Reflections by Gary A. Bolles
Disclaimer: The summaries and interpretations provided on this page are unofficial and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS).
Summary
- Gary Bolles is a futurist and expert on the future of work who serves as Global Fellow for Transformation at Singularity University and has authored the book “The Next Rules of Work” about leading organizations through uncertainty.
- He teaches multiple courses on LinkedIn Learning with over 1.5 million learners covering topics like learning mindset, learning agility, and strategic agility in the age of AI.
- Bolles runs a software company called eParachute based on the career manual “What Color is Your Parachute” which provides methodology for people going through career pivots and life transitions.
- People across the world are experiencing anxiety about the future of work, though what they really care about is practical information for making immediate decisions rather than long-term predictions.
- The human brain struggles with cognitive biases that cause us to over-optimize for near-term decisions while being overwhelmed by long-term change.
- The two most impactful aspects of current change are the pace and scale at which it is occurring, with technology like ChatGPT reaching 2 million users in about 30 days compared to years it would have taken in earlier internet eras.
- The Western concept of work as something desirable is actually very recent in human history, beginning with Martin Luther during the Reformation who promoted the idea that God wants people to work.
- Within the past 100 years, an ethos has developed that work can provide satisfaction and purpose beyond just income, with the idea that people might actually enjoy their work being a relatively new concept.
- Work mechanically consists of three elements: human skills applied to tasks to solve problems, whether starting a new business, job, or government division.
- Throughout history, automation has consistently automated tasks, but the benefits of new technology initially go to those who can own and afford the means of production, as illustrated by the example of the ox-driven plow.
- People exist on a spectrum regarding their relationship with work, ranging from those who view it purely as income to support their families to those whose professional identity as a lawyer or doctor becomes deeply rooted in who they are as people.
- The strength of someone’s work identity depends on how closely they feel their skills and sense of self match the work they are doing, with closer matches creating stronger professional identities.
- Certain professions like public service, medicine, teaching, ministry, and military create hermetically sealed environments with their own rules where skills and mindsets are not always easily transferable to other areas.
- The author’s father, an Episcopalian minister, was laid off in his late 40s during a budget crunch and spent six months unemployed before finding work helping other ministers who were also being laid off.
- This experience led to the creation of “What Color is Your Parachute” originally written for ministers to help them understand how to transfer their skills to other environments when their vocation was no longer viable.
- The challenge and opportunity with professional identity is learning to shift from seeing yourself as “a lawyer” or “a doctor” to seeing yourself as “a person who has the skills of a lawyer or doctor” which are transferable to other environments.
- Artificial intelligence represents a fundamentally different type of automation because it is the first technology coming for tasks that are innately human, unlike previous automation that primarily replaced physical labor or routine tasks.
Actionable Advice
- Focus on developing practical strategies for immediate next steps rather than getting overwhelmed by long-term future predictions.
- Cultivate a hopeful vision for the future while prioritizing information that helps you make good life decisions in the near term.
- Recognize and account for cognitive biases that cause you to over-optimize for near-term decisions when planning for change.
- Prepare yourself mentally for the accelerating pace and scale of technological change rather than just focusing on specific technologies.
- Develop learning agility and maintain a learning mindset to stay relevant as technology and work environments evolve rapidly.
- Step back from your professional title and identify the transferable skills you possess rather than defining yourself solely by your job role.
- When facing career transitions, reframe your identity from being "a profession" to being "a person with the skills of that profession" to see new opportunities.
- Analyze the problems you solve and tasks you perform in your current work to understand how these capabilities might transfer to other environments.
- Invest time in understanding how artificial intelligence and exponential technologies are affecting your specific industry and organization.
- Consider taking courses on strategic agility and developing workforce skills for the age of AI to prepare for ongoing changes.
- If you work in a specialized field like public service, medicine, teaching, or military, actively work to understand how your skills translate outside your immediate environment.
- Build a portfolio of work and diverse interests rather than relying solely on a single professional identity or career path.