Christopher Kai is the world’s leading authority in story-based leadership and a Fortune 100 global speaker. His main keynote topics are about story-based leadership, team success, sales, connection and persuasion. He is a former business strategist and executive speechwriter at American Express. Elon Musk once exclaimed during an interview, “Wow! You really know a lot.” Kai can be reached at christopherkai.com

The McKinsey Global Institute released a report where they studied 46 countries and 800 occupations and found that by 2030 there will be 800 million workers in the world — that’s more than two times the size of the entire U.S. population — who will be replaced by automation. And, they aren’t just retail clerks or Uber drivers who will lose their jobs. It would include jobs you might not think would be automated, such as radiologists, lawyers and pharmacists. Directly or indirectly, automation will affect everyone. The report states that up to one-third of the U.S. workforce in the U.S. will need some form of job training to prepare them for other forms of employment.

The only way we can all keep our jobs, businesses and clients is to innovate how we individually do things as employees, teams and companies or our jobs, companies and clients will cease to exist. We often think of the word “innovation” when we think about technology companies like Apple creating the iPhone but the very definition of “innovate” is much more simple and it pertains to all of us. Innovate simply means to “make changes in something established by introducing new methods or ideas.” We can all be more innovative and creative in our jobs so that work isn’t a chore, but a career we choose that is fun, fulfilling and massively rewarding. Here are 3 simple ways we can be more innovative:

 Innovate as a Person

Do you eat the same breakfast each day? Take the same route to work? Have the same work routine every single day? According to author Steven Kotler in his book “The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance,” we are all hardwired to seek novel experiences if we want our brains to be stimulated and perform better. So whatever you are doing in your daily life, mix it up a little. Try a new breakfast, take a different route to work or challenge your boss or employees to offer different solutions at a meeting. These simple changes will help you become more innovative at home and work.

Innovate as a Team

For more than seven years, MIT’s Human Dynamic Laboratory studied thousands of employees in various departments in different companies around the world. They found that team building indeed is a science that can be measurable, observable and most importantly improved. By just changing how you communicate to co-workers you can be 50% more effective in a team setting. The words you use are only 7% of your effectiveness, which means 93% of your effectiveness as a communicator is based solely on your tone of voice and body language.

Try this simple exercise: Record a video of yourself for 1-minute talking about one of your favorite passions. Now watch that video of yourself and ask yourself objectively, “Do I sound convincing?” Just because you say you’re passionate about something doesn’t mean others will hear and see that passion if you aren’t communicating with the right tone of voice or body language. If you don’t sound convincing to yourself how can your team members believe anything you say?

Innovate as a Company 

According to a Gallup poll, 87% of U.S. employees are either disinterested, dislike or hate their jobs. And beyond the monetary gain of a bigger check, Daniel H. Pink, author of “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” found that the three most basic things that really motivate us are:

Autonomy: You want to have the freedom to do the work as you see fit if you achieve the desired results.

Mastery: You want to feel like you are learning, growing and improving at your job.

Purpose: Your job can’t just be about a paycheck. If you don’t believe in a shared purpose, you won’t be very motivated to work at all.

As a company create a clear, inspiring vision. For example, Amazon is obsessed with serving their customers. Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, wanted people to have an Italian experience when they walked into a Starbucks. It was never about selling a cup of coffee, but about creating a memorable experience. Elon Musk wants us all to be a multiplanetary species.

When we all individually as employees and collectively as teams and companies focus on being more innovative, we will be more successful as professionals and our very satisfied clients with keep hiring us for decades to come. C&IT