Dreamers and Unicorns are the new role models

Look how much around has changed in the world of work. Fast food manufacturers are building tech hubs. McDonalds has digital boards programmed to market their food more strategically, taking into account such factors as the time of day, the weather, the popularity of certain menu items and the length of the wait. If the temperature dips, they will market hot chocolate not cold shakes. They can make the reverse happen in summer.

They are not the only one to go digital. Domino’s Pizza is investing in technology too with the intent of capturing the growing food-delivery market. They have even been playing with self-driving cars to deliver your pizza. Everywhere, a new set of machines and algorithms are nudging humans at their desks.Algorithms are deciding who gets hired and which stories you see on your social media timeline. Algorithms decide which movies are shown to you and which job ads will be tempting for you to consider quitting your current job.

Humans will be left to do creative work

Machines will always be better at doing things that follow rules. Once the rules are fixed and the exceptions are minimized, the machine beats us hands down in efficiency. That is exactly where humans have an advantage. And may I say, India and Indians will have an unfair advantage when we compete with machines.We are comfortable with chaos and ambiguity. That is what we have grown up with. For example, dealing with humans is hard for machines. Each one of us is different. Our accents vary. Our fingerprints are unique. Even siblings and identical twins are different despite similarities.In a world disrupted by rules, algorithms and machines, there is room for Dreamers. The Dreamer who can turn their ideas into reality become Unicorns. In the creative fields like photography, music composition, film-making and even sports there are no rules of success. If machines do all the predictable and routine work, humans may actually have a chance to do just creative work.

Dreamers and Unicorns – our new role models

We have seen three phases of working. Phase 1 was all about getting a job. As employers and employment became more fluid, it gave rise to entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship was the second phase after employment. In the more recent times, gig work has started to grow especially in India. Millennials and GenZ prefer the flexibility that freelancing allows. That is where Dreamers and Unicorns come in.The Dreamers and Unicorns who are now fast becoming our role models are all those who have embraced the new code of work. They have followed their passion and leveraged technology to adapt their careers to the new code of work. These are the new role-models we need to follow – the Dreamers and Unicorns.You can listen to the podcast Dreamers and Unicorns here"

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Meanwhile listen to the episode introduction and tell me what you think of it. Do leave your comments below._____A version of this was published by Times of India and Economic Times blog dt 26 Oct 2019