Month: February 2012

Job Strategies for 21st Century

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“Where much is given, much is required” is a theme that I have embraced since I’ve gotten some many opportunities.  Last weekend, I gave a lecture at Payne Avenue Missionary Baptist Church on job strategies for the 2st century.  I felt it was time to better educate the community about the current employment landscape.

Where are the jobs? How can individuals land one? As we left 2011, many individual’s job opportunities faded away. There are over 15 million unemployed in our country.  Our community is no exception. What worked in the past for job prospects will not work during this economic crisis.

As the economic downturn continues to worsen for today’s workers, individuals need to refocus their strategies as they witness the last era of the full-time workforce. Sadly, things will never be the same for most employees. Companies chase emerging markets abroad.

According to government estimates, an additional 1.2 million manufacturing jobs will disappear in America by 2018.  According to a USA Today analysis, part-time work is at a record high while overtime is at an all-time low.

An average of just 33 hours was recorded for the average worker in May 2009; it was fewer hours than any time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics begun to track it in 1964. In fact, over 9 million people want to work full-time but can only find part-time employment. 

Most job seekers do not understand that the employment rules have changed. In a survey of 1,729 human resource professionals conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management in partnership with AON Consulting, 60 percent of the survey participants said that the skill levels of today’s job applicants do not meet job demands. Forty-three percent said that current employees do not have skills levels to meet job requirements.

At the church, I attempted to share some of the emerging job strategies to apply during this financial crisis. These strategies were identified in my book, Job Strategies for the 21st Century. With an academic mindset and community concern, I feel we can assist the community with the current unemployment problems in our area.  Knowledge is key! Below are some of these recommendations to consider:  

 

  • Personal Branding.  Individuals should set themselves apart with a personal brand.  Your personal brand should define, promote, and protect your image online and off-line. Develop a unique skill or talent that is very valuable in your discipline.
  • Core Competencies. Those individuals with the right skills and abilities will never lose out on potential opportunities. Employers are looking for workers with the right skill set. 
  • Good Communications.  Individuals need to be able to articulate their thoughts (oral and written). In the future, mastering a foreign language will be a trademark for progressive and successful Americans.
  • Critical Thinking. A person can increase his longevity in the workforce by looking critically at problems. Today’s employers are looking for innovators and creators, not just employees.
  • Strategic Alliances & Networking.  Individuals should move beyond networking to strategic alliances. A strategic alliance is agreement for cooperation among two or more people to work together toward common objectives.  Therefore, strategic alliance is not a self-serving function.
  • Flexibility.  Being a person who is mobile and adaptable will be an asset during these uncertainty times.

 

Although many people feel very pessimistic about future career opportunities, hope is not lost if people are prepared for the future. Bestselling Scifi author H.G. Wells explained, “’We were making the future,’ he said, and hardly any of us troubled to think what future we were making. And here it is’.”

By taking control of one’s career strategy, individuals are taking a positive step in navigating these difficult economic times and landing their future jobs.

 

State your experience with this topic.  What additional job strategies would you suggest for unemployed individuals?

 

© 2012 by Daryl D. Green                                    

 

 

 

The Power of Creating Sustainable Content

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The buzz rang across the world. The word was finally out, “Whitney Houston was dead.”  On February 12, 2012, Whitney died at the age of 48 years old. It was hard to believe she was gone.

Through the public eyes, the six-time Grammy winner was a beacon of God given talent. Whitney sold more than 170 million albums and singles over her career and received millions from her movies.

Sadly, many experts argue that Whitney will be worth more dead than alive. Forbes writer Zack O’Malley Greenburg said Houston could be looking at as much as $10 million this year in digital sales.  Many people attempt to company Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston due to their stardom and international acclaim. Yet, their financial firepower was not the same. 

Michael was a musical genius who created lasting content.  He sold over 8 million albums in the United States within six months of his death and over 20 million worldwide. On the contrary, Whitney received a much smaller share with artist royalties from her albums.

For example, Whitney’s music has sold over 1 million albums and singles since her death. Additionally, her catalog sales surged with nearly 900,000 individual tracks sold. One of Whitney’s most celebrated songs, “I Will Always Love You,” has also heated up the record charts since her death. 

Yet, Dolly Parton, who wrote this song, will receive the greatest benefit from the publishing revenues from the radio play and licensing to commercials and films.

 

In both situations, the major difference is that Michael wrote many of his songs and obtained publishing royalties as a writer. Therefore, Whitney’s estate won’t be able to soar like other entertainment moguls like Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. 

Consequently, good content has lasting value. This content is called intellectual property.  It refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. This content is managed with legal documents such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights.  

 

 

Henrik Vejlgaard, author of Anatomy of a Trend, argues the power of creators to set trends.  He explains, “The prime movers in any trend process will often go by different names, for instance, inventors, innovators, pioneers, or entrepreneurs. They create new products or invent new styles or begin doing something in a completely new way.” Therefore, intellectual fire power can pay more over time.

 

State your experience with content creation or intellectual firepower. What do you think about the future of content creation in the future?

 

 © 2012 by Daryl D. Green                                    

 

Beating the Global Competition with Value Creation

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I do struggle a little with my conscious.  Yes, I’ve been called a pretty hard nose professor who pushes his students.  I tell my students I have a low rating on empathy and mercy when it relates to missing my deadlines. 

However, even the meanest Scrooge would have to have compassion for over 15 million unemployed in America.  But—it becomes personal as you hear about your neighbors, co-workers, and family members who have been laid off. 

Financial institutions and other businesses hold on to their record profits for the ultimate use of their money.  Politicians call them job creators which is ironic since businesses primary motives are to make a profit, not give someone a job.

Companies chase emerging markets abroad. According to government estimates, an additional 1.2 million manufacturing jobs will disappear from America by 2018. If in the process a job is made, those are secondary considerations.

Only when business subscript to a business strategy that involves value creation can they hope to sustain profitability. In this paradigm workers are viewed as assets not liabilities.

Yet, many companies build their profitability on this simple equation. Companies seek to reduce their inputs (outsourcing labor, better technologies) to obtain ‘more profits.’ Yet, it’s pretty self-serving with little regard to  customers and employees.

The definition of value depends on the individual. For this discussion, value is defined as the net bundle of benefits the customer derives from a product of service.  Value is defined as the net bundle of benefits the customer derives from a product of service.  Most companies compete on low cost or differentiation strategy to create this value.

In emerging countries where wages are low, it is very difficult for America businesses to compete.  That is why many companies have opted to outsource some of their core functions abroad.  Yet, America’s strength has always been its innovation and creativity.  These attributes are key ingredients for an effective differentiation strategy.

John Gamble and Arthur Thompson, authors of Essentials of Strategic Management, further examined the concept of value as a strategic advantage: “The most appealing approaches to differentiation are those that are hard or expensive for rivals to duplicate.” Therefore, an effective value creation strategy can beat almost any competitor, globally and domestically. 

This reality is due to the fact that the organization is keenly attuned to the needs of their customers. If individuals keep the concepts of value creation in their mindset, they will be able to overcome many of the disruptive changes to come.

How does value creation relate to sustainability for today’s leaders? Discuss your professional experience with value creation. 

© 2012 by Daryl D. Green                                    

 

Launching Ahead toward an Unknown Future

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When I was a Regent University doctorate student, I often wrote my assignments toward publication.  As I took my courses, I always tried to write on similar themes to reduce my research time and make me more efficient.  I would look at the environment thinking what topics would be growing issues. Yet, many of my peers were only looking at the near term (getting a passing grade to move on). 

 

 One article, “The Evolution of Leadership,” produced unintended consequences.  While in graduate school, I had this article published and forgot about it.  One day a tutor in the university’s writing center mentioned she recognized my name. The tutor stated that students were quoting me in their academic papers. Once we graduated, many of my classmates did not want to revisit past assignments for publication. 

 

I soon learned the consequences of looking ahead.  With over 6,000 views and picked up by more than 30 websites and publishers, my article, ‘The Evolution of Leadership, is now being used as a reference globally. That is the power of looking beyond the current situation.

 

With the economic crisis, many people have lost their courage and do not want to seek opportunities in emerging markets or new ventures.  Countries near and abroad are having financial problems.  Europe needs to double the size of its bailout to $1.3 trillion to shore up its banking system and stop the spread of its debt.  Americans watch their earnings decline as the cost of food and gas spirals upward. 

 

 Some people look to the government for help while other individuals leverage the goodwill of businesses to provide trickle down offerings from capitalism.  According to the Economic Policy Institute, 1.8 million of the United States 73 million hourly workers earned the financial wage in 2010; many workers are in the retail, restaurant, and hospital sectors.

 

Taking with a visionary stance to look beyond today’s pressing issues is a utilized by highly successful people.  Noted trend watcher Henrik Vejlgaard argues that it is possible for individuals to spot emerging trends and take advantage of them.

Vejlgaard explains, “Although the world is changing all the time and this flux may eventually affect the patterns behind the trend process, these patterns are deeply rooted in human behavior….By investigating the people who have started trends in the past, where trends frequently start, how trends emerge and grown, and why trends happen, we can define some rules for spotting trends.

 

Failure is always a possibility of leaping while others stay on the shore.  However, the biggest risk is doing nothing.  Charles Schwab, author of New Guide to Financial Independence, understands how to take risk in unchartered waters.  He started investing in 1957, and he became a pioneer in the discount brokerage business in 1974. 

 

He notes, “I’ve heard it said that people are motivated by hope of reward or fear of punishment….Truth be told, we’re all investors.  Each day we invest time and energy and intelligence in our children and our work. Investing for our future is just another aspect of it, but a critical one.” Therefore, any success should be couched with some common sense and calculated risks.

 

Discuss an emerging trend and how you or your organization can capitalize on this trend. 

 

© 2012 by Daryl D. Green