From Means to Meaning: Reinventing Yourself in the Age of AI

If you are in the part of your career where you want to reinvent yourself, this one is for you.

I serve as an unofficial executive coach to many board directors, founders, and CXOs. It comes with the territory, because I spend my days guiding people in and through their careers. We are living through major changes in how companies think about hiring: who they hire, where they hire, and, just as importantly for us as individuals, what we should do.

From a means-based economy to a meaning-based one

There are plenty of videos that poke fun at the differences between generations. They are funny, but the deeper truth is that we are all at the early stages of AI transforming our economy from a means-based economy to a meaning-based one.

What do I mean by that? AI is not just the next evolution of software. It is as profound as when humans discovered paper, or even fire. It will fundamentally change humanity. The aim of AI will be to increase productivity to such an extreme that it drives the cost of goods and services toward near zero. So if we live in a world where basic needs are easily met, what then becomes the focus of humanity? The focus becomes meaning.

Meaning may express itself through exploration, art, politics, entertainment, escapism, or faith. These are all different ways of searching for meaning.

This may sound outlandish, because it is. Uncharted waters are outlandish by default. But we are at the very beginning of that shift, which means we have to balance the practical realities of a means-based economy as it transitions, not smoothly, into a meaning-based one.

So how do you navigate this? And more importantly, how do you thrive?

Three questions to get honest about

First, get clear and honest with yourself about your priorities. For many of us, we carry so much responsibility that it almost does not matter what our priorities are, because the pressure to produce is constant. Even so, I encourage you to create just enough space to ask the question, and to give yourself permission to answer it: What do I want?

Second, what are you great at? Not good, great. What comes to you so easily that others often compliment you on it? Maybe you enjoy it, maybe you barely notice you do it, but it is probably the thing you instinctively reach for to solve every problem. Your go-to skill set.

Third, what are you passionate about? This one is important to be honest about, because it might be the thing farthest from your current career. What are the areas that cause you pain, that trigger you when you see the need unmet? Often that is a good indicator of your calling.

The framework, and the hard part

Now the harder part. What used to be a framework I would give executives looking for a happier career is becoming a necessity as traditional roles come under pressure. The idea is to triple down on doing the thing you are great at, within the context of an organization that closely aligns with your passion.

By the way, that was not the hard part. The hard part is going in with the understanding that you probably will not make this transition while keeping the same level of income in the short term. It will likely be a significant, though temporary, setback. You may need to scale back your lifestyle. Many will not want to do that, and I completely understand. But those who move sooner rather than later will be far better positioned two to five years out, when the AI transition really starts to peak.

Unless, of course, you are already in a role or industry you are absolutely passionate about. If that is the case, there is a separate path: how to reinvent yourself right where you are.

Why the setback is worth it

Even though you might begin with an income setback, pairing tenacity and hunger with what you are great at, in the context of something that gives you deep satisfaction, will almost certainly allow you to exceed your previous earning capacity faster than you think.

If you are weighing a reinvention of your own, start a conversation.