Where would you be without your technology skills?
Think about it. Digital convergence has affected various professions, narrowing the divide between what used to be totally different skill sets.
20 years ago if you needed a graphic designer, you would go to a large marketing agency. Today, you can choose from a huge selection of tools and stock images, the power to create is literally within an individual’s grasp. This is happening in many different areas like audio, video, content development, data analysis, banking and finance… just to name a few.
It’s not the availability of the tools that separates us anymore, but the skill and creativity with which we use them. While most people can easily get Adobe Photoshop or similar software, many have no clue how to use these tools. Take video production for instance, years ago, without the proper recording and editing equipment producing a video would be nearly impossible. Today, video recording and editing tools are widely available and taught to kids in grade school. We are becoming “wired” with the skills to use these tools effortlessly.
Obstacles that once halted productivity are shrinking with every passing generation. Technology is evolving; tools and mediums are common place for communicating ideas. Thanks to all this, today’s (and tomorrow’s) executives are armed with a new skill set, which allows them to use their talent for mass communication and influence.
Circle of Influence
Never before have so many professionals had the power to influence and communicate to large-scale, global audiences. Using their modern skill sets and technology’s open platform, people can create and present concise, refined, and compelling ideas in an instant. Power and influence can be achieved virtually overnight. Many bloggers have made names for themselves in this way. We have also seen this in philanthropic endeavors and viral Internet sensations.
Power really comes into play when people use their influence to inspire others to become influencers themselves; to work on things they can do something about. A circle of influence forms, change happens, and progress is made.
Think about it. A little more than a decade ago, this type of power and influence could not – and did not – happen overnight. Today it can – and does!
Technology Makes Us Talented
Connectivity aside, technology has simply made us more talented. People are photographers, graphic artists, web producers, writers, musicians… all this in addition to their careers and professions. While some argue technology “dumbs” people down, I say the opposite is happening. Those individuals who have embraced technology with open arms now have the skills to propel them in any direction they wish to go. More fields of business are more transparent and accessible. The sky’s the limit!
Technology has turned today’s modern executives into powerful multi-taskers with the ability to be productive at unprecedented levels. Think about the way you do business, where would you be without your technological skill set?