A. In a recent study by the IBM Institute for Business Value, the skills required by organizations for the future, the findings show the importance of a blend of digital skills and soft skills (i.e., behavioral skills) and that their latest findings show a shift regarding in priority of critical skills from technical and digital skills to behavioral skills which have now dominated the top four core competencies (https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/EPYMNBJApages 3-4). Underpinning the development of behavioral skills is the regular practice and cultivation of the human virtues.
B. The course will introduce the learner to better understand one’s personality and how it is comprised by one’s temperament and character, both these elements interact to influence one’s behavior, but ultimately it is the virtues that are especially critical in building good character and therefore having a good personality. The practice of virtue will help the learner deepen one’s humanity and it is far more enduring as studies have shown that the rate at which professional skills become obsolete is increasing. The half-life of professional skills was once estimated at 10 to 15 years, meaning that the value of those skills would decline by half – or half the knowledge associated with the skills would become irrelevant – in a decade or so. Today, the half-life of a learned skill is estimated to be five years and even shorter for technical skills, meaning a skill learned today will be about half as valuable in just five years or less. (ibid IBM link, page 6).
C. For leaders of organizations the recent turmoil that characterises the (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous) VUCA world they face requires a transformation of their organisations thru culture, join other organizations who have convoked a Virtuous Leadership Workshop for their leadership team to support the transformation process. A recent Harvard Business School paper cites research on how the practice of five key virtues espoused by Confucianism enabled outperformance (https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/does-religious-belief-affect-organizational-performance?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WK+Newsletter+8-3-2022&utm_term=Does+Religious+Belief+Affect+Organizational+Performance%3f&utm_id=489486). These five virtues are part of the six virtues that form the core of Virtuous Leadership.
D. Invest in your development as Warren Buffet suggested recently given the high inflation :“The best investment against inflation is to improve your own earning power, your own talents. Very few people maximize their talents. If you increase your talents, they can’t tax it while you’re doing it, they can’t take it away from you. If you become more useful in your activities, your profession — you know…doctor, lawyer, whatever it may be — that is the best protection against a currency that might decline at a rapid rate. The best investment, passive investment, I think, is a good business. If you own an interest in a good business, you are very likely to maintain purchasing power no matter what happens to the currency.” (https://medium.com/critical-investing/warren-buffetts-thoughts-on-inflation-303bcfdef538)
