The next generation of workers needs to understand how to be successful.

What we desperately need, or more specifically, what the West desperately needs is a generation of workers who understand and believe in the three critical “Cs” – commitment, concern and consistency.

The next generation – or generations – entering the workforce by and large offer impressive credentials. Tech savvy is one such attribute. It is especially important for an industry like ours to have employees who understand the technologies the industry produces. The current generation has also demonstrated an uncanny ability to multitask while using technology, which bodes well for the factory floor needs of the future. Regrettably, that is where the impressive credentials all too often end.

What to make of the technology that unites industries and those who run them.

While concerns still abound, life has returned to some semblance of normal in the post-Covid world. While most were hunkered down for months or years thanks to restrictions on travel and social distancing protocols, those times are now behind us and, at least in my case, I am traveling as much as ever. While glad to be able to travel once again and see people in person, I have been reintroduced to many of the accompanying irritants, such as long lines at airport security and flight delays caused by weather or tardy flight crews. On the positive side, however, I am continually reminded of how it truly is really a small, small – and interconnected world – after all.

During the worst of Covid, I thought the world was small thanks to technologies such as Zoom, Teams, etc., that enabled people from virtually anywhere on the globe to communicate and be seen – in real time – by colleagues, friends or family via a few simple keyboard clicks. While not the same as being in person, the technology enabled the next best thing – instantaneous interaction.