The Most Valuable Skill in the Age of AI

Table of Contents

• Mindset: Environment

• Life Skill: Dot Connector

• Career Advice: Projects > Paper

• This is Cool: Jurassic Park 2.0

• Bonus: Making Social Media Optional

MINDSET OF THE WEEK
Environment > Motivation

Early on into the TKS program, after the newness and excitement starts to fade, and the work becomes real, Directors calendars would start to fill up with 1on1s booked by students wanting to talk about increasing motivation or how to become more disciplined.

Unfortunately, they never got the silver bullet answer they were looking for. If that solution existed, we’d all be using it. Life often doesn’t work like that.

We would have meaningful conversations and talk about time blocking, setting weekly goals, daily priorities, accountability, making sure they’re working on something of their choosing that they’re genuinely interested in, etc.

But with project work in TKS, students didn’t receive the immediate gratification of a grade like they were used to in school. They had to buy in and trust that the process would pay off in the long term.

That process consisted of building interesting projects that solved real problems - and then leveraging those projects to book meetings and to create relationships which might then lead to opportunities.

For some, it could be a tough sell; “if you do X (projects, content, cold outreach, newsletter, etc.), it’s likely that Y (internship, speaking opp, scholarship, etc.) could happen, eventually.

And we’d like you to do it by this date, but it’s not school, so we’re not going to force you, and there are really no real consequences if you don’t. Except FOMO. And you shouldn’t compare yourself to your peers since you’re all working on wildly different things, and comparison is the thief of joy.”

Very different formula than what they were used to in school. Do X (assignment) by this date and you will receive Y (grade). There are real consequences if you don’t do it.

School has baked in societal and familial (external) motivations. I might not be motivated to do my history assignment right now, but in general, it’s getting done because I need to graduate high school, and ideally do well enough to go to a good college or university.

That external motivation didn’t naturally exist at TKS in the same way.

There were many alumni stories to show that if they trusted the process and did the work, they would very likely achieve their goals.

But it wasn’t the quick fix they were hoping for in that 1on1. Like many things in life, including motivation, there are solutions, but they’re not shortcuts.

Environment being an exception.

It’s not a true shortcut. It won’t solve all of your motivation problems, but it will make it a lot easier for you to do the thing you said you wanted to do.

Creating a physical and digital environment that is conducive to success is a non-negotiable.

I’ve shared a few personal examples in previous newsletters. Things like:

• Using the Brick (iPhone) or Minimalist (Android) to limit screen time

• Using a giant daily calendar habit tracker that I can’t avoid

• Surrounding yourself with growth-focused people

• Choosing activities that require you to step outside of your comfort zone

• Not buying sour jube jubes because I will eat the whole bag in one sitting
  
  

  

  James Clear on LinkedIn

Sour jube jubes are my constant friction 😐

The big aha for me at least in terms of how I explain this concept to young people, is that environment is in your control, motivation is not.

Motivation is fleeting. When it hits, it’s wonderful. Euphoric even. Use it. Squeeze every last drop out of it.

But for most people, if we lived a life waiting for motivation to strike, we’d be doing a lot of waiting.

We’ve all heard the classic, lay out your running clothes before going to bed so it’s easier to run in the morning. We hear it often because it helps create an environment that makes it easier to do what you said you wanted to do.

But I think we can do better.

💡 If you want some specific, tailored advice about how to create an environment that will set you up for success, head over your favourite LLM and try out this prompt.

Swap out the [filler] for your specific scenario.

Use this prompt:

You are my personal development coach. You are very good at what you do because you refer to science backed approaches that have been shared by authors like James Clear and Nir Eyal. 

Your job is to help me understand what creatives an effective [home/office/class] environment that will help me accomplish my goals. 

And then most importantly - help me create a specific, actionable plan that will allow me to achieve my goals.

The specific habit I am trying to develop right now is [ie. work on my novel for 2 hours before the day starts without distraction].  

Ask me as many questions as you need to ensure you have the context required to come up with a plan that will help me create an environment that will help me succeed.

Let me know if you end up implementing any of those suggestions. Always looking to nerd out on environment tips/tricks.

LIFE SKILLS
The Most Valuable Skill in the Age of AI

Being a connector of dots is what Sam Altman recently said will be the most important skill in the age of AI.

Makes sense to me. Why do we need to prioritize collecting of information, if we have these cheap, always on machines, that can do it better than we possibly can, in a way that’s personalized and contextual to each situation.

Google was a good fact collector, but even it couldn’t do that - combine it’s collection of dots with memory from my previous interactions, and now with reasoning to synthesize information specific to my context.

The ‘so what’ then if you’re willing to consider Sam’s perspective is that we should be shifting our intention towards developing the skill of getting better at figuring out what questions to ask, instead of focusing on what answers to hold on to.

Even if the goal is to become dot connectors, I think there’s still an argument to be had about not outsourcing dot collecting fully to the AIs.

In order to connect dots, it helps to have some stored dots to connect to. We still need to retain knowledge to do this effectively - or creatively, which is at least for the time being, where we still seem to have a light advantage.

Connecting dots creatively is fun to say, but wtf does that actually mean for me as an educator or student reading this? How do I teach or develop that skill?

Short answer: invest in learning about systems thinking.

It’s not a new concept, but it’s definitely become more trendy lately. Here’s what it means, courtesy of Claude.

Love that tik tok/insta analogy 😍 And that was on my first prompt. Good job Claude.

myBlueprint collaborated with the World Economic Forum a couple months back in an effort to introduce this exact concept.

And because the World Economic Forum recently released the Strategic Intelligence Academy; an educational resource hub that equips teachers and learners with transferable skills through systems thinking.

The recording below:

• introduces & explains systems thinking

• explores the Strategic Intelligence Academy & Strategic Intelligence Platform

• shares ways other educators are using the platform in their classroom

CAREER ADVICE
Projects > Paper

You love to see it.

If you’ve been subscribed to this newsletter for any period of time, you’ve heard me preach about the importance of projects and portfolios. I’m not quiet about my distain for resumes and report cards, what I believe to be largely relics of a bygone era.

So when I see things like this out in the wild, you know I’m gonna highlight it for you. This is social proof.

It’s one thing when it’s coming from a forward thinking, fast moving startup - but when it’s coming from a big, established company like Nokia, that’s a signal that times are a changing.

This is a actually really cool initiative. Nokia takes students who just finished grade 11, and gives them real working experience over the summer. It’s open to students from all across Canada, though those living in Ottawa get to attend in person.

And in the application, they specifically highlight the desire for students to not focus on grades/report card - and instead - highlight the skills, cool projects, and accomplishments that make them unique.

Let’s go Nokia 👏 

From my perspective, grades, or degrees in general, are not a signal that you can do the job. They are a signal that you can get good grades.

I once worked with someone who finished law school, and did their MBA. On paper, they were well credentialed. In reality, that didn’t translate to the real world contributions we were hoping for.

Also LOVE that they ask students to submit a video as part of the application. That’s a requirement in TKS applications too. Starting to also see it a lot more now as part of some competitive post-secondary programs.

Whether it’s asked for or not, including a brief introduction by video is advice I am constantly giving on coaching calls as a way to stand out and cut through the noise in scenarios like this.

Like Amy. I just told her that word for word last week.

She reached out to me on LinkedIn looking for some advice on her upcoming transition from post-secondary into the workforce. We met up for a 1on1.

Among other suggestions, the relevant advice in this situation was to start creating and sharing content.

If you want to apply for roles where you’re going to be communicating science, you want to be able to show that you can communicate science.

• Her transcript will show that she can learn science.

• Her portfolio will show that she can communicate science.

The internets a big place though, so we talked about how to work smart with the content she created and be intentional about getting it in front of the right people.

Amy is interested in biochem generally, and wants to talk to a few professors about the work they’re doing in that space to see if there’s an opportunity to do some novel research and also communicate science from those labs more broadly.

So we came up with a specific plan to:

• find 10 profs in Canada doing work on related research

• find their most recent published paper/work

• read it and turn it into content, ie engaging summary youtube video

• send that content to prof and ask for a meeting

• follow up with everyone; sometimes people are just busy

I know this strategy works. I’ve coached many students to do the exact same thing.

Not all 10 will respond. Not all 10 will agree. But I’m confident that a few will.

Put yourself in the shoes of that prof. You spent months or years doing that research, so you’re emotionally attached to it. And now some young person reaches out to you with nice words about your work, and content they made to help more people see and benefit from it. You probably just made their day.

So few people are doing this.

It’s also a win/win. You’re learning about new research, refining your content creation skills, and developing a few key relationships as a result.

Build projects.

Curious about science communication as a career? It’s pretty cool 🤓

THIS IS COOL
Jurassic Park 2.0

Nothing to see here 🙈

Classic. I’ve always thought the Yukon was beautiful, but it was always missing something… winter elephants.

Starting with Wooly Mammoth…

I think we all know what happens next.

Wondering what the business model is for a company that reintroduces extinct animals? Me too.

“3. Creating wildlife reserves and tourism opportunities around their de-extinct species…”

So, Jurassic Park. Fml.

BONUS
Gen Z, Social Media is Optional

This isn’t specific to Gen Z, that’s just the title of the article I’m sharing with you.

I’m sharing it with anyone who will read it. Like I mention in the screenshot below, this is not as a directive coming from me, but rather, a perspective I am sharing.

It’s written by a young woman who noticed what social media was doing to her, and she didn’t like it. So she opted out - over time, with intention, and with something she has coined the 5D Method.

🔎 Here’s a little teaser to encourage you to give it a read.

And if that article strikes the same chord in you as it did in me, lots of room still available in the flip phone club 😎

It’s the one she references in the article.

After all, B = ƒ(P, E).