Steven R. Covey on Job Security

Steven R. Covey on Job Security Ill never forget sitting on the grass at a university campus (the Quad the two unis that Ive been to have them) reading Coveys The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. After all, I was going to be highly effective, very successful and fabulously wealthy Ah, nothing like being a freshman! Anyway, there were a few sentences that hit me hard that day on the Quad, and Ive remembered them all this time (more than 10 years ago): Your economic security does not lie in your job; it lies in your own power to produce to think, to learn, to create, to adapt. Thats true financial independence. Its not having wealth; its having the power to produce wealth. Its intrinsic. Steven R. Covey, first 7 Habits book, Page 304 (1st paragraph) Back then I knew that I needed to finish my degree and be aggressive in my career. And I was right kind of. I did need to do those things, but they wouldnt bring me economic security. Here are the right things that I did that I thought would provide me economic security forever: I got a degree in CIS it was the hottest business degree at the time (and I didnt have the brain to be an accountant!) I got my MBA the only time I almost got a 4.0 (my mistake was that I made my path public and told a professor that my goal was to get a 4.0 he is the one that didnt give me an A!!) I had great job titles from programmer to IT Manager to CIO to VP to General Manager (I should have been president but the board thought I was too young they wanted me to have more gray hair) I had quantifiable results if you look at my resume youll see the increased revenue by 500% type stuff. I thought I had it all! And then when I got laid off I found out that those things were just well, things. They were important, dont get me wrong, but I put my job security in those things. I dont regret it at all, and am proud of my accomplishments But after this last 10 months, from when I got laid off, I have a new list of things that I think are uber-critical. These are things that go along with Coveys think, learn, create, adapt: Think about the employment cycle you will change jobs frequently! Ive seen some resumes where they change each year or 18 months, and the stats say youll change every 3 5 years. Dont let this concept be a pink elephant that no one talks about! Accept it, and begin to figure out what you will do during the job search times! Learn the proper principles of career management, job search, networking, etc. You should be an expert in whatever you do you should also be an expert in navigating your career! Create a personal brand, and a strong a REAL network! You can do what I did and spend 110% on your job and neglect your career. But all that meant for me was months of unemployment trying to figure out where I went wrong. If I would have spent time on a personal brand and a network I guarantee my time of unemployment would have been significantly lower. Of course, then I wouldnt have created JibberJobber, so its good that I couldnt get a job, right? ?? Adapt to the new career that is, multiple jobs, frequent layoffs (downsizing, rightsizing, etc.). I used to think that anyone that couldnt get a job quickly was a loser! They should have gotten a better degree, or they should work harder in the job search etc. I had to do a major paradigm shift when months passed and I couldnt even get an interview! I came to realize that I wasnt a loser but that I just hadnt adapted to reality! I was still on the have a great job for life and get a pension plan, and had not even began to accept todays reality and adapt to it. Food for thought. There is much more, but these are some basics Where do you stand on this? Steven R. Covey on Job Security Ill never forget sitting on the grass at a university campus (the Quad the two unis that Ive been to have them) reading Coveys The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. After all, I was going to be highly effective, very successful and fabulously wealthy Ah, nothing like being a freshman! Anyway, there were a few sentences that hit me hard that day on the Quad, and Ive remembered them all this time (more than 10 years ago): Your economic security does not lie in your job; it lies in your own power to produce to think, to learn, to create, to adapt. Thats true financial independence. Its not having wealth; its having the power to produce wealth. Its intrinsic. Steven R. Covey, first 7 Habits book, Page 304 (1st paragraph) Back then I knew that I needed to finish my degree and be aggressive in my career. And I was right kind of. I did need to do those things, but they wouldnt bring me economic security. Here are the right things that I did that I thought would provide me economic security forever: I got a degree in CIS it was the hottest business degree at the time (and I didnt have the brain to be an accountant!) I got my MBA the only time I almost got a 4.0 (my mistake was that I made my path public and told a professor that my goal was to get a 4.0 he is the one that didnt give me an A!!) I had great job titles from programmer to IT Manager to CIO to VP to General Manager (I should have been president but the board thought I was too young they wanted me to have more gray hair) I had quantifiable results if you look at my resume youll see the increased revenue by 500% type stuff. I thought I had it all! And then when I got laid off I found out that those things were just well, things. They were important, dont get me wrong, but I put my job security in those things. I dont regret it at all, and am proud of my accomplishments But after this last 10 months, from when I got laid off, I have a new list of things that I think are uber-critical. These are things that go along with Coveys think, learn, create, adapt: Think about the employment cycle you will change jobs frequently! Ive seen some resumes where they change each year or 18 months, and the stats say youll change every 3 5 years. Dont let this concept be a pink elephant that no one talks about! Accept it, and begin to figure out what you will do during the job search times! Learn the proper principles of career management, job search, networking, etc. You should be an expert in whatever you do you should also be an expert in navigating your career! Create a personal brand, and a strong a REAL network! You can do what I did and spend 110% on your job and neglect your career. But all that meant for me was months of unemployment trying to figure out where I went wrong. If I would have spent time on a personal brand and a network I guarantee my time of unemployment would have been significantly lower. Of course, then I wouldnt have created JibberJobber, so its good that I couldnt get a job, right? ?? Adapt to the new career that is, multiple jobs, frequent layoffs (downsizing, rightsizing, etc.). I used to think that anyone that couldnt get a job quickly was a loser! They should have gotten a better degree, or they should work harder in the job search etc. I had to do a major paradigm shift when months passed and I couldnt even get an interview! I came to realize that I wasnt a loser but that I just hadnt adapted to reality! I was still on the have a great job for life and get a pension plan, and had not even began to accept todays reality and adapt to it. Food for thought. There is much more, but these are some basics Where do you stand on this? Steven R. Covey on Job Security Ill never forget sitting on the grass at a university campus (the Quad the two unis that Ive been to have them) reading Coveys The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. After all, I was going to be highly effective, very successful and fabulously wealthy Ah, nothing like being a freshman! Anyway, there were a few sentences that hit me hard that day on the Quad, and Ive remembered them all this time (more than 10 years ago): Your economic security does not lie in your job; it lies in your own power to produce to think, to learn, to create, to adapt. Thats true financial independence. Its not having wealth; its having the power to produce wealth. Its intrinsic. Steven R. Covey, first 7 Habits book, Page 304 (1st paragraph) Back then I knew that I needed to finish my degree and be aggressive in my career. And I was right kind of. I did need to do those things, but they wouldnt bring me economic security. Here are the right things that I did that I thought would provide me economic security forever: I got a degree in CIS it was the hottest business degree at the time (and I didnt have the brain to be an accountant!) I got my MBA the only time I almost got a 4.0 (my mistake was that I made my path public and told a professor that my goal was to get a 4.0 he is the one that didnt give me an A!!) I had great job titles from programmer to IT Manager to CIO to VP to General Manager (I should have been president but the board thought I was too young they wanted me to have more gray hair) I had quantifiable results if you look at my resume youll see the increased revenue by 500% type stuff. I thought I had it all! And then when I got laid off I found out that those things were just well, things. They were important, dont get me wrong, but I put my job security in those things. I dont regret it at all, and am proud of my accomplishments But after this last 10 months, from when I got laid off, I have a new list of things that I think are uber-critical. These are things that go along with Coveys think, learn, create, adapt: Think about the employment cycle you will change jobs frequently! Ive seen some resumes where they change each year or 18 months, and the stats say youll change every 3 5 years. Dont let this concept be a pink elephant that no one talks about! Accept it, and begin to figure out what you will do during the job search times! Learn the proper principles of career management, job search, networking, etc. You should be an expert in whatever you do you should also be an expert in navigating your career! Create a personal brand, and a strong a REAL network! You can do what I did and spend 110% on your job and neglect your career. But all that meant for me was months of unemployment trying to figure out where I went wrong. If I would have spent time on a personal brand and a network I guarantee my time of unemployment would have been significantly lower. Of course, then I wouldnt have created JibberJobber, so its good that I couldnt get a job, right? ?? Adapt to the new career that is, multiple jobs, frequent layoffs (downsizing, rightsizing, etc.). I used to think that anyone that couldnt get a job quickly was a loser! They should have gotten a better degree, or they should work harder in the job search etc. I had to do a major paradigm shift when months passed and I couldnt even get an interview! I came to realize that I wasnt a loser but that I just hadnt adapted to reality! I was still on the have a great job for life and get a pension plan, and had not even began to accept todays reality and adapt to it. Food for thought. There is much more, but these are some basics Where do you stand on this?