“The pandemic arrived, pressing pause on existence around the globe, redefining life as we know it. We were unsure what business-as-usual will look like after this is over. But unprecedented global crisis aside, many of the changes we see now were already creeping up on us. COVID-19 may have simply sped up their adoption.”
– Partha Basu, Outskill: Future Proofing Your Career in the Post-Pandemic World
Innovative, thought-provoking, and timely, this book is a survival guide rooted in practical wisdom aimed at making it to and through the future. From the author of Lifescapes: The Long and Short of It, comes this yet another relevant and eye-opening read that discusses the importance of thinking through the functionality of education, as opposed to the usual, conventional career choices.
What is the book all about?
As the subtitle of the book goes: Future-proofing your career in the post-pandemic world, Outskill raises some pertinent questions about our response and attitude towards how we will tackle the workplace, its environment, culture, and practices to ensure maximum career and business growth.
This makes the author take up a very pragmatic, rational, and realistic approach to ensure holistic organizational growth and development along with maintaining employee satisfaction, which will, in turn result in the growth of the company and its popularity.
The post-pandemic world and its challenges
The author looks at the post-pandemic world which is inclined towards digital development. As a result, there has been mass slashing of different tasks that require people to perform daunting tasks and work monotonously. While machination and digitalization are the future alongside some emerging trends, samples of which can be seen in the form of rising AI-backed services whose possibilities are interesting and nerve-wracking at the same time.
The reason Outskill stands apart is mainly because it does not feed on the fear of a technological overtake but serves to help people maneuver through the changes not just to survive but also to thrive and prosper. Hence, ‘Is the human race ready for the future?’ becomes a less significant question if people understand that there is no ultimate knowledge that can be mastered to win over the world.
Rather, the attitude of continuous professional development is to be adopted throughout one’s life to embrace the process of learning, unlearning, and relearning in a world of increasing competition.
The concepts that it talks of
The book is structurally divided into three sections namely: What the Future Holds, Leadership Traits of the Future, Future-Proofing, and finally, Conclusion.
Each section is whole in and of itself, and each flows into the other seamlessly and logically. However, the chronology of the thought process is to be maintained as the book uses several examples to elucidate the author’s ideas. So, the book cannot be opened at any random page with the hope of deriving some generalized information, idea, or thought.
The key values resonated in the book are those which are essential for teamwork and team bonding. The views of the author are further reiterated by the testimonials provided in the book by those who have become stalwarts in their domains such as Nikhil Dey, Shridhar Narayan, Jayesh Desai, Prabal Mitra, and Subroto Gupta to name a few.
The language and writing
The language of the book is easy to follow. It uses apt vocabulary with minimal technical terms and compact sentences with profound ideas that are presented in a terse or sententious and at times even in an epigrammatic manner.
The first-person narrative point of view with a narrative voice that is frank, rational, and aims at problem-solving, eases matters for the readers as they understand that the thoughts are conveyed by a professional who is experienced, intelligent, understanding of the challenges of industry life, and also down to earth. This makes the write-up of the book pleasantly insightful.
The moderate pace of the book is easy to follow. The deductive thought process is logical, and thoughtful and conveys the ideas of an observant mind.
A holistic approach to growth
This holistic approach to professional growth is not necessarily to be confused with a top-down method that has been the culture of corporate and multinational work culture for a long time which keeps the employees at the base, makes them slog long hours but may not always ensure optimum career growth, professional development, and personal benefits. This creates a tendency to switch jobs and garners the values of opportunism instead of brand loyalty, which is not beneficial to professional work culture on the whole and in the long run.
Rethinking approach to learning
Outskill drives home the point that there is a need to rethink learning processes and focus on education that caters to the present and is future-proof, at the same time one that empowers people to face the challenges of the professional world with professionalism. This emphasizes understanding industry values deeply, relating to skill development, focusing on adaptability, and inculcating resilience to downturns.
Design and other aspects
The minimalistic design of the book cover with the title inked in white against a red background immediately brings in a sense of urgency and alertness that is incumbent on the reader to have to understand the issues of employment and employability in an ever-dynamic world.
Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy of Outskill using the link below.
