Tomorrow's Jobs Today
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If my 88-year-old mother ever had a LinkedIn profile, her headline would read something like “Former ingenue, entrepreneur, dreamer, and the rest is none of your business, my dear.” But to those who’ve had the privilege to know her over the decades, her mantra has always been, quite emphatically, to treat everybody with dignity. That was one of the main reasons she was receptive to opportunity.
She began working from an early age and later helped my father through chiropractic school by working long hours as a Hollywood extra during the fifties and sixties. Though never seeking stardom, she knocked on enough doors to get a lot of good work, saved some seed money, and established relationships that would eventually transform her life. Mom leveraged her positive attitude and tough shell to find opportunities, sell her strengths, and laugh off rejection. “It’s no big deal,” she always told me as a kid when the chips were down and she says the same thing to me now.
Most importantly, and by example, Mom taught me that you should never feel afraid to negotiate a deal because the absolute worst “they,” a client, customer, or possible employer can say is… no.
via Professing Principles of Digital Ethics and Privacy – CPO Magazine
“For me, trust has to be earned. It’s not something that can be demanded or pulled out of a drawer and handed over. And the more government or the business sector shows genuine regard and respect for peoples’ privacy in their actions, as well as in their word and policies, the more that trust will come into being.” Dr. Anita L. Allen
Dr. Anita Allen serves as Vice Provost for Faculty and Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law and Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Allen is a renowned expert in the areas of privacy, data protection, ethics, bioethics, and higher education, having authored the first casebook on privacy law and has been awarded numerous accolades and fellowships for her work. She earned her JD from Harvard and both her Ph.D. and master’s in philosophy from the University of Michigan. I had the opportunity to speak with her recently about her illustrious career, the origins of American privacy law and her predictions about the information age.
Q: Dr. Allen, a few years ago you spoke to the Aspen Institute and offered a prediction that “our grandchildren will resurrect privacy from a shallow grave just in time to secure the freedom, fairness, democracy, and dignity we all value… a longing for solitude and independence of mind and confidentiality…” Do you still feel that way, and if so, what will be the motivating factors for reclaiming those sacred principles?
A: Yes, I believe that very hopeful prediction will come true because there’s an increasing sense in the general public of the extent to which we have perhaps unwittingly ceded our privacy controls to the corporate sector, and in addition to that, to the government. I think the Facebook problems that had been so much in the news around Cambridge Analytica have made us sensitive and aware of the fact that we are, by simply doing things we enjoy, like communicating with friends on social media, putting our lives in the hands of strangers.
And so, these kinds of disclosures, whether they’re going to be on Facebook or some other social media business, are going to drive the next generation to be more cautious. They’ll be circumspect about how they manage their personal information, leading to, I hope, eventually, a redoubled effort to ensure our laws and policies are respectful of personal privacy.
Q: Perhaps the next generation heeds the wisdom of their elders and avoids the career pitfalls and reputational consequences of exposing too much on the internet?
A: I do think that’s it as well. Your original question was about my prediction that the future would see a restoration of concern about privacy. I believe that, yes, as experience shows the younger generation just what the consequences are of living your life in the public view and there will be a turnaround to some extent. To get people to focus on what they have to lose. It’s not just that you could lose job opportunities. You could lose school admissions. You could lose relationship opportunities and the ability to find the right partner because your reputation is so horrible on social media.
All of those consequences are causing people to be a little more reserved. It may lead to a big turnaround when people finally get enough control over their understanding of those consequences that they activate their political and governmental institutions to do better by them.
Q: While our right to privacy isn’t explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution, it’s reasonably inferred from the language in the amendments. Yet today, “the right to be forgotten” is an uphill battle. Some bad actors brazenly disregard a “right to be left alone,” as defined by Justice Brandeis in 1890. Is legislation insufficient to protect privacy in the Information Age, or is the fault on the part of law enforcement and the courts?
A: I’ve had the distinct pleasure to follow developments in privacy law pretty carefully for the last 20 years, now approaching 30, and am the author or co-author of numerous textbooks on the right to privacy in the law, and so I’m familiar with the legal landscape. I can say from that familiarity that the measures we have in place right now are not adequate. It’s because the vast majority of our privacy laws were written literally before the internet, and in some cases in the late 1980s or early 1990s or early 2000s as the world was vastly evolving. So yes, we do need to go back and refresh our electronic communications and children’s internet privacy laws. We need to rethink our health privacy laws constantly. And all of our privacy laws need to be updated to reflect existing practices and technologies.
The right to be forgotten, which is a right described today as a new right created by the power of Google, is an old right that goes back to the beginning of privacy law. Even in the early 20th century, people were concerned about whether or not dated, but true information about people could be republished. So, it’s not a new question, but it has a new shape. It would be wonderful if our laws and our common law could be rewritten so that the contemporary versions of old problems, and completely new issues brought on by global technologies, could be rethought in light of current realities.
Read more at Professing Principles of Digital Ethics and Privacy – CPO Magazine
The following is an exclusive excerpt from the book “Tomorrow’s Jobs Today: Wisdom and Career Advice from Thought Leaders in AI, Big Data, Blockchain, the Internet of Things, Privacy, and More” available soon from John Hunt Publishing.
The convergence of technology and the rule of law is expected to intensify over the coming years. It’s a paradigm shift that will force organizations of all sizes, private and public, across all verticals, to balance a world ripe with innovation with an evolving universe of risk and regulatory pressure. Employers and their workforces will be inclined to adapt to this dynamic new digital landscape in their personal and professional lives. Like every era before it, the individuals who lead the way will separate themselves from the pack by identifying, engaging in, and fostering the right opportunities wherever they reveal themselves. They understand that identifying gaps is one key to seizing those opportunities.
One of the most amusing success stories exemplifying this point comes from the first part of the twentieth century. It involves a weary soldier returning from World War I. As the story goes, the GI was tired but also thrilled to be alive after countless friends had been killed, and so much of the world he knew destroyed. He was discharged in California and put on a Pullman train packed with other vets traveling from San Francisco to the East Coast. Like his fellow soldiers, the young man enjoyed his share of spirits in the bar car, and by the time they crossed over into New Mexico, most of the train’s passengers were quite drunk. Naturally, overconsumption can lead to brawling, and that’s what occurred by early noon. He held his own for a while, but eventually, he was thrown from the caboose about 15 miles outside of Albuquerque. In those days, that was the middle of nowhere.
If that wasn’t bad enough, he only had enough money to buy himself a bus ticket to finish the last leg of the trip and maybe half a sandwich. Slightly drunk and out of luck, he began walking down the road parallel to the railroad towards town. As he sobered up along the path, he started noticing a lot of broken-down sedans, pickup trucks, and roadsters abandoned along the highway, likely having run out of gas. Remember, this was 1918, before GPS and call boxes, let alone gas stations… in the desert! Well, this young man thought a lot about those beat-up clunkers, and in between each one, as he made his way to civilization, he began thinking about what the vehicles represented. By the time he finally made it to town, he had come up with one hell of an idea.
Despite being parched and stinking to high heaven, he abandoned his plans to purchase a bus ticket and used what was left in his pocket to put a payment down on a tow truck. The next day he filled up the tank and set back along that road he’d traversed the afternoon before. Well, wouldn’t you know it? He picked up every darn one of those lonely jalopies and dragged them back to a lot he’d rented from the same lessor who extended him credit for the tow truck.
Less than a decade later that GI was the third-largest scrap metal salesman in the Southwest United States. By the time he died, about the richest man in Albuquerque. He never quite made it home to Boston, but he did learn first-hand about how your journey is often more enjoyable, and profitable than arriving at your destination.
So, what are your broken-down jalopies? What are the business processes, products, or teams you see broken down and in need of repair or improvement around your organization or community? How can you, like that GI, turn a real crap situation into one that benefits not just you, but ultimately the world around you? Can you identify the gaps in between the stops along the way to your goals? Are you ready to seize the day? Are you thrilled to be alive like that weary soldier the day he was thrown from the train?
Rafael Moscatel, CIPM, CRM, IGP, is the Managing Director of Compliance and Privacy Partners. He has developed large-scale information management, privacy and digital transformation programs for Fortune 500 companies such as Paramount Pictures and Farmers Insurance. Contact him at www.capp-llc.com or follow him on Twitter @rafael_moscatel.
The ease of digitally storing and monetizing personal information has now run up against the rights of consumers to access and in some sense, reclaim ownership of that data,”
via Data Governance: How to Tackle 3 Key Issues – BankInfoSecurity
Privacy requirements have changed dramatically as a result of GDPR and CCPA, says Rafael Moscatel, managing director at Compliance and Privacy Partners, a California-based consultancy.
“The ease of digitally storing and monetizing personal information has now run up against the rights of consumers to access and in some sense, reclaim ownership of that data,” he says. “That’s a paradigm shift that introduces a number of logistical burdens that some organizations, even relatively new ones, are not prepared to deal with.”
Moscatel says organizations need to identify and adopt appropriate privacy best practices.
“A solution needs to be proportional to an organization’s true risk, and while it must meet certain standards, your compliance professionals, data fulfilment service teams and IT support must be able to work with each other and speak the same language. It’s not as simple as throwing together a data map,” he says. “It’s not just collecting the metadata; it’s understanding the relation of the attributes not simply from a database perspective but from an ethical one.
There is increasing recognition that the data scientist ‘unicorn’—one who can master all the necessary skills of data science required by businesses—exists only rarely, if at all. Successful data science teams in business organizations, then, need to assemble people with a variety of different skills. This is only possible at scale with clear classification and certification of skills. While such certifications and classifications are in their early days, some firms are beginning to create them, and they are beginning to emerge in professional associations as well. Ideally, universities and other education providers and certifiers of data science skills would also employ standard skill classifications to communicate the skills they intend to inculcate.
Discover leadership secrets and technology strategies being pioneered by today’s most innovative business executives and renowned brands across the globe in this entertaining collection of interviews and stories exploring new careers of the Information Age. (ISBN 978-1-78904-561-1)
Design your career for tomorrow with wisdom from leaders whose shoulders you stand on today.
This collection of in-depth profiles featuring Smart City CIOs, Data Protection Officers, Blockchain CEO’s, Informatics Doctors and other diverse, skilled professionals gives readers first-hand insight into what tomorrow’s jobs look like today. The hands-on experiences, subject matter expertise and measured job advice shared within these pages demonstrate how identifying opportunities, setting the right cadence and building strong relationships are the essential ingredients to unlocking your future’s potential.
This book is for the new graduate, the professional between jobs and the doting parents desperate to get their “brilliant” but lazy kid out of the basement. It’s also for senior corporate leaders seeking an intimate understanding of the changes abounding in their organizations. It’s for the manager who wants to inspire and encourage professional development. And it’s for every knowledge worker out there who wants to leverage technology and information governance to reduce risk, generate revenue, and improve customer experiences.
Tomorrow’s Jobs Today is not for those who cower in the face of robots, coding, and automation. It’s a resource for people like you who recognize that the jobs of the future are very much here today and ours to adapt to. By absorbing the perspectives, challenges, and solutions of those deeply in love and accomplished in these new careers, we can help ourselves, our friends and our employees transform anxiety over a job search, job loss or just the winds of change into hope, understanding, and opportunity.
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*The opinions expressed by the interviewees in this book are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of their employer.
What’s important to remember here, overall, is that making your privacy plan a key component in your compliance program isn’t just helpful. These days it’s really a strategic imperative. That’s not only because it’s a hot topic or because it’s a growing regulatory requirement, but because it naturally enhances the way our organizations, and specifically our compliance and infosec groups, treat and value ALL of the data they’re responsible for testing and for securing, and in validating and protecting PII, we’re actually adding a layer of assurance that improves both internal operations and the customer experience.
Privacy makes data governance ethical and tangible, and compliance leaders understand that. Today, what we’re going to walk you through is what that awareness and proactive approach look like through the eyes of project leaders during three stages of compliance, prevention, maintenance, and retrospective.
What’s important to remember here, overall, is that making your privacy plan a key component in your compliance program isn’t just helpful. These days it’s really a strategic imperative.
I just want to point out that privacy, conceptually, is, of course, ancient really. People tend to forget that. I mean it has been written into legal codes even before the constitution as a Records and Information Governance community we’ve been dealing with it, from HIPPA to SOX, in one form or another. What’s different today at least in the business world is that the thresholds that trigger compliance these days aren’t industry-specific. Instead, they’re related to annual revenue and the number of data subjects you interact with, so that’s why we see a broader cut of industry’s being looped into these new demands of GDPR and the CCPA.
Privacy leaders have been asked about the volatile regulatory environment and a clear majority of privacy leaders rank keeping pace with the new regulatory landscape as a pretty important factor in their strategy…. Research also that a minority also are not confident that they have a framework for helping them adjust to that change. So, that’s what we’re aiming to address here today in terms of strengthening that IG program so that it helps buttress or even drive your privacy goals.
[Another] insight we’re sharing with you involves metrics. And we all know metrics is the heart and soul of compliance to a large degree. And we see that finding those metrics to measure their programs is somewhat lacking for the majority of those surveyed. And that results in the majority of leaders being unable to effectively report on their program outcomes.
Session Description: This special, two-part panel discussion facilitated by the ICRM will compare current academic curricula with the existing ICRM exam to identify gaps and areas of improvement for both academia and the ICRM. University Professors will discuss their programs and IG industry leaders will add perspective from the business world.
It’s really a surreal time to be having a discussion about meeting evolving business needs don’t you think? Of course, we’re doing this conference virtually for the first time, and pivoting towards presenting in this fashion is kind of representative of that evolution we’re here to talk about. You know one thing I think Records and Information Governance professionals excel at though is supporting organizations through digital transformation initiatives, and I imagine the reason that so many companies are able to move forward at such an accelerated pace today, despite COVID, is because they’ve already experienced in getting their records and information online. And I see more of that demand in the days and years ahead but also see significant risks.
But first I want to start this discussion with a sampling of questions shared with me by Tao Jin at LSU…. And I would assume it’s similar to the questions asked by students at some of the other schools with curriculums like LSU. Because I think part of framing this discussion is, you know, trying to understand what students and job seekers are actually asking as they consider these programs and navigating the job marketplace. And I’m not surprised that a majority of the questions shared here are related to emerging technologies.
One thing I think Records and Information Governance professionals excel is supporting organizations through digital transformation initiatives, and I imagine the reason that so many companies are able to move forward at such an accelerated pace today, despite COVID, is because they’ve already experienced in getting their records and information online.
I’ve had my own CRM designation about 7 years now and I can tell you the exam, and these University offerings go well beyond my original training which, at the time still focused primarily on micrographics, if you can imagine that. The exam has changed since then to address new technology and innovation. But that’s not entirely the role of the Records and Information Governance professional, is it? There are other important areas of course like management…. And I think the next panel will discuss that… But the one thing I want us ALL to think about today is this…. Are we generalists? Or are we specialists? I think it’s maybe a little bit of both…
And I think whatever direction individuals take, businesses are going to want their candidates to be well versed in emerging technologies as well as core ones, which we’re going to ask you about in just a moment.
We’ve all heard about job losses post-COVID, but I wanted to diverge from that headline for a moment and bring up what I see as some good news. And that is, from a career standpoint we are witnessing professionals with IG skillsets increasingly being tapped to lead technology upgrades, digital transformation projects, and cross-functional teams in a number of sectors. I think we’re seeing this trend for a lot of reasons. I’ve put an image up here from LinkedIN. It’s essentially a snapshot of a job search query. And I encourage you all to do this yourselves so you can see how diverse roles have become in just in a short amount of time. It’s not surprising how much of today’s work and technology now requires a solid foundation in good recordkeeping, database, and systems design. And recruiters are looking for that education and experience.
Although it’s not yet mainstream in every business, we do know that Big Data, IoT, and other emerging technologies are certainly driving some of the need for IG professionals. But it’s also a desire to find talent that can integrate privacy, data governance, and other best practices into those technologies, isn’t it?
An additional layer of assurance just makes good business sense and that layer is made possible by the talent that understands and can implement IG, especially around data governance.
Specifically, with the convergence of technology and regulatory pressures, we are seeing a specialized need for the RIM or IG professional to come in and ensure that operations, risk, and long-range planning value data governance, and that decisions about data protect the organization and prepare it for the next wave of innovation…. That’s how we make the most impact, by tying together stakeholders, prioritizing goals, and helping the corporate culture as a whole recognize the value of these data-driven initiatives and our individual contributions to them. IG reflects the thirty-thousand-foot view of the business with the experience of having been in the weeds with risk, compliance, and internal audit of its moving parts.
Employers. Their executives… and their attorneys, they all realize this. And the headlines around ransomware, GDPR fines, they’ve all prompted companies to revisit and invest in the way they tackle their biggest challenges. They know that an additional layer of assurance just makes good business sense and that layer is made possible by the talent that understands and can implement IG, especially around data governance, right?
That’s how we make the most impact, by tying together stakeholders, prioritizing goals, and helping the corporate culture as a whole recognize the value of these data-driven initiatives and our individual contributions to them.
So, I think those that succeed are those that try in earnest to gain the respect of their IT counterparts. They demonstrate adequate knowledge of the toolsets they’re working with. It’s not that you need to know how to program or code per se, but you do need to know the vocabulary, the big concepts behind what is going on to get buy-in for your portion, and to exchange ideas efficiently.
My colleagues and I are convinced more each day that closely aligned with these new opportunities created by technology is the personnel function of change. And I don’t think that means IG pros give up their methodologies or best practices or risk-averse perspectives, but they do need to embrace the demands thrust upon them. They have to move from defense to offense.
Ultimately, our role is no longer gatekeeper. Our role is part diplomat, part subject matter expert, part change agent. And I’d like to see educators start shaping those expectations with students and businesses as well.
I talk a lot about this in my new book, Tomorrow’s Jobs Today. Take a look at some of the job openings being put out there on LinkedIn, that I referenced earlier. In each job description, although it might not say Records Manager, you can pretty easily identify that recruiters and companies are looking to fill that type of role, or support the function in one way or another. Privacy Manager, Enterprise Project Lead, Risk Analyst, GRC consultant, etc.
And actually, groups like the ICRM, they play a critical role in communicating to employers exactly how their membership and certification programs deliver the competencies they need to drive new projects forward. But they need to understand. Ultimately, our role is no longer gatekeeper. Our role is part diplomat, part subject matter expert, part change agent. And I’d like to see educators start shaping those expectations with students and businesses as well.
Technology is the main driver of our evolving profession. And it’s not simply about document management and enterprise content management infrastructures, but now about AI, Blockchain, IoT. This is a direction that the MER conference has illustrated for years now. So, I think it’s imperative for educators and curriculums to offer primers on what a distributed ledger is, the basics of natural language processing, technical requirements of the GDPR, and similar topics.
Rafael Moscatel, CIPM, CRM, IGP, is the Managing Director of Compliance and Privacy Partners. He has developed large-scale information management, privacy, and digital transformation programs for Fortune 500 companies such as Paramount Pictures and Farmers Insurance. His latest book, Tomorrow’s Jobs Today, is available soon from John Hunt Publishing. Contact him at www.capp-llc.com or follow him on Twitter @rafael_moscatel.
I was recently interviewed for an article on Data Governance & Privacy for a number of periodicals including Info Risk Today on “Data Governance: How to Tackle 3 Key Issues: The Importance of Accountability, Data Inventory, and Automation. Below is the full text of my interview for additional context.
While global privacy regulations like the GDPR and CCPA have greatly impacted contemporary data governance discussions, enterprise projects, and software solutions, we often forget that privacy itself is far from a novel concept and, in fact, one with deep roots in centuries-old ethics and social mores. What’s different now, or even from twenty years back, and what does that mean for data governance today?
The truth is that many companies have had to comply with at least some privacy requirements for decades, but the ease of digitally storing and monetizing personal information has now run up against the rights of consumers to access and in some sense, reclaim ownership of that data. That’s a paradigm shift that introduces a number of logistical burdens that some organizations, even relatively new ones, are not prepared to deal with. Especially since IT infrastructures and dependencies change quite rapidly. So the question becomes how do we build data governance rules that can keep up with these nuanced laws and demands while still supporting the greater needs of the business? The severity of fines and reputation damage from non-compliance has forced us to sit around the table and try to find the right balance between risk and reward. I think ultimately privacy-by-design as a fundamental aspect of enterprise architecture will bring needed order to some organizations despite handicapping them in the near term.
The second challenge is also privacy related, but in terms of exposure, much more consequential. Data breaches and ransomware have inundated infosec teams and exploiting poor data governance models is routine for hackers. Most breaches obviously originate with end-users, but the protection, encryption, anonymization, etc. of private data sets requires thoughtful and strict data governance to sustain disruption. How do meet that high bar and also provide a seamless customer experience? That’s a work in progress.
We try to spend as much of our time understanding the regulatory environment our client is subject to as much as their risk tolerance. You can always look for a baseline in terms of a particular set of laws, but often a best practice approach makes more sense in the long run. I think a solution needs to be proportional to an organization’s true risk, and while it must meet certain standards, your compliance professionals, data fulfillment service teams and IT support must be able to work with each other and speak the same language. It’s not as simple as throwing together a data map. This is, to your previous question, a challenge because the stakes are now much higher and teams must now not only support each other’s requirements but go farther in understanding and appreciating the very nature of those rules. It’s not just collecting the metadata, it’s understanding the relation of the attributes not simply from a database perspective but from an ethical one. This is a convergence of law and technology that requires true cross-functional teamwork, where each stakeholder must respect and value the contribution of his or her colleague. It’s just not enough to know your little corner of the universe anymore. At Compliance & Privacy Partners we aim to facilitate discussions that enable that synergy and eventually support change management goals.
As far as privacy goes, and despite its long history as a basic component of ethics and law, most groups still haven’t understood you can’t just throw bodies and technology at something like this. The specialty is too new and the laws are in many cases too vague to leave it up to a project manager, a lawyer, a vendor, and an enterprise architect. I’m seeing a lot of companies try to check off details of regulations without understanding exactly how they fit together. What ends up happening is a whole lot of talk, a whole lot of capital spend and very little result. Companies have to take a step back. The smartest know they need to bring somebody in who can provide an overview and roadmap for their particular challenges and then take next steps. That planning is what’s really going to set up their in-house teams and leaders for long-term success.
From my perspective, it would be to actually value privacy, not just as a consumer yourself, but as a smart business decision. Customers want companies they can trust and who provide solutions that help them solve their problem, but also don’t exploit their data. Do unto others as they say. I think building a culture that can internalize that as a golden rule will be transformative and lead to better data governance across the board.
Rafael Moscatel, CIPM, CRM, IGP, is the Managing Director of Compliance and Privacy Partners. He has developed large-scale information management, privacy and digital transformation programs for Fortune 500 companies such as Paramount Pictures and Farmers Insurance. His latest book, Tomorrow’s Jobs Today, is available soon from John Hunt Publishing. Contact him at www.capp-llc.com or follow him on Twitter @rafael_moscatel.
Full transcript below
Welcome to the AIIM 2020 Keynote Session Tomorrow’s Jobs Today, thinking beyond information management.
I’m Rafael Moscatel, I’m an AIIM member, and I’ve had the distinct pleasure of attending several of its thought leadership events over the past few years and had the opportunity to meet and become friends with many of you.
There isn’t much that could keep me away from an event like this, and I’m disappointed that I can’t be with you in Dallas, but I just became a father again, and it’s my first few weeks on the job. So I’m kind of afraid to ask for any time off yet!
Luckily, it’s a detail-oriented role, which is perfect because my background is in Compliance and Privacy, and I’ve spent most of my career building data governance programs for recognized brands like Paramount Pictures and Farmers Insurance.
But whether it’s a classic motion picture company or a premiere insurance group, I’ve learned that my ultimate goal isn’t just managing risk but rather elevating Information Governance and being an integral part of the “mission” of whatever organization I’m a part of. For a film studio, that’s producing content, and entertaining your audience. For an insurance carrier, the goal is to protect people’s livelihoods and helping us get back on our feet after a disaster.
So, whatever our organization’s mission might be, it’s imperative to connect “the what we do” to “the why we do it.” And that’s one of the wisest lessons I’ve learned from colleagues here at AIIM, like Michael Jay Moon, Dux Raymond Sy and some of the other leaders you have on the stage today.
It’s a big reason I wrote the book Tomorrow’s Jobs Today….
I interviewed almost two dozen trailblazing information management leaders in fields like AI, Blockchain, Big Data and Privacy from world-renowned organizations like Price Waterhouse Coopers, the International Criminal Court, and Iron Mountain to understand what their mission was and how they applied their unique skillsets in pursuit of that greater good.
The lessons I picked up in speaking with these folks should resonate with an information management professional. Despite their industry and diverse roles, three things stood out. First, they knew how to recognize an opportunity.
Take Ashish Gadnis of BanQu. Ashish grew up dirt poor on the streets of India, and following a life-changing experience in Africa, he developed a fantastic app that leverages the same technology behind Cryptocurrency, blockchain, to help the most deprived people and farmers in the world. By using his app, even if you’re in the last mile of a supply chain, you can establish your economic identity, better assert your value in society, and escape poverty. He saw the unequal gaps between significant brands, middle-men, and farmers on a supply chain and decided to transform those gaps into opportunities.
The second lesson I learned is also a timeless one but also speaks directly to the challenges the information age and our digital deluge. It’s Less is More. We learned from pioneers like George Socha of BDO and the EDRM that particular strategy is relevant not merely in disciplines and concepts like eDiscovery, and privacy-by-design, but how you approach your career. To be strategically selective with our words, our actions and our expectations runs contrary to the human nature of a large segment of the workforce and consumers. It’s also what makes you stand out.
Finally, coming full circle, the most important lesson I learned from all of the individuals I interviewed, and that was that Relationships Matter. Enjoying and being enriched by professional relationships is above and beyond the greatest gift you can give your career. Relationship building is, has always been and will always be, the most critical skill and strategy we should practice and master.
Now, I know it’s going to be many years before my youngest enters the workforce, and jobs are going to look a lot different, but I know the valuable lessons and wisdom that have guided me in my career and exemplified by the biographies in my book will still be around.
Because although the set decorations can be changed, and the actors, and the price of insuring your most valuable assets, what stays the same is the power you have over your destiny. I know that statement’s true because I just spent a year documenting the success stories of those who swear by it.
As working professionals in the Information Age, we must strive to recognize and even anticipate emerging technological trends. But seizing upon those opportunities is possible when we choose to partner with change agents who share our vision and can work with us to transform our enterprises. We must reach beyond our teams or spheres of influence and work closely with the legal, regulatory, and ethical communities that study, measure, and moderate the impact of our technology and products on our respective fields. We need to plan and develop ourselves with a deep respect for the world that our products and services impact.
By absorbing the perspectives, challenges, and solutions of those deeply in love with and accomplished in these new careers, we can help ourselves, our friends, and our employees transform anxiety over a job search, job loss, or just the winds of change into hope, understanding, and opportunity.
As you look ahead to your career over the next year, think back to the dreams you had as a kid. And think about how every one of us is in the business of making new dreams and opportunities come true for the next generation. Because if we don’t, they’ll never leave the house.
Thanks to each of you at AIIM for inspiring me in my own career. You can find out more about your colleagues in this book by going to tomorrow’s jobs today dot om where we’ll be publishing excerpts and updates about the book, and now I’ll turn it back to you Peggy and four visionaries who exemplify some of the best qualities our AIIM community has to offer.
