Can be learned at home, and not via formal education.
Listen to Steve read this post (7 min audio)
The one skill kids need now, in the AI era, can’t be provided at school, and certainly not through a fancy university. I should know — I used to teach at Australia’s leading university.
It’s self-reliance.
The good news is that there are a number of ways to develop and nurture it. At the top of my list would be entrepreneurship. And this doesn’t mean having to go out there and build a huge company, or even launch a startup — it means being independent and being able to solve problems for money. It means knowing that when the system changes, you can adapt to the world.
Here are some things I think will take a child further than doing their homework. Mostly because they develop the mindset and skills to cope with uncertainty:
- Chores — Kids who help out around the house develop accountability, discipline and pride through making a contribution. They understand the value of paying it forward, and it reduces entitlement syndrome. They learn that we all need to help each other make things work.
- Part-Time Work — This gives teenagers real-world experience, workplace confidence, communication skills, an ability to balance priorities, teamwork and a real understanding of the value of money, how hard it is to earn — and why working for wages isn’t always that much fun.
- Local Micro Business (Side Hustle) — Running a small business teaches kids how to attract customers, set prices, control costs, sell, negotiate, deliver good service and communicate confidently with adults.
Almost a decade ago, in my book The Lessons School Forgot, I could see the writing on the wall as to where the world was headed. Here’s a shortcut — formal qualifications matter less than ever. Sure, I also want doctors, engineers and people in healthcare to be qualified. But most degrees aren’t worth the paper they are written on, or the $100k-plus they cost these days.
*AI Video of the week – Smart & fun in situ use of AI…
The Game changed
Imagine investing those 3 years of a commerce degree in self-education, starting businesses, generating revenue and participating in the actual market. Any kid with half a clue, and a lot of effort would be on their way to a self-reliant future — or at least have a better story and skill base to sell to Employer X than someone with some exam results and a bit of theory.
Today, the world’s most respected companies don’t say, “Show me your degree.” They say, “Show me what you’ve done or built.” Here’s a small sample of companies which threw away their degree requirements: Google, Apple, IBM, Netflix, Canva, WiseTech Global, Bank of America and Ernst & Young….
Now we can add to this the fact that everyone has a PhD in their pocket, with AI that can do pretty much anything a qualified person can. So what’s left? The ability to see opportunities, seek them out and be a self-starter who literally invents their own revenue streams.
Sure, this might be via a job — and will be for most people — but never forget that a job is basically about generating revenue to support yourself and your family… We have to open our kids eyes to the reality that the future doesn’t care about their ATAR or SAT score.
Entrepreneurship is the most important skill of the future because the industrial-age deal — one career, one employer, security in exchange for compliance — is dead. School trained us to be followers for a factory system that no longer exists, so the ability to reinvent yourself, spot opportunities and build your own income streams is now a survival skill, not a career option.
Technology has made it possible: the tools that once required corporate capital — manufacturing, distribution, marketing and global reach — are now cheap or free and in everyone’s pocket. Power has shifted from ownership and size to access and connection, meaning an individual investing only their time can compete in ways that were once impossible.
In a world of constant disruption, entrepreneurship is ultimately the skill of adaptability itself — and that’s the one thing that can’t be automated or outsourced.
We are all the CEOs of our own personal services corporation. Some of us sell 100% of our services to a single employer. That’s a huge risk in this day and age.
And the best way we can teach our kids what they need to survive — and maybe even thrive — in the era of AI is to have more than one customer, and to learn the art of generating independent revenue streams that they own and control.
Keep Thinking,
Steve.
** Get me into do a Keynote at your next event. I’ll use this as my testimonial!