🌆 The Most Important Skill of 2025 (and beyond)

Happy Monday! Don’t forget that ACE Club’s Summer Meetup is coming up on July 16.

Sign up using the RSVP button below.

Enjoying ACE? Please forward this email to an AEC colleague or friend!

The Most Important Skill of 2025 (and beyond)

In last week’s article AI is coming for your job, I wrote:

If you asked someone 5 years ago what they’d need to learn to be successful, you’d see data analysis, programming and other technical skills at the top of the list. This was as true for AEC as any other industry as design and building became increasingly data-driven.

Ironically, these are the very skills most at risk of being automated by AI systems that have become world-class at financial analysis, software engineering, business analytics, and many more fields in just a few years. Now anyone with access to ChatGPT can whip up a pretty solid budget analysis.

The big skill for 2025: communication

Storytelling

No matter how good your tech is, shit happens. Schedules get blown, budgets get thrown out. Other times, huge clients come through the door looking to be wowed. The people who quench the fires and win those clients are always going to be excellent storytellers.

Data tells people what happened. Stories tell them what it means. When you say "we're two weeks behind," that's data. When you say "we discovered the original electrical wasn't up to code, so we're taking two extra weeks now to prevent a potential fire hazard that could have shut down your business for months" - that's a story that reframes delay as protection.

Good stories are specific, honest about problems, and always connect back to what the listener cares about - whether that's safety, budget, timeline, or final quality.

How to improve: Practice turning project updates into mini-stories. Instead of "demo is complete," try "demo revealed the original builders cut corners on the foundation, but catching it now means your addition will last 50 years instead of having problems in 5." Collect examples of problems you've solved and practice explaining why your solution was smart, not just what you did.

Influence

Whether you’re a site super, a junior designer or a seasoned engineer, you're constantly managing relationships - with trades, suppliers, inspectors, clients. AI might calculate the optimal schedule now, but it can't convince anyone to prioritize your job, or help the owner understand why that change order is actually necessary.

Learning to read people and situations will set you apart. When the superintendent seems frustrated about the delivery schedule, when the client keeps asking the same questions about cost, when trades start cutting corners - your ability to communicate appropriately in these moments makes or breaks projects.

How to improve: Watch how teammates handle difficult conversations. Practice explaining "why" not just "what" when giving updates. Learn the real priorities of different people you work with (the inspector cares about code compliance, the client cares about move-in date, the trade foreman cares about his crew's productivity). Ask for feedback after challenging interactions.

AI Instruction

Right now, you're probably using AI for basic tasks - writing emails, summarizing reports, maybe some takeoff assistance. But without guidance it’ll fail when you apply it to bigger, more complex problems.

AI communication is an emerging field that everyone will need to get better at sooner or later. The key is learning to communicate problems clearly to AI. Instead of "help me with this schedule," you'll say "I have a 12-week renovation with these specific trade sequences, these material lead times, and these owner occupancy constraints - show me scenarios for dealing with a 2-week delay to structural steel."

How to improve: Start using AI tools for real work problems, not just homework. Practice breaking down messy field situations into clear problem statements. Learn to be specific about constraints and priorities. When AI gives you garbage output, figure out what context you didn't provide.

The bottom line

Today, AI can handle most technical heavy lifting better than humans ever could (as long as the project lives on a computer). All of a sudden, the focus shifts to those who can tell compelling stories about their work, build coalitions around complex projects, and leverage AI as a powerful collaborator.

In an industry where relationships, trust, and problem-solving under pressure have always mattered, communication isn't just the most important skill of 2025 - it's what separates the best from the rest.

Don’t forget to subscribe to ACE to get updates about meet-up and events

Until next time,

Emma & Sawyer