The rate at which change is changing, has changed.
And it’s only getting faster from now on.
The future, is also created from the step by step decision, and the moment to moment discoveries that we all make.
Here’s to the future.
What’s 3 facts that I share about what’s going to happen in the future?
The expectations on leaders and managers are changing
I meet a lot of managers now who complain about the new generation, the millennials. That they can’t hold a job, can’t take suffering, and that they are selfish, entitled, and lazy.
Maybe, there’s truth in what they’re saying.
Maybe, that’s how the previous generation complained about your generation.
Surely, the way that people expect to be lead and managed has changed.
This means that the old, bossy, just-do-what-I-tell-you way of managing and leading is no longer as effective as before.
But the old way was easier. Just do it, suck it up, the same way I did.
Well, the world is now changing. In the same way that the way people are raising their children has changed, so do how the new workforce responds to old practices.
All this is showing us, is that no longer can leaders and managers be complacent with how they lead their teams, produce results, and al the while, generating engagement from the people.
The bar is being set higher, and there is less and less room for mediocrity – especially when it comes to leading and managing the younger generation.
It’s no longer about being the boss.
It’s about being the coach – developing and coaching the younger generation.
It’s no longer about the paycheck, but also about aligning people’s purpose – and what they want to achieve in life.
Things are faster, things are slower
It’s so easy to access information now. Everything can be had at a click of our fingertips.
Not everything though.
There’s a lot of things that we can get instantly – with ecommerce, online payments, search engines, and troves of information on the internet, readily available at your fingertips.
And then, there are those which used to be easy to obtain, but are now taking longer and longer to get.
My grandfather, when he was 26, already had a small house. In fact, a lot of his colleagues and friends already did at the time. He had a wife, children, and was a member of various socio-civic organisations, and got invited by some of his close friends to play golf at a country club nearby.
All of that, changed now.
It’s taking longer for young people to buy a house, or a house and lot, matter of fact. Here in the Philippines, specifically in the capital, it’s usually renting out a condo for the longest time.
It’s taking longer for young people to get married. Now, the tendency is to focus on career first, then relationships second. Either that, or there’s just so much to consider before getting in a relationship, as opposed to much simpler, survivalistic times.
Technology and information is easy. Human, real, intimate relationships is hard.
Younger people nowadays have an extended childhood. They take longer to experience the different things available in life, precisely because there’s just so much to take in. What my grandparents used to do in their twenties, I’ve just barely begun to do in my thirties.
And yes, what used to be cheaper before, is now expensive, in a way that has outpaced was people regularly earn. Even, around the world.
It takes longer for maturity to set in, and for the income to scale as well.
Meaning, this younger generation will be working well into their seventies – not only because of the income and costs, but also because of the various medical technologies available.
So even though information, and communication is faster now, the stability, purpose, maturity, and old-fashioned standards of what life was – is harder and slower than ever to obtain.
The age of automation
Pretty soon, everything will be on the internet, and robots will take over the world.
Everything routinary, not requiring high-level creativity, empathy, and freedom of will and choice, will soon be outsourced and delegated to machines, robots, who can do the work faster, with less errors, and lower cost.
At the end of the day, are you delivering your work, as a human, with a human touch? Do you do it, recognizing the fact that we are people, with emotions and feelings, with the need for connection, and not just as a transaction of zeros and ones?
Kinda hard with our quickly adapting world, right now.
And even our laws, and economies, will have to adapt.
What will happen with all of the people in the world, without a job, because machines are already doing them?
Will we finally have an art revolution, like back in the renaissance?
More questions than answers, at this point.
What is clear, is that the call to be human is stronger and greater at this point in time.
The call to be one people.
What’s in the future for you?
Because we make our future, and contribute to other’s as well,
What future are you making, today?
What’s in store for your future? Please share in the comments below!
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