January 25th, 2010
These uncertain economic times are enough to make you want to pull the covers over your head and pull a Rip Van Winkle. Slow growth and continued job loss characterize a “new normal” that has so many people on edge waiting for the next shoe to drop. Or kick them in the behind, to be more metaphorically correct.
It is tempting to believe that this new normal will revert back to the much more comfortable old normal. You know, the normal of 5% unemployment and a modicum of job security, as opposed to our 10% unemployment and non-existent security. Maybe it will happen, sooner than later, but maybe it won’t. In either event, I quote the famous anonymous Mafioso in advising you to “fuhget about it.”
Enough hand-wringing already. Worrying about what might happen is a monumental waste of time and energy, both of which are more effectively focused on what could happen in the future of your own design. Worry keeps your head down. When your head is down, you attend to the things that are six inches in front of your face. These things tend to be tactical, short term efforts that challenge neither your imagination, nor your strategic muscle. Funny thing is, most employers decry the lack of creativity in their workforce.
Keeping your head down also prevents you from focusing on the big picture of your career. You fall out of touch with the very friends and critical contacts that are essential elements of the greatest job security weapon in your arsenal, your network. Ironically, keeping your head down is the biggest mistake that people make when facing uncertainty.
I say embrace the uncertainty. Prepare for the possibility that you are not currently employed for life. Nurture your contacts and grow your network. Scan the horizon for the latest developments in your field, or to explore the possibilities for something new, exciting and different. We tend to make our world very small and so possibilities seem limited. Lift up your head. An exciting new future is waiting for you. There, on the horizon.
Posted in Career Advice | 1 Comment »
January 20th, 2010
There is only one conclusion that can be drawn from the Democrats stunning defeat in Massachusetts. People demand to be heard. If a near 50 year Senate seat held by a leading liberal, Ted Kennedy, in a leading liberal state can fall to a little known conservative state senator, we should all sit up and take notice.
This is not a Democrat versus Republican issue, despite lots of noise sure to be heard asserting such. No, this is about listening to people and being responsive to their needs and not your agenda. We all run this exact same risk, every day.
It is all too easy to get caught up in our own agenda, often driven by the exigencies of the day, until we become tone deaf to the needs of those around us. We start to “listen” our family, friends and employees through the filter of our own agenda until we no longer hear what they are saying to us.
I see this with business leaders all the time. They get victimized by the very success they worked so hard to achieve by becoming increasingly isolated and out of touch with the people that matter most, their employees. They get filtered messages from their direct reports that are skewed by their perspectives and desire to please the boss. Before long, the leader may find that they have lost the one thing that most defines them- followers.
It happened to the Democrats in Massachusetts yesterday, just like it did the Republicans a year ago. Kind of scary how fast being deaf can make you look really, really dumb.
Posted in Organization Development | 1 Comment »
January 15th, 2010
Relationships at work would not be so bad if it wasn’t for the people. Well, maybe not bad. Frustrating is more like it. Read the rest of this entry »
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January 6th, 2010
As we enter into a new decade, despite a bit of a hangover from that last dreadful one, we enter into a realm of limitless possibilities. Our economy is on a slow and steady rebound. We seem to have increased our collective wisdom a tad regarding fiduciary responsibility. Though jobs are still scarce, a large pool of talented and tech savvy young people are ready to unleash their collective talents in search of the next break-through idea.
Now if we can only lead them. Read the rest of this entry »
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December 29th, 2009
As far as decades go… I can not wait for this one to.
What started out as a time of incredible promise, ended as a 10 year epoch of loss- lost lives, security, trust and wealth. It all went very bad, very quickly. I say good riddance. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Economy | No Comments »
