Suzy Welch, business journalist and author, is an adjunct professor at NYU Stern School of Business. Her research, writing, and consulting work have been high impact contributions to the field of business. She is an award-winning academic who, in recent years, has made a name for herself as a podcaster. She happens to be a three-time New York Times best-selling author. Welch emphasizes the importance of adaptability and resilience in today’s fast-paced corporate environment, which she describes as unforgiving and always on.
In her recent Advocacy Chats, Welch focused on four overarching characteristics. She knows these characteristics are key for professionals steering the ship through today’s capitalistic waters. These traits are key ingredients in winning the long game, securing success for all. She deploys them as guiding standards for each and every hiring decision she’s responsible for. Welch’s understanding is timely—and needed. Not only is the urgency to adapt skills higher than ever, LinkedIn found that workers had to reskill roughly a quarter of their skills every one and a half years between 2015 and 2020. Experts forecast that “skill churn” is expected to hit 65% within a few years. This points to the ever-increasing importance of a professional’s ability to be nimble.
Welch’s advocacy for these four traits comes from her years of research. She relies on her experience coordinating and managing consulting projects for more than 200 companies across industries. One thing that always shines through her work is her focus on looking at the future and welcoming change. She encourages practitioners to expand their skill sets. The creative economy requires people who are self-starters and can react to the constant changes in what the market is looking for.
Welch often tells the story of one shining example. This one small-town 31-year-old entrepreneur has created a six-figure vending machine empire that rakes in $300,000 in revenue. This example is testament to the power of being a nimble and creative organization – capability to achieve significant fiscal gains, even in a volatile market. Whitman’s Welch claims that these qualities are few and far between but essential in the workforce of the future.
As an educator and public intellectual, Welch works to provoke and inspire her students and audiences. She encourages them to see how these qualities, good and bad, are creating their professional path. She stresses that professionals must be willing to learn and adapt to new circumstances, as the traditional pathways to success are evolving rapidly. You can tell that Jennifer shows her dedication to nurturing this mentality by her engaging approach to teaching students. Her wisdom pours out through the pages of her podcasts and writings.
It will surprise no one that Welch’s new book has soared to New York Times best-seller glory. It explores these themes in-depth and offers clear, actionable guidance and strategies for anyone looking to get ahead in their careers. She brings it all back to the key traits that are key today for any workplace. Her focus is on empowering doers with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in their industries’ complexities.
We know the breakneck speed of today’s business landscape can be intimidating. Welch’s observations are wise and more importantly, helpful to anyone trying to achieve greatness in a world of perpetual evolution. As practitioners consider their own career paths and future hiring, they need to ask themselves the four traits that Welch so heavily focused on. In modeling this behavior, they can demonstrate how to instill these important qualities into their own professional lives.