but he was directly contributing to some of the programming of the complex shop floor machines to enhance their functionality. He was, in fact, the Shohei Othani of the factory floor. As he gathers even more skills, he will be in a unique position to run that firm one day, and I hope he does.
Another way to bring value to the company is to work your way out of a job. As crazy as that sounds, it is one of the best ways to deliver value. In the current era of AI, there are two jobs for every human. One is the job you have now, consisting of a lot of rote, mechanical, repeatable work. The second job is the one you should have, thinking creatively about how to optimize the firm end-to-end within the decision rights and functions that you own. The best, most forward-thinking firms reserve their highest rewards for the folks who use automation, analytics, data, and technology to move themselves from the first to the second. The best job in the world is to re-wire your job.
This is radical thinking, I know. But today, all of the conventional wisdom about career advancement has been thrown out of the window already. I applaud young professionals I meet every day who are trying to think very differently about their role in the economy. They want to make a difference, and be compensated accordingly. They are not interested in phoning it in, or taking shortcuts. They put in the hours with a sense of purpose, optimism, and resolve.
It is for these reasons that I remain hopeful about our future, not fearful. Encouraged, not anxious. What a great time to be alive.
