Sell to Survive: The Machine-Age Revolution is Collar-Blind

How long does it take you to scan an A4-sized document for relevant information? If you do not know what you are looking for: maybe about 2-3 minutes? If you are skilled and experienced in what to look for: about a minute? If this is your job, would you begrudge your boss/client replacing you with a software programme if it could do it thousands of times faster? If the underlying purpose of a business is to make profit, at what point could your human-ness get in the way?

Walking through Heathrow’s futuristic Terminal 5 last week, my breath was taken away (#1) by the massive and stunning Lombard Odier's advert. They write brilliantly on the topic of Artificial Intelligence creating what they call a "collar-blind revolution". As the Amazons of the world continue to launch groundbreaking autonomous tech, what role for us humans in a possible post-work era? I would not know where to start to write an algorithm, but I do know that I would prefer to make a conscious choice now in 2017 about which skills to sharpen before I am defaulted onto a Universal Basic Income which may be within my daughter’s future.

The impact of AI on the traditional professions is now starting to be seen. This weekend I had a startling conversation with a friend’s husband whose company uses AI to replace the everyday work of thousands of lawyer hours. The legal profession has been long been revered as a source of Proper Jobs and a good bet for those in the privileged position of being able to select a degree. Based on what they knew and how they handled information, lawyers called the shots and enjoyed high hourly rates running in to thousands of pounds an hour for a team of people. So who could have predicted that now in 2017 there are fully-qualified lawyers being paid £25/hr to do the case-reading work? Not that much more than what a skilled scaffolder who may be working outside the building earns. Without the student loan.

Big companies are now requesting that the algorithms do the lower-level data analysis so the hefty legal fees are only spent on what I call the ‘top-tier cognitive roles’.  Some of these roles may have previously been regarded as the lower-rung jobs e.g. not requiring a degree. As the music industry found, the digital revolution is democratising the workplace in swift, unexpected and unsettling ways (e.g. YouTube creating stars without the fees). Back to our lawyers: in the same time it takes a qualified human to read 60 sides of A4 - approximately 60 minutes - a computer programme has the capacity to read literally a whole truckload of documents. There are still tasks that only a human brain can do e.g. understanding nuances and perceiving context etc., but fewer individuals are required to conduct the volume of initial analysis.

Job losses for lawyers are not yet being widely reported- but who knows the professional shelf-life ahead as our cloud storage and confidence in technology increases. So if you are in one of the traditional professions, how can you gravitate towards the ‘top-tier cognitive level’ where the human touch is still valued?  Bring the 4Cs to life (care, collaboration, curiosity and creativity). Accountant? A curious one will still benefit the bottom line. Lawyer? Be a collaborative one and you’ll add value. Teacher? Be a creative one if you are to stretch your students beyond Google. Doctor? Be a caring one - because accurate symptom diagnosis is just one of the tasks. Bring your personality to work. Move from doing to being. Connect, connect, CONNECT.

So as data analysis shifts to the machines, what ARE the most sought-after skills in my friend’s organisation? His answer took my breath away (#2) in its unexpected simplicity: Selling. The ability to sell is the most prized skill, with many of the qualified lawyers moving into the sales team in order to continue adding value. The sales people are earning four times what the board level directors take home.  The salary table is tilting. This echoes the insider conversations I have had with those involved in new technology launches. Every project needs a hub person.  You need the techies to make the ingenious product or service – but none of these would come to life without the salesy, ballsy, make-thing-happensy people, who often describe themselves (in a slightly embarrassed way) as being “non-technical, but I make sh*t happen.”

Behind the scenes at the sexy and innovative tech companies is the very human reality that requires decent project managers to shape, guide and cajole everything along, entrepreneurs who spark the energy and create tension, and effective communicators to actually make the ideas come to life. If you (or your kids) are not particularly tech-savvy, this is the sweetspot… Because these are life skills that we can practice tonight around the dinner table. Connect.

P.S. The robots are coming…. Cog or wheel? The choice is still just about with us.

Laura Thomson-Staveley is founder and leadership coach at Phenomenal Training and co-host of Secrets from A Coach podcast. For more information visit: phenomenaltraining.com and secretsfromacoach.com