It’s really not all about the tech…
I honestly hope that the title isn’t considered blasphemy by the readers. Either way, I could hardly blame anyone if it is.
We’re in a moment right now where the heat around the tech in business is at an all-time high. Just try opening any feed and you can hardly miss an article, or ten, about a new feature, new update, new something, or other, in everyone’s favorite tool.
There isn’t anything inherently bad about this, as long as we’re in control of the feed and not the other way around.
That’s the trick though — staying cool with all that heat.
One of the ways we can do that is by relying on our humanity. Big word, but let’s run with it for a while.
Of all the super hot topics out there now, AI is probably the hottest of them all. In less than a year, there have been all kinds of predictions on what will come next. Some of these were downright Doomsday scenarios.
What are these predictions built on?
One common idea is that AI can completely replace humans in some roles. Fair enough, and highly likely.
Would this be the first time that it happens? — No!
Another, a bit milder, variation is that AI is, or will soon be, so much more efficient than a human that the need for employees will drop drastically. Another fair point, not impossible at all.
Would this be the first time that it happens? — again, No!
We can keep at this, but the point is that in a business process involving a human and a machine, the human has been the bottleneck for a while now.
Why isn’t Doomsday already here then?
Because these processes are built by humans, for humans.
Because, regardless of how many reports, dashboards, analyses, or content of any kind an AI can spit out, a human can only consume so much, and not more.
Instead of fretting over being replaced, we should embrace the change and strive for that sweet spot where the outcome of a process is greater than the sum of its parts.
Where it’s not a man or a machine (AI), but a man and a machine (AI) to create more than either could on their own.
Quick disclaimer: I’m a huge fan of AI. I try to keep as up-to-date as I can and I firmly believe that it’s already hugely impacting the way that we work and live.
I’m also absolutely confident that there isn’t a person on this planet completely without control over how AI affects them. I strongly believe that the vast majority of us will benefit from it.
How do we do it?
Remember that big word from before?
Now that we’ve transferred some of the workload to our friends, the machines, we can focus more on those things that they cannot, or do very poorly.
Typically we refer to these skills as soft skills.
They’re tricky though. They’re not tangible, almost completely immeasurable, and often it’s not even possible to clearly define them.
Hard skills are simpler. We already have a well-established system of how we can learn, show, and prove them. Everyone knows that they can earn “Advanced SQL” certification, or become a certified “Excel Expert”.
However, I’m not sure if such a thing as an “Advanced communications skills”, or “Master at being proactive” certificate exists. Even if it did, I’m not sure how I’d feel about them.
The fact is that soft skills are nowhere near as talked about as the tech stack — and this is a problem.
Again, if you open any feed, I’d be willing to bet heavily that the ratio of space/time given to each may be around 80% — 20% in favor of tech stack (I don’t have actual data).
This is a problem because it diminishes the significance of skills that, if we can agree on everything up to this point, are our main advantage in the modern business scene.
Everyone is on alert about what impact the tech will have on daily routines, but we’re using disproportionately low amounts of resources to celebrate and empower ourselves in that equation.
Let’s change that, and I’ll start big:
- Between hard and soft skills, the latter are more important!
- Soft skills are universally transferable
Sounds like a clickbait? Ok.
Situation
If you want to learn something, like Excel, for example, you look for suitable resources.
A very common resource today is educator influencers. You take a look at the few, but their content just bounces off you. Nothing works and as much as you watch them, you still struggle.
Then you find one that just clicks. You enjoy their content and start finding use for it. Moreover, you start consuming their content in your free time. It’s a source of pleasure for you.
Thinking critically, try to answer this:
- Is the difference between these educators their level of knowledge of Excel, or,
- The way they can communicate that knowledge in a way that is useful for you?
Put yourself in the shoes of those same influencers and ask:
For them to be able to do what they do, which skill is the more important one:
- The tech, or,
- The ability to break down complex topics and make them available to a wide audience (otherwise known as communication skills)?
Situation
Staying with Excel influencers.
Your favorite influencer was at the top of their game 5–6 years ago. They knew everything there was to know about Excel and then stopped.
Do you think they’d still be relevant today? If they were not proactive and constantly learning, do you think you’d enjoy their content as much?
In fact, with Microsoft bringing new updates every month, would you even dare invest your time and attention in an influencer whose content is 5–6 years old?
So, critically, what is more important:
- Acting in a proactive way to stay ahead of the progress curve, or,
- The fact that at some point in time, they knew a lot about Excel?
Situation
You work with two developers.
One is a keyboard wiz, but very unreliable, prone to negligence, and very difficult to communicate with always looking for fault in others.
The other is still good, but not as proficient technically. However, they’re a pleasure to work with, responsive to feedback, and coaching, and have a great can-do attitude.
Who do you look forward to working with more? Who do you think is more likely to get hired/fired/promoted?
And so we go again, what is more important:
- Responsibility, integrity, and communication, or,
- Technical wizardry?
Situation
Imagine a bank clerk who wants to shift their career to database administration.
What could be the tech stack of a bank clerk: possibly some light usage of ERP or other software the bank is running on, maybe some spreadsheet knowledge, some basic actuary math, etc.
All of these are next to useless to a DBA.
But, if we consider skills like being a great communicator, proactive in problem-solving, quick to pick up domain knowledge, and generally a pleasure to work with professional, well these skills would be a great fit for a future DBA — or any other professional for that matter.
This can go on, and at this point, a reader may argue that one skill set doesn’t work without the other — and they’d be right.
After all, what good is a polite, communicative developer who can’t actually code?
But, this was never about extremes — one skill set or the other. Having that mix is essential.
Once present though, it’s the soft, more intangible, more human part of what any individual brings to the table that’s the more important one.
The scenarios in this article are indeed oversimplified. But, they’re there to prove a point. I’d love to learn more about how we can use both soft and hard skills to improve ourselves and increase our value to any organization.
Without actual data, though, I could just as easily be wrong about this. Are we really talking about soft skills enough?
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