Technology is great. Your smart phones, your systems that make work and communication easier, your on-demand offerings that make life easier – all great. EXCEPT when these technological advances threaten your job.
Blackrock, the world’s largest asset management company, recently announced their shift from managing money by professionals (people) to managing money using robots (index funds, ETF’s, etc). According to a Fortune article by Lucinda Shen, “Robots are Replacing Humans at all these Wall Street Firms”
“By 2025, financial institutions will reduce their human workforce by 10%—resulting in roughly 230,000 fewer heads—as computers take their place, the financial services consultancy Opimas estimates in a recent report. Of those displaced jobs, 40% are expected to come from the money management space.
It’s not just Wall Street, either: PwC warned last week that automation could replace 38% of all American jobs by 2030.”
What can you do? For those of us who don’t work in Technology or Artificial Intelligence, it’s critical that we don’t sit back and wait for the other shoe to drop. Instead, prepare yourself in advance of these inevitable changes that are happening across all industries and increase your reputational power in ways that enhance your future career prospects.
Stop wasting time on repetitive work and think more strategically and creatively.
In every job, in every field, there are those mundane, repetitive tasks that we often spend far too much time either completing or procrastinating over. If they haven’t already been taken over by some form of Artificial Intelligence (AI), then get ready because they will. Look for ways to be more of a contributor to the overall business of the company rather than just “doing your job.”
What you can better spend your time doing is finding more ways you can add value to your organization, your team, or your clients. Being more creative – perhaps finding new ways to attract, service, or retain clients. Thinking more strategically on ways to improve your company’s business or finding more synergy between departments so they can work better, faster, and smarter together. Think up projects that benefit your team, your group, your organization and your clients. Your reputational power will increase along with the perceived value you deliver.
Focus on real people relationships.
AI is great at doing things faster and perhaps even better. But when it comes to relationship building, that is still and will probably always be a human skill. Find ways to build your presence and reputation around your strong people skills and relationship building capability – servicing clients, leading teams, engaging and motivating others.
Use AI, don’t fight it.
AI is here to stay so find ways to use the tools you’re being provided so that you can work more effectively and more productively. The extra time you have should be spent on more creative thinking and on enhancing and building those skills that will be in demand in the future. Use your time productively learning, growing, and adding new layers onto your reputation and your personal brand. Taking courses, attending seminars, volunteering for projects in areas that interest you but may not be directly related to your specific job will add another dimension to the value you can offer.
What are your experiences with AI? Any tips you can share?
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