Chapter 18
Where We’re Heading
The fourth industrial revolution is at our doorstep. It advances each day, whether or not we’re prepared to meet it. Recall the McKinsey report cited in the introduction: The people who will prove the most resilient amidst the advance of artificial intelligence will be those who have developed their emotional intelligence. Emotionally intelligent people (and corporations) are the future of the work force.
The International Data Corp. (IDC) reports a $35.8 billion AI spend in 2019 alone, a 44 percent increase from 2018, and is expected to exceed the annual compound growth rate of 38 percent across five years. AI’s capabilities are constantly expanding and creeping into every conceivable industry from shopping to defense, healthcare, fraud analysis, manufacturing across government, personal and consumer services, and education. AI will undoubtedly continue to rise. Yet it works best when it is guided by humans. For all its advantages, AI still gets many things wrong. We’ve all read alarming reports of AI systems that have learned to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, zip code, or other delineators.
We need good human intelligence directing artificial intelligence. We need individuals who are committed to evolving their EQ. We need people leaders with advanced emotional intelligence at the helm of conscious organizations that are dedicated to serving the greater good—of their employees and the world as a whole. If we add AI into this picture, my hope is that our capabilities will increase exponentially. Then there’s no telling the amount of good we’ll be able to do.
Artificial Intelligence: Neither Good Nor Bad
Are you excited about a world in which AI proliferates? I can see the potential, so I err on the side of excitement. There is so much opportunity before us. I believe that the rise of AI will create a world in which humans are free to do richer, more meaningful work.
Collectively, we as a society have wasted a lot of time debating if AI is “good” or “bad.” Yet reality is always so much more interesting than dull binary terms. In truth, each stage of human evolution has created enormous opportunities, but it’s also true that we’ve lost things we couldn’t have imagined. The widespread adoption of agriculture meant we had more food, but we also went from carefree hunter-gatherers to people who stayed in one spot and worked long hours. Was that good or bad? The industrial revolution brought us from the farms to the cities. We created new technologies that harmed the environment, but they also increased the worldwide store of knowledge and connected people across the globe in previously inconceivable ways. Did we lose or gain?
The Future Is What You Make It
It’s all in how you look at it. Yet I’m of the opinion that it does no good to stand around bemoaning progress and longing to return to a “simpler” time (whatever that might mean to you). It’s better to spend your energies adapting to the needs of the modern work force—increasing your emotional intelligence so you and your organization can sidestep the elephants in your path and reach the unicorns who can move your company forward.
As a people leader, you face a unique challenge: the need to hire talent for roles that don’t exist yet. A new technology could emerge tomorrow that disrupts the way we do everything. How do you enlist unicorns to help you prepare for such an uncertain future? How do you stay current and competitive? If Agile teams that are able to respond quickly to change are the way forward, how should you go about building and supporting those teams?
From the time a candidate first makes contact with a recruiter to the time she’s worked in the job for a decade, your new hire, employee, architect, astronaut, or any other label you give her must be valued and supported. This can only happen in an emotionally intelligent organization. The recruiter takes the time to listen and value her needs above his own. The hiring manager helps create an engaging and relevant onboarding process. Managers regularly invest in their direct reports, giving them feedback and receiving feedback from them in return. They show their direct reports that they care about them as individuals, and with trust established, they offer feedback to move their team members forward. CEOs strive to ensure their workplaces are safe for all, not just those who come from privileged subsets of the population. Leaders make time for reflection and remain coachable—no matter how long they’ve been in their positions. They prioritize people over jobs and re-skill their teams when necessary with the buy-in of those teams. All people leaders keep one eye on the future so they can adapt their workplace as necessary.
It is my great hope that this book has helped you identify ways in which you can grow your awareness, develop your EQ, and help your organization clear the elephant herd standing between you and the unicorns you seek. The goal is not perfection but awareness and continual improvement. There is no perfect person or company. There are only emotionally intelligent humans doing the best we can, caring for our work and for one another, and striving to create the world in which we all want to live.
Step by step, we all move forward.