Soft skills over hard skills: The skills needed for the 21st century.

Over the past year, we’ve all experienced AI in the form of Large Language Models. It’s incredible how a set algorithm relying on software, data, and statistics can create prediction models that allow us to see things in written form. AI is truly going to make us more efficient. Tasks like number crunching and data cleaning, which used to require a lot of manual effort, can now be done with a simple command.

There is a stark improvement in my efficiency:

Outsourcing research to a language model has significantly streamlined my blog post creation process. Previously, it would take about an hour to complete a blog post, with roughly 30 minutes dedicated to proofreading.

Now, AI programs have reduced proofreading time to 15 minutes by effectively identifying and correcting grammatical errors and word usage issues.

This has shortened my overall blog post creation time from 60 minutes to 45 minutes, representing a 25% efficiency gain. By applying this efficiency boost to my weekly blog posts, I can save 780 minutes, equivalent to over half a day, which can be redirected towards enhancing my blog content.

So then, what does this all mean for organizations:

Organizations are poised for an explosive surge in efficiency, freeing up time and reducing the need for tedious data crunching and meticulous attention to detail for accurate data acquisition.

This enhanced efficiency will accelerate processes, making strategic direction and organizational synergy more critical than ever before.

The ease with which hard skills (those required for accurate data and number generation) can now be acquired means that results will become increasingly sensitive to organizations’ soft skills.

The interpersonal skills needed to steer organizations towards specific goals and the execution of strategies to achieve compounding production outcomes are the key drivers of success.

Consequently, it is more crucial than ever to emphasize the importance of leadership through empathy and interpersonal skills. Human-to-human communication is the cornerstone of success. Ironically, as humanity embraces better technology, the quality of our communication and our ‘civic mindedness’ will amplify our returns to an unprecedented degree.