Learning is a continuous process that is not confined to the classroom alone. Digitization of learning platforms has brought innovation to education. It has enabled learners to get quality yet affordable and user-centric learning experiences that have been a positive force on their career.

In modern times, learning is becoming a continuous process. People nowadays need to keep learning constantly to be able to handle career transitions and growth that meets the demands of an ever-evolving talent marketplace.

In earlier generations, people had only one job to handle but now people are transitioning more often from one job to another, and in some cases are doing multiple jobs. None of that would be possible without learning.

“The professionals who stay at the top are committed to continuous education.“

When learners have relevant courses to develop their skills it will always add value to their career.

Emeritus is such a platform that partners with top-notch universities across the world and creates content and shares the courses in 80 different countries.

When people have worked for a long time, they strive for a purpose or mission. Education is the core of all innovation and innovation in technology can also be brought through education.

The Gini index measures the level of disparity in the population of a country, continent, or the world. If people make the same amount of money the Gini index will be zero while if one person makes all the money, the index will be one.

Since World War II, the Gini index has been accelerated which means the disparity among the population is increasing.

If any country could bend the curve, it is the countries that are investing in education. With proper education, you can help workers become ready for competition and growth.

“Only through ongoing education can the people bring back growth to the economy.”

Adaptive Continuous Learning

Education is the area where people can easily see a lot of innovation. For instance, learners can now supplement their own education through online systems that are readily available.

In addition, there are some experiments taking place in Sweden with robots who can help those who are at home and are physically incapable of getting to a classroom. You could have your surrogate robot be in the classroom so that you get the classroom experience right from your bed. There are the massive innovative changes that we might be able to see in the future.

Secondly, we will also find AR and VR along with the metaverse bringing innovation in education which we mostly only find in gaming today.

“The future of learning and technology is in the hands of educators and technologists converging.”

We already experienced shifting from classroom to zoom almost overnight during the pandemic. Innovation starts from identifying the right kind of courses that appeal to the learners. It’s also about being smart when you have a learner come to you, being able to understand their needs, progression, and the right kind of courses that they could take.

“Learning is not just about the context of one course a person is taking, but it’s where they’re trying to take their career.”

Integrations

People are moving towards service-oriented technologies whereas integration becomes important. For instance, the best universities have top faculty to provide great content, and companies like Emeritus partner with them to bring the content to learners worldwide.

They are focused on the learner experience by partnering with universities to bring great content to a very widely distributed audience and then provide a high-touch experience to the students as they are taking the courses.

Conclusion

We can envision the future of education as more career oriented. Students will go through the topics and understand what appeals to them and aligns with their career aspirations. This can be an adaptive kind of curriculum that is not static or straight but that is more career oriented. Technology that is adaptive in intelligence will play a key role in enabling the future of learning.

Manufacturing industries deal in creating or producing goods with various machines, technological tools, labor, and equipment. Technology that helps in connecting with suppliers for materials and managing product data with a digital platform makes the process faster, and more efficient.

Engineering and manufacturing are complex fields where there is an intersection of people and technologies. This is because manufacturing cannot be done alone or separately.

There is a need for teams and organizations to work together to overcome manufacturing challenges. Streamlining processes and simplifying access to information and efficiently working, has always been between people and technology.

Challenges During the Pandemic

Any organizational functions can run smoothly and effectively by connecting with people. The pandemic forced people to work remotely. This accelerated people getting connected to cloud-based systems. Another thing that became important is data. From collecting and managing data to creating intelligence from data.

It is because of the things people can get through combining data and creating analytics that make companies interesting. It is not confined to the manufacturing industry alone since other industries like the web, and consumer industries have been discovering a lot of things about data.

The products being created are services oriented, the digitization of manufacturing industries is enabling the selling of services instead of products.

This moves manufacturers from selling tires to selling mileage, from selling turbines to selling hours of turbines use.

Green Washing and Cloud Washing

Green washing is the process of taking two things together and connecting them. Cloud is a technology for various industries to bring innovation. For instance, there are various existing technologies and various products in the system that are connected to the cloud.

When companies want to collaborate with other companies with data that were created 25 years ago, they need a system on the cloud to bring it all together. However, a cloud platform won’t magically collaborate with legacy data, but it will require a new platform or new technology and that is called cloud washing.

Cloud washing is modernizing legacy platforms or applications to work on the cloud. This technology will transform and replace the products created 25 years ago. It is a complex process because of its huge investment, transformation, and the level of complexity transforming it.

Through this process you need to show value and that makes the whole thing complex.

What can make a difference is that when pieces of information are combined, people can get insight that they haven’t had before, and then when the manufacturing company sees this value, it can be a driver for change.

Earlier, companies had one system for procurement, and one system for engineering, and many excel spreadsheets between them. The wrong spreadsheet could lead to making the wrong decision. So, when all the information gets connected, the data turns into information volume, enabling a big change. This is how technology is enabling changes or rather progress.

Role of Technology Companies

The role of a technology company is to make technology affordable to everyone. Cloud platforms are global. Technology can grow because people not only use the platform but also share the data that connects with other companies.

Collection of Data to Improve Processes

The key element that is used for data acquisition is integration with existing systems. The ease of capturing information from existing systems is the key. When there are integrations points in the existing systems with the touch of button people can help organize all the data in one place.

However, there is a lot of technical work that makes this happen. There is a need to have a platform capable of absorbing the data that comes from various sources.

For instance, OpenBOM explores and finds a lot of connected pieces of information from different distributors or manufacturers because OpenBOM makes connections on a financial basis.

Secondly, getting to the right vendors or contractors is a data-driven process yet complex because to collect this information, you need to ask people to share or upload the data into the system.

Lastly, data is sensitive, and it is a long complex process. The key element is enabling more collaboration because it is fundamental to creating value.

Conclusion

The future of technology is bringing data from different places and being able to manage from a centralized location. It’s not about building or changing applications but integrating them together.

Software in modern times has not only enabled better functions for businesses but also become a great equalizer for communities. The democratization of technology gives better access to products and services to the masses for the betterment of the community.

Technology has greatly evolved over the years. Now, technology can provide power to integrate people with the larger ecosystem to enable a better future for themselves.

Nowadays, the barrier to entry for software has also become low. It is because there are low code and no code platforms which make it easy for people to come on board and develop software to address the pressing problems that exist in society.

The biggest shift, compared to 10 years ago for example, is that technology needed tech experts or coders, programmers, or administrators to use it.

These classes of people were the only people to use technology and it is still true for large enterprises. 

Now some platforms have emerged for non-tech people allowing the use of technology with no code platforms so they can put together various software to quickly address their needs in their businesses.

Democratization of Technology 

Democratization of technology refers to the process by which access to technology rapidly continues to become more accessible to more people. 

New technologies and improved user experiences have empowered those outside of the technical industry to access and use technological products and services.

Democratization of technology, where technology is ubiquitously accessible and business users take an active role in technology-based solutions, has risen to be a huge trend.

Today, with AI-powered chatbots and clever recommendations, even lean startups can supply personalised reports and great customer support to construct deep client relationships. 

However, how organizations appeal to and hold customers happy is key to success today.

The proliferation of 5G for connectivity and the cloud for example, unchains us from our desks and introducing new working flexibility that makes the future of work possible.

Technology as an Equalizer

Technology changes things and it creates opportunities for people. It can create something valuable for underserved communities and create more equalization across society making services and product more accessible to more people, and at the same time create wealth and profits for those involved in the creation of solutions for the masses.

We see the use of technology addressing problems for people residing in remote areas. One such example is helping the malnourished or starving people in countries where technology provides a way to communicate and give access to more support. In modern times, most things are focused on first-world technology like getting information or data out of people to retarget them and market to them.

Some technologies are solving real problems in places where people have no access to the internet.

For instance, a company named Zipline is an American company that designs, manufactures, and operates delivering drones that serve Africa to focus on some of the hard-to-reach areas with transportation infrastructure problems.

One such problem they address is getting medical drugs to the people in remote areas, particularly during the rainy season when roads are impassable. With the help of these drones, they can supply medications where they are needed.

In addition, some companies are developing GPS-enabled walking sticks for blind people that give them touch or feedback and guide them. This is another example of technology made to help people.

Conclusion

Technology can create value both financially for the creators as well as in democratizing access for underserved areas of the world.

Whatever technology has to offer comes from people, since people together have transformed the facet of technology and it will always be the people to address other people’s woes through technology.

“Collaboration among people matters most to change various things in society that are broken. Technology is a key facilitator.”

People should assume positive intent as a culture. People should think to maintain a healthy relationship with one another and grow. No matter what improvements or growth takes place in technology, everything is done by human beings that ultimately want to help other humans thrive.

I started my professional career on Sept 9th, 1989, at MCI Telecom. I worked the graveyard shift in a network operations center (NOC). I learned everything you can learn about data and was fortunate that during my nine-year tenure to work with luminaries like Vint Cerf the father of the Internet.

After a rather nonstop career for 27 years, I decided to give myself some time to be totally present for the arrival of my new daughter by taking a long deserved and needed break in the fall of 2016.

I lived in Brentwood, Los Angeles at the time, and living there isn’t cheap. One of the companies I took from Series A to Series B got acquired for close to $200MM, which made it more financially feasible to take a break.

Some could argue that this wasn’t much of a break, since I also went on to be the co-founder of a services company that ended up growing rather rapidly. I didn’t go into any of my initiatives with any sense of urgency or stress. Taking a break to me, meant refocusing my energy and time towards my family.

Taking this so call break paid off in many ways, but what I reconnected to during my little sabbatical was and still is priceless.

“You must have a higher purpose mission in your life, for your life to be truly fulfilling”

What is a higher purpose mission?

A higher purpose mission is different for everyone, and it’s really no one’s place to judge what yours should or should not be. You figure out what it is by first understanding what you are good at, and second by understanding what you are passionate about that isn’t just about you.

I am talking about purpose.

“Purpose is the reason why we exist beyond the needs of our five senses.”

Passion -vs- Purpose

Many confuse purpose with passion. You can be passionate about many things, and most of them are going to be about your five senses. There is nothing wrong with that

Purpose is about your legacy, a legacy that impacts others. It’s about fulfilling something greater than yourself. It is about your calling in life, it’s not just what you are willing to die doing, but what you live for.

There are some things I’ve become good at in my life, one of which is being an exceptional father. When it comes to fathering, I can tap into an endless supply of being in service, and compassion, patience, loving discipline, encouragement, and empowerment.

I can’t historically say the same about being a husband, it’s not been easy for me being a husband, and I have the expense of multiple divorces to prove it.

Worth mentioning is also how incredibly expensive it can be not being good at something.

I finally figured out how to transfer the fathering skills into being a good husband too. It took me a while, but I got here. As it turns out being of service, compassionate, patient, loving, encouraging, and empowering works with every single relationship in life; it’s a proven formula.

Over the years I’ve become exceptionally good at leading people to believe they can accomplish more, and I am generally able to enroll people to do more and grow as professionals and individuals as a result.

I’ve done this both professionally, and as a volunteer coach inspiring leaders in an organization devoted to improving the lives of men and their families, and communities they serve.

My volunteer work is what motivated me to become a certified life coach, and extend my work of empowering others on my podcast Rant & Grow.

My single greatest source of joy in life is when I see and hear from someone, I took under my wings sort of speak, years ago, become a C level executive, having a family, and contributing values to society. It makes me feel like I am living a life worth living.

What I connected to during my break, through some introspection, and with the wisdom of close friends and mentors is that the context I embody when being a father, serves not only my children, but serves me well as a man, as a husband, as a business leader.

By staying in a context of service and compassion, patience, discipline, encouragement, and empowerment as I do with my children, I become an awesome husband to my wife and an even better leader in my community and in my career.

Who knew that raising children would bring out the best of me, and that I could apply this into every aspect of my life!

Redefine what Success Is

For a long time, I believed my mission and definition of success was to build businesses — I’ve done that seven times, and after my little sabbatical I was so ready and fired up to do it again in an even bigger way.

My definition of success has changed. It’s no longer tied to outcomes; it is tied to a growth mindset.

Learning new things, failing, and growing from the experiences, discovering more aspects of how to be a better human being is what I consider the definition of success today.

I found my tribe, my home, my calling within Nearsoft, which was an amazing company that believed in freedom and equivalence and above all treated people with human dignity. The core company values aligned with who I am at my core — someone who believes people should aspire to fulfill their calling in life.

I don’t think I would have finished my to be published third book (Emotionally Aware Leadership), had it not been for the encouragement I received from the people I worked with. I don’t think

“You have to surround yourself with people who share similar purpose as you do, and above all people who encourage you and believe in you.”

My higher purpose mission in life is to be a source of empowerment. I believe humanity suffers from a dreadful virus, a disease, a silent killer of dreams and hope.

Low self-worth is a worldwide epidemic.

It is my purpose and mission to provide as many people as I can reach the elixir to the self-worth roller coaster ride.

Someone recently asked me what do you think your best qualities are as a professional? I simply answered, to help people believe they are awesome.

My higher purpose mission is to empower everyone I encounter to step into their own awesomeness.

The canvas of my mission is not just my children, it is my wife, my friends, my colleagues, my clients, my book readers, and all those I encounter, maybe even you reading this post.

What is your higher purpose mission in life?

Throughout my life I’ve reached new levels of achievement and success, only to find myself sabotaging or starting over. What I mean by success isn’t just about business, it includes friendships, relationships, my emotional and spiritual state, and my physical health.

I spent over 40 years being a student of spirituality, self-development, and various streams of consciousness. One of the recurring themes that came up relates to the ego. You can find entire libraries about mastering, overcoming, killing, and letting go of the ego, and you would learn a great deal about yourself, but you won’t get to the root cause of all of our behaviors.

How we show up in the world is rooted in something deeper, something at the core of our beliefs. It is neuroscience at its best. How we related to others, ourselves, and how we act and behave is a function of our self-worth.

“Low self-worth is a worldwide epidemic, but it does not have to be a life sentence.”

One of the 12 principles of an authentic leader, covered in my upcoming book “Emotionally Aware Leadership” deals with the impact self-worth has on leadership development, how we show up in the world, how we relate within ourselves and how we act towards others.

The book covers the 12 principles in detail, and you can pre-order it soon, but until then I wish to give you a gift.

The series of videos in this post will provide a glimpse into principle # 4 of an authentic leader “self-worth” and promises to also give you a gift. I only ask one thing of you, and that is to check out the videos as they are intended from the first one to the last.

I promise you, if you are open to personal growth, these can be one of the most transformational 11 minutes of your life.

Start with video #1 and continue to video #5 — if you find it useful or know someone who could benefit from this blog post, please share it with them.

Introduction

Self-Worth and The Ego

Dirty Little Secret of Megalomaniacs

Evaluating Your Self-Worth

Breaking Free