Future Proof: Reinventing Work in the Age of Acceleration with Diana Wu David [Podcast]

Podcast #231 – Marc Interviews Diana Wu David Author of Future Proof: Reinventing Work in the Age of Acceleration

Description:

This week I am speaking with Diana Wu David who is the author of Future Proof: Reinventing Work in an Age of Acceleration.

Let me read you her about section on LinkedIn:

I am a former Financial Times executive, author of Future Proof: Reinventing Work in an Age of Acceleration, and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School’s EMBA Global Asia. I started out my career working on high-level strategy as a management consultant and as an assistant to Dr. Henry Kissinger at Kissinger Associates in New York.

I work with global leaders, companies, and boards to enhance their ability to adapt, contribute, collaborate and grow.  I am privileged to have consulted with or spoken to clients including the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, the World Bank, Expedia, Randstad, and Credit Suisse.

I write about the future of work for publications including Fast Company, Inc and Thrive and speak globally on the future of work, corporate governance and boards, and East-West issues.

This episode is sponsored by Career Pivot. Check out the Career Pivot Community. Make sure and pick up my latest book, Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life Third Edition.

Now on to the podcast…

Download Link | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher Radio | Google Podcast | Podbean | TuneIn | Overcast | Pandora | Amazon Music  

The Why

After so many people were asking to meet for coffee to discuss their next step in life, Diana began to realize she needed a different way to answer the same questions for people.

That’s when she decided that writing a book could answer questions for many more people than she would have time for in a day meeting for coffee.

The Three Parts

Learn how and why the world work is changing

Diana wrote this book right before Covid. Part of the book talks about the linear model that if you behave well, get a good job that pays you well, you will be safe and successful.

That world is changing. Covid showed us all just how much.

We are working longer but company lifespans are shorter, so the risky thing now is to count on being in one company doing one job for your entire career.

The other reason our world work is changing is globalization. Some people do not understand that it’s going to impact them. In fact, thinking they think they can hide from it.

They think they’ll just have a small bakery, for example, in a small neighborhood. However, the wheat prices for those cupcakes are effected by global prices.

The global marketplace affects everything.

Also, demographics is something not a lot of people ever talk about for the future of work but people tend to self-segregate. When people reach the second half of life they actually have to change the types of people they associate with.

They have to include working with younger people.

How do you build a demographically rich group of friends and/or acquaintances? You have more space and time so you can actually expand that. 

Cultivate the virtues to stay engaged and relevant

People have a fear of being relevant. In a big corporation, people love when someone can do a job well. And the inclination is to keep that person there as long as they can and then tell them they’re not relevant and fire them.

How?

1. Culture of experimentation – For many people who are in a job moving to another job that’s completely different, they need to take a small step first. Experiment with something new before they take that first huge step.
2. Reinvention – going from a “job” mindset to a “value” mindset. What value can someone bring to the world? They are not just an accountant. Maybe they have a group of people that they can teach accounting to in very understandable language.
3. Focus – Take this time in life to truly focus on the subject of being relevant.
4. Collaboration – With many companies being a company of one right now, there needs to be more investments into collaboration with people outside of the person’s own company.

Built the people around me and I can choose how much I use them. And then I can pay as I go which is totally different than how I worked in the corporate world.

That really scares many people that grew up in the corporate world. Multiple revenue streams, so when covid started, I would fly places and speak I earned money. But could no longer do that. But my other revenue streams saved me.

Maximize the impact of your actions

If people have gone through and think they are ready to experiment and reinvent, it’s often found that they don’t know how to put that together in their life. 

How do they start moving toward this new identify and version for themself of what success is?

They need to think of the minimum viable lifestyle instead of the minimum viable product. They need to ask themselves what they really need?

Tim Ferris calls it “fearsetting.” What is the worse thing that could happen financially and what could someone do about that?

And if so, are they ok with that? 

These are all about mindset shifts.

People in this stage of their life will need to learn to make them.

How to reach Diana:

Website:  www.dianawudavid.com

The Future Proof Self-Assessment:  Future Proof Self-Assessment

How to Find More About the Podcast and Subscribe

Make sure to check out the Career Pivot Community.

You can contact us here.

Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you listen to this podcast.

You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter. 

You can get updates on this podcast by clicking on the Get Career Pivot Insights button below.

You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Podbean, Overcast, Spotify, and Pandora.

The podcast is available on YouTube.

Please consider writing a review on Apple Podcast or on Podchaser.com.  

Like What Your Read? Get Career Pivot Insights

Do You Need Help With ...

Check out our Help Center where you have access to 14 different content portals.