Employees on the front line of automation say they are excited about the upsides of learning new skills and roles. But to make the transition work, they want advance preparation and at least some personal coaching. They also need the new technology to operate properly.

The left-right political divide is strangling democracies. In many countries, the left has moved even further to the left and demonized the institution of business, while the right has moved further to the right and embraced a narrow view of business. We need a manifesto to create a middle — both a political and an economic one.

This week’s must-reads for managing in a digital age: just because companies recognize re-skilling and upskilling is critical doesn’t mean they’re doing it right. Also, how to choose charts everyone understands, where blockchain is headed in the enterprise, and words of wisdom for managing your career in an age of uncertainty.

By finding smart ways to make the most of in-house potential, tapping into the growing global ecosystem of expertise, and being open to automation and other tools that might help bridge gaps, leading companies are drilling new sources of advanced analytics talent.

The must-reads MIT SMR editors are reading this week, including: the future of self-driving enterprises, the intersection of what new technologies can provide and what customers want, and how you can be a better leader by not giving advice.

A key driver of AI’s role in the global economy will be how cities deal with technological developments. Many cities plan to become “smart cities” armed with AI-driven processes, like AI-based traffic control systems. But simply adopting these new technologies won’t be enough to guarantee their success. Like organizations and education experts, cities need to assess and prepare for AI-related skills gaps.

A recent survey found that managers do not as a rule encourage or enable employee learning. In the evolving skill-centered economy, that needs to change — but many companies simply have no process in place to support re-skilling and upskilling. Simply imposing an education plan for employees isn’t enough. Managers also need to support, encourage, offer feedback, and lead by example if employees are to gain needed skills that will benefit the company long term.

Everyone at some point will have to spend time either reskilling (learning new skills for a new position) or upskilling (learning current tasks more deeply). Embracing this idea requires an individual sense of agency, but corporations also have to step up. There are promising pilots underway: Some companies are figuring out how to engage on this issue, to the advantage of both individuals and the businesses themselves.

At the 2019 gathering of the World Economic Forum, much of the conversation was about the need for re-skilling and inclusive education, and the ongoing gender gap in the world of technology. Lynda Gratton, a professor of management practice at London Business School, attended the Davos conference as a steward of the World Economic Forum Council on Work, Education and Gender, and shares her insights from the meeting.

There is a fundamental humanity to business institutions. Businesses are cooperative endeavors that leverage human work and creativity to create social value. Stable, functional, and purpose-driven businesses are key to real human flourishing. And yet many governments are expected to be neutral about business, acting as either redistributor or regulator. There is a third role, though: facilitator.

We understand a lot about how to develop the “hard skills” of analysis, decision-making, and analytical judgment, but we know a great deal less about the genesis of “soft skills” like empathy, context sensing, collaboration, and creative thinking, which are becoming increasingly valuable in the workplace. Understanding the obstacles to developing these soft skills and then addressing those barriers is crucial for our schools, homes, and workplaces.

Current trends in both human longevity and technological innovation raise the possibility of people living until 100 and working until they are 80. It’s clear that much will have to change — both in how people understand and anticipate the evolving nature of work, and how they then respond. Providing access to lifelong learning demands a complex system involving stakeholders in education, government, and the corporate world.

At the MIT Sloan School of Management’s 14th annual CIO Symposium, “The CIO Adventure: Now, Next and… Beyond,” senior IT executives came together to discuss key technologies, including how AI will transform the workplace. The goal: to help prepare these tech leaders for challenges they face, including shepherding ongoing digital transformations, building a digital organization, and managing IT talent.

There are clear signs that the movement to democratize data is making real progress. Barriers such as infrastructure, culture, tools, and governance that once kept data access limited are quickly eroding. But access to data isn’t enough: Data democratization also requires knowing how to work with data and understand data analysis tools and techniques. Without these capabilities, the data democracy is only an illusion — and most people are still unable to participate fully.

In an interview with MIT Sloan Management Review, Christopher House CEO Lori Baas and director of quality assurance Traci Stanley explain how they’re using data throughout their educational organization to track student outcomes and look for improvements. “We now can show, based on the assessments, not only how our kids are improving in their cognitive development, or social-emotional development, but also how we compare to similar organizations,” says Bass.

You’ve figured out how to get the data, and how to make sure it’s good quality. You’ve hired the right people to put your data through the analytics wringer. Now you’ve got the results in your hands &mdash and you may not be sure what to do next. Consuming analytics effectively — and getting business value out of your analytics — is a challenge for many companies, and executives must get creative to increase their comfort level.

Linda Zecher, CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is leading the U.S.’s largest K-12 publisher into a more digital era where curricula will increasingly adapt to individual student needs. Along with HMH chief content officer Mary Cullinane, Zecher is guiding HMH through changes that will include new skill sets as well as extensive infrastructure and content management changes.

The new issue of Science magazine features an editorial by MIT President Susan Hockfield titled “The Next Innovation Revolution.”

How do you ensure that your product stays relevant in the future? Reach out to the next generation of innovators. Several large companies are doing just that — as they attempt to encourage software start-ups to use their products and services.