Part of the collection of blogposts on:
SKILLS A TRADITIONAL 200K MBA WILL NEVER TEACH YOU
Dear reader, since the Fall 2022 Hap Klopp and I have been conducting a Master Class Series on topics which are not readily taught in traditional business school programs. Each Master Class (MC) has a companion paper distributed to the MC participants. These papers are now published here making them available to my blogpost readers and also available at our 3 Amigos website.
Abstract: This paper addresses the major inevitable intersection in the future of work and higher education. The reduction in company and product life cycles, and the acceleration of the introduction of exponential technologies coupled with increasing worker mobility are driving major changes in the working world where the average worker is now expected to hold over 12 jobs in their career. That high turnover is driving companies to demand that employees are job ready day one and is leading more students to replace their traditional 4-year college education with a sequence of very targeted certifiable credentials (a.k.a. micro-credentials) –a credential that will guarantee the employee has the requisite skills to match market demands. This new educational approach will mix and match an employee’s sets of micro-credentials with employment needs as they evolve. Each step will constitute a mini career. A judicious sequencing of mini credential(s) + employment within a single industry or across adjacent industries, is expected to facilitate the acquisition of unique knowledge and experiences making the individual increasingly more valuable while also providing greater personal fulfillment and offering increased roles of leadership and responsibility.
Most conversations about human capital center on three keywords–often mistakenly interchanged: Knowledge, Skills, and Experience; but with very different meanings. Understanding the differences and their interdependence can dramatically transform how we communicate and think about talent. In fact, managers often make the same mistakes regarding human capital in developing their business strategies, development plans, career planning, promotions, demotions, and separations.
A clear understanding of the difference enables managers and employees to identify gaps between today’s situation and the desired end state of their planning. The following definitions are provided for clarity to the reader:
- Knowledge: requires a theoretical framework, abstracted to the highest possible levels, to lend the principles to different disciplines and application domains. For example, you could learn all there is to know about bicycles, the laws of physics that keep the rider in equilibrium, the manufacturing processes, the various components, and all the ins and outs of two-wheeled devices without ever riding or learning how to ride a bicycle.
- Skills: involve the practical application of knowledge to solve a very real problem—often being the pain point of society which creates a business opportunity. Following the bicycle metaphor, a very practical skill is to learn how to ride a bicycle. However, to acquire this new skill, it is not necessary to understand the laws of physics, what it takes to manufacture a bicycle, or its supply chain.
- Experience: is gained over time, when a skill is applied to different situations leading to potential mastery. Inevitably new insights are gained, that could lead to the acquisition of additional knowledge. To complete the bicycle metaphor, an experienced rider who can ride in different terrains, hours, or weather conditions, and is equally competent on flat or hilly roads, and in all sorts of traffic and weather would constitute an experienced bicycle rider.
A virtuous cycle relates Knowledge, Skills, and experience as shown in the diagram below. Of particular interest is that experience can feedback new insights into the acquired knowledge or perfect some skills
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
Andre Gide
The End of America’s Belle Epoch
During the post-second world war period, American businesses sought to hire talent with broad general knowledge expecting them to gain experience and develop unique skills over their lengthy employment. Institutions of higher education (colleges and universities) were the “suppliers” of the firm’s human capital needs via a classical liberal arts education. Some portion of those students went on to augment their knowledge with advanced degrees to master selected job skills but still much of the specific education was left to the firms that were hiring the employees.
Two key megatrends underpinning this corporate behavior were: 1) historically slow-changing technological and business paradigms, and 2) the post-WWII global dominance of American businesses. However, by the end of the last century, the dominance of these two megatrends was challenged by the introduction of new exponential technologies at an accelerated pace and the concurrent emergence of other business-savvy countries like Germany and China.
Today, companies justify their revised hiring practices by pointing to the accelerating speed of paradigm shifts in technology, businesses, and markets. They explain that this makes it impossible today to train all the talent in-house, on time, with the required knowledge, skills, and experience to meet the human capital needs of the firm.
The proliferation of new technologies and business models embraced by a myriad of competitors, suppliers, and other stakeholders requires a constant re-imagining of the business, fueling a process of constant re-invention. In this context, it is of paramount importance to understand the difference between knowledge, skills, and experience to satisfactorily construct the firm’s plans for its future human capital needs and clearly identify gaps between the current and a desired future state.
The other side of the equation is the future education/employable skills that human talent seeks to acquire. As firms shift their emphasis from knowledge to skills, individuals shift their focus from the traditional 4-year liberal arts University Degrees to obtaining certifiable skills providing assurance of having achieved a level of proficiency and know-how. During this shift the single lifetime career afforded by a college degree, and possibly followed by additional graduated studies, is giving way to a succession of mini credentials (mini degrees). This succession of mini-careers will consist of multiple short-term roles instead of a single life-long position within one or two companies. More and more responsibility will rest in the hands of the individual to match their interest to the evolving market demands.
Shift toward Mini-Careers
The rise of the gig economy, advancements in technology, the decreasing life span of products and companies, and evolving workforce demographics have all contributed to the emergence of a new career trajectory for business talent. Traditional notions of lifelong employment and linear career progression are giving way to executives holding a series of jobs with many different organizations and even engaging simultaneously in a portfolio of independent projects with the same or different firms.
“Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home…it’s your responsibility to love it, or change it.” Chuck Palahniuk
Advantages
While it is disruptive and unsettling to some, the positive of this change is that professionals in this changing landscape will be able to experience many interesting, diverse sets of activities, pursue their passions, and even engage in work endeavors that can provide an opportunity for a much better work-life balance. At its best, it will provide constant skill development, career progress and help satisfy the individual’s quest for personal fulfillment.
The era of many mini careers has appeal for both individuals and businesses. From the individual’s perspective, professionals will gain exposure to a wide range of industries, roles, and projects. This diversity will enhance their skill sets, foster their adaptability, and boost their creativity. By engaging in different projects, individuals will also build a vast network of contacts across various industries, enabling them to seize new opportunities and access a broader pool of knowledge and resources when needed.
Mini careers provide greater autonomy and freedom and will help both individuals and companies discover some of the revolutionary ideas that one only finds in the valley between disparate disciplines. Professionals will choose companies or projects aligned with their evolving interests and strengths, creating a greater sense of purpose and fulfillment in their work. This increased autonomy and flexibility will promote creativity and innovation, allowing individuals to explore rewarding, unconventional solutions to business challenges.
“Starting a new job can be nerve-wracking, but it’s also exciting. You’re embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh story on a clean slate.”
Adena Friedman
From the company’s perspective, the fact that people will have much shorter work engagements will offer the businesses increased flexibility in hiring and staffing. Organizations will be better able to tap into a talent pool of specialized professionals that meet the evolving needs of the organization, thereby accessing diverse expertise and avoiding long-term commitments to people who may be beyond their born-on date. This approach should reduce the costs associated with permanent employment and allow for agile responses to changing market conditions.
Challenges and Implications
Although a career trajectory consisting of mini careers may be inevitable and holds significant promise, it is not without challenges. Professionals engaged in short-term roles may face increased uncertainty regarding their income and their job security. The possible absence (or loss) of traditional employment benefits, such as healthcare and retirement plans, can exacerbate the employee’s uncertainty. Where employment benefits are offered it may be very hard to transfer from one company to another, causing uncertainty, stress, and anxiety. Until it becomes easier to transport these benefits, it is going to be a major penalty for those people moving from one job to another. And, the constant need to seek new projects and new employers will require individuals to invest time and effort in self-promotion and networking along with all the challenges of executing their everyday job.
The prevalence of many mini-careers may disrupt the traditional corporate structure and employee-employer relationship. Companies will need to adapt their management and organizational structures to accommodate a more fluid workforce. Building strong relationships and fostering loyalty with short-term professionals will become even more vital to ensure the availability of top talent for future projects.
The future of many mini careers in business carries significant implications for the job market and society as a whole. It challenges the traditional concept of stability and long-term commitment to employment. Governments and organizations will need to consider policy changes to ensure the protection and well-being of workers in this new landscape. Social safety nets, portable benefits, and access to training and education will need to be prioritized to support professionals engaged in many mini careers.
The Role of Education
Higher education is already being disrupted by a variety of factors — a failing economic model for tuition-based institutions, the shift to distance learning driven by digitization and accelerated by COVID-19, and the growing proliferation of competitive teaching methodologies such as certificate programs, often called Micro-Credentials. Micro-Credentials tend to be narrower in range and easier to acquire compared to traditional qualifications like degrees. They often provide skills in a given emerging topic demanded by the private or the public sector.
The diagram below identifies how mini-careers result from mixing and matching the acquisition of just-in-time skills with employment opportunities as well as a portfolio of professional engagements. In other words, the diagram below illustrates the break-up of the front-loaded educational process of 4 or more years followed by long-tenure employment. Mini Credential provides the means to obtain scalable and cost-effective training while enabling it to remain competitive in the job market.
Micro-Credentials provide the opportunity to stack on-demand skills leading to a highly customized/individualized learning experience, aligning the individual career aspirations of individuals to the needs of businesses.
The shift to mini careers is going to accelerate the disruption of Higher Ed institutions. It will multiply the demand for specific skills to be day-one-job-ready which often does not require a traditional liberal arts 4-year college degree. It will require universities to significantly increase their program offering for re-skilling and up-skilling human capital becoming obsolete. Professionals will need to stay abreast of industry trends and acquire new skills to remain competitive. Lifelong learning will become a cornerstone for success, requiring individuals to engage in ongoing professional development from a variety of sources to remain valuable.
The Future
A new covenant between corporations, higher ed institutions, and the individual will need to be re-framed with continuous feedback loops continuously updated. This new covenant requires firms to periodically disclose the new areas of skills required to a market of learners and education purveyors.
New partnerships will be envisioned, connecting educational institutions with employers and them in turn with a potential talent pipeline that includes interns, new hires, and ongoing employee development opportunities. This approach appeals to all three stakeholders to play together enabling individuals to gain credentials backed by a reputable institution and in demand from target employers. This virtual cycle is shown below.
The era of mini careers in business will represent a paradigm shift in how individuals approach their professional journey, a journey that is becoming longer due to the postponement of the retirement age caused by the monotonic increase in life expectancy. With increased flexibility, autonomy, and diversity, many professionals will be allowed to follow dynamic paths as a means to pursue their passions, build versatile skill sets and maximize their market potential in a business world they may never have imagined a decade ago. But, for those individuals who fail to constantly re-skill and up-skill, they will be left further and further behind, and their career trajectory will be stifled and probably quickly decline.
“If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.” – John D. Rockefeller
Until our paths cross again amigo — Carlos B.
Carlos S. Baradello 