In the future, companies will have only two employees—a person and a dog, says Tom Friedman, a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist. The person’s job is to feed the dog, and the dog’s job is to keep the person away from the machines.
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Friedman, who offered his comments on the future of business and HR at the SHRM Annual Convention and Exposition held recently in Orlando, Florida, says there are two burning questions today: One, What are the big tech changes reshaping our world?, and two, How is my kid going to get a job?
Middle Class Jobs Up, Out, or Down
The world is getting more technical, Friedman says, and that is changing every middle class job. Such jobs are rapidly being pulled up, out, or down:
- Up—Jobs are elevated and require technical knowledge. Even the least likely jobs, for example, milking, used to be a physical job, but now can be done with software and a robot.
- Out—Many of the remaining jobs are out sourced.
- Down—The rest of the jobs are eliminated by technology as they are no longer needed.
The high wage middle skilled job has disappeared (the dropout who became a union steelworker is no longer). We have to bring the bottom class up to the middle. There’s nothing down there for the low skill worker.
There’s also a change in what we expect from workers, Friedman says. What you know does not matter, and how you learned it does not matter; it is what you can DO with what you know that matters. Information can be obtained from anywhere. BUT creativity cannot be done by technology (yet).
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The New Divide Is Motivation
The old Digital Divide (the wealthy have technology, the nonwealthy do not) is nearly gone, says Friedman. And when everyone has technology, the new divide will be based on motivation (who is motivated to learn technology and master it).
All the ceilings are blown away, but the scary thing is that all the floors are getting blown away, too. Who will take the initiative? Who will motivate, excel, and move beyond?
What Do You Advise Your Own Children?
Friedman offers the following tips for his children (and yours):
- Always think like a new immigrant. Stay hungry. Take pride. We are all new to this new world, and there is no legacy spot for anyone.
- Think like an artisan. Make every item individually, and carve your initials into everything you do.
- Be in beta. Always think of yourself a as work in progress about 85 percent done.
- Remember that PQ plus CQ is greater than IQ. Passion and curiosity will win out over IQ.
- Always think like a waitress. At Perkins pancake restaurant in Minneapolis, Friedman, who had had a nice experience, complimented the waitress on the food. She said, “I gave you extra fruit.” She couldn’t control much, but she did control the fruit ladle.
As the waitress did, improve what you can control, says Friedman. Think entrepreneurially and be relentless.
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