Tom Auld
- Feb 16
- 3 min read

Fear of Becoming Obsolete (FOBO) - Episode 1 "The Why"

We believe we all have an obligation to stay relevant in our careers. But that can sometimes be hard when we are overworked and over scheduled at home.

This series is going to take a look at the issues we face and discuss practical advice to help us go from obsolete to relevant at work.

Full transcript of video here

Send any questions or comments to us at FOBO@AuldLLC.com.

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TRANSCRIPT:

Hello world and welcome to my first video on a topic that keeps me up at night: The fear of becoming obsolete. Especially at work

But what does that mean? To me losing a job is scary. But discovering that my skills are no longer valuable in the job market is much, much worse.

But that can't happen, you say.

Let's think about it for a minute. What jobs are you doing today, and getting no money for, that other people did just a few years ago:

Grocery Store Checkout

Travel agent booking air travel, hotels, tours, and car services.

Bank teller through your phone

Stock trader

Insurance agent

Just last week I was able to skip the hotel check in line and go straight to my room, just by using my phone.

And the list keeps growing every day.

So where did my fear originate?

In 1991 I was a had a banking internship in Sioux Falls, SD. I was the only personal banker on duty this day. Around 2:00 PM a customer came to my desk looking very distraught. After 20 years at a credit card company he was let go this morning. He is the primary income producer for his family. He is scared as to what is going to happen to his mortgage, his car payments, and his kids tuition. "I planned to retire there. I really liked it", he said. "I have no idea what I am going to do next."

So we spent some time working on his budget. We moved some things around to help give him a bit of a buffer, but it was going to be tight. This was heartbreaking.

At the end of our time together, we walked to the front door to say goodbye. That is when we walked through the lobby and saw 5 of his colleagues. All with the same look on their face. That is when we found out 3000 people were let go that day.

As a 21 year old, just starting in work, this scared me to my core. I started to realize that companies did not have a business obligation to be loyal. They could let me go for any reason at any time.

And this is the mentality that drove me through my senior year in college, and it has stuck with me.

So now what, what can we do about it.

This is what I want this series to be about. Let's identify the situations that are rendering us irrelevant in our current professions. But then, let's talk about some strategies on how to avoid obsolesce. And maybe even use the change in business direction to our benefit.

Some episodes may be short and sweet. Some may be a little longer form and will feature a guest. I hope you will let me know what is working for you and what is not.