Today’s Observation -June 8, 2026
Every few years, America seems to fall in love with a new narrative.
Right now, it’s artificial intelligence.
Open any news site, scroll through LinkedIn, or spend ten minutes on YouTube and you’ll be bombarded with predictions about how AI is going to change everything. Entire industries will be transformed. Jobs will disappear. Companies will be built overnight. Fortunes will be made.
Some of that is undoubtedly true.
Artificial intelligence is already changing the way businesses operate. The companies that learn to leverage it effectively will gain a significant advantage over those that don’t. In many ways, AI is becoming the electricity of the modern economy—something that eventually touches nearly everything.
But while everyone is looking toward the future, very few people are paying attention to a problem that is already here.
America is running short on the people who actually keep America running.
A few weeks ago, I was thinking about this while looking at a development project. Like most projects, there are architects, engineers, consultants, software platforms, and countless digital tools involved.
But at some point, none of that matters unless someone physically shows up and builds it.
Someone has to pour the concrete.
Someone has to run the electrical.
Someone has to install the plumbing.
Someone has to weld the steel.
Someone has to troubleshoot the equipment when it inevitably breaks.
Without those people, nothing gets built.
And that’s where the opportunity lies.
For decades, we pushed an entire generation toward four-year degrees and office jobs. Guidance counselors, parents, and society all repeated the same message:
“Go to college.”
The trades became an afterthought.
As a result, many of the skilled workers who built America’s infrastructure are now retiring, while too few young workers are entering the pipeline to replace them.
The numbers are beginning to show it.
Contractors across the country struggle to find qualified labor. Electricians are booked weeks or months in advance. HVAC companies are turning down work. Construction firms are competing aggressively for experienced employees. Municipalities are searching for utility workers. Manufacturing plants are hunting for welders and technicians.
Demand continues to rise while supply continues to shrink.
That’s a simple formula for higher wages and greater opportunity.
The irony is hard to ignore.
At a time when people are worried about technology replacing workers, some of the most secure careers in America are the ones that require physical skill, experience, judgment, and problem-solving in the real world.
You can automate a spreadsheet.
You can automate data entry.
You can automate customer service.
But you can’t automate crawling underneath a house to repair a broken sewer line.
You can’t automate diagnosing why a commercial electrical system keeps tripping breakers.
You can’t automate rebuilding an engine or installing structural steel on a job site.
At least not anytime soon.
What’s even more interesting is that the AI boom itself is creating additional demand for skilled labor.
Every new data center requires electricians.
Every warehouse requires contractors.
Every manufacturing facility requires maintenance technicians.
Every infrastructure project requires tradespeople.
The digital economy still depends on a physical economy.
And that physical economy depends on people.
Investors should pay attention to this trend.
Business owners should pay attention to this trend.
Parents should pay attention to this trend.
The next generation of opportunity may not come from creating the next app or chasing the latest trend. It may come from owning the businesses that support the skilled trades, investing in the infrastructure that requires them, or becoming one of the professionals whose skills remain in demand regardless of what technology does next.
The headlines will continue talking about artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, electricians will continue wiring buildings.
Plumbers will continue fixing leaks.
Welders will continue building infrastructure.
Mechanics will continue keeping equipment operational.
And they’ll likely continue earning more money than many people expect.
The lesson is simple.
Pay attention to what society cannot function without.
The greatest opportunities are often found there.
The noise gets the attention.
The fundamentals create the wealth.
And right now, one of the most overlooked fundamentals in America is the skilled trades.
Closing Thought
While everyone is trying to figure out what AI will replace, it may be worth asking a different question:
What jobs, businesses, and industries will AI still need?
That’s where I’d be looking.
-Michael
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The Anticipation Advantage
Most people spend their lives reacting.
The people who create extraordinary outcomes learn to anticipate.
They see shifts before they become trends. They recognize opportunities before they become obvious. They understand that success is often less about prediction and more about preparation.
That’s the premise behind my upcoming book, The Anticipation Advantage.
Drawing from decades of experience in business, real estate, finance, entrepreneurship, and life’s unexpected twists, the book explores how anticipation—not luck—has shaped some of the most important decisions of my life.
If you enjoy the perspectives shared in Outside The Wire, you’ll find the deeper stories, lessons, successes, failures, and hard-earned insights inside the pages of The Anticipation Advantage.
Coming Soon.
Because the future rarely belongs to the smartest person in the room.
It belongs to the person who saw it coming.