Michele Woodward

Powerful Coaching. Powerful Results.

new rules of work

I Kill Jobs

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Logging truck

 

I bought a book the other day. Didn’t even leave my home – just pulled up a website, clicked one button and – whoosh! – the book was on my iPad. And on my iPhone. And on my Kindle. And on my desktop computer.

Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, I can read that book any time, any where, on any device.

And in that fell swoop, I got exactly what I wanted and single-handedly killed a fair number of  jobs around the world.

See, if I had driven to the bookstore to buy the hard copy of the book, it would have taken:

  • the store clerk who helped me find the book
  • the cashier who rang up my book
  • the store manager who supervises those staff people
  • the cleaning crew who maintains the space
  • the landlord
  • the corporate people who decide which books to carry
  • the gas station attendant who sells me the gas it takes to drive to the store

It would have also taken:

  • the farmer that planted the trees
  • his farm worker
  • the lumbermen who harvest the trees
  • the driver who hauls the trees to the pulper
  • the pulper
  • the driver who drives the pulp to the paper mill
  • the guy at the paper plant
  • the binder
  • the driver who picks up the finished book
  • the warehouseman who stores and ships the book
  • the FedEx woman who delivers the book
  • the guy who puts the gas in her truck
  • the mechanic who maintains her truck

None of those people had a hand in my recent transaction. Multiply that by millions of e-books sold each year, and it’s no wonder that a lot of working people are suffering.

All because I chose the most efficient way to read what the writer wrote.

Don’t get me wrong – I love the feel of a bound book in my hands. I love turning pages. I also like people to have jobs. But, boy, do I love being able to buy an obscure, out-of-the-mainstream book with the click of a button.

And it’s this simple effect, amplified across a number of industries, that has changed the face of employment around the world.

We no longer need warehouses to store items that can be bought virtually. Bang – those jobs vanish.

We no longer need postal workers to deliver your movie in a red and white envelope, because you’re streaming at your convenience. Jobs gone.

No more factories churning out CDs in their infernal, unopenable, shrink-wrapped jewel box cases, because you listen to music on your phone, or via your computer speakers. Poof, buh-bye assembly line workers.

My friends, we are living through remarkable change. And we can lament and despair – gnash our teeth at the loss of the old ways – or we can hike up our britches and figure a way to get on board with the new. Just the way our great-grandparents did when running water came to their town. The way our grandparents did when every house was electrified. The way our parents did when air travel became commonplace.

Now is the time. If you are in an industry under threat from the new way of doing business, it may be time to reinvent – toward the efficiency and immediacy of the new economy. A great tool is the new book Reinventing You (Harvard Business Review Press) by my friend Dorie Clark. I interviewed her last week on the WiseWork radio show. It’s worth a listen.

It’s critical that you find the way – your way and maybe even a way for others – to thrive in a world where efficiency means that more gets done with less.

The world is wide open to you in a way it’s never been before, with so much possibility at your fingertips.

Now is the best possible time to reinvent.

 

 

 

Totally In On A New Thing

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It used to be that a man married a lovely girl and got his job in a factory or office. For thirty years, his work brought in the family’s income and the health insurance while the lovely girl stayed at home and raised their adorable children. Then, the man retired, got his gold watch and went fishing.

Times have changed.

Really changed.

I recently listened to a segment of the NPR show “On Being” which featured 23 year old spoken word artist Sarah Kay. She’s just back from Australia, where she performed and taught throughout the country.

Did you hear that?

Twenty three.

“Spoken word artist.”

Australia.

NPR.

In contrast, when my dad was 23, he was married with two kids and a third on the way – and wore a suit and a hat to the office every day. The idea of Australia probably never crossed his mind, let alone something called “NPR”. That a girl could be a spoken word artist and make a living would have been baffling.

Times have really changed.

And what’s changed the most are the possibilities.

A kid can have an idea in his dorm room (or drop out of college) and turn it into a billion dollar business:

Mark Zuckerberg.

Michael Dell.

Bill Gates.

A woman can be on a reality show and parlay that into subsequent lines of business:

Bethenny Frankel.

Guiliana Rancic.

Anyone named Kardashian. [I am not going to hyperlink anything to that name. I just…can’t.]

It’s not only famous people who can take advantage of today’s possibilities.

People make money de-cluttering homes.

Artists have built sustainable revenue by selling their paintings online.

Using Skype, consultants can work with clients all over the world, while still managing to be at the bus stop to greet their kids at 3pm.

People have written books solely for the Kindle and ended up making decent money – and receiving book deal offers from traditional publishing houses.

Kids put videos of themselves singing on YouTube and go on to sell out stadiums.

Employees get laid off and start a whole new company.

A former White House staffer can reinvent herself and become a successful executive coach and writer.

Who would have ever thought it?

Yes, times have changed. And the new world of work is more flexible, adaptive and collaborative.

There are new rules, and new ways of being successful. Which can be a little challenging for folks who define “success” as having the same job for thirty years, with the hat and gold watch thing as mileposts. For these folks, it feels like the times have changed too fast, what happened to the rules, and can’t we turn back the clock?

Nope.

The genie is out of the bottle.

And now that people can have flexibility and a good income, now that they can have satisfying work of their own creation, now that anyone can go from being employed to being freelance to being employed again, now that time and distance is no longer a barrier to business growth – now is the time to embrace the way the world has changed and adapt to its new work rhythm.

If you hold on to the old way of work, you will lose.  Because we stand at a new point in the evolution of careers, with a  promise that is huge, and bright. And wildly creative.

I am in. Totally in. How about you? You ready?

The New Rules of Work – Part 3

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To really understand one of the new rules of work, you need to know Kathy Korman Frey.

Kathy is an adjunct professor at George Washington University, an expert in women’s entrepreneurship and an evangelist for mentoring and being mentored.

Which is a key to success under the new rules of work.

The Old Rules

Eat what you kill. Every man for himself. Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.

The New Rules

Create networks. Your personal brand is the sum total of all of your experiences with other people. Collaborate. Mentor and be mentored.

Whether you’re a man or a woman, work for yourself or work for someone else – the benefits of having a mentor or mentoring another are tremendous. Kathy Korman Frey says, “People with mentors feel more successful. My specialty is women in business, and we know women with more professional mentors feel ‘just as successful’ or ‘more successful’ than their colleagues. Conversely, women with fewer mentors feel ‘less successful.’ (Source: Hot Mommas Project research with 269 working women). The positive psychology movement shows us that individuals with five or more close friends are happier. A similar principal applies to our professional lives.”

Now is the time for the Big Buts.  “But, Michele, I’m a stockbroker – no one mentors anyone in my shop.”  Or, “But, Michele, I’m a lawyer, and mentoring is just not part of the culture.”  Or, “But, Michele, I’m a solopreneur and don’t have anyone to mentor.”

A lot of Big Buts.

The cool thing – if no one in your organization mentors, imagine the powerful impact you can have by doing the extraordinary thing – and how you will stand out by being a great mentor.  Imagine how successful you’ll be.  Imagine how grateful the people you mentor will be.  Imagine.

And solopreneurs can mentor other solopreneurs – sharing best practices, helping cut through to success – an excellent business model.  I use it myself.

Mentoring is a good thing, and anyone can do it.  So how do you find a mentor?  Kathy Korman Frey:  “The simplest way is to talk with someone who inspires you. Attend a panel discussion listen to a podcast, approach a colleague, and ask them questions. There are many more steps I teach in class, but, this is the quick and dirty.”

And to become a mentor?  “Call or email someone and ask how you can support them in their goals. It takes five minutes, but it can change a life.”

Both Kathy and I have benefited handsomely from our mentors.  I wrote about one of my key mentors last year in Mentoring Mojo.  Kathy says, “I have had many mentors. I subscribe to a ‘personal board of advisors’ theory. When I look through time, I have my ‘springboards’ and my ‘constants’. All my springboard are actual teachers, or are natural teachers. For me, these are always the best mentors.”

Kathy Korman Frey counts among her mentors new media stars like Guy Kawasaki and Sam Horn, and important thought leaders like Harvard Business School’s Rosabeth Moss Kanter.  But Kathy also cites high school teachers, college professors, business leaders and peers.  Obviously, Kathy has this mentoring thing knocked.  That’s why she thrives.

As a coach, I sometimes find that clients come to me to be mentored.  Young executives who are managing people for the first time, or navigating office politics – they use me, as a mentor, to learn how to move swiftly up the learning curve.  I also mentor people growing coaching practices, and women re-entering the workforce after a parenting break.

I love mentoring.  And being mentored.  As Kathy pointed out, I feel happier and more successful because I’ve had people who’ve been kind enough to show me the ropes.

If you really want to thrive under the new rules of work, get in the mentoring game.  Call one person this week and offer to help.  Call another person and ask for help.

No Big Buts allowed.



The New Rules Of Work – Part 2

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So you’ve been mulling over the idea I proposed last week – that, under the new rules of work, you are a freelancer. No job is secure, and you need to be ready – at any time – to make a move into something new.  Having a side hustle, a Plan B, a backup plan – all very important under the new rules of work.

And there’s something else you need to know to thrive in the new workplace:  Givers win, takers lose.

The Old Rules

You eat what you kill. Greed is good. By any means necessary, you’re going to get yours, and screw anyone who moves too slow.  Your slogan: You snooze, you lose.  You withhold information from people you work with, and even your clients, because information is power, and power is all-important.  Power lets you kill more, so you eat more.  More, more, more is the relentless pursuit. Because there’s only so much to go around.  Only one guy on top.  And it’s going to be you.

The New Rules

Collaboration replaces competition. Information is shared openly and transparently.  Collaboration yields deep personal connections with others, which, in turn, yields opportunities for growth and new jobs.  You succeed by being of service.  You build a strong personal brand with each person you treat well.   You know there’s more than enough of everything to go around, so stress is reduced.  One day you’re the leader, the next day you’re taking directions – it all depends on the task at hand.

The Taking Culture creates huge inefficiencies.   It’s like the law firm that gets a new case in the LA office, but the lawyer with the best expertise is in DC – and she doesn’t get put on the case because all the billable hours need to stay in LA so they can make their numbers, and get their bonuses.  The client has less than stellar assistance from the firm, and a bad taste in his mouth when he loses his case.

The Taking Culture creates ill will.  It’s like the “marketing expert” whose best marketing is really of her persona.  She sells programs and e-books and gimmicks promising that you’ll grow your business to be just as successful as hers.  Yet, everything she sells is amateurish, off-the-shelf, unhelpful. She’s actually never done professional marketing.  Hey, she doesn’t care – she has a mortgage to make, after all – and enough new people come to her via her online presence that she doesn’t give a hoot about the legions of disappointed customers she’s leaving in her wake.  The suckers.

The Giving Culture turns all of it on its ear.

When focused on Giving, the LA office collaborates with the DC office, to give the client the best possible representation.  The client is so happy that he continues to use the firm for years, and refers them many clients.

The online marketing guru who comes from a place of Giving and centers in her expertise – she delivers high-quality, practical materials to an expanding audience of raving fans.  She never worries about making her mortgage.  In fact, that sucker is paid off.

And that’s why givers win.  Giving creates. It creates connection, it creates good feeling, it creates wealth.

Just a note to all my self-effacing, self-deprecating, people-pleasing friends out there:  You don’t give until it hurts.  You don’t give until you have nothing left. You don’t give to get the approval of others. That’s not the point of these new rules of work.

You give to create bonds and connections of appreciation between you and other givers.  You give to collaborate.  You give to set yourself up for what’s next.

You give because it feels so right and yields such rich rewards.

You give out of strength, because you know – don’t you? – that there is always plenty to go around.