How to Survive in the Tech industry in 2026

Summary

It has been three months into 2026, and ChatGPT has evolved since 2022. We have seen AI take the world by storm. This reflection piece attempts to remind us of our motive and value proposition as humans in an AI-shaped world. Without a doubt, AI will sit in the economic driver’s seat, and our old ways will become “the horse.” If you have a horse, as with any industrial revolution, the automobile is coming. You will need new skills to navigate your new vehicle. Please do not try to horse-ride in your car—that is, doing the same work in the same way with new tools. Two things happen: (1) the car will not move, and we wonder why the technology “does not work for me,” and (2) you will look silly trying. Credit to Nexos.ai This article lays out a few levers that can help you as a technologist stand apart from the crowd. 1. Whatever the role, good business acumen is your x10 leverage If you have a small budget but need x10 impact this year, that is what the business is asking for. Find people who understand that and run with them. Every success involves stakeholders; part of good business acumen is understanding social capital. If you are in a relationship with another person—personal, professional, or partnership—you hold an emotional bank account with that person. That is a fact, and it cannot be ignored. Strong social capital buys more benefit of the doubt when things get rough; safety rises when social capital is high. Trust thrives only in a safe environment. With every bank account there are withdrawals and deposits. Go the extra mile and grab an extra coffee for a colleague on the way to work—that might be a ten-cent deposit. But when we talk behind someone’s back in a conflict, we can wipe the account with something closer to a hundred-dollar withdrawal. Withdrawals are in dollars and tens of dollars; most deposits come in cents. That may be why they say trust takes years to build and seconds to destroy. 2. You need a team that can wear multiple hats Engineers wit...