Innovation implies high risk, and with high risk comes failure, so you’ve got to be prepared for that, but if you don’t risk, then your business goes stale very quickly.
Michael Grade – TV Executive
All work – process core and project gigs – is high risk. There is little time to learn, adapt, and do. Workers have to quickly: 1. Get it!; 2. Design it!; and 3. Do it! These are the table stakes for all work. BBC had a great quote:
“Rapid technological change means workers must keep learning, to the point where an ability to adapt – your adaptability quotient (AQ) – is becoming the X-factor for career success.”[i]
Amazon and similar companies use a ‘rank and yank’ process for VUCAN work evaluation. Pre COVID, they expected execution with little formal training:
“Now, entry college graduates are in the same boat: Welcome to the working world! The good news: You’re entering the hottest job market in half a century. The bad news: Your first step onto the corporate ladder could still be a tough one. Automation and outsourcing have stripped many of the rote tasks from entry-level positions, so companies are reimagining the jobs they’re offering to the Class of 2019. You and your classmates will likely be expected to operate on a more sophisticated level than graduates of past decades. Technical skills turn over fast, so employers are looking for fast learners who can quickly evolve and have exceptional soft skills—the ability to write, listen and communicate effectively. Your future employer may expect you to make sales calls on day one. You might be asked to prepare a client presentation your first week. In short order, you could be handed the job of managing a project.”[ii]
Work Lesson Earned: VUCANs need two X factors for Future of Work success. The first is all VUCANs are knowledge workers. They must have the requisite and current tech skills. The second factor is VUCANs must have a positive and adaptable spirit. What’s this? Otto Scharmer, a professor, advocates Theory U: 1. Keep an open mind: see the world with a beginner’s mind that is open to probabilities; 2. Keep an open heart: see and understand situations through other’s eyes and frame of reference; and 3. Keep an open will: let go of identity, and ego.[iii]
[i] ‘Adaptability Quotient’, BBC: Worklife, 101, July 22, 2019.
[ii] ‘A Wakeup Call for Grads: Entry Level Jobs Aren’t So Entry Level Anymore’, Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2019.
[iii] ‘Adaptability Quotient’, BBC: Worklife, 101, July 22, 2019.