You can’t squeeze the toothpaste back in the tube. You can’t un-ring the bell. You can’t un-eat that questionable piece of fish. Yes, you’ve heard most of these before but that’s the world we’re living in. Cliché and out-of-control change.
It can feel very difficult for staffing leaders to plan for the future when everything seems to be unfolding at an unpredictable pace, and the standards and practices we adhered to for decades are all but obsolete. We don’t have the luxury of forethought in the same shape and capacity as we once did. So how do we identify where we should be placing our energies and how we should be investing in innovation to position our firms for success and resilience in this time of ubiquitous, sometimes futile reinvention?
We gathered 14 senior executives in IT and professional staffing to provide no-nonsense, thoughtful insight around three big areas top-of-mind for their peers: 1) what skills will define success in the age of AI? 2) what opportunities exist in uncertainty, as painful as it is? And 3) what does resilience and growth look like amidst destabilization?
Download the report - “Pencils Up” – and read the honest assessments of leaders who have successfully guided their organizations through periods of intense change.
On skills of the future:
- Jeff Harris: “The most employable skills of the future will not just be technical fluency but what I believe will be the scarce, non-technical proficiencies that will be incredibly valuable amid more complexity, more ambiguity between human and machines, and faster reinvention than we’ve ever seen. These exist perhaps below the surface of AI literacy.”
- Janette Marx: “Soft skills like adaptability and emotional intelligence are crucial for thriving amidst the uncertainties of a rapidly evolving work environment. Effective communication, empathy, and a collaborative spirit will set outstanding leaders apart in this context of flexible work arrangements and diverse teams.”
- Louis Song: “In a world dominated by deepfakes, autonomous systems, and neural augmentation, AI-free zones would serve as sanctuaries for authentic, human-centric interaction. Some valuable skills in this context would center on traits and competencies that are uniquely human, difficult to automate, and inherently analog.”
On navigating uncertainty:
- Jeff Aplin: “Don’t fall into a trap of being consumed by hype, distraction and disruption. We still have our main jobs to do and that is delivering to clients. While AI is clearly speeding along faster than other new technologies it remains the responsibility of leaders to keep people focused on delivering placements for clients and avoid being taken down a path with AI that ends up being a distraction or dead end.”
- Matt Rivera: “Survival will depend on marketing creativity, sales creativity, and service creativity. We have always said that people (humans), specifically our salespeople and recruiters, are a key differentiator for staffing (vs. technology). Now’s the time to prove it. Get creative. Humans need to figure this out, not technology.”
- Kip Wright: “I’m a big believer in the power of planning. Strategic planning, organizational planning, tactical planning of near-term initiatives. All this plays into the mentality of being prepared. Strategic planning is more than just a view of the financials, it’s a look at the economy, current and potential market conditions, your competition, your clients, and yes, your own strengths and weaknesses.”
On growth and resilience:
- Joanie Bily: “Growth starts with clarity. Leveraging labor market analytics, talent supply trends, and client demand signals allows firms to make sound decisions on where to invest. Whether that’s geographic expansion, vertical specialization, or service diversification, data should guide where firms focus our resources. Being insight-driven helps you deploy capital and talent with purpose—not hope.”
- Kyle Allen: “Volatility rewards those who move with intention. It’s not about doing more — it’s about doing the right things, better and faster than the rest. And that leads to thoughtful and sustainable scalability. Scaling in today’s market isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing things smarter. It means making faster, more confident decisions, using data to shape strategy, and building processes that make work easier for both clients and teams.”
- Mark Lillig: “If your business isn’t diversified, start now. History will repeat itself, and diversification will help provide stability. You’ll hopefully also panic less, have fewer layoffs, and will obtain a stronger foundation next time around. Economic downturns are also ideal times to think creatively and take smart risks if you have the capital and stomach for it.”