Workforce Asset Management Book of Knowledge

Preface

We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't exist yet, using technologies that haven't been invented, in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet.

—A statement from the popular YouTube video Did You Know? by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman

SO TRUE FOR MANY OF us as we examine our profession in the workplace. We are doing jobs we did not study for in school, working on technologies that did not exist just a few years ago that were designed to solve problems we did not even consider or have not yet considered.

How can you respond to such rapidly evolving and demanding times?

In an era of ever-changing workplace landscapes—technology, people, regulations, and so on—learning and adapting is a fundamental part of working. Learning means survival—a consumption of information that builds skills and enables achievement. Every successful creature seeks the competitive advantage.

How will you attain the skills and tools that translate over time?

Wisdom is the epitome of learning and the manifestation of effective adaptation. Wisdom is the ability to recognize which tools work and which do not, and the capacity to discern the proper course of action using these tools. Without it there is uncertainty, inaction, and risk. The tools that could make us miners of a new golden age may go unused or undervalued for lack of a better understanding of their potential.

In the modern workplace, many tools are at our disposal, but we lack wisdom about ...