Killer skills and future of work vision, like from the 90s

CYBERPUNK was a tabletop RPG from the dark future envisioned in 1990s. ______“The Corporations control the world from their skyscraper fortresses, enforcing their rule with armies of cyborg assassins. On the Street, Boostergangs roam a shattered urban wilderness, killing and looting. The rest of the world is a perpetual party, as fashion-model beautiful techies rub biosculpt jobs with battle armored roadwarriors in the hottest clubs, sleaziest bars and meanest streets this side of the Postholocaust. The Future never looked so bad.” _______________________________________

Oh, the 90s gave us many visions of the future. Plenty of them thankfully did not materialize (like corporate wars, ahem), but the enthusiasm powering the anticipation of what’s to come was ecstatically unstoppable. The 90s visions contained tiny rays of hope despite their post-apocalyptic flavour. And unlike today’s futures concocted to fuel viral hysteria, they were not only interested in thumbs pointing up as they battle each other in the attention-murdering virtual arenas.

The influencers from the 90s were balding guys with ill-fitting trench coats in the alleys behind dance clubs, too quick to reassure they’ve got what you need cheap, cheap. Just saying no was much easier when you didn’t have to outsmart an army of machine learning billion-dollar algorithms fuelled by behavioural research from global persuasion cabals. Futurists were dream visionaries, not CEOs blowing hype up their own supply chains and mining more bitcoins than the whole of humanity could spend over the next millennium.

Here are the highlights from an article I wrote about the future of work in 1995, which are as relevant today as they will likely continue to be for the foreseeable future:

• CHANGE MANAGEMENT We must accept the future paradox of only one constant: change.
• KILLER SKILL Globalization of the business world necessitates flexible career paths focussed on communications skills.
• REMOTE WORKPLACE The workplace will become nearly obsolete with the increase of mobile technology, contractual employment, and the development of an information knowledge industry.
• FORESIGHT Job security and a life career with one company are concepts of the past. Readjust the concepts of the past and expose yourself to new ways of envisioning your career.

Employment Pictures of the Future: In Focus or Exposed? The Fulcrum News Magazine, Sep 15, 1995, pg. 1 of 2

Employment Pictures of the Future: In Focus or Exposed? The Fulcrum News Magazine, Sep 15, 1995, pg. 1 of 2

THE NEXT 25 YEARS

What will shape work over the next two decades? Stay tuned to find out. Follow me if you wish, but please, ignore the email in the article from 1995. Here are better ways to reach me:

• LinkedIn (regular and frequent updates, the best way to stay in touch, login to the platform for best experience)
• Medium (post from LinkedIn here, along with work-unrelated topics)
• Twitter (rare visits and posts as I’m on a blue-bird-reduction regimen)
• Meta (no, not for now, but I never say never)