We live in a competitive environment where we are always moving quickly to make good decisions. We need good communicators. We need workers who can explain clearly to others what they intend to do, what they are doing, and why. At the same conference, Robert MacLean, senior vice president, human resources at Boston Scientific Corporation, was emphatic about the importance of being continuous learners. Computers are important but creative people are more important because we can t tell what the future is going to be like.
Companies change every day.
We need people who have the ability to deal with chaotic times, ever changing environments, and technologies that change the way we do business. When educator Gary Burton, superintendent of schools in Wayland, Massachusetts, talks about problem solving he, too, acknowledges that it is one of the most important skills a school must teach. There s a story about just such a man, a man who knew how to figure out what to do, that makes the rounds at the defense giant, Raytheon. It may be apocryphal. It has to do with the very skills we re discussing.