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Deidre Woollard's avatar

I was told when I was young that I had to use my brain because it was the only way I could make money. As I watch AI eat the knowledge worker world I see how much that advice had to change. The old metrics of title and office size are dead. What we bring to the table isn't certifications or how much we can cram into our heads; it is our humanness.

All of this requires a reframing of work and where we assign value. Our identity needs to be more than our jobs because those are not steady. Having meaning or a sense of purpose may matter most and very few people are taught that. Luckily it is never too late to learn.

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Lisa W's avatar

Rick, the day you posted this I was with my mom in the last few hours of her life. In considering what you've written I can honestly say that the last year has been marked by my coming to terms with being addicted to climbing, title, accolades, being seen as an expert, and trying to solve all the world's (ok, healthcare's) problems. In the last days of my mother's life, she never once said anything like, "How come you never made it to VP?" Or, "How much more money do you think you'll make next year?" While it didn't take this for me to begin re-examining myself--that started with my 2023 sabbatical--it was a universal, existential affirmation that I'm on the right path. I'm so fortunate to be working with a company who didn't ask a single thing other than, "Are you taking care of yourself?" Instead, it was, "Just come back when you come back and at whatever number of hours you want to. The work will be here." I think this process you describe is easily summed up with a quote from the movie Working Girl. When Tess McGill is asked by her fellow secretaries what she'll do next (after being fired), part of her answer is, "...and just wise up and not take the whole thing so seriously."

Thanks again for such great insights. Let us know when your book is gonna drop. :)

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