At this stage of the game, I don't think that even Pollyanna would be that bullish on the outlook for our economy. Economic forecasters, at least some of them, are still deciding if we are officially in a recession or not. Time will tell if the economic sky is really falling or if it’s just passing summer storm.
Since we our marking our 20th anniversary this year, ExecuNet has been around long enough to have gone through economics downs and up, so I guess it isn't surprising that we get questions from members on how they should approach the management of their careers when things are looking the way they are now. The short answer is that while the instinct for most of us is to hunker down, dodge the raindrops and ignore the old axiom "the best defense is a good offense." Instead they just hope for the best and wait for the world to happen to them.
Anyone who hasn't internalized by now that when it comes to your professional work life, no one cares about you more than you I would have to wonder if anything approaching a heartbeat would show up on their EKG. I come from the school that believes that proactive beats reactive every time. Point being that in good times or bad, the need for talent, especially with the factors impacting the executive market these days, is intense to say the least. Frankly, I think it is even truer in a down economy when the challenges to an organization both inside and out are even tougher to manage.
I doubt that any of this would come as a big surprise to anyone, at least on an intellectual level, but when it comes to what people actually do, it if very often a different story. Indeed, over the years, countless people have said the same thing to me: “I just can’t believe that I didn’t do something about this sooner.”
Don’t let it happen to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment