If you’re not adapting to the very rapidly changing environment, if you can’t think creatively, you lose big in this society because there are very few jobs for you left.

Sternberg’s remark reflects his long-standing argument that conventional measures of intelligence (especially narrow, test-based “analytic” ability) are insufficient for success in modern life. In a labor market reshaped by globalization, automation, and rapid technological change, he suggests that people must continually adjust their skills and strategies. “Thinking creatively” here functions as a practical capacity: generating novel approaches, reframing problems, and learning quickly when old routines stop working. The warning that there are “very few jobs” left for those who cannot adapt underscores a social and economic claim—society increasingly rewards flexibility and innovation, while routine work is more easily replaced or outsourced.