The title is a reference to Thomas Friedman's Op-Ed column in the NYTimes, dated 12-July-2011. Click here for the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/13/opinion/13friedman.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=thomas%20friedman&st=cse
It caught my eye because it sounded similar to "The Brand of You" by Management Consulting guru, Tom Peters.
In any case Friedman is dead-on. So dead-on that I came out of semi-retirement to even write this post! :)
I won't rehash what he writes but I will raise examples in my own workplace that illustrates what he states.
E.g., We've been having cuts at the investment bank where I work, and it's just one in a parade of many. People have to constantly look for new jobs or are worried that they'll lose their existing one. Constant re-invention is a must. Workers must always look for ways to add value (which is one of the things I stated in my earlier posts). You can't be idle in this day & age. Look around for what else needs to be done. Kaizen! Continuous Improvement! People who are bored at work simply aren't looking. If you claim to be bored, look at it is a tremendous opportunity to use your imagination to poke into something/get involved and make suggestions.
Another eg. I've seen is what happens after the layoff. In my own group, we were at a height of 100+ people at one point. Now we're down to under 50. People got let go & others left on their own. But the company never replenished. We still have to maintain our ongoing operations however. So what does that mean? Many people are filling multiple roles and are busier than ever. We've gotten pretty damn lean and efficient. And furthermore, we're not just going to hire anyone. We did have a few openings for contractors. But it took several months to fill them. Why? Why when there's a glut of IT people out there did it take us so long? Because as Tom Friedman put it, "we are increasingly picky". We want "people who not only have the critical thinking skills to do the value-adding jobs that technology can’t, but also people who can invent, adapt and reinvent their jobs every day, in a market that changes faster than ever."
I also look at how I can make the job more efficient. I think in terms of the franchise model. The key to franchise success is how to replicate your business easily and cheaply. McDonalds hires burger flippers. These burger flippers don't stick around all that long, I'd gather. It's an easy skill to train them in, and if they leave, you train the next one. And so on. They have it down to a science. Well, even in IT, a similar thing can happen. I am working with a system that has traditionally caused a lot of noise. It takes someone of high intelligence to figure out what's going on. Since I've come into the group, I've whittled the noise down slowly but surely. I've gotten rid of the false positives. Now the system is beginning to hum. Any errors that actually do pop up are being documented in a HOW-TO guide. When I am done, suddenly we don't need that person of high intelligence anymore. That person can be re-assigned to work on more interesting tasks. And in that person's place? You got it: a burger flipper. Someone of mid-level intelligence who can follow instructions and handle basic tasks and attend to those errors. Not the greatest job, but hey, it's a foot in the door and people can move on once they get bored. Even for this job, though, I wouldn't just hire anyone. I'd want someone who could master the task easily and then say "What else? What else can I do?"
