I spent five years getting really good at building things.

Code, automation systems, integrations. I could solve almost any technical problem a client threw at me.

Then I realized something uncomfortable.

Nobody cares.

Well, they care. But being technically skilled isn't enough anymore. It's not even close.

The Thing That Changed

Ten years ago, if you could build software or automate processes, you had a real advantage.

Most people couldn't do that. The technical barrier was high. If you cleared it, you had something valuable to sell.

That's not true anymore.

The tools got easier. AI can write decent code now. Building automation used to require specialized knowledge. Now it requires following a tutorial and some patience.

The technical moat is disappearing fast.

Which means if your entire value proposition is "I can build the thing," you're in trouble.

Because in two years, your clients will be able to build most of it themselves. Or AI will do it for them. Or some no-code tool will make it trivial.

The question isn't whether you can build something. It's whether you can figure out what's worth building in the first place.

What Actually Matters Now

I used to think my job was solving technical problems.

Build this automation. Connect these systems. Make this process faster.

That's not my job. My job is understanding what problem the client actually has.

Most of the time, the problem they describe isn't the real problem.

They'll say "we need automation for our intake process." What they actually need is to fix their intake process, then automate it. Or sometimes they don't need automation at all. They need a better system.

Figuring that out requires asking questions. Understanding their business. Knowing what they're actually trying to accomplish.

That's not a technical skill. That's a people skill.

I had a client last month who wanted an AI system to process customer inquiries. We spent an hour talking through their business. Turns out the real problem was they didn't have a clear process for who handles what type of inquiry.

AI wouldn't have fixed that. A simple decision tree and some basic automation did.

If I'd just built what they asked for, I would have wasted their money and they'd still have the same problem.

The valuable skill isn't building the solution. It's diagnosing the actual problem.

Can You Get People To Pay Attention?

Here's the other thing that matters now.

You can build the perfect solution. If nobody knows it exists, it doesn't matter.

In the next couple years, you'll be able to go from idea to working product in a day. Maybe less.

That's not the hard part anymore.

The hard part is getting anyone to care.

I see this with people starting consulting businesses. They build a great service offering. They know how to deliver results. They have case studies.

Then they sit around waiting for clients to find them.

That's not how it works.

You have to be able to take what you do and turn it into something people want to pay attention to. Content that shows you understand their problems. Outreach that doesn't sound like every other pitch. Demonstrations that make it obvious you can help.

Most technical people hate this part. I hate this part.

But it's more important than the technical work.

You can be the best at what you do. If you can't get people to pay attention, you're not going to have clients.

Can You Think Through The Whole System?

This is the skill that actually separates people.

Most people solve problems in pieces. "Here's the automation for this step. Here's the tool for that step."

That's not systems thinking.

Systems thinking is looking at the entire process from start to finish. Understanding how all the pieces connect. Knowing what should be automated, what should stay manual, and what should be redesigned entirely.

I had a manufacturing client with inventory problems. They wanted automation to track equipment.

The real problem was their entire process for managing equipment was broken. People checking things out but not checking them back in. No clear ownership of who's responsible for what. Equipment getting moved without anyone knowing.

Automation would have just made the broken process faster.

What they needed was a system. Clear rules for who does what. Simple processes people would actually follow. Then automation to support that system.

That's systems thinking. Not just "can you automate this task" but "what's the right way to solve this entire problem?"

Most people can't do this. They're focused on individual tools or tasks.

The people who can step back and see the whole system? Those are the people who stay valuable.

The Bigger Picture

Here's what's actually happening.

Technology is getting easier. Tools are getting simpler. AI is getting better.

All of that means technical skills are becoming commoditized.

What's not getting commoditized? Understanding people. Understanding businesses. Seeing the big picture.

I can teach someone the technical parts in a few months. How to build automation, how to connect systems, how to use AI tools.

I can't teach them how to ask good questions in a client meeting. How to figure out what the client actually needs versus what they say they need. How to see the underlying system instead of just the surface problem.

Those skills take time. They require experience. They're hard to replicate.

That's where the value is now.

If you're trying to stay relevant, stop focusing on getting better at the tools. The tools will keep changing anyway.

Focus on getting better at understanding what problems are worth solving. How to communicate that you can solve them. And how to see the whole system instead of just individual pieces.

Those skills won't get commoditized. They're what make you valuable.

The people who figure this out will do fine. The people who think being technically skilled is enough are going to struggle.

I'm still learning this. Still catching myself focusing too much on the technical parts and not enough on the human parts.

But I know the clients who keep coming back aren't coming back because I'm good at building things.

They're coming back because I help them figure out what's worth building.

That's the skill that matters.