Congratulations, You Get to Keep Your Job.....

The definition of work is changing. Not just the effort of work, but how we feel about the work that we do. Who among us has not gone through, or held the hand of someone who is going through a job correction? Call it what you will be it downsizing, right sizing, realignment, transformation, it still reads the same, “You, Sir or Madam, need to go be successful……somewhere else.” Not pleasant to hear, and certainly even more unpleasant to watch. Just ask the person who is left standing at the water cooler as they watch their colleagues of many years pack up their boxes and move on. I assure you that standing by is no picnic. Only time will tell who the real winner is going to be: The Last Man Standing or the One Who Moved On.


With all of the change in our economy and the recession that just seems to drag on, it could be expressly dim as we move into the holiday season that is if you let it. In my 22 years of industry experience, I have come to learn that there are always pitfalls and challenges in the work that we do, especially when you work for someone else. I also hold empathy for the business owner who has to make the tough decision to let people go, and I am certain the smaller the organization, the tougher that decision will be.

Perhaps you own your own business and work for yourself, but many of you are like me, working for another person or company. While you do not own your own business, you still work for yourself. Think about it for a minute.

I chose several years ago to change my mindset about this arrangement. I reflected on the increasing vagueness of the employer/employee relationship, and chose to instead think of the work that I do as for myself. My current employer just happens to be my best customer. This change in thinking caused something radical to happen, and I call it unleashing your inner entrepreneur.

When you start to own your own work, you become very much the business owner of your work, and your investiture in the outcomes skyrockets. You take calculated risks. You partner strategically. You educate yourself. You begin to work not just in the business, but on the business. The end result is liberation from some of the stress and drama of day to day work life. After all, you are the boss, you own your own work, and therefore you are responsible. Work no longer becomes a place that you go, but a thing that you do. I have written about this idea here before discussing ideas on the creation of your own personal brand, and I truly believe it is important to help others see the value of putting their good name on their work.

The future of work will be radically different from what we call work today, or can really even imagine. In the emerging economy people will get their work done where and when they need to-or want to. Technology all but guarantees availability and access to information for customers at the click of a button. The world of work is being turned upside down by globalization, demographics and environmental concerns. Our challenge as business owners and owners of our own work is to stay responsive to this demand. It is a dynamic, mobile economy and most definitely incredibly challenging. Good thing the rewards are high.