Very readable interview by Cathy Engelbert and John Hagel (Deloitte) with Tom Friedman in the Wall Street Journal about his new book Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations.
In it, a list of recommendations on what to give young people today, how to prepare for the near future. I had this translated by DeepL. It fits wonderfully with our B(u)ilding 4.0 approach. And older re-learners can learn from it too….
I have five pieces of advice for my daughters.
My first rule is: always think like an immigrant, because we are all new immigrants in the age of acceleration.
Second, always think like a craftsman. Always do your work in such a way that you bring so much empathy, so much uniqueness and personal value that it can’t be automated, digitized or outsourced, and that you want to put your initials into it at the end of the day.
Third, always be in beta. Always think of yourself as constantly needing to be revised, retooled, relearned, and relearned. Never think of yourself as finished – otherwise you will really be finished.
Fourth, always remember that PQ (Passion Quotient) plus CQ (Curiosity Quotient) is greater than IQ (Intelligence Quotient). Give me a young person with a high PQ and a high CQ, and I’d rather take that person seven days a week than a kid with a high IQ.
Finally, whatever you do, whether in the public or private sector, whether frontline or managerial, always think entrepreneurially. Always remember, “Where can I start a new business here, where can I start a new business, start a new business there?” because a huge manufacturing company is not coming to your city with a factory for 25,000 people. Today, this factory consists of 2,500 robots and 500 people. So we need three people to build a business for six jobs; six people to build one for 12 jobs; 12 people to build one for 20 jobs. That’s how we’re going to get all these jobs. We need everyone to be entrepreneurial.
