Why do bands break up?
A lot of them cite “creative differences”, but they are rarely arguing about whether they should play a song in A sharp or E minor.
What it usually means is that the musicians in the band can’t get along.
If I was starting a band today, I wouldn’t necessarily look for the best musicians. Instead I would look for people that can communicate well, that are emotionally stable, and have their act together. I would want to find people that I could get along with. It doesn’t matter if everyone in the band is a great musician if they have such monumental egos that they can’t stand each other (just ask The Police).
In-Demand Skills for the Modern World
In Hyper-Connected Selling, I talk a lot about the skills that are needed to succeed in a rapidly evolving economy. These are the skills that I think will prevent people from losing their jobs to technology and irrelevance. And you won’t find any of them in an MBA or college course.
They’re what have been called “soft skills”, the ones that are hard to quantify and map out on a spreadsheet. Things like communication, relationship-building, creativity, flexibility, and empathy all fall in this category. They can’t be outsourced and you can’t program an algorithm to do them for you. And that’s why these soft skills will be the differentiators in the future.
Is it still important to know your facts and figures? Sure, but your ability to connect with others, to engage at a deep level, and create innovative solutions will determine your value in the emerging economy. Even though these can’t be learned overnight, with deliberate practice you can grow and improve in these areas.
Whether you are playing guitar in a band, selling software packages to businesses, or leading a team as a small business owner, continue to focus on practicing these very human abilities. The more you practice, the better you’ll be, and the better you are, the more value can bring. And the more value you bring, the more hireable you will be.
What is one soft skill you can practice this week?