When the tech gets tough, go back to basics

I MAY be a Millennial, but I can see why older workers want to throw their hands up in despair sometimes. All that talk about disruptions, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) - you might as well be talking in code. Literally. Traditional methods of working that they have known for decades are being replaced quicker than they can keep up. A future that they once could make sense of and plan with relative certainty has become one big, scary unknown.

I have lost count of the number of times I have heard calls for workers to "embrace technology" or be "adaptable". Good as those intentions are, it can appear somewhat patronising. People are not unaware of the changing tide and the urgency to upgrade. Too often, it is not due to a lack of motivation. Rather, where the heck do they begin?

Should they learn some coding? Data analytics? Blockchain? Or perhaps some advanced Excel for a start? It's a maelstrom out there. No wonder it ends up in analysis paralysis.