The DEATH OF JOB SECURITY

Coach Dan asks employers and employees to always be on their toes, ready to adapt to change and be street smart in an ever-changing business environment.

 

Job security is dead! And whether you’re a worker, a business owner or entrepreneur, you should be afraid. The idea of creating or keeping a steady job the rest of your life is becoming more and more a dream of the past unless you take certain steps. The fear that surrounds this reality is impacting our economy and creating a society that is increasingly pessimistic despite living in an age of great opportunity. A Gallup Poll conducted in early 2013 stated that almost 44% of low-income American workers were afraid of losing their jobs compared to 19% in 2008.

Let’s rewind three decades to a time when there was something called “job-stability” in our lives. That’s when in the post-industrial revolution era, things started changing dramatically. There have been rapid changes in the global economy and over the last two decades we’ve seen America and the rest of the world live in an increasingly interdependent job market. The creation of knowledge workers, the rise of China and other developing economies and the eroding strength of labor unions has led to an era of stiff competition and rapid scalability of new ideas. In other words, if you’re not continually improving your skills and becoming more valuable to your work place then you’re in trouble.

Irrespective of whether you are an employer or an employee, your success today depends on how fast you learn, how you adapt and how fast you implement ideas and new strategies rapidly in a fast changing business landscape. The bottom line is simple; there are only two true objectives that a worker or a business owner needs to focus on; 1.) To Create Value: look to constantly find ways to create value for your skills, product or service….and 2.) Generate Revenue: Constantly look for ways that your skill set, products or service can generate revenue and how you can continually grow those skills.
That’s it, figure those questions out and you’ll always have a job. Despite all of this fear and pessimism, I believe that there are tremendous opportunities for each and every individual who understands the concept of creating value and generating revenue. Remember that the definition of job security has shifted from predictable, steady streams of income to being agile and quick to act in making your career and/or business successful. In the case of employees, it is fully reliant on the way you learn new things at work and make changes fast.

We are seeing new businesses enter and exit fast. We are seeing traditional jobs getting outdated, some disappearing altogether while there are new and exciting ones starting to crop up all the time. There is immense opportunity. Guaranteed. But the difference now will always be your ability to Create Value and Generate Revenue.

It really that simple, but it’s very hard to do because for most people it’s an alien concept. However if you focus on these two foundational issues, you’ll always have a job, today and in the future.  Have clarity in what you do and what you’re worth to your organization; be optimistic and work hard. But always keep an eye out for ways to improve your value in whatever you do. Never become satisfied because if you do, you will be unemployed.

If you’re stuck and don’t quite know how to get this focus with your business give me a call or write. I can help. This is what I do and I’m open for business.

Be great!

Coach Dan