Durable skills, skills that last, have been top of mind for me lately. During Microsoft’s Discover Day, I heard Nadim Abdo recommend building durable skills like communications. Serendipitously, I was writing myself a note about durable skills in a presentation on the value of developing a deep reading practice. Durable skills like communication and reading apply to any job you may have, either now or in the future.
Right now, training on AI is popular. Many people are recommending that you devote your time to understanding the recent re-emergence of this field of computer science. I am not suggesting that this is bad advice, but I often find it helpful to look at the world through a contrarian view. Look at what everyone else is doing and think about approaching the problem oppositely or differently.
The exact future of AI is uncertain, but it is likely the majority of us will be simple consumers as opposed to architects. We will need to understand how to effectively use AI tools, but most of us will not be building the infrastructure. If you want to go deep and learn how AI tools work under the hood, then, by all means, go for it. I worry that many people feel they have to do this in order to stay professionally relevant. I don’t think that is the case.
What we do know is that the ability to effectively communicate, to work with people, and to critically think have always been valuable professional skills. That won’t go away with AI. In fact, those skills will likely increase in importance. Learning is also a durable skill. Your ability to learn is an improvable skill. Establishing a solid foundation of durable skills enables you to rapidly acquire any new bespoke skills you need, like AI prompting for example. In an environment of rapid change, durable skills are a sure thing.