Reinventing Jobs
Reinventing Jobs
JOHN BOUDREAU'S
REINVENTING JOBS
MEMORIZATION BOOKLET
MentorBox
WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO RAVIN & JOHN?
CHEAT SHEET
MANAGING DIRECTOR AT WILLIS TOWERS
WATSON RESEARCH FIRM
REINVENTING JOBS FEATURED BY DOZENS OF LEADING MEDIA,
INCLUDING CNN, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND
BY RAVIN JESUTHASAN
FORTUNE
& JOHN BOUDREAU
RATED A TOP-25 MOST INFLUENTIAL CONSULTANT
“Technologies like self-driving cars, chatbots, BY CONSULTING MAGAZINE
automated parking lot attendants, and robotic home
caregivers are enticing and attention grabbing,
but experts say that the pivotal factor in realizing BIG IDEA #1
their value is increasingly how leaders optimize the
THE WRONG QUESTION
combinations of human and automated work, and
KNOW THIS — When it comes to the automation and
then organize and lead to support those combinations.”
digitization of work, we’ve been asking the wrong question,
which is: How and when will automation take over (our) jobs,
30-SECOND SUMMARY and which jobs will they take?
WHAT TO DO — Understand that automation doesn’t
affect jobs: It affects tasks. Your skill set and that of your
It’s in the media all the time: Some unknown interview
organization’s personnel must allow for augmentation by
subject or politician is lamenting about the loss of jobs to
automation, not avoidance or neglect of it.
automation and robotics. The robots are taking over, and
they’re leaving traditional workers behind. By all means,
we should be concerned about the growth and impact
of technology, but the answer isn’t to simply grieve or BIG IDEA #2
adopt anti-technological practices. The answer is in our
own personal and organizational mindset and structure. DECONSTRUCT THE JOB
Many kinds of automation, including robotics and the KNOW THIS — A majority of organizations have neither
highly anticipated artificial intelligence, are already having deconstructed its work to search for automation opportunities
massive impacts on our industries. In most cases, they nor established re-skilling pathways to prepare personnel to
don’t remove humanity from the job, the re-define and best work alongside automation.
refine exactly what humans should be doing, optimizing WHAT TO DO — Ask yourself the following three
us and our organizations in the process. Reinventing Jobs questions regarding the tasks performed in your organization:
teaches us how to adopt and best take advantage of these Is the work more repetitive or variable? Is the work performed
technological advances, as well as how to anticipate future independently or interactively? Is the work mental or physical
advances. in nature?
1. Artificial Intelligence and all forms of automation are here AUTOMATION PAYOFF
to stay, and it’s essential to adapt our own skill sets and KNOW THIS — There is a general belief that there is a
professional pathways to make us and our organizations direct correlation between the quality of performance of a
as effective as possible. job and its value to an organization. This is an erroneous and
2. Most organizations are simply not taking the steps over-simplified understanding.
they need to effectively incorporate AI. This creates an WHAT TO DO — Understand that there are ultimately
opportunity to get ahead of even the most established four types of nuanced relationships between job performance
companies. and value: High performance that is compulsory, high
3. AI ultimately creates both opportunity and demand for performance that maintains, high performance that benefits,
humans to became better performers than ever before. and high performance that grows exponentially.
BIG IDEA #4 BIG IDEA #7
RPA OPTIMIZE WORK
KNOW THIS — The most established form of computerized KNOW THIS — Automation is creating opportunities to
automation is robotic process automation (RPA). RPA “bots” optimize work in three different ways: By substituting human
allow for the large-scale aggregation, organization, and simplified work, augmenting human ability, or creating demand for new
analysis of data. types of skills in humans.
WHAT TO DO — RPA is ideal for replacing independently WHAT TO DO — Look for ways that automation can bring
performed, rules-based, mental tasks. Consider looking into RPA human interaction BACK to your work or industry. Can
to reduce the errors and time spent working with massive data the streamlining of processes allow your personnel to spend
sets. more time with customers developing, empathy, brand, and
relationships?
Congratulations! By receiving this MentorBox, Ravin Jesuthasan is one of the world’s most
you’ve already proven you’re ahead of the game. sought-after experts on artificial intelligence and
You’ve demonstrated your desire to pursue an automation. He has been a featured speaker in every
education more practical and imperative than any major continent and contributed written work to The
other. You’ve identified the most effective way to Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and Fortune.
develop an innovative, creative, and resourceful
spirit. So, again, congratulations. His writing repertoire also includes three books:
Transformative HR, Lead The Work, and
BUT, that’s only step one. This is simply the toolbox Reinventing Jobs.
you need to repair the problems you see in the world.
Now, you must learn to use those tools—consume He has been recognized as one of the top 25 most
the knowledge and experience of these experts, influential consultants in the world by Consulting
reflect on the import of their successes, and decide Magazine, and currently holds the title of Managing
how you will join the ranks of thought-leaders and Partner at Willis Towers Watson, a multinational
world-changers. advisory company.
NEXT STEPS
3. Scan the Cheat Sheet. NOTE – Reading Reinventing Jobs will give you the
full breadth of Jesuthasan and Boudreau’s research,
4. Begin the Video Book Lesson, keeping your Memorization expertise, and personal experience. However, we have
Booklet in hand to follow along and make notes.
constructed these resources so that you can access,
5. Break between lessons to fill out the corresponding learn, and apply the book’s key points without a
sections in the Memorization Booklet. traditional read-through.
MentorBox
BIG IDEA #1: THE WRONG QUESTION
The first goal of Jesuthasan and Boudreau in losing their jobs, but that’s not the technology’s
Reinventing Jobs is…complex. They ask you to fault! Automation is one of the most promising
redefine the new technologies of artificial intelligence augmentations (not replacements) to human work,
and automation (which will be referred to generally ever.
as automation in this workbook), reframe your own
mindset around these technologies, and alter your In many ways, this calls for a paradigm shift in how
behaviors accordingly. Because, to put it frankly, up we think of work. It’s no longer safe or smart to hold
until now we’ve been afraid of automation. down an easy job without seeking advancement or
self-betterment over many years—this approach to
It’s in the news, in hushed conversations at work, work may be dying out. But, is that necessarily a bad
or maybe one of your more outspoken relatives has thing? Isn’t it best for humanity to constantly push the
complained at length as well: “Robots and machines boundaries of our own abilities and intellect?
are taking jobs away from humans! How do we stop
this?” Of course, because this technology is complex, it’s
a lot to ask of individuals to prepare themselves
Well, this book is the answer. for this technological revolution. The remainder of
this workshop not only will give you the essential
First of all, understand that automation does not vocabulary and understanding of automation, but it
replace jobs, it replaces tasks. It fundamentally also offers systemic and organizational solutions for
alters work in ways that have resulted in employees helping employees adapt, adopt, and improve.
APPLICATION TO LIFE
You must be willing and able to work with automation. Is your skill set flexible, adaptable, and broad enough to
technologically augment and enhance the work you do?
List your strengths, skills that will help you work new technology into your personal and professional success habits.
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BIG IDEA #2: DECONSTRUCT THE JOB
Perhaps because of the fear we seem to have about As mentioned in Big Idea #1, you must first identify
new technology taking over jobs, a vast majority the elemental tasks that make up the jobs you or your
of companies are way behind in adapting to and organization do. Then, to deconstruct the work you
adopting AI and automation. Also, the technology must ask the following 3 essential questions of those
itself is still new and constantly developing, so tasks: 1) Is the work repetitive or variable? 2) Is the
it certainly isn’t an easy task to prepare an entire work performed independently or interactively? 3) Is
organization to take advantage of social robotics the work mental or physical in nature?
(which we’ll talk about later).
As you’ll learn later in the workshop, no matter your
There are essentially two major tasks that leaders of answer to these 3 questions, just about everything can
organizations must do to properly integrate and take be improved by automation (or will be augmentable
advantage of automation and AI: 1) Deconstruct the in the near future). It’s just a matter of assigning
work done by the organization to identify potential the right kind of automation to the task, and then
automation opportunities, and 2) Establish re-skilling adapting the work of the employees involved with
pathways for employees to best develop alongside that task.
automation.
APPLICATION TO LIFE
What are the fundamental tasks to the work that you Now, take another look at the list you just made: Can
do? List them here. you break down these tasks into even smaller tasks? It
is important to get to the most granular level possible.
Make a two-columned chart. On the left list those granular tasks, and on the right list whether the task is variable or
repetitive, independent or interactive, and mental or physical.
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BIG IDEA #3: AUTOMATION PAYOFF
True or false: The better someone is at their job, the What does all this mean? Well, simply that not all
more valuable they are to their organization. Seems automation is equal. It doesn’t really make sense to try
natural to answer true, right? Well, it’s important to automate every task of a person’s job. Rather, you
that you erase that belief from your mind. While must be deeply strategic in the things you and your
the answer isn’t simply false, it’s best to think of this organization automate. Replacing a task to save time
question and conversation with much more nuance. could mean that you end up with more errors—and
vice versa!
Think about it: There are plenty of jobs where
individual performance is directly correlated to Note: We STRONGLY advise you watch Ravin’s video
greater company performance. Sales and anything on this topic and read the related chapter in Reinventing
that promotes product or market growth are simple Jobs!
examples. However, there are also jobs where high
performance is compulsory. In other words, employees
are required to be high performers in order for the
company to survive. A good example of this is pilots,
who, because they’re required to be highly skilled
aircraft operators, don’t necessarily move the needle of
their company by being great.
APPLICATION TO LIFE
What kind of impact does your performance have on your company’s success? Is high performance necessary for the
company to operate, but not correlated to growth? Is high performance a driver of growth?
What about poor performance? Does that endanger the bottom line?
Now think about why, not necessarily how automation within your role could help the company: Would improving
your positive output benefit the bottom line? Or maybe reducing the errors you make would reduce the risk of your
company becoming legally or otherwise at risk?
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BIG IDEA #4: RPA
Ok, now on to the good stuff: Types of automation. Second, bots can also address redundancies in business
The most common and currently active kind of processes. In the past, many processes have required
automation is robotic process automation (RPA). RPA some sort of additional check by a person—an audit,
is the use of programming “bots” to better work with approval, edit, final check, something along those
large data sets. lines. RPA can replace many of these review steps,
again giving humans freedom to work elsewhere.
RPA bots might combine data from different
databases or software programs, extract particularly Finally, RPA is perfect for reducing risk. Companies
defined information from massive databases, or are subject to many, many regulations, and having
otherwise aggregate, organize, and analyze collections humans ensure that these are followed is not only
of numbers or other bits of information. There are cumbersome, but dangerous, as humans have
three key ways that RPA can greatly reduce cost and emotional and ethical biases. As Ravin and John
increase efficiency. say, “Who better to apply these rules… than an
unemotional, unbiased, inexhaustible, unforgiving
First, bots can do repetitive tasks in a small fraction of block of software code?”
the time that humans could do the same. This allows
human workers to either save their energy and work
on other tasks, or to become more deeply analytical
decision-makers about the data presented by the bots.
APPLICATION TO LIFE
Are you or your business working with large data sets? If so, have you employed any software to help make working
with that data easier?
If you don’t work with data, theorize some ways that you could optimize by drawing information from the work you
do and subjecting it to highly capable software code.
What could you learn about your job? Ways to improve efficiency? What kinds of solutions work? How do your
customers feel about your service or product?
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BIG IDEA #5: COGNITIVE AUTOMATION
Cognitive automation is more popularly known as Through abilities like image and pattern recognition,
artificial intelligence. When we talk about AI, we AI can streamline business process—much like RPA,
are referring to one of two things: Machine learning, only AI can handle more complex processes. In many
wherein machines optimize their own processing ways, RPA is actually a prerequisite to AI. With large
behaviors by observing and analyzing data; or natural amounts of data appropriately organized, cognitive
language processing (NLP), which is the ability of automation can use that data as educational material
machines and computers to engage and communicate to develop efficient behaviors.
with humans in our own language systems.
Because AI can communicate with human language,
Cognitive automation is often debated as the most it offers a good opportunity to perform tasks that
concerning of technological developments, as it means are variable, interactive, and very high volume or
that machines could theoretically become exactly repetitive. If you’ve ever called Apple, you may have
like humans. However, whether this is truly even had a conversation with their AI customer service
possible is a debate in and of itself. The utility of AI representative!
and machine learning in industry thus far has been
outstanding, so it’s worth seriously learning about!
APPLICATION TO LIFE
What tasks do you or your organization have to do a lot of, and that involve interpersonal communication?
What are the most arduous and difficult tasks of your job? Remember: think granular tasks.
Now, think about what kind of data and information you thought of collecting in Big Idea #5: Using this data, what
would you ask (yes, ask) an AI to do to facilitate the difficult tasks you listed above?
What tasks do you or your organization have to do a lot of, and that involve interpersonal communication?
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BIG IDEA #6: SOCIAL ROBOTICS
Finally, robots. You’re probably familiar with all Cobots benefit the workplace in many ways. First and
kinds of robots, both real and fictional, that have a foremost, they can reduce safety concerns by replacing
wide range of abilities. The first robots were simple humans in hazardous workplaces. For example, you
assembly line units that expedited manufacturing, may have seen bomb-diffusing robots on TV or in
and did very little if any interacting with people. The movies. Robots are also highly trainable and flexible,
difference between these robots of yore and social often capable of performing many different tasks with
robots is the ability of social robots to move and to the ability to reprioritize easily.
interact with humans and other autonomous robots.
As their name suggests, cobots excel at working with
Social robots excel at performing tasks that are others—both humans and other robots. In fact,
variable and primarily physical. They can do so some have been coded to observe and learn from
independently, but more and more they are becoming the behavior patterns of humans, which they then
successfully interactive. More recently, collaborative emulate and optimize! This combination of all 3
robots, or “cobots,” have become popular. categories of automation is an engineer’s dream, as the
social robots can be coded, placed into a working an
environment and then get to work, just like a human
employee!
APPLICATION TO LIFE
Does your organization produce physical goods, or have a manufacturing process of any sort?
How could a mobile, interactive robot make your organization’s processes easier? How could one make your own life
easier? (Feel free to have fun with this one)
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BIG IDEA #7: OPTIMIZE WORK
Yes, we finished the last Big Idea with the phrase “just Humans are infinitely, and perhaps permanently
like a human employee!” This is a bit of a red flag, better at empathizing than machines are. By
considering how we’ve discussed the importance of increasing the number of touch points you have
avoiding replacement talk in favor of augmentation. with your customers, you improve not only those
So, now is a good time to get into the nitty gritty of individual business relationships, but your brand and
how you can target spots for improvement in your product knowledge as well.
work.
While you’re spending more time engaging directly
As we’ve stated, automation does sometimes substitute with customers, machine learning and automation
for human work entirely. In addition, automation will also help you learn and automate. Not only can
impacts work by augmenting human capabilities and you be more available to customers, but you can take
by driving demand for new skills in humans. Again, information based on complex data processing and
we are being encouraged to be better. analysis into the conversations you have with them.
Some of the best modern examples of workers Note: This is another section to read and watch
bettering themselves while automation handles more the content for. The permutations of task types and
dirty work is in a return to great customer service. automation categories are many!
APPLICATION TO LIFE
Where have you felt like your clients or customers could have benefitted from more interaction with you?
How could you benefit from being free to engage more directly with the market and with customers? What could
you learn? What skills would you try to develop?
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BIG IDEA #8: THE NEW ORGANIZATION
In combination with technology that connects people And, of course, the most successful companies will
more effectively, automation is slowly bringing about also use automation. As corporate competition
a new kind of organization. Because so much can becomes fiercer there will come a time when all
be done by computers and machines, and because businesses are going to be forced to audit their
we have access to virtually anyone else in the world efficiency and improve or fall far behind.
through our phones, companies are no longer insular
bodies of personnel and processes. The answer to the most efficient workforce and
operations plan will no doubt be a complex,
The most successful companies of today and the confusing, but ultimately efficient combination
future will take advantage of vast and disparate of internal and external personnel, alliances and
resources for accomplishing tasks. For instance, many partnerships, robots and AI, all subject to constantly
American companies outsource their IT and customer evolving procedures and best practices.
service duties to workforces outside the country.
Content of any sort can be created by freelancers,
many kinds of projects are best accomplished by
one-off gig workers, and there are more opportunities
for inter-company partnerships than ever before.
APPLICATION TO LIFE
How often do you or your company take on creative new ideas and tests? Anything “out of the box?”
If you’ve done these sorts of pivots or experiments, could they have benefitted from an outside contributor?
(Sometimes it’s best to hire someone who is highly skilled, but only temporarily)
Could you outsource any departments at your organization? Or any components of your life? (Think 4-hour Work
Week by Tim Ferriss.)
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BIG IDEA #9: THE NEW LEADERSHIP
The role of manager, executive, or director - often Similarly, when hiring and managing personnel, most
amounts to high-level decision-making, followed by leaders focus on employees’ overall job performance
the proper allocation of personnel and resources to see and how fit they are to advance in rank and position.
those decisions through. However, because corporate These factors are increasingly less important than the
structure is so deeply engrained, this often means that more nuanced aspects of an employee’s performance.
leaders are simply filling traditional positions with the As a leader, you should be focused on developing skill
best talent they can find. sets that not only align with the tasks they perform,
but which also are likely to hold value in the face of
What hiring teams have focused on in the past is a innovation and change.
rather rigid set of standards: First off, most employees’
past experiences and education are highly emphasized. You’ll see new departments that reflect these values are
Instead of this, new leaders should be focused popping up in the most cutting-edge corporations.
on a new hire’s specific fit to the tasks they’ll be For instance, friend of MentorBox Tiffani Bova is
performing, and how ready they are to get to work. Salesforce’s “Global Customer Growth and Innovation
Evangelist.” You too should be an evangelist for
growth and innovation, in whatever capacity you can
be!
APPLICATION TO LIFE:
When you make judgments about someone else’s strengths and weaknesses, what are the qualities you typically think
about?
How should you change the way you assess others as a leader?
What can you do to encourage an innovative, adaptable mindset in yourself and those around you?
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BIG IDEA #10: REMAIN RELEVANT
First, you go to school. Probably for about 8 years, As MentorBox ubiquitously advocates, you must turn
perhaps less. Maybe you go for more than 12 years yourself into a learning machine. So don’t only finish
and get an advanced degree. Then, you take all that your education at school—even when you’re in school
knowledge you’ve (hopefully) accrued in your youth you should be learning independently as well!
and you put it towards a career. You work, work,
work, maybe get a promotion or two, make more and Ravin uses the term “perpetual obsolescence” to refer
more money, then you retire. to the fact that skills and knowledge are constantly
going to become useless as technological advancement
Or, at least this is what we’re told is the most quickens. Embrace the fact that your abilities and
conventional and acceptable life path. But, like expertises may eventually lose their worth. Therefore,
everything else in the face of automation and you should automate your education in such a way
emerging technology, school-work-retirement won’t that you are not only fully aware of coming trends,
be around much longer. tools, and technology, but also capable of engraining
them into your habits and practices.
APPLICATION TO LIFE:
Other than MentorBox, how are you practicing continued, lifelong education?
What skills of yours do you expect not to have value forever? How can you augment or adapt these skills to become
evergreen?
Pick a new skill that requires advanced knowledge of technology, and go start learning it right now. Some ideas are
design, coding, video/photography, SEO and web traffic—just get started!
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MY OWN NOTES
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