The past five years have seen the rise of tumultuous events and technologies affecting virtually every industry and economy ranging from health care to transportation. These events and technologies include the rise of digital disruption such as big data, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and platform technologies as well as the effects of COVID-19 that are radically transforming how we understand entire economies, industries and ourselves. These shifts lead us to a broader question: How do we define our values in a fluid and potentially disruptive ecosystem of change? Moreover, what does it mean to have an impactful career in this newer context?
How and why challenging the concept of horizontal and linear careers is necessary
To answer both questions requires that we no longer can see our careers as just fitting into a specific path and organizational outcome. In the past, institutions and organizations functioned more as a closed system whereby they could control economies and individuals. For example, if we look back 100 years, much of how individuals saw themselves was defined by the skills development and career pathways that their employer dictated they would follow. Schools followed easily in concert by training students for economic needs demanded by industry rather than emphasizing how individuals could be more independently resourceful and entrepreneurial.
