In Feb 2026, I attended the SG60 Voices From the Heart session at the Harbourfront Library. There, I met the founder/organizer of the event, Dr Nik Chong. At the event, he was also promoting his book, Still Relevant in the Age of AI? Subsequently, I read the book and agreed to his request to do a testimonial for his reprint as follows:
Dr Nik Chong is a HR and business consultant with 20 years of experience across multiple industries. This book is for mid-career PMETs who are before, during and after the AI disruption, and on whether they are still relevant in the age of AI? It offers a practical roadmap to stayinging relevant, resilient, and indispensable in a rapidly changing workplace. This book is a must read for both mid-career PMETs and their bosses, so that together we could help the cohort transition successfully in this age of AI.
–Mr Yeo See Peng Senior Consultant, KiteSense
Imperatives
By reading the book, the readers will learn how to:
- Understand why middle managers are most at risk in the AI era.
- Reinvent their value before their role becomes redundant.
- Build resilience and confidence through career disruption.
- Create practical options to stay relevant in the new world of work.
Three Selected Chapters
- Chapter 5: Activate Your Network— Networks don’t appear by accident. They are built intentionally, and like any relationship, they must be maintained. For mid-career professionals, this means moving beyond short-term “contacts” to long-term allies who support and grow with them. The below are strategies to start and sustain a strong professional network:
- Reconnect with old contacts
- Be active in LinkedIn and industry platforms
- Join professional associations and communities
- Offer help first
- Make networking a habit, not a project
- Chapter 8: What If I Lose Everything?— There are moments in every career where the ground feels unsteady. A restructure. A contract that isn’t renewed. A project that collapses. A market shift you didn’t see coming. At some point, you will face a version of the same question: ” What if I lose everything I’ve built?” It’s a frightening thought. But fear has a way of sharpening your vision. It strips away noise, ego, and assumptions and forces you to ask what truly matters in your work and your life. For instance:
- What kind of work actually energises me?
- What industry do I want next?
- What skill are rising, not fading?
- Who do I want to become in the next five years?
When you imagine losing everything, most people picture the bottom falling out. But what sits beneath the fear isn’t helplessness; it’s potential. If everything familiar disappeared, you would still carry:
- the skills you’ve built
- the instincts you’ve earned
- the resilience you’ve proven
- the credibility you’ve developed
- the grit that got you this far
- Chapter 14: How to Anticipate the Axe?— Job insecurity is not a vague fear; it is a daily reality for many mid-career professionals. You don’t have to be retrenched to feel its weight. If job insecurity is a constant presence, then preparation becomes the only real defence. Waiting for the axe to fall and hoping it spares you is not a strategy. The most resilient mid-career professionals treat job security the same way they treat health or home security–think of it as career insurance:
- Build a financial safety net
- Keep learning, always
- Develop a side hustle or secondary stream
- Strengthen your network
- Prepare your mindset
Key Takeaways
- This book is a must read for both mid-career PMETs and their bosses, so that together we could help the cohort transition successfully in this age of AI.
- On job insecurity, my own thinking is that in recent years it has already been there and is getting worse. AI only amplifies it. So with or without AI, what the book recommends about career insurance is a must in the current environment.
#AI #PMET