The old saying is still true—“The times, they are a-changing”.   Today, digital technology has increased the rate of speed at which ideas are exchanged and changes within society occur.  As we continue to advance and reshape our world, we also require new skills.  When you step back and look at the big picture, changes and their effects, such as the acquisition of new skills, are easier to see.  I’ll give you two examples of what I am talking about.

The recent advancements in mobile technology have created the ability to send and receive information from anywhere.  This technological enhancement has created a work behavior change because we can now do our work from anywhere- we are not even constrained to our laptops anymore.  But in order to do so, a person must first learn how to operate their mobile system.

 Another example is the amount of communication exhibited through online social networks.  This technological development has changed our communication behavior.  Businesses must go where their audiences go and if the audience is now online, so to must the business.  The effect is then the way in which we use online metrics to analyze the audience, promote our brand and increase sales.  But before a company is able to leverage these opportunities, their employees must understand the digital landscape and how to work within it.

There are most certainly numerous examples that you can think of within your own line of work if you just stop and think about it for a moment. 

The problem is that when prompted we can think about the changes that have occurred, but because we get caught up in the day-to-day grind we tend to become blinded by the changing world and therefore do not sustain a current skill set.  We work in the way we always work, and sometimes even become resistance to new change.  What then happens is you become pigeon-holed into knowledge, skills and abilities that are soon to be antiquated, and after all of the hard work you put in “doing what you were asked to do” you find yourself being replaced by someone with fresher skills.

Instead of letting your company replace you, you replace your skills.  Start by taking a look at your coworkers and ask yourself “How do my skills stack up against theirs?”  You must be brutally honest in your answer.  It only hurts you if you take it easy on yourself.

Next, make a list of all of the skills you could acquire that would benefit you.  This may take some research on your part.  Get out there on the Internet and find topics related to your field.  For instance, a sales person who does not have a good online knowledge foundation needs to get one. 

After you have an idea of what skills need to be updated or acquired, it is time to seek out training and development sources.  Here are some potential training avenues:

• Sign up for company provided online training courses  
• Work with subject matter experts in your company
• Attend local college courses (perhaps your company has tuition assistance)
• Purchase online software
• Conduct online research

Companies today are looking for employees who are open to learning and nimble enough to work in an agile environment.  The world and everything in it is changing too fast to be resistant to it.  Think of continuing to look for new skills as an added job responsibility.  Do not get overwhelmed; start small, but make sure you do it.  It is very easy to put it off for another time, but too valuable to do so.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 10:10 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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