In an attempt to continue my education beyond the classroom setting, I have made a point to read more on what I know little about. My default is to continue to learn about topics I’m already pretty familiar with because it’s comfortable and easy. Obviously, stepping out of my comfort zone will be the only way I can actually grow as a person. It’s definitely humbling.
In order to keep myself accountable, I thought I’d share the articles that I find most interesting every Friday. I’ll summarize the key points, and you can decide for yourself whether or not you’d like to read them too!
I want to get back to my original purpose in creating The Aleatoire, which was always to share Knowledge, Experience, and Art, as non-pretentiously and unfiltered as possible. It is challenging to share my thoughts about the things I’m interested in out in the open, as there will always be critics and so-called “haters” who dislike the content I create. So far, I haven’t encountered any haters, so I think I’m in the clear. For now.
Anyway, without further ado, here is what I read this week:
Young People are going to save us all from office life
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/17/style/generation-z-millennials-work-life-balance.html
Younger workers demand flexibility – paid leave for a new baby, generous vacation time, the ability to work remotely, come in late or leave early, or make time for exercise or meditation.
A survey by PwC, an accounting and consulting firm, found that for millennials, work is a thing, not a place.
The flexibility stigma: women get penalized when they use flexible schedules, and their careers often never recover in terms of pay or promotions.
The youngest people entering the work force don’t remember a time when people weren’t always reachable, so they don’t see why they would need to sit in an office to work.
‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications for companies
Companies should be attuned to three implications for this generation: consumption as access rather than possession, consumption as an expression of individual identity, and consumption as a matter of ethical concern.
As access becomes the new form of consumption, unlimited access to goods and services creates value. Products become services, and services connect consumers.
48% of Gen Zers said they value brands that don’t classify items as male or female.
Two-track model: the first for scale and mass consumption, the other for customization catering to specific groups of consumers or to the most loyal consumers.
63% say that recommendations from friends are their most trusted source for learning about products and brands. They trust instagrammers with 6,000-20,000 followers, as these are “closer connections” that might be more honest about the products they use.
“The Search for truth” at the center of Gen Z’s characteristic behavior and consumption patterns.
The Future of Work in America: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/the-future-of-work-in-america-people-and-places-today-and-tomorrow
The day to day nature of work could change for nearly everyone as intelligent machines become fixtures in the American workplace.
High-growth hubs, small powerhouses, and silver cities have grown by more than 10% since 2007.
Many americans in lower-growth areas are not migrating to high-growth places.
Automation will not be felt evenly across places or occupational categories. – the coming wave of automation will affect some of the largest occupational categories in the US economy: office support, food service, production work, and customer service and retail sales.
The largest occupational categories in the US economy have the highest potential displacement rates: 40% of US jobs are currently in occupational categories that could shrink between now and 2030. There will be strong job growth in healthcare, STEM occupations, creative fields, and business services.
Individuals with a high school degree or less are 4x more likely to be in a highly automatable role than individuals with a bachelor’s degree or higher, and as much as 14x more vulnerable than someone with a graduate degree.
Question: how to connect displaced workers to new, growing jobs?
The old model of front-loading education early in life needs to give way to lifelong learning.
The challenge is not fighting against technology but preparing US workers to succeed alongside it.
What We learned about 10,000 professionals’ digital marketing skills: https://theindex.generalassemb.ly/what-we-learned-about-10-000-professionals-digital-marketing-skills-ef1374c7ffce
In 2005, 1 Billion people had internet access (spent only 10 hours a week online), now there are 4 billion internet users who are constantly connected.
2017 was the first year that marketers spent more money on internet advertising than they did on TV.
Skills gap between digital-native marketers and corporate marketers – digital natives scored 73% higher
The top 5% of performers did not just come from marketing backgrounds, meaning that you don’t necessarily need marketing experience to have some of the core skills needed in digital marketing.
When Employees are open with each other, but not management: https://hbr.org/2020/01/when-employees-are-open-with-each-other-but-not-management
Side conversations occur because people believe it’s not acceptable to tell the truth publicly
Side conversations about substantive issues are a source of organizational pathology – it starts with senior executive building a culture of psychological safety where employees believe that candor is expected and welcome.