I was thinking about Barack Obama’s speech, just broadcast on YouTube today – see Measuring the New Economy – I played it back again, and quickly jotted down notes on some of the probable winners for New Jobs (many of my friends have lost jobs lately – including those in Web Analytics and Social Media – and lets face it, no one has a secure job, except maybe, Obama, today).

Just using tools at our disposal now – who is likely to benefit from making public buildings more energy efficient, invest in Green Energy and moderize and upgrade schools and public buildings into the 21st Century ?

I thought about it and here’s what I came up with (one of my natural talents is as an “oracle” – once I ask myself a question – I  often have the means to answer it and part of the answer):

1. Those who can use Autodesk for  Building Information Modeling – think of learning BIM (see Using BIM for Greener Designs) – I see Revit Building Information Technology and  LEED (Leadership in Energy and Educational Design) rating as having much higher importance coming into the new year – those who can employ tools such as  Green Building Studio – will become a key part of Obama’s new proposal to make public buildings more energy efficient -for,  in order to build, your going to need the right tools, and people who can run them.  Sites like BuildingGreen.com have a live tutorial and community area where you can learn about the issues in implmenting Green Energy along with cases studies, like one right near where i live in Brooklyn (a few miles away, actually) at The New York City Office of Emergency Management .
2. A guick search on Monster.com (I work for Monster Worldwide, btw) comes up with the following vocations, skills, titles – things you want to learn now so you can benefit from Obama’s New Economy plan:   LEED Project Managers, TERRITORY Sales Managers for Green Energy Products, Interior Designers with a specialty for Green Energy, Renewable Energy Design.
3. In fact, the US Department of Energy has a website devoted to EERE Energy Education - and I forsee that the US Department of Energy will become a key position in the Obama cabinet as that it’ll be one of the main agencies responsible for executing on Green Energy – and look for programs and courses similar to CEAGE, Fuel Cell Training courses and programs, conferences around Fuel Cell Technology (which are probably good to go to now – if your into architecting or want to ramp up – this is a good direction to go in).   Of course, there’s much, much more to be said here – but I’ve given a clue for some of the future jobs – not all the details -that’s for others to do, not me.

And who would be best positioned to build for us a universal internet while using the network effects of the upgrade to modernize the health care system - while saving money in the process?

For one thing, almost all of Obama’s immediate stimulus goals are focusing on ReBuilding Physical Infrastructure - I’m wondering if that focus on “physical infrastructure” is too  narrow – might not processes be rebuilt too?

It’s one thing to improve the physical cabling of the Internet – but what the programs that run on it – every part of it – and a lot of it is programming – needs updating too.

So where are the jobs that would are needed to build/upgrade the internet and bring into every school – so every child has it?

1. Information Technology jobs with a focus on Green Energy and Renewable Resources – time to go back to school and major in Information Technology if your losing your job now (and can still get a loan) – there are many places to get training in Information Technology - but it’s clear to me that while Obama might be focusing on Physical Structures – those structures are “wired” and many of the jobs will require some kind of programming, process flow charting and soft skills that also connect with Green Energy Construction .

Immediately - I’m seeing the problem – not an insurmountable problem – but one that’s similar, in a way, to Hillary Clinton’s attempt at Universal Health Care when she was First Lady, back in the day, in 1994.   The problem is – where’s the BLUEPRINT for translating a high level set of directives into a program that can be EXECUTED?       I don’t see enough infomation to know how far Barack Obama and his new Economic Team have gotten in the actual implementation details – and the attendant funding for them -but it seems to me that he must attend to it – if his program is going to succeed.

So where it the modern day Imhotep (s)- the Architect(s) who can direct the building of  our new Great Pyramids of Energy Independence and Renewable Power? According to Wikipedia, Imhotep was known as ….

…. the first engineer^[2], architect and physician in history known by name.^[3] The full list of his titles is:

Chancellor of the King of Lower Egypt, Doctor, First in line after the King of Upper Egypt, Administrator of the Great Palace, Hereditary nobleman, High Priest of Heliopolis, Builder, Chief Carpenter, Chief Sculptor and Maker of Vases in Chief.

Imhotep was one of very few mortals to be depicted as part of a pharaoh’s statue. He was one of only a few commoners ever to be accorded divine status after death. The center of his cult was Memphis. From the First Intermediate Period onward Imhotep was also revered as a poet and philosopher. His sayings were famously referred to in poems: I have heard the words of Imhotep and Hordedef with whose discourses men speak so much.^[4]

Yep, that’s what your going to need – a bunch of modern day Inhotep like visionaries to pull this off – and I’m not seeing anyone, so far, up to the task – someone who will ensure the New Congress and President legislate the neccessary means to accomplish the task at hand – and I’m not talking about money (we’ll have that) but the Blueprint and details on how and in which sequence to execute the plan – who has ever done this before?

Clearly, someone is going to have to “rise to the challenge”  – but who?  The job of building this new infrastructure is almost as important as Obama’s job, itself.

Has anyone, yet, realized the immense tasks that will be needed to rebuild our Energy Grid and Information Grid in the way we’re talking about now?  It’s clear we’ll need a few “Czars” certainly one for Energy and another for Information Technology – but I think there should be a group formed just for this, from within new Administration.

In the task to soon come, I’ll throw out some names of people I can imagine would be the chief information architect for this rebuilding – perhaps – Peter Moreville and Louis Rosenfeld who co-wrote the Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, Third Edition could fill the shoes – I don’t know – but I think they’re among those who ought to be considered for it.  Also, Amy Shuen who wrote the Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide could fill this role – the Web 2.0 Strategy guide was one of the best books I’ve read recently and really opened my eyes to valuations and “network effects” … and we’re talking network effects big time, here – because Obama’s plan is all about Network Effects - and the person who is the architect(s) of his Renewable Energy and Rewiring Infrastructure program(s) needs to understand Network Effects – or else, they can’t do it – it won’t deliver the payload Obama is promising for us.

I guess this is enough for one post – I simply trained my mind to see in to the future – to take Obama’s words and test them – what is going to happen when he tries to re-architect our Infrastructures – both Energy and  Information – and the Network Effects that come from them?

And this post is part of the answer back – from my inner oracle, with a little help from Google, on what the future holds.

At the end of the day – Obama’s plan is doing to depend on having the right plan in place – and in order to do that he needs master Architects – not anyone – it’s got to be the “right” persons, this is much too big a task for just anyone.

Ok – I just got a “name” or two - Tim O’Reilly – he could do it – I don’t know if he wants the job – but he can act as the spiritual and intellectual guide – yes, Tim O’Reilly would be one of the top people I’d choose, if I were Obama, for the person to me the modern day Imhotep.

I hope the right people step up for the task and I hope Obama picks those people to lead this rebuilding effort – that is what my vision tells me  – my inner voice.