One foot in the future

A new generation is growing up who will never know a world without software, without Google and the internet, and without convenient online access to friends, content, and services.

What happens when they begin entering the world of work? Are workers and business practices keeping pace with the widespread changes in society?

Last weekend I had a wonderful lunch at my parents house in the company of several other family members. Afterwards, we all sat around in comfy chairs, drinking tea and reading the papers as we slowly digested the lovely food we just ate. None of this held any interest for my 10 year old Niece, who disappeared upstairs to “play” on the computer.

After an hour or so, she poked her head round the door and asked if I wanted to see what she’d made? As we sat at the computer, she treated me to a brief presentation all about her. She’d used Microsoft PowerPoint to create a set of slides incorporating clipart, colors and bullet points that described everything of importance to her - her interests, friends and family.

I was genuinely in awe.

While it wouldn’t win any communication awards, it was genuinely better than the worst corporate presentations I’ve had the misfortune to sit through. And she’s only 10 years old.

The viral-like spread of technology into every corner of our lives, coupled with an increasingly rapid rate of change, means the same skills many of us proudly display on our resumes today are taken for granted by newer generations. Work places and practices that can’t or won’t accommodate this will struggle to attract the brightest and the best, but what effect will this have on the current generation of workers?

If your key skills suddenly became common place, how would you stand out?