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.

Does Your Reputation Create A Competitive Advantage?

If I ask you to list elements of your organization that make it competitive you would probably list your product, your sales team, your education, your leadership strategy, maybe your pipeline of products, or your longevity in the marketplace. What about your reputation though? The idea of reputation as a competitive advantage is a fairly new market consideration that has been born in the times of market frustration with governmental and corporate mistrust. We have discussed here previously that marketers are waking up to the awareness that trust is a perishable asset. Distrust of corporations is at an all time high, and that is not good news. “Trust is what drives profit margin and share price,” says Larry Light, consultant veteran with McDonald’s. It is what consumers are looking for, and share with each other.

Typically companies would be categorized into one of several types such as banking, pharmaceuticals, retail, fast food or medical. The goal is to carve yourself out from the category in which you find yourself. It is important to not be one of the masses as a large, faceless entity, but rather to be a distinct company with your own creative presence, personality and REPUTATION. The primary way to keep your organization from moving toward being perceived as a commodity where your market is based only on price is to succeed in building a positive reputation. A positive reputation will allow you to sustain premium pricing. A strong value proposition that includes a good reputation for quality and innovation will allow a company to charge and price goods accordingly.

How do you do this? Transparency in executive pay as well as company performance and responsibility is a good beginning. A strategic effort toward creating a more socially responsible face is key as well. Customers are watching and they are looking for a more altruistic and ethical corporate face. In fact, there is an evolving reputation-monitoring science. Companies appraise a reputation not only on specific values such as trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling but also how the company engages its stakeholders. Yes the products and services are key, but they are evaluated not just in quality but also on innovation, workplace governance, sense of citizenship, and leadership.

. According to BusinessWeek (July 2007), “Sure it looks great to tell the world about your innovative culture or that you are the greenest company, but does this really move the needle with your target customers and investors?” How does reputation effect the bottom-line? While this is early science, a few general connections have been found. The Reputation Institute (Singapore, December 2004) has found that a 5% positive change in reputation translates into a 3-5% change in market capitalization. Indeed, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer in 2006 quality, customer service and strong financial performance drove trust. After the financial meltdown that we have been through it is little surprise that financial performance dropped to number ten on the trust list. The top drivers for corporate trust in 2010 are transparency, honest practices, and high quality products.

Whether you are an AIG or a Ford, a local grocery store, or a neighborhood salon, take a look at the loyalty factor of your employees. Employee loyalty is the only way to insure the health of your reputation. We can not assume that employees are grateful for dodging the last downsizing bullet. With corporate loyalty down, it is not surprising that customer trust is down too. Sylvia Ann Hewlett writes in the Harvard Business Online to “Go Pro Bono to Rescue Morale.” Corporate involvement in philanthropy can help polish your brand and hold on to top talent. As we have written here previously in the Top Ten Ways to have Great Customer Service, you need to partner with your customer in something bigger than just your sales model. Pick a project with your employees and customers in a philanthropic endeavor as a tool to recreate that positive energy that may be dwindling. There are many advocacy groups with direct impact on your bottom-line. Now is the time to roll up your shirt sleeves, jump in with your team and customers and help out.