Do you know who your "Rick Rubins" are? The shift in work we are about to experience runs much deeper than "AI automating our jobs away." It is about to redefine who we value in the workplace. In today's world, specialists are valued more highly than generalists. That iceberg is about to flip upside down and reveal the beautiful blue ice that's been hidden for decades... centuries. As generative AI gets more and more capable, every skill that once required a higher level of education and experience is about to be democratized... commoditized. Available to any employee who wants to make it happen. So in that kind of work environment, who will be the people that add the most value? Who are the people you should identify, and develop, and invest in and hold dear? The "Rick Rubins." When it comes to music, he is one of the most trusted and successful producers in the world, and yet, even according to himself: "I have no technical ability and I know nothing about music. I don't know how to play an instrument, I don't know how to work a recording console, I don't know how to use a computer for recording." From a skills perspective, he is worthless, and in a corporate setting likely wouldn't have been hired in the first place. So why is so valued? Trusted? According to Rick: "I know what I like and what I don't like, and I'm decisive about what I like and don't like." He's got taste. Judgement. A point of view. He's willing to listen to what is produced and declare what he feels is valuable. The people in your organization that will best leverage generative AI are not the obvious ones. They are not the ones you most value today. They are the curious ones. The adventurous ones. The ones who can shapeshift and always seem to see what's coming around the corner. They are the ones just off-center you can never figure out what to do with. They are the "Rick's" and they are worth discovering. They will be magicians with AI. Welcome to the new age. "Revenge of the Liberal Arts Majors."
This is great post Kyle Shannon. Finally, I can see someone with a truly good vision of how AI is actually going to change the workplace. Great insights, and I really love the analogy with Rick Rubin. In today’s world, the most important skills are being agile, creative, and thinking critically, but also being bold and resilient. These are the traits that I believe will distinguish people in the future. I notice very different opinions on AI from people across different walks of life, but it’s very rare to see someone addressing the big picture. This post really highlights part of that big picture. However, not everyone can be Rick Rubin—and that’s okay. That’s why figures like Rick Rubin, Prince, Steve Jobs, and Einstein are rare. You can’t even learn to be like that. You either have it, or you don’t.
I generally agree with this. I think we're in the age of the generalist, the curious-minded, the fearless to explore new ideas and concepts...however, Rubin (whom I love) is being very humble here. He began producing during his time at NYU and has built upon that work over the last 30 years. He is talented and worked really hard to to grow. He developed his ear so that he can confidently guide a sound engineer and musicians. I point this out because we have an epidemic of mediocrity, and I can see some reading the line, "I know what I like and don't like, and I'm decisive about what I like and don't like," without recognition of the work and growth involved in having such confidence. Yes, be curious and adventurous. And to have the ability to see around the corner, we must do the work.
Love the way you e articulated this. In particular “The people in your organization that will best leverage generative AI are not the obvious ones. They are not the ones you most value today. They are the curious ones. The adventurous ones. The ones who can shapeshift and always seem to see what's coming around the corner. They are the ones just off-center……… Paul Kerrison James Larkin Nina Hopkins this is you! (And me, lol)
People who've dedicated their careers to siloed technical knowledge will struggle to see this as the result of biases related to their identity, income, and ego. Half the rage in the internet right now is from people who won't admit they can be replaced when it's very obvious that efforts are being made to replace them. Since admiting the actual state of their circumstances is harder than being angry at others, they will simply get angry at others. Scapegoating and evasion is easier and more common than reflection and deliberate adaptation. On paper I should be able to rock a variety of roles because I'm min/maxed into generalization but I've run afoul of too many social norms to have economic viability. Woops. The future is pretty fucking complicated, man.
Interesting perspective, let's see how it pans out. AI also makes mediocre developers a 5X - 10X dev if they're clever. I'm not sure the dynamic is destined to change much. The *attitude* in SV needs to shift first, and that might be an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force.
What? For real? Come on, man.
I’ve been thinking about Rick Rubin a lot lately. “I don’t know how to code but…”
i.e. great Creative Directors
Have you read 'Range' by David Epstein? It's a great deep dive into this idea!
Culture & Code
18hInformation Systems + English Lit background here. I've helped build IT systems and have written/directed/performed in short films. Intrinsically, I appreciate the "Revenge of the Liberal Arts Major" with one extremely important caveat for the next decade: If you're not making, you're not learning. ---------------- Just because you have taste and experience doesn't mean AI will transform your ideas into reality at the snap of a prompt. You've got to sweat details you know about and details that blew up in your face if you're to deliver a quality experience on time to budget and scalable to an audience. Regardless of your intellectual background, it's having a craft mentality, comfort with trial/error, appreciating what another practitioner brings to the table that differentiates those who understand new capabilities from those who can apply them. Creativity in art, business, science, or sport that can't be realized through a medium or applied through technology is daydreaming (or management) regardless of what you studied. Appreciate this post because I live it each day.