E-Solutions!

0 | September 9th, 2010 | Posted in Careers, Entrepreneur, Job Search, Program Management, Workforce

It’s in the news almost everyday, and chances are, it will have an impact on the election in November. What are we talking about? Employment … or unemployment … depending upon your perspective.

NEW OPPORTUNITY …

The irony is, in this problem, we actually have a wonderful, new opportunity! We have the opportunity to completely rethink how we approach the concepts of work, jobs, and careers. We understand that we will not change the world — or the economy — with a single post to one blog. But you have to start somewhere, and that’s what we are trying to do with “Career Goodies!”

THE PARADIGM …

Let’s identify the paradigm and then talk about the opportunity to shift it right now to a new and improved paradigm. A paradigm is something we believe. It is a fundamental, core approach that impacts the way we react to situations and the decisions that we make.

The current paradigm on jobs is that a job is a definable set of tasks, supported by knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is owned by an employer and performed by an employee. While not everyone falls neatly into that paradigm, that is (more or less) the prevailing thought today on work and its impact on the economy. Maybe it’s time for a change!

PARADIGM SHIFT …

Let’s begin to explore a whole, new paradigm about work, jobs, and careers. What if we looked at work, jobs, and careers in a whole different way. What if …

… the employer did not actually own a job? Instead, what if the employer simply had a problem of some kind that he or she needed someone else to solve?

… what if a job was not a set of defined activities. But instead, it was a solution or set of solutions that advanced the employer’s vision for the business or organization?

… what if the person who had the solution actually owned the job? That is, what if a job were a solution to a problem?

… what if the person we traditionally call an “employee” actually owned the job because he or she is the person who owns the solution (or part of a solution) that solves the employer’s problem?

… what if “job security” was no longer in the company (which it has not been for many years). But instead, security was found in a worker’s ability to solve problems for employers and market their own solutions to employers?

… what if traditional employers were seen (more and more) in the E-Merging E-Conomy as “customers” consuming solutions rather than employers maintaining a workforce?

… and what if traditional employees were seen (more and more) in this same E-Merging E-Conomy as “customer service representatives” rather than employees?

NEW SKILL SETS …

The implications are remarkable! They are worthy of more discussion!

For sure, the workforce would need to place greater emphasis on lifelong learning. Their principle job would be to continue being able to solve problems for employers (could be manufacturing problems … sales problems … administrative problems … medical problems … whatever).

The workforce would also have to develop new marketing skills. It would be understood that they are working with a customer (employer) now, but that would last only as long as the problem exists for that employer. Then … it’s off to another employer with another “solvable” problem. The workforce would be marketing their ability to bring special skills to the table for an employer.

The workforce would also have to develop new levels of customer service skills. No longer are we trading time for money! Now we exchange solutions for money. And the sky is the limit on how much money the workforce can receive — but only so long as their solutions help make the company profitable to its customers.

NUF SAID …

That’s enough for now! More to come later. Just think about it, however.

Why do we have to continue thinking about work, jobs, and careers the same way we thought about them at the start of the Industrial Revolution? Times have changed! People have changed! Work has changed! And careers have changed too!

Now is that time for us to rethink the paradigm and redefine how we think about work, jobs, and careers. We can make the transition, but if we simply choose to keep doing the same old things, we are going to keep getting the same old solutions. And those nations and economies that are out front … defining the rules to the game … they are the ones who will win the big prizes in the global economic arena!

Think about it! We will too!

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Get an App!

0 | September 6th, 2010 | Posted in Cartoons and Humor, Humor, Program Management

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New Around Here

0 | September 3rd, 2010 | Posted in Careers, Cartoons and Humor, Humor, Job Search, Workforce

(Click on cartoon to see a larger image.)

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E-Mployment!

0 | September 3rd, 2010 | Posted in Careers, Entrepreneur, Job Search, Professional Development

If you have been following this blog at all, you know that we like to imagine.  We like to think about how things might be — what they could be like — if only some of us tried to do something a little differently.  Today we want to take a look at “business and employment.”

RETHINKING JOBS …

Let’s be clear about this: the way we define something (a word or a concept) largely determines how we interact with it and use it.  If we define a knife as a cooking and eating utensil, that’s how we will use it.  If we define it as a weapon, we will reserve it for that use.

The way we currently define “job,” it belongs to the employer.  The workforce is always looking for a job or holding down a job that belongs to someone else.  But what if we rethought the definition of a job?  What if we decided that the job belongs to the individual?  What if the worker brought the job to the workplace?  How would that change things?  How would the workforce and the economy be different?

E-MPLOYMENT …

To start with, a job would no longer be thought of as a set of related tasks.  It would become a set of related skills that could be used by a worker to complete one or more tasks for a business or organization.

The worker would become something of an entrepreneur (E-Ntrepreneur) instead of just another employee.  The business (E-Business) would become more of a “customer” than a “boss.”

Workers who experience outsourcing (no longer needed) would be more like vendors who complete a job or project than a dislocated worker.  We already understand that workers will change jobs, employers, and even careers multiple times in the course of a lifetime, so why not change how we think and actually plan for that!

And finally, workers would not do “job search,” but would do “customer search” instead.  They would shop their knowledge, skills, and abilities around to businesses and organizations to serve them — maybe for just six months … maybe for several years.  But always knowing that it will come to an end, and they will need new customers.

THE IMPLICATIONS …

The implications for that kind of thinking are massive!

First, the workforce would become more E-Ntrepreneurial.  They would focus more on productivity, service, and excellence than on job security.  In fact, since they would own their own jobs, “job security” would never be a question or a problem.  The challenge would be to “stay in business” and not just to “hold down a job.”

Second, the worker would feel a greater need to invest in himself or herself.  I cannot tell you how many people we work with right now will not pay for a training program.  If an employer or a program will pay for it, they will go to the training, but they will not invest in their own development.  If they owned their own jobs, and their ability to stay in business was determined by their maintaining a skill set, they would quickly see the value of lifelong learning.  And a commitment to lifelong learning in the workforce would have dramatic outcomes.

E-BUSINESS …

That’s what a new kind of cutting-edge business in America would look like.  Yes, they would still have a class of people who (under the law) qualified as employees.  But in reality, the relationship with the workforce would look more like a “customer-vendor” model than an “employer-employee” model.  That’s what an E-Business would be … excellent-business .. entrepreneurial-business … exciting-business!

E-MPLOYEE …

And the new E-Mployee would look like the kinds of American entrepreneurs who turned transportation around with powered flight and mass-produced automobiles.  They would look like the kind of American entrepreneurs who turned communication around with telephones, telegraphs, computers, and other digital products.  America is still the most creative and inventive land in the world.  ”E-Mployees” are workers who own their jobs, have a stake in the outcome, and focus more on problem-solving than job-security.

GAME CHANGER …

Want to change the game?  Want to get a new outcome?  It’s actually easy enough to do.  What you have to do is redefine the parameter.  You have to establish new paradigms.  In other words, when everything else is the same, you change the game by changing the rules you play by.  Just because we have always done it one way doesn’t mean we always have to continue doing it the same way.

What if … what if … America’s workforce suddenly owned their own jobs and could never lose a job again?  What if they didn’t do “job search,” but started doing “customer search” and “customer service” in the labor market?  It’s just a thought …

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Program Manager

0 | September 2nd, 2010 | Posted in Cartoons and Humor, Humor, Program Management

(To see a larger version, click on the cartoon.)

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It Ain’t the Same!

0 | September 2nd, 2010 | Posted in Careers, Cartoons and Humor, Humor, Interviews, Job Search, Workforce

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The E-O-Conomy!

1 | September 1st, 2010 | Posted in Careers, Entrepreneur, Job Search, Workforce

It’s hard to talk about workforce and career development without spending a little time exploring the concept of “economy.” Your vision for your career impacts the economy at a personal level for you. And your vision for the workforce at large impacts how you think of the economy too.

MAKING SENSE OF THIS …

Let’s make some sense of what we just said. In plain English, if you are doing well with the prospect for continuing prosperity, the economy is not so bad. If you are not doing well and there is nothing on the horizon for you, the economy is poor. That’s what we mean about the “personal level” in the economy.

If the workforce is excited, energized, and productive, then the economy is pretty good across the board. If the workforce is not, the economy is not either.

MAKING THE CONNECTION …

We’ll leave community development and economic development to the so-called experts, but one thing we know for sure is this – you cannot truly separate the economy from the workforce. You can play with all the indicators in the world … you can massage the numbers and throw around the statistics too … but when the dust settles, the economy is all about the workforce. People make a greater difference than numbers both in the short-term and the long-term.

THE O-CONOMY …

If you are able to make the connection between the workforce and the economy, let’s look at two significant economic models. Both focus not on numbers and statistics, but on the workforce itself. The first is called the “O-Conomy.”

The “O-Conomy” is the “Old Economy.” It is the old way of looking at how the workforce interacts and impacts the economy. It goes something like this:

  • Everything is built on an illusion. It is like magic.
  • The principle exchange is about trading hours for dollars. I will trade my time for your money, and in the process, apply some personal skills.
  • If I trade enough hours for enough dollars, when enough time lapses (read … “when I get old enough to retire”), I can stop trading and keep receiving money.

When the economy is explained in these terms, it’s easy to see the flaw. It truly is an illusion. There is no magic in the economy, and illusion is just that – illusion!

THE E-CONOMY …

The second model is called the “E-Conomy.” It fits into the big “E-Workforce” picture we are trying to create. It goes something like this:

  • There is no magic, and we cannot afford to live an illusion.
  • Employers and customers do not buy hours. They have problems, and they buy solutions.
  • The workforce has skills. They no longer trade hours for dollars. Instead, they apply their skills (both hard skills and soft skills) to exchange solutions for dollars.
  • There is still an exchange, but the new exchange is not “time-oriented.”  It is “outcome-oriented.”  Local employers need outcomes to stay in business, and the workforce creates those outcomes for the employers.
  • In a very real sense, the new E-Conomic model embodies a “customer service transaction” between an employer and the workforce.

JOB SECURITY AND THE NEW E-CONOMY …

Job security in the new “E-Conomy” is not based on economic indicators but on problems themselves. As long as an organization is in business and has customers to consume its products or services, it will have a problem. The problem, simply stated, is … delivering a product or service in a consistent, quality manner to a customer or client. Job security is found in problem-solving. As long as businesses have problems, they will need people who have the knowledge and skills to solve them. And they will pay for those solutions if the solutions enable them to be profitable.

THE E-CONOMIC OUTLOOK …

The new E-Conomy is a new way of seeing business and the world.

  • The worker (members of the workforce) are their own business. They remain competitive by maintaining knowledge and skills through a deliberate commitment to lifelong learning. And their strongest skill is problem-solving. In a sense, they own their own jobs.
  • The traditional employer becomes “the customer” in an economic exchange between members of the local workforce and the business or organization. The employer has a problem which is delivering a consistently high-quality product or service to a group of customers or clients. And the workforce has the solution to that problem. The chief aim of the workforce is “customer service” for the local employer.
  • From the perspective of the workforce, the problem(s) of an employer are their opportunities. They no longer exchange hours for dollars in hopes of reaching an age when they can quit working (retire). Instead, they exchange solutions for dollars.

If this makes any sense to you at all, we invite you to continue this “E” journey with us. Through the “E” approach to workforce and career development, we have the opportunity to turn around a lot of the problems and challenges we face today in our nation. With the “E” approach, these problems are not really problems at all. They are opportunities to shape and mold a whole, new kind of workforce in America today. Let’s get busy!

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Youth Daze!

0 | September 1st, 2010 | Posted in Careers, Cartoons and Humor, Humor, Workforce, Youth

(To see a larger version, click on the cartoon!)

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No Coffee For Me!

0 | September 1st, 2010 | Posted in Careers, Cartoons and Humor, Humor, Workforce

(To see a larger version, click on the cartoon.)

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E-Nergized for Work

0 | September 1st, 2010 | Posted in Careers, Entrepreneur, Job Search, Workforce

Let’s use our collective imaginations for a few minutes. Let’s pretend that the economy got so bad – all over the world – that we just did away with money altogether. Let’s pretend for a moment that we shared all the resources of the world and you got your share for being you – and doing what you like to do most. What would that be?

TRADING HOURS FOR DOLLARS …

It is a startling question! The truth is, most of us are used to trading time for money. Many of us do just enough so that we won’t get fired. And our bosses pay us just enough that we won’t quit and go someplace else to work. It is not a good situation in many workplaces. So the idea of being able to be you and to do the things that uniquely make you, you … well, most of us would need a little time to make that adjustment!

THE SECRET TO E-NERGY AND E-NDURANCE …

But here is an interesting thought. If you were allowed to be you and do what only you can do, you probably wouldn’t get tired of it. In fact, it would give you energy. That’s because passion would be the fuel that drives you, and passion gives us energy. A lot of us would become E-Nergized!

A NEW KIND OF WORKFORCE …

So let’s think about a new kind of workforce. Remember, we are still using our imagination here. What if our workforce was E-Nergized by passion? What if more and more of us started doing (are you ready for this?) … who we are? That’s right! I said what if we started doing who we were?

TURNING IT RIGHT-SIDE-UP …

Right now, our worlds are a little upside-down. Go to any party or social event on a Friday evening and meet some new people. You are almost guaranteed to quickly hear a variation on two questions. It is inevitable.

“What’s your name?

“What do you do?”

ARE YOU WHAT YOU DO …

Somehow, the world seems to think it can tell something about you by your name and by your occupation. It should be that way, of course. Your name should mean something, and it once did. People named Smith, for example, can probably trace their heritage back a few hundred years to a time when the family members were in the blacksmith or metal smith business.

OR “DO YOU” WHAT YOU ARE …

And your occupation ought to be a result of what you are passionate about doing. But unfortunately for many people, they end up spending their lives doing work that is the result of “accidental coincidences” … jobs that happened to be available when the person needed a job.

So, use your imagination, but make it very personal this time. What would your life be like if you threw all the stuff out that didn’t mean anything, and you started doing those things that you are really passionate about.? What would it be like if you liked what you did so much you didn’t want to stop doing it? Do you think you would have to worry about money? Maybe … maybe not. But surely, you would be a lot happier.

IF NOT NOW, THEN WHEN …

We live in tough economic times right now. People willing to trade dollars for hours are having a hard time doing it. A lot of employers are not buying the hours of their lives at this point in our history. They are going to have to start figuring out something else to do with those hours. What would happen … what if … they invested their hours in a passionate activity instead of trading it for dollars? What might happen to them … to their families … and to their communities? What if there were a whole community full of people investing in a passionate life? Some E-Nergized people! An E-nergized community! An E-nergized workforce and nation. Hmmm …

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