I 'New Collar' the new 'White Collar'?

“All white-collar work will be automated within 18 months.”

So said Microsoft’s Chief of AI recently.

All the tech 'overlords' say the same thing...

Inspiring and visionary, right?

Methinks not....

Here’s the uncomfortable truth...

You need to leverage your unique and unfair HUMAN advantage - fast!

For decades, “white collar” has been the ultimate industrialised identity:

Predictable.

Interchangeable.

Polished and Professional.

Homogenised

A reliable cog in a very efficient machine.

But the machine just got smarter and will exponentially so from here.

We’re entering the era of the supposed 'Jobpocalypse'.

AI isn’t just coming for tasks.

It’s coming for the bland.

The generic.

The replaceable.

If your value is tied to being a dependable part of the system…

The system is about to upgrade and possibly without you.

But — and this is important — there is a massive opportunity in redefining, reconfiguring and restaging your unique HUMAN advantage.

Enter 'New Collar'....first coined by former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty

Not a dress code.

A holistic skillset.

My take - 'New Collar' professionals bring:

Technical capability.

AI and Digital fluency.

PLUS something machine learning cannot replicate:

The HUMAN overlay or HI — your unique HUMAN Advantage.

Because:

AI handles the work.

HI delivers the impact.

In my TEDx talk, I asked:

“What Are Your Yellow Shoes?”

It’s not about footwear, rather:

Distinct Value.

Presence and Behaviour.

HUMAN Connection.

Tangible and Intangible Expressions.

Your Unique Human Identity.

Trusted Brand

My own seismic career shocks forced a decision.

Keep ironing my white collar; not have a collar at all…

Or go beyond the collar and do the jacket!

I've chosen to trade the comfort of “Fitting In”

For the risk — and potential power — of “Standing Out.”

New Collar isn’t just a new label.

It’s the realisation that competing to be a better version of an LLM is a losing game.

The opportunity?

Be the most compelling, valuable, unmistakably HUMAN version of you.

We don’t need more White Collar experts.

We need more New Collar leaders.

Leaders willing to reconfigure their HI, their value, their identity — not just their CV.

Are you seeing or feeling this shift in your world yet? Keen to hear.