John F. Kennedy

As the pandemic hit our country, our workers were already in distress from underemployment. On the surface, we were given glowing reports of the lowest unemployment rate in history, hovering at about 3.8%. The actual truth was far more startling.

For several years, about half of our country’s workers have characterized themselves as “underemployed.” This state is characterized by millions of people that hold 2-3 jobs to keep a roof over their heads. We can find countless graduate students trying to keep stiff upper lips while serving coffee. Even more, sit in obsolete jobs as the market shrinks around them.

When half of our country’s workers look into the future and cannot envision where they will fit in, what happens? I believe this is the largest source of our turmoil.

America doesn’t need more promises. We need guidance. We need to be told the truth. The truth will set us free, but first, it will piss us off. In this particular case, task-based jobs have been disappearing for 20 years. The pandemic has thrown timelines out the window.

Now, we are being forced to change. Sell-change tends to require courage. Without meaningful guidance, many of our brothers and sisters who desperately need to reinvent themselves feel that doing so will add more risk to an already crowded table. Comfortable inaction will be the worst and most frightening choice of all. But in a country rich with abundance, most of us have become rather skilled in settling into our version of comfort. If we need to snap out of it and could use voices that replace hope with optimism, messages that encourage us to take action, and reminders that our lives are about to become much better.

In fact, the pipeline of work that is coming out of our vast change is far more exciting and it can give all of us more fulfillment and meaning. We sure could use leadership that points out what is in it for us if we let go and pay the price to become productive members of the new workplace.

We can begin a new mindset by recognizing that rapidly accelerating technology is offering us freedom. Just to let that in is frightening for so many of us, especially if we have hitched our livelihood to rote and monotonous work. Our home has been filled with Dachshunds since 1982. When Pablo Picasso found his dachshund he said that the family’s boxer was “large and simple” and their wiener dog “Lump” was “small and complicated.”

We brought that beautiful little puppy home in a small carrying crate. When we got home, we opened the door. She looked terrified. When she popped out of the crate, she spent a few minutes moving as if she was still in the cage she had been living in for a few weeks. Suddenly, she looked up more surprised than terrified. In a few minutes, Golda was running with glee throughout the house. The next evening, she stepped outside, killed a field rat that was bigger than her, dragged it into the house, and threw it at our feet.

Whenever I watch someone step into the life they were meant to have, I always remember her.

We need voices that replace hope with optimism, messages that instill confidence that through action, our lives will get better. In fact, what is coming down the pipeline of work is exciting and provides all of us with opportunities to have far more fulfillment than hanging on to obsolete and mind-numbing work.

The quality of our human capital has become the biggest contributor to an organization’s success. This is also true for the success of our countries. China, Canada, Germany, South Korea, and Japan have developed vigorous programs that not only minimize underemployment, but they also grow their talent to become bigger assets.

Let’s take a look at two shining examples:

Angela Merkel – Germany

For years, Germany’s automakers have built cars that have the strongest technological edge. Their factories lead the world in the use of robotic and software technology. However, they rarely lay off their workers. Angela Merkel developed partnerships with government, educational institutions, and employers. The government subsidizes apprenticeships for citizens entering the workplace and tax breaks to employers that train their workers to remain competitive. By the time new technology takes over the tasks of an employee, that person has moved on to roles that are quite reflective of the work hitting the market right now.

A number of our political leaders dismissed Germany’s model as a form of “socialism.” They view the practice as good business. Talent executives are able to build institutional knowledge of each worker, employee, and income tax revenue grows, and workers are more engaged because the work environment requires it.

Justin Trudeau – Canada

During his entire time in office, Justin Trudeau has consistently crafted policies and outlooks that keep Canada’s workers employed. Once again, education and establishing expectations play an enormous role in their success. Time and time again, Trudeau tells Canadians that change is inevitable and resisting change is futile.

Canada also provides tax incentives, clear policies, and strategic partnerships to avoid laying workers off via education.

Trudeau is consistent and passionate about turning Canada into a hotbed with Artificial Intelligence. In addition to attracting AI rock stars from other countries, dedicated professionals are focused on determining how AI will impact workers. Throughout all of the statements Trudeau has made to the press, does he blame technology for the stress of personal change. He characterizes progress as an opportunity to learn, grow one’s career, and bring sustainability to Canada’s economic success.

What Can We Do?

One of my colleagues and closest friends is the Mayor of one of our most interesting beach communities. About two months ago, the CDC led a call about the pandemic with over a thousand mayors. During the conversation, they were told to not wait for the federal government to work things out. They made it very clear that our mayors and governors ought to behave as if help will never arrive.

It is hard to fathom what would have happened if that call to action had never been made.

Protecting each other’s health is a sacred act. I propose the same standard regarding our livelihoods.

Do not wait one minute for a politician to solve our problems. Compare the following statements to the consistent messaging from leaders like Trudeau and Merkel:

Statement:

“These coal miners ought to go into trucking. There are a lot of jobs in trucking.” 

Mitch McConnell – Senator

Truth:

Robotic self-driving trucks are already shrinking trucking jobs from a current high of 5.2Million positions to about 600Thousand roles in just six years.

Statement:

“Technology is rendering millions of jobs as obsolete. Technology companies own information about every aspect of our lives. As a result, I will see that every American is given a basic income of $12,000 per year, with no strings attached.”

Andrew Yang, former Democratic candidate for President.

Truth:

Americans love free stuff. But Mr. Yang perpetuates the notion that we are being victimized. How does this viewpoint motivate people to change their lives? If one reader has an answer, please forward it to my attention.

Statements:

“14 million people she’s gotten jobs for,” referring to Ivanka. “Her goal when she started it two years ago was 500,000 jobs. She’s done over 14 million, so that’s really something.”

“Manufacturing jobs are all coming back. Don’t move. Don’t sell your house.”

Truth:

If I add just one more quote to this pile, I will develop a facial tick and run to the kitchen for the “Party-Sized” bag of potato chips.

If we were to glue together these statements into a cohesive statement, it might sound like this.

“It’s going to be great. Keep doing what you’re doing. Role model my daughter. She’s created billions of jobs. Besides, we’re sending you a thousand dollars a month to compensate for all of those evil tech companies in California. You know that coal is coming back. We’re big on coal. But if you need an income right now, take some of the money you are hiding under the mattress and go to trucking school.”

Do not wait. If you are having challenges with your work, get help today. If you want to change but don’t know how, get others to help you.

Arieti, one of the world’s most influential psychiatrist once said, “Our mental institutions are filled with creative thinkers.” His point led up to a basic truth. Creative thinking is not creativity. Creativity is based on taking action. If we sit in front of the TV and imagine becoming great artists, is that art?

Is There Good News?

There is fantastic news for those of us who look for it. I will not give a step-by-step list. That’s what task workers do.

However, we could all use new mindsets:

Technology is taking away task-based jobs. The pandemic is accelerating the change. It is time to move on.

Today’s technology is giving us freedom.

If you have any doubts about this, study social entrepreneurs, the fastest growing sector in business start-ups. This is one of the sectors that reveals exactly where we are headed. It is a world where wealth is generated by solving a world problem that is attached to a rigorous business model.

By the time many of our best and brightest students graduate, they are not going to the want ads. They are looking for leaders and organizations that are bringing good into the world.

I have been in the rather challenging game of bringing people to the work they were designed to do. What has been especially gratifying is bringing people to the work they most love. In addition, we have failed if that person doesn’t go back into their world and make a financial and lifestyle success out of that mission.

This is the new world. We cannot have happiness from work that generates deep ambivalence or outright dislike. But, we cannot have happiness unless we built the skills and mindset that shows us how to succeed.

We are being offered the freedom to do the work that we love. In fact, love will turn out to be the most potent fuel that overcomes our resistance to change. I found my life’s work in 1990. Since then, I have helped thousands of people define and succeed in the work they love. From our career development, leadership, and employee engagement programs, all of the outcomes have been focused on harnessing our truth and organizing that truth into a result that begins and ends with love.

And, you, over there! Yes, the CEO crunching up your face with cynicism. How on earth could we produce sustainable success without creating environments in which the right people are happy? Where they find meaning? If you can’t find a way to produce that, don’t let the door hit you from behind.

I love my work so much that I have been willing to practice persistence during some of the most difficult times in my life. Loving my work has humbled me to the point that someone who is brilliant makes a suggestion and I accept it and run with it right away. There have been times where I am mortally afraid. But, my work required that I build the kind of support system where there is always an answer.

I don’t wake up in the morning and think, “On boy, I sure could use some change today.”

We are deep in the trenches right now building a new company that sits on a sophisticated digital platform. I was aware that we needed to do this fifteen years ago. Making that commitment was so confronting that I went to one of my fallbacks, which is to ask God, wherever she or he might be at the moment, to send me a sign. Pardon the shift, but one of my greatest role models is Kathryn Graham, whose husband was the editor-in-chief of The Washington Post. He shot himself in their home. When she was at the lowest point in her life, she stood up and placed her family’s company at risk by condoning the release of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate.

A few days after making the decision to change everything, a client called. She came to us at one of the lowest points in her life. Since then, she has managed the estates of some of the world’s most famous and wealthiest icons. I’m always so happy to see or hear from her. I asked what was going on and she responded with a question.

“Would you like to have Kathryn Graham’s desk from the Washington Post?”

I have come to believe that my God sends “messages” designed to penetrate one of the thickest skulls in our country. So, here I sit at a desk where one woman, far more afraid, made the decision to do the right thing.

This is the time to act quickly. Just a few months ago I was telling people they had time to change and for those that were not ready to work with us, I thought to myself, “They will either get pushed by the pain or pulled by the vision.” I cannot control their decision. Now, there is no time left. If you haven’t retooled to meet the opportunities ahead, I will be a very sad man indeed.

Here is an example of the mindset I am suggesting.

Over the weekend, I dropped everything to spend time with three clients. Each one had been offered a wonderful job. For one, it was a perfect fit. The other two had also received great offers but were conflicted about accepting them. At one point, I burst out laughing. She responded, “What’s so funny?”

“Here we sit in the midst of this huge and disruptive health crisis. Perhaps we should not watch the news at all because it appears the world is coming to an end and you are about to turn down an offer from what could be framed as a dream job.”

We discussed the mindset of these three rather wonderful women. Each had taken the time to thoroughly examine what she wanted to do with her life. None of them fell into the victim game ever. They made sure the produced better results, more profit, greater innovation, and more effective teams than many of their peers. These are the types of role models that I believe women could use today. They take full responsibility for their lives and the well-being of their families. They don’t look for shortcuts, they are too busy exceeding everyone’s expectations. They do whatever it takes to shine and deliver on their commitments. They look for help and mentorship all of the time. When it shows up, they respond with humility, not the kind of humility that makes us feel bad, they are open and respectful. They take guidance and input and then send love notes when it all comes together.

That’s what we need.

I have weathered many storms to experience moments like this.

This is what I want for everyone that connects with these words today.

If we are going to experience the profound benefits of living in a world where the best choice is the work that we love.

For God’s sake, start looking for those of us who are thriving!

In a world where the most contemptuous demonize anyone with money, study the social entrepreneur movement where billions are being made by cleaning up the planet, growing solutions for education, and investing in cures for fatal illness. By playing with them, I bring more to everyone else. I learn more from these individuals in ten minutes than a year with many of my other learning options.

I want you to wake up in the morning and rather than rehearsing what you are going to do when the boss from hell greets you at the door, to confidently move onto to a boss who could mentor you and change your life.

I want parents to become the role models that have come through our programs. They are not presenting work as a necessary evil or something that isn’t much fun. These are the role models that tell their children to find the work that they love. I want our parents to recognize how wrong it is to dictate what is done with their lives. Giving them the support and freedom to do that will cause a detour around the rebellion that leaves wounds so many families.

I want you to have the kind of confidence to walk away from circumstances that are not growing your life and build the kinds of support systems that give you the freedom to be yourself.

This is what I want for you and we better hurry!

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2020, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post If America is Failing Today’s Workers, What must we do? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

Ralph’s has a superstore within 50 yards of our front door. The employees are hairy, sweaty, and the men are worse. Kidding aside, the place is so disengaged that customers feel like intrusions. Most of the cashiers don’t give eye contact to customers and many of them talk with other employees while practicing the mindless frenzy of entering barcodes into the system. The disengagement at the front of the store is matched by the back. The worst of it is bringing home meat, poultry, and produce that gets rotten in 24 hours.

We typically visit the store with “ingredient emergencies.” You know, guests are coming and we forgot to buy coffee. For every dollar we spend at the store next door, we spend ten dollars with the competition. We willingly drive a few miles just to find people who work with pride. Gelson’s and Whole Foods are far better. But, the best? Trader Joe’s.

But, for every dollar we spend there, we give another ten dollars towards Gelson’s, Whole Foods, or Trader Joe’s. Rather than walking 50 yards, we usually drive a few miles. Next door, asking for help is typically greeted with a blank stare, disinterest, or irritations. It is the only store where meat, poultry, and produce often get rotten in 24 hours.

At all of these locations, there is only one person responsible for the encounter:

The CEO or the business owner.

When a CEO or business owner places shareholder value and C-level income above the interest of customers and employees, mediocrity always prevails. The trance of disengagement begins at the top. But, as a neighbor and a consumer, grocery stores are special. The quality of these stores helps define our neighborhoods. A couple of months ago, I wrote a letter to the Chair of Yucaipa Companies, which owns Ralph’s as well as a number of other large chains. In the midst of writing this letter, it dawned on me that over the course of 30 years, I have not had one bad buying experience at Trader Joe’s. Here is a store that provides low prices, high-quality products and employees who treat customers as precious assets.

Joe Coulombe, the founder of Trader Joe’s, worked his way through Stanford by holding a part-time job at Rexall. After his graduation, Joe opened up a small chain of convenience stores. But, as the market changed, he saw an opportunity to build a business with unique value. His concept centered around two game-changers:

• Don’t sell other people’s stuff. Control the quality and profit through private labels.
• Develop the best talent in the grocery industry.

Today, Trader Joe’s is more than profitable, it is a cult brand with the kind of fanbase that brings in new members of the tribe every-single-day.

One the employee side, how successfully did Joe Coulombe meet the target?

Did you know the average tenure of a Trader Joe’s cashier is 19 years?

While I was writing The Workplace Engagement Solution, one of my advisors gave me this figure and it boggled my mind. But Joe built a talent philosophy that many stunted CEOs can’t seem to comprehend. The philosophy is common-sense. If you want to retain good workers give everyone a wage that allows them to meet the most basic living standards of the communities they live in. Even as the business grows, stay connected to them. For years, Joe visited every store and asked what they wanted and needed to be their best. Then, he gave it to them. Even the Hawaiian shirts came out of a conversation where employees brought up the notion of wearing fun and comfortable clothes.

I read quite a few stories about what it is like to work at Traders. But none of them summarized the culture better than one of our favorite cashiers, Jessica in Westwood. She’s always recognized us and called out to us by name. I told her about the book and asked how the company has produced such long-term loyalty. She flashed a radiant smile and said,

“19 years is for new people. I’ve been here for 24 years.”

I asked, “What do you attribute it to?”

The smile grew.

“The leadership of Trader Joe’s is amazing. Many of us call it a democracy because everyone is respected. No one pulls rank. Here’s an example. The other day, I was the second person who showed up before the doors opened. Our General Manager was already here. He was in the bathrooms mopping the floors and taking out the trash. We are a family! Everyone is expected to be generous. If I had been the first one in the door, I would have been scrubbing toilets.”

As I studied the Trader Joe’s culture, one of the words that kept coming up was generosity.

Since Joe retired, he has been succeeded by Theo Albrecht, Marc Benioff, and their current CEO, Dan Bane. Each has mirrored Joe’s ethics and values about employees and customers. There is a recent story about Dan with his decision to stop selling bananas in bunches and simply charge $.19 for one banana. They used to weigh the bananas by the pound and then package them at the warehouse. Dan watched an elderly woman walk around a pile of the bananas looking at most every package. But, she walked away without buying anything. He ran after her and asked,

“Why did you not buy any bananas?”

She said, “I’m so old I might not live long enough to eat the fifth banana.”

Trader Joe’s culture of generosity includes a story of one young man that was going through a particularly rough time in his personal life. The stress was beginning to show up at work. The manager walked up an aisle and asked that he join him behind the store. Of course, the guy assumed he was about to be reprimanded, perhaps even fired. But, the manager handed him two cartons of eggs and instructed him to throw eggs against the wall until he felt better. Every day when he worked, that manager greeted him with empathy and provided a safe place for him to live through his challenges.

I came across an article from Katherine Baker from Spoon University. She earned a graduate degree in behavioral science, found a good job in the field only to discover it made her feel stressed out and emotional all of the time. She felt she had lost the game with the “adulting thing.” She took a part-time job at Trader Joe’s to help catch up on student debt. Soon it was a full-time gig. One night, her sister asked if she liked her job at Traders. Surprisingly, she responded, “I think I do.” Katherine continued, “I found myself while mopping floors, preparing hummus samples, and putting jars of cookie butter on the shelf. I remembered who I was, got in touch with what I wanted in life, and learned how effing important it is to follow your dreams – or at the very least, find the things in life that make you happy and unapologetically pursue them.”

The most engaged workers are drawn to employers just like this. Our country’s greatest talent doesn’t take jobs where they have to smother their light just to walk through the front door. There isn’t anything elitist about giving every single worker and customer generosity.

As I finished the letter to the Chair of Yucaipa Companies, I thought of how he might respond. Within a few days, the manager of the local store called me. Panic was in her voice. She begged us to come back and gave us a gift certificate for $50.00. I asked what was she going to do to make the store a better experience. As she responded, it was clear she was not telling the truth. Perhaps she didn’t even realize that the promises coming out of her mouth were what she was supposed to tell us.

I thought of the last time I had any kind of a problem with Trader Joe’s. The only one was a problem of my own making. I have this pair of high-end sunglasses. Over the years, I’ve spent a small fortune in replacing expensive sunglasses that got lost or destroyed. I had waited until I felt I had the emotional stability to get a nice pair of glasses and keep them. One day, I left them somewhere in the Trader Joe’s store and ran to the manager’s station. They had not been turned in.

As I drove home, the phone rang. It was the manager. He said, “Mr. Harder, we just found your sunglasses! Please come back and I’ll give them to you personally.”

I laughed and said I had such low expectations at stores but that Trader Joe’s has become a special place for us.

He laughed and said, “We’re here to make everyone happy. Thank you for being such a valued customer.”

So, just what is the point?

Among my clients, there are a number of senior human capital executives. In many cases, my role is to help them find great opportunities and avoid the misery that comes from a bad fit. The two most common and vital questions include:

Who is the boss?

Does the CEO lead the culture?

If the CEO assigns culture to human resources, I suggest they either turn down the position or take it and keep their bags packed. Every single day, human capital executives are shown the door because the CEO didn’t want to be bothered with people. How can you possibly build an engaged workplace if the CEO is disengaged?

How does that work?

Has it ever worked?

Sure, I realize that is the norm.

But, how does it work?

If you have any doubts, go talk to a cashier at Trader Joe’s.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post Why Do Trader Joe’s Cashiers Stay for 19 Years? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

The sole purpose of a democracy is to make everyone relevant. If a CEO ever hopes to solve the employee engagement challenge, then he or she must lead the culture. For starters, how could we expect to have any improvements at all if the supreme leader isn’t engaged?

Building an engaged culture is quite possibly the most critical activity for a CEO or business owner. It might even seem counter-intuitive to do this. After all, the Jensen and Meckling papers of the 70s suggested the sole purpose of an organization is to deliver shareholder value. In so doing, CEOs got a big break from doing the best possible job. If the shareholders needed more money, we laid off a few thousand workers. Quality quickly took a back seat to cut expenses. We can see the difference at the next auto show. Cadillac, once the “Standard of the World,” builds OK cars but go sit in one and then try anything from BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and Audi.

I just returned home from another shopping experience at Ralph’s Grocery. For every dollar we spend at the store right next to our home, we spend twenty dollars with competitors that are several miles away. Today, my cashier never looked up and never said hello. He was engaged in a highly animated conversation with a colleague in the next aisle. He regularly turned his back on the customer in front of me while trading jokes. By the time I was in front of him, he had said, “Did you find everything you wanted?” He never looked up. Then, he stopped everything he was doing and began texting on his phone!

Only the world’s most enlightened CEOs and business owners recognize that to lead a category or to have sustainable success; we have to rise and deliver shareholder value, fully engaged talent, and loyal customers.

Before dismissing the notion, there are only so many hours in the day, let’s examine one of the most well-known organizations on the face of the earth. The Executive Committee, McKinsey, and many other leading organizations recognize The US Marines as the world’s most exceptional example of leadership development.

A few years ago, one of our partners referred Major General Melvin Spiese into our program. He had just left the Marines, where he headed up training and development for 22 years. He walked in the door with all of the concerns we find in someone who grew up in one place. He arrived before the other participants and turned out to be one of the brightest people I’ve ever met. But, his disarming humility made him especially memorable. During our chat, I brought up that I was writing a book on employee engagement. He smiled and said,

“Employee engagement isn’t a problem for us at all.”

I laughed and said, “I guess disengagement would be a big issue in the middle of a war.”

“It would kill many people.”

Mel joined the Marines as a teenager. At the time, he felt he was leading a mediocre life. The young man walked into a local recruitment station drawn to the promise they would turn him into a leader. His thirst to excel fueled high performance, and he earned progressively more responsible roles.

In our program, there is a magic moment when someone’s eyes and body language indicate it is all about to come together. I could see that just a little push could become Mel’s tipping point. So, I asked him a question.

“You birth people. Is that correct?”

He nodded and said, “That is what I do.”

“Thus far, how many people have you birthed?”

“Over three-hundred thousand.”

There was a collective gasp in the room. I added,

“Who in this world would be able to have that answer? What are you going to do with this enormous gift?”

That was the moment in which Mel took flight.

His words came out with quiet force,

“Marines are not born; they are made. We cannot afford to send disengaged people into battle. The casualties would be intolerable. We teach values, a code of conduct, and living. There is no negotiation. They practice and live by our values, or they leave.”

After that weekend, Mel and I developed a business and marketing plan for Leaders Can Be Made. His organization teaches and embeds the values of engagement for everyone. They serve organizations that want to develop authentic value-driven cultures all over the world.

What are the values?

Take a moment and consider what would happen to your organization if everyone practiced:

Honor / Courage / Commitment / Dependability / Decisiveness / Enthusiasm / Initiative/ Integrity / Judgment / Justice / Knowledge / Tact / Unselfishness / and Loyalty.

Every Marine is expected to live by these values. As a result, they don’t just build leadership from high potentials; everyone is treated as a high potential with the same opportunity to shine. Developing cultures around values are common-sense, but how common is this?

Long-term excellence doesn’t necessarily require a long list of characteristics. One word can suffice. In Los Angeles, there is a legendary restaurant in the Santa Monica Mountains called Saddlepeak Lodge. It is a large and elegant former hunting lodge that features refined food, extraordinary service, and beautiful views. In the summer, we sit on the terrace looking through canyons towards the ocean. During the winter, nothing is better than having dinner next to a roaring fire. Recently, I had lunch with Ann Ehrenger, the owner of Saddlepeak, a longtime professor of Business Management at USC and Trinity College. I asked how she was able to lead a consistently magical environment. She smiled and said, “It is quite simple. Everyone is expected to practice one thing from the moment they walk in the door until they go home. They are expected to practice kindness.”

Moved by the role modeling from Ann and Mel, we developed the values of an engaged culture.

Everyone: 

Participates

No one is exempt from learning how to become more connected, more effective in managing change, and awakened to everyone around them. Being a democracy, everyone is relevant. A disengaged cashier can turn customers against your company. A careless meat department manager can kill them.

Practices Regular Self-Inquiry

Our programs have produced great success by helping people learn how to access and organize their truth. In so doing, they make meaningful changes in their professional lives. In a world where change accelerates every single day, we must develop the capacity to learn new skills, let go of old ideas, and reinvent themselves. Our clients learn how to use 5-minutes of self-inquiry to get far more out of the day ahead of them.

Pursues Change Before Change Impacts Them

For most of us, personal change is uncomfortable. We find the consequences of avoiding personal change has led to a culture where about 50% of America’s workers now characterize themselves as “underemployed.”

Demonstrates and Practices Enthusiasm for Learning and Growth. 

Active learners not only stay ahead of change; they make the best changes happen. Today’s active learner adds value to the intelligence of their employer, and they will always be the last if ever, to get laid-off.

Tells the Truth and Practices Transparency

The world has reached a tipping point where everything that we do, say, and hide comes to light. If that news is really bad, it spreads like wildfire.

Live with nothing to hide. Run our organizations in the light.

Practices Courage

Develop a culture where we reward others for practicing courage when they are frightened. Build an environment where taking action is far nobler than “flying below the radar.” Someone with courage will take immediate action while someone who is working on becoming fearless is on their 5th self-help book.

In Summary

Let’s be clear. I am not on the warpath with shareholder value!

All of us ought to have issues with leadership that creates this one value while growing mediocrity with the talent and the customer experience.

On the other hand, isn’t it time we tell the truth and highlight the fact that if a CEO let’s customer relationships suffer and employees to stagnate, he or she isn’t doing their job.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post Want Employee Engagement? Join the Marines! appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

Well, we are doing it in a trance. The numbers around employee engagement are so bad that odds are high many CEOs are also disengaged. People’s rank has absolutely nothing to do with whether they have succumbed to a trance. We witness the trance in executives who lazily cut expenses by laying people off or tell HR to “fix the engagement problem” and walk away.

What do we have to learn from CEOs running magnificent and magnetic cultures? While preparing my new book “The Workplace Engagement Solution,” I studied them. When we explore great cultures such as Southwest Airlines, Google, HBO and Trader Joe’s, we find CEOs that embrace many of the values that represent an “Engagement CEO.” When an executive goes about the business of building a category leader, talent moves to the front of the line in terms of the necessary characteristics within the CEO. Board members and investors would do well to find CEOs with these traits.

If you are considering joining an organization where you want to thrive, it is also smart to evaluate the CEO or business owner.

 An Engagement CEO

• Takes charge of the culture personally
• Develops a strong leadership brand as evidenced by their consistent behavior and message
• Walks the talk, leads by example and leans toward democracy over elitism in any form
• Expresses continuous, genuine and worthy praise to their employees
• Constantly seeks ways to keep their talent current and relevant
• Treats employees as the organization’s greatest asset instead of a potential liability
• Packages engagement as a profit source rather than an expense
• Effectively manages and educates all stakeholders in the need for effective people initiatives
• Moves the vision from short-term financial performance to long-term value, brand strength, and reputation
• Tells themselves and others the truth, especially about change
• Is resolutely and directly connected to the front line
• Is transparent and expects transparency throughout their organization
• Shows respect towards all employees and learns from all of them

Many will treat engagement as a sidebar activity, a perk provided to the employees. However, the purpose of engagement is far more rigorous than simply making employees feel better. Engagement is about being awake, interested, alert, invested and present. Real engagement moves an organization beyond the business targets.

Making the decision to lead business culture is one of the few competitive advances that are in control of the CEO. Alas, this basic truth doesn’t even cross the mind of many leaders who block the thought with, “I don’t have enough time” or, “Profit margins are too slim to give this attention.”

There are no shortcuts to success. We learn nothing of value through the study of dysfunction. Any CEO engaged in category leadership knows this. In the end, the quality of our talent is going to determine if we lead the market or continually run to keep up.

As I studied engagement CEOs, it also became clear they lead engagement for a series of business payoffs:

• A fully engaged culture and a superior employer brand.
• The best possible products and services, and excellence in everyone’s behavior.
• The organization makes the world a better place.
• The organization makes every attempt to fully engage with every customer.
• Recognizes there is simply no substitute for human decency, compassion, understanding, and pursuit for “the high road.”

On a practical level, here is one example:

We live next door to a huge Ralph’s Grocery Store. It is literally 100 yards from our front door to the store. And yet, we spend most of our shopping dollars elsewhere. The majority of employees are sullen, don’t look people in the eye. In the morning aisles are blocked because they are stocking shelves after the doors open. Disengagement isn’t limited to the customer experience, it also potentially impacts our health. We have had to either throw out or return spoiled produce and contaminated chicken.

I’ve often praised Trader Joe’s for its remarkable culture where the average tenure of cashiers is 19 years. There is a cashier that calls out our names. I asked her about the stories of the longevity and loyalty of their employees. She said, “Nineteen years? Those are the kids. I’ve been here for 26 years.” I asked her why. She responded, “We’re a family! Here’s an example. There have been many times when I come to work before the store opens. If the general manager is here first, I find him scrubbing and cleaning the bathrooms. No one pulls rank, we work together.”

The two organizations offer a remarkable contrast regarding CEO behavior. At Trader Joe’s, everyone knows their CEO, Dan Bane, because he regularly appears at the stores. As we returned rotten food to Ralph’s, I asked if they knew the name of their CEO. They didn’t know who he was. I also asked a couple of them if they knew anything about Yucaipa Companies. The response was, “Who are they?” Yucaipa owns Ralph’s.

One company has a CEO who visits, asks questions, listens, and strives to make Trader’s a better place to work.

The other one is a commodity. Everything feels and looks cheap. The employees give the consumer little attention.

Which company will be the first to convert to robotics and virtual check-outs?

There is the rub. Technology will not replace accountability, emotional interest, and problem-solving on behalf of their customers.

Dan Bane made it very clear that employees are the lynchpin for customer satisfaction and loyalty.

In the other company, employees don’t even know the CEO’s name.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post What is An Engagement CEO? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

For so many CEOs and human capital executives, employee disengagement continues to undermine targets of the business plan, customer loyalty, productivity, and retention. To move beyond the problem, we must identify how the past continues to haunt work culture today.

The Industrial Revolution has had an iron grip on our culture for the past three centuries. Clearly this era was over by the end of the 20th century. Even Y2K now seems like a distant and quaint memory. The changes in front of us collide with the beliefs about work that our parents, grandparents, and many employers offered up as absolute truth.

Prior to the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, a change took place at a far more glacial pace. People spent most of their time and money growing or buying food. Making even one garment by hand took days. Industry resided in cottages. Child mortality was so high that many people had large numbers of children hoping that one or two would survive. Education was reserved for landowners, nobility, and the religious elite. The rich and powerful did not pay taxes while poor people paid rent and taxes.

The first great turning point in the world of work took place almost three hundred years ago. At that time, the British called the shots for how the rest of our world functioned. It was the most studied country on the face of the earth. In 1733, an English watchmaker named John Kay invented the simple machine called the Flying Shuttle. Its purpose was to improve the productivity of weaving. One person was now able to do the work of three. Fueled by riches, this innovation tipping point quickly turned into a tidal wave. Water and steam power moved the textile industry into high gear. The first inexpensive process for the mass production of steel was invented. We moved from the scarcity of food to storehouses of abundant supplies. Now producing more goods than any other country, England needed to find ways to get these products to other countries. Roads were built and boats got steam engines. Rails were laid. Landowners became industrialists. The banking industry was invented to grease the skids and the UK developed a world of consumers.

The Industrial Revolution represented an intoxicating leap forward in the evolution of civilization. The architecture behind this revolution introduced goods and services that were previously available to only the wealthy. In a parallel to today’s work landscape, the Industrial Revolution resulted in the handing out of pink slips to virtually every worker from the previous era, but work didn’t go away, it simply changed. This phenomenon is also taking place today. As old structures and dynamics go away, we need to become more fluent in seeing where new structures and dynamics emerge, because emerge, they always do. The difference? Three hundred years ago, it often took decades to change. Today, it can happen in a matter of days.

The old revolution also developed an unquenchable thirst for workers. Industrialists developed a recruitment pitch filled with standards and beliefs that haunt us today:

“If you come to work for us, we will give you survival and predictability.” 

Over time, humans proved to put up with a lot in order to have that. The message played to our worst fears.

To most of those working on farms, hunting for food, or dealing with the day-to-day uncertainty of keeping that cobbler shop in business, the pitch sounded really good. Human capital nourished the machine, which took center stage in our work. Parents, schools, organized religion, and governments prepared a new labor force that fit into the assembly lines, plugging bolts into holes. A new economy grew based on making large quantities of stuff. This worked for several hundred years. And, as with all personal or cultural advancements, there was also a price.

Predictability and survival didn’t just become two in a series of standards. They became the standard. Although these standards made perfect sense at the time, consider how outdated they are now within our modern times. The fixation on predictability and survival dismisses joy, creativity, passion, engagement, full living, and connectedness to others. It often keeps us from new learning. Most profoundly, the old standards obscure the birthright of every man, woman, and child, which is to find and pursue what we were born to do. The growing awareness of this is also one of the seeds fueling today’s discord with work. But, there was another great price we paid.

In Critical Path, Buckminster Fuller quantified predictions he had been making since the mid-1930s. He warned the world that if we did not find ways to either eliminate or remove the poisons generated from fossil fuels and chemicals, the world would become uninhabitable by the turn of the century. Mr. Fuller must have died with a great deal of frustration because very few people listened to him. Most did not think about these issues because repetition produces a trancelike state. Fitting in, tending to our workstations, going through the routine became the mass trance of the Industrial Revolution. Most were happy for progress. Wages were small. Long hours were filled with back-breaking and repetitive work. Safety standards were appalling.

In many factories, children were sent in to tend machines because the spaces were so small. If someone was injured or killed, others were waiting in line to step in and replace them. In fact, some of the laws passed during the early days of the Industrial Revolution indicate just how barbaric many employers were during that era. For example, the Factory Act of 1819 limited the work of children to 12 hours a day. And in 1833, children under the age of 9 were banned from working in the textile industry and 10- to 13-year-olds were limited to a 48-hour workweek.

Ironically, England’s innovation also led to it losing its grip on the world. In the early days of the revolution, British leadership did its best to protect the country’s manufacturing technology. But that progress opened up channels to the rest of the world. As mass-production spread throughout the globe, other countries not only became more powerful, they turned into competitors. It wasn’t long before every developed nation was playing the same game. And for the next 250 years, the Industrial Revolution dictated how we lived, consumed, worked, competed, and got educated. As the promise of predictability and survival evolved, we added various employee benefits: vacation plans, a retirement plan for when we grew old, medical coverage if we got sick, and so on. The most talented embraced it all and worked their way up the proverbial “career ladder.”

On the shadow side, our ability to build stuff also fueled the bloodiest wars in the history of humankind. We leveraged wars with new technology and a powerful capability to snuff life out in dramatic fashion. This led to the most awesome victories, but at a terrible price. But as we returned from world wars, manufacturing supremacy led to jobs for life, a comfortable middle-class living, and what was, for many, a comfortable routine. We worked, we saved, and we retired. The Industrial Revolution had successfully disrupted and transformed a culture that had stayed relatively the same for thousands of prior years.

In 1943, England dropped its next disruptive bomb on the world of work. A British engineer named Tommy Flowers demonstrated the first programmable computer to a stunned, skeptical room of military leaders. He developed this machine to decrypt German military code. It worked amazingly well. Ten of these “Colossi” were completed and used to gather intelligence. On June 5, 1944, a courier handed Eisenhower a note summarizing a Colossus decrypt. It confirmed that Hitler wanted no additional troops to move to Normandy. Moments later, he announced, “We go in tomorrow.” The rest is history. The first computer may have actually played a bigger role in ending World War II than the first atomic bomb.5

Surprisingly, British leaders had the Colossi dismantled after the war. But, word of its power had gotten out. By 1946, the Eniac was invented and completed by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania. The world’s first digital computer occupied 1,800 square feet, used about 18,000 vacuum tubes, weighed almost 50 tons, and had less than half the power of a smartphone.

Whereas our first work revolution took hundreds of years, a new one was quietly birthed that day. This innovation would take just 50 years to completely change the way we live, work, think, learn, grow, and transform. The original wave from this technology would grow in ferocity and depth, disrupting virtually every work model we had developed over 300 years. In the mid-1990s, the wave made landfall and started to wipe out all of the promises and ideals of the industrial workplace.

Today, ever-accelerating technology is wiping out task-based work, dismantling mind-numbing jobs, and creating a new subclass of the underemployed currently hovering at 48%. If the numbers are accurate, a big portion of our remaining workers is in jobs that offer little meaning and enthusiasm.

Much of today’s turmoil emerges from millions of workers looking towards the future of work and having grave difficulty in finding just how they are going to make a living.

America’s political leadership, on both sides of the fence, is failing us.

Our educational institutions are not teaching people how to change.

Too many CEOs and business owners believe that transforming their worker’s relationship towards work is “not their job.”

Right now, only a handful of enlightened CEOs are hiring for potential and teaching their people how to grow.

We need more of them! Because if not them, who?

Technology is giving us freedom from tasks. As we accelerate into the future, the question isn’t, “How will I get another job, just like the numbing job I hated?” It is, “How will I use my freedom to live a life of purpose, of making our customers more engaged, of helping my colleagues find the support they need?”

I point towards business because it is doing a far better job than our government. They are doing more to improve civil rights, develop equal pay, teach people to progress, and help our world become a better place to live. I know that the culture of outrage, the need to blame others, and obsession over dysfunction will probably respond. But, before you contact me, please go online and study organizations like Salesforce, Trader Joe’s, Adobe, Marriot, Southwest Airlines, and many more.

This is the time to stop studying evil plots, corrupt organizations, crime-riddled politics, and chanting, “They took my job.” *

*Yes, this is influenced by South Park.

We are living during the biggest restructuring of work in well over 300 years. There has never been a better time to find work that we love. It has never been easier to start a business. We are in a time where our lifestyle and our work can live in harmony.

Our country needs as many business leaders, educators, and yes, politicians to step away from the culture of outrage and tell us how to change. I know this is possible because my business has helped thousands of people change their lives in just two days. We need more leaders to step forward and show us how to do that.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post The Industrial Revolution’s Continued Haunting of Employee Engagement appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

The Modern Workplace

How many of us are conscious enough to be excited about trading in the traditional sense of security for perpetual growth?

In essence, this is what the new workplace offers, as well as demands.

For the vast majority of us, real change is a frightening prospect. For example, when we began our programs in 1990, most of our participants were pursuing one significant professional change. After making that transition, many would tell me, “I’m glad that is over.” But it wasn’t over. The world just became faster and faster. Now, imagine how much the national workplace will improve if we develop a thirst for learning and growth within ourselves and throughout our organizations.

It will require us to reinvent, learn, unlearn, and relearn in shorter periods. When we ask or order our employees to “snap out of it” or “get used to it,” how can most of them comprehend how to do that? Yet many leaders continue to display the “do it or else” tactic only pushes more “going through the motions.”

Similarly, any notion that people should somehow be skilled at continuous personal change is far-fetched. Organizations, realistically, must develop their workers to not only understand change but to learn how to change themselves continuously.

But let’s get real. There isn’t a corporate budget in the world to pay for the consulting fees it would take to do this. Yet, when we move the entire process in-house where it belongs, the financial investments are minimal, especially when we factor in the increases in performance and engagement that will ensue. It can be hard for CEOs to do this when much of their time is being used by cleaning up the problems of a disengaged workforce.

The purpose of employee engagement isn’t about working harder or even being more productive. Engagement is being awake, interested, enthused, empathetic, helpful, and growing rather than being stagnant. An engaged national workforce is the single most crucial target for America’s future. In all probability, that will never happen because of our government. It will happen when employers realize that building their own highly engaged workforce is a far better strategy than laying everyone off when they become obsolete.

We live next to one of the country’s largest grocery stores. But, we only shop there when times we need an item right now. Disinterest and surliness is the norm. Not only do we encounter a bad attitude at the front of the house, but we have also had to bring back rotten food routinely. So, we drive 5 miles to shop at a store with higher prices. We also go to Trader Joe’s where the average tenure of a cashier is 18 years. I’ve written about Trader Joe’s, Southwest Airlines, Cornerstone on Demand as cultures where the CEO leads engagement, employees are grown to succeed, and support to each other breeds support to the customer and shareholders.

We have been delivering group engagement programs for years. When people find out what their peers most want to accomplish when they understand the challenges that are in that person’s way, the entire dynamic changes.

Germany, Japan, China, and other nations are role models in preparing their citizens for the future of work. Instead of assuming that an obsolete worker is a worthless expense, they routinely invest in keeping employees up-to-date with their skills.

In the United States, I believe our future rests in individuals that embody the American spirit, the ones that do not wait for others to help them. It is also emerging from the organizations that are already building such workers. In all cases, the CEO leads the culture. These CEOs mindfully grow talent, and mentorship is a way of life.

For the leaders that don’t get it, untruthful sales pitch no longer fool premium talent. The transparency revolution will see to that. It is time for our country to start treating the most exceptional talent pool on earth for what it is.

It is our most valuable asset.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post Why Does Employee Engagement Rely on Self-Change Skills? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

These skills include:

• Drawing Healthy Attention to Oneself and Giving the Same to Others
• Becoming a Skilled and Enthusiastic Active Learner
• The Ability to Ask for the Right Kind of Help
• Practicing Regular Self-Assessment and Self-Inquiry
• The Ability to Recognize and Step Out of “The Trance”

In essence, I’m proposing that as the workplace speeds up, the necessity to fluidly and harmoniously connect with others. Many of us have complicated histories with attention. Some grew up in circumstances where attention was physically and emotionally violent. The majority of us come from average families where everyone communicated for 7 minutes a day, with half of that time devoted to correcting and arguing. The same family goes on to watch Television 4 hours a day, plus screen time with personal devices averaging 3 hours a day. In such environments, how is anything getting done? Certainly, we are not teaching children how to pursue rather than run from attention.

The vast majority of educational institutions don’t teach the skills of connectivity. So, if we are not getting them at home, how will we develop meaningful connectivity?

Making sure that our talent has connectivity is one of the single most time-saving and financially valuable ways to build an engaged workforce.

How does daily learning impact today’s workers? Many companies will only hire active learners. The candidates bring intelligence to their employers, they usually don’t get laid off, and they are far more promotable.

So what is this nasty-sounding characteristic, “The Trance?”

As humans, all of us fall into a trance. Sometimes, it is brought about by repetitive and mind-numbing work. For many of the underemployed, the trance occurs because they are preoccupied with fear. Cynicism, contempt, aimlessness, and resignation actively protect trances. If you have any doubts that the trance has become a huge deal, count the number of times you have to get out of someone’s way because they are not looking where they are going. Pay attention to the cashiers and packers. How many of them make eye contact? Drive through the City of Los Angeles! Every other “car” is a 6,000-pound sport-utility. The person at the wheel is working on the cell phone and barking orders to the kids. These are the individuals that become so mindless in how they use devices; they get sucked their screens and disappear.

Yesterday, my article on engagement and leadership was published. Here is the link:

In it, I pointed out that it simply isn’t worth the irritation to implement any engagement program if the CEO or business owner doesn’t lead the culture. How can we possibly produce engaged talent if the CEO isn’t engaged?

Pressing mid-managers to get more productivity out of their workers isn’t engagement; it is simply trying to frighten people into working harder.

Engagement only works as a democratic process, where everyone is involved in learning to become engaged, not only with their roles in an organization but also engaged with their careers. The most engaged cultures that I work with center much of their talent strategy on growing workers. When someone gets a promotion, the most common question is, “Where do you want to grow after this?”

The purpose of democracy is to make everyone relevant. For example, how can an organization produce engagement if the $3million development budget is set aside for the high-potentials? When we allocate funds, giving equal treatment to everyone is one of the most important steps towards developing an awakened and enthusiastic culture.

Wouldn’t you want to work there?

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post Why Does Employee Engagement Require a Democracy? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

It takes just a bit of common sense to define why typical engagement initiatives produce single-digit improvements or fail altogether. You will probably recognize the pattern:

1. The CEO or business owner realizes that disengagement is impacting profits and customer satisfaction. He or she walks down the hall to human resources and tells them to fix the problem.
2. The human resources executive launches an employee engagement initiative. Still, the employees look past his or her shoulder to the CEO for cues, and they see “business as usual.”
3. An employee survey is issued. Quite often, employees feel patronized by questions that seem to be asking, “How can you do more for us?”
4. The feedback is summarized and shared, usually succeeding in making managers feel even more inadequate to solve the problem.
5. We send the managers to a retreat center to become better leaders. They return more “enlightened” to employees who respond, “So what?”

Rinse and repeat.

Every year, organizations spend well over a billion dollars in attempts to fix employee engagement problems. But, global disengagement figures persist at about 87%. The challenge has built a consulting category that treats disengagement as a chronic illness, forever in need of their services. Progress creates problems for all of us. Right now, there are pharmaceutical companies actively engaged in dialogues about how to cure cancer without killing the company.

So, how do we cure disengagement without killing the consultant?

We will cure engagement if a CEO or business owner refuses to lead their own cultures. Human resource executives ought to keep their bags packed if they are expected to fix the problem on their own.

Most anyone today can agree that we are in a fundamental restructuring of work. Being able to change oneself requires new skills and practice. Rapid personal change can only happen with increased connectivity with others, the ability to pay attention to everyone, and the willingness to ask for help.

From a time perspective, work is our most prominent relationship. In the almost 30 years that we have helped people transform that relationship, we have learned that an individual has to define the work they love. They have to learn the skills that produce fluid, skillful, and quick connections with the right people. If they hope to stay ahead of obsolescence, they must become active learners.

When any organization rolls up its sleeves high enough to solve engagement, everyone has to be engaged.

Today isn’t about trying to convey everything in my book, The Workplace Engagement Solution (CareerPress). Instead, I will share my suggestions from the front and the end of the book.

The beginning? Until the CEO or business owner takes charge of your commitment to building an engaged workplace, don’t waste your time.

When he or she does make that commitment, the only cost-effective way to reach a fully engaged workplace is by establishing strongly effective mentoring cultures where we demonstrate and teach every employee to develop the ability to change, to help others, connect fluidly with others, and to enjoy their entrance into the future of work.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post Workplace Engagement Programs Start here or don’t start at all! appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

The world is in the midst of the most extensive restructuring of work since the Industrial Revolution. A 3.5% unemployment rate means everything is just great. Right? But, there is another number that could be the most significant contributor to our nation’s turmoil. Today, half of our country’s workers characterize themselves as “underemployed.”

The underemployed work below their capacity, fearfully hold onto obsolete jobs, hold 2-3 positions to keep a roof over their heads and work on weekends to meet the rent.

Without meaningful intervention, underemployment will only grow, and the United States will fall behind other developed countries. But wait! It already is. China, Belgium, South Korea, Japan, and Germany are actively preparing their citizens for the future of work.

For example, most Germans don’t know what underemployment is. The country has a carefully choreographed strategy to grow the value of its workforce. German and Japanese automakers use more robotics than we do. Instead of automatically laying off workers because of new technology, they develop the workers for new roles.

Germany invests far more in keeping each worker relevant than in paying unemployment. While the sloths might refer to this practice as socialism, it is good business.

The German government also helps workers that do lose their jobs by actively funding apprenticeships in new or growing industries.

Today, half of America’s workers are getting kicked to the curb by change. The underemployed have lost all certainty they can work in the future because they are too afraid to change. Or, they want to change but don’t know how to do that. The dramatic difference in workforce outlook comes from Angela Merkel:

“It is nonsense to say that Germans are unable to change.”

Merkel is keenly aware of the damage that comes when vast segments of the people develop an unreasonable level of fear about their future. They will believe anything.

What are we doing? Our political leaders are doing nothing of value. At Inspired Work, we feel a responsibility to study all that is taking place in the world of work. Unfortunately, we have not identified political leaders offering a convincing plan to end underemployment, let alone get all of our workers into the future.

Our potential fall only gets bigger when our leaders are too arrogant to study countries that have the most successful workforce strategies.

Isn’t this bizarre? As coal miners face unemployment, we try to bring back coal. One senator suggested that we get coal miners into trucking, where technology will reduce available positions from 5.2 million to 600,000 in less than seven years. One promised that if he were elected, he would bring back malls and big-box retail.

A candidate from the tech industry suggests that, if elected, he will see that all of us get a monthly check for $1,000. Just how are we going to inspire action by offering another false narrative about victimhood!

Quite a few sitting politicians or candidates are promising to make business and the 1% pay for the “disappearance of the middle-class.” They do this in a country famous for creating wealth out of poverty. Adjusted for inflation, today’s middle-class is making more than the middle-class of 1960. But, how do we fuel outrage by telling people to lower their debt load?

How did we get here?

In 1971, Alvin Toffler, the world’s most celebrated futurist, predicted that advancing technology was also accelerating change. He said that by the turn of the century, we would be living in a state of “future shock.” He characterized the syndrome as becoming paralyzed by trying to absorb too much change in too short a period-of-time.” The turn of the century was 19 years ago.

But, most of us were unaware of his predictions because of one extraordinary event. In 2006, we were pigs in poop with unlimited credit and task jobs for everyone. From 2008 to 2012, most of us were distracted by surviving the Great Recession. But, the acceleration of change continued, and by the time many of us looked up, we responded by looking away. What did we see? A world where task work gets cheaper every day. A landscape where the average college graduate changes careers, not jobs, 4 to 6 times.

How do we move forward?

Stop depending on anyone to fix it! Accepting that our country is doing a lousy job on the topic of work is a valuable first step. The work of the future requires new skills. The work is far more interesting than plugging bolts in holes. Instead of studying dysfunction, study success. Pay attention. If you are a parent, don’t expect an antiquated school system to provide gap training for life skills.

I know it is hard to envision a bright future if we have spent years making a living in joyless work. We did that to survive. Now, how do we thrive?

Begin with finding the work that we love. Because love drives all of us to change. Become an active learner. Do this by learning as much as possible every single day. If you love your work, you will probably opt to study what you love. The more skilled you become with learning, the more adept you will become in finding answers.

Above all, let’s stop blaming others for our malaise because we are solely responsible for our success and happiness. We are also responsible for our failure. Once we accept that, our work ethic transforms, and we can progress. Instead of blaming anyone, find mentors that are succeeding in the areas you need to succeed. Before you sit down with them, set aside any forms of cynicism and contempt. Because, the good ones will fire you the moment you push back. As Mr. Toffler once said, “the successful people of the future will be able to learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Look up!

Pay attention to the profound shifts that are happening! Study the people who are using every tool and resource they can find to change the world. We are curing cancer, cleaning up the oceans, and developing ways to offer free high-quality education to everyone.

Social entrepreneurs are making green energy, healthy food, and safety more profitable than the alternatives.

What’s the payoff? Well, it is different for all of us, so I will tell you how changing impacted me.

I haven’t had a job since 1990. Recently, I had lunch with my last boss. She was a brilliant and fierce role model. Her first question was, “What is it like to wake up? What is it like to know that your work has touched thousands of lives?”

Tears welled up as I said, “It feels like redemption.”

When measured from a time perspective, work is our most significant relationship. The quality of that relationship impacts every other relationship in our lives.

Stop waiting for anyone to fix that relationship for you!

Find a relationship with your work where you feel deep meaning on your terms. Don’t settle on anything less than making an income that represents your real contribution to the world. Don’t watch the news for more than 30 minutes. Vote for candidates who present smart solutions for the underemployed.

In this new world of work, if you have become a success story, help others do the same. We are witnessing, right now, what happens when we turn our backs on others.

Life is sacred.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post What if the Turmoil Isn’t Political? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog

As my pal Triumph has often shared, words do matter. I’ve observed that the biggest breakdown with our intention to succeed shows up in the unconscious use of our words. The example I find most irritating is the mindless use of the words “Soft Skills.”

The dictionary defines soft skills as:

“Personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people.”

Our educational institutions are a wasteland in teaching soft skills. Many people run for their lives when it is suggested they learn soft skills. Many parents unconsciously become rather dysfunctional role models by dismissing the importance of soft skills in their own behavioral repertoire. Well, if the skills are so soft, why are they so hard to embrace?

Why would we describe essential life skills in such a dismissable manner? In all probability, we use the term because so many of us are afraid of the learning process itself.

Here are a few examples:

• “I’m not a salesperson. Never will be.”
• “I would rather die than make a public presentation.”
• “I’m flying below the radar.”

The most common reason we get pushback about developing our ability to sell, network, influence others and build effective support systems is because when we think of drawing attention to ourselves, we become afraid of getting hurt, judged, scrutinized, or rejected. But, without these skills, we become underemployed, obsolete, and cut our overall income by almost 60%.

For many, the challenge is primal. Our outlook on attention begins to take shape during our childhoods and within our homes. As we peer in, we find the average American family spends 7 minutes per day on communication. And yet, we spend hours involved in screen time and watching Television. Some of these homes are also filled with emotional and even physical violence. Based on the average, learning how to draw attention to ourselves is awkward. For those of us who were injured, the reaction is far more negative.

For years, we have delivered a two-day immersive program that has led thousands of people into the clarity of what they most want to do with their lives and a detailed understanding in how they will succeed. By and large, our participants take immediate action in launching new careers, starting a new business or finding far greater success with their existing work.

When someone identifies the work she or he would most love to do, they become far more willing to learn any necessary life skills. This has been the case since we launched our business in 1990. Conversely, in the years since, the rate of change has increased to the degree that today’s average college graduate will change careers, not jobs, 4-6 times. In this scenario, the very meaning of the word “job” has transformed.

For about 300 years after the Industrial Revolution, we were conditioned to look at jobs as a source of security. Many of these jobs provided predictability and survival without having to sell, network, influence others and build support systems. However, rapidly advancing technology has turned the tables on our culture. Not only is it speeding up the cycles between looking for work, but it is also offering, perhaps even demanding, how we intend to use our freedom.

Freedom from what?

Tasks.

Even the most highly paid task-based work is crumbling before our eyes.

Here are two vivid examples:

For years, graduates from our top law schools usually aspired to join major law firms. The most courageous and ambitious attorneys learned how to bring in business. They became partners. The rest worked as associates pounding out tasks at all hours of the day. But, Legal Zoom offered to do the same work at a fraction of the cost. Now, many former associate attorneys work in environments that resemble sweatshops at a fraction of their previous salary.

By gathering much of the world’s talent under one digital roof, LinkedIn disrupted the entire search profession. Tens of thousands of professionals who only executed searches have been shown the door, while the partners who generated business have a bright future.

When I launched Inspired Work, there was a metaphysical book on the market called, Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow. It was a rather dishonest take on what must take place between the time we commit to changing our lives to the moment where we are succeeding with the change. Andy Warhol understood this. He was not a metaphysical guy, you know, floating across the floor in his saffron robe and lightly hitting a gong. Nope.

Andy told the truth, “Do what you love, you can always sell it.”

His outlook required a bit of courage. Warhol was infamously shy. But, he loved his work so much that he made his introvert personality an asset. He became “mysterious.”

Wouldn’t it be more accurate to call these critically important abilities, “Courage Skills?” The term would make it a bit more difficult to dismiss. Seriously, we can no longer afford to dismiss the development of these skills because they are an entre’ into the future of work.

Many of us would have little trouble in declaring the Industrial Revolution is over. But, few of us have identified the deeply embedded beliefs and behaviors that were imposed on all of us during that era. The most limiting standards of all involved how we selected work because first and foremost, work had to bring us survival and predictability. Employers portrayed a promise in which we got jobs for life. We didn’t have to sell, build support systems or influence others. We filled quotas, plugged bolts in holes, and spent hours involved in rote and repetitive tasks.

Today, we live in a wildly different world. In fact, we have entered the greatest restructuring of work since the printing revolution. Many of us are getting kicked to the curb by change because we don’t know how to change ourselves. Or, we want to change but don’t believe we can. Finally, we are so frightened that we are running from self-change.

My mind goes to examples of clients who are thriving compared to those of us who are overwhelmed with change. I think of a communications executive who didn’t much like where he was working. He decides to launch his own company. While uncomfortable, he devours sales training, social networking, and developing a community around the new business. He makes more in his first year as a business owner.

I think of a another communications executive who wrote press releases for 30 years. He wanted to become a successful commercial writer. He starts publicizing his deeply personal work. I suggested he didn’t take feedback personally. Now, he is on an island writing his first book after getting a deal with a major publisher. I could go on for hours. But, the common thread with all of these individuals is that when they examined their lives, they became willing to change. When they identified what they wanted, not getting that became far more frightening than learning courage skills.

The ability to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people is now one of the most important skills for the future of work. Because, as the world continues to speed up, the more dependent we become on others for insight, help, guidance and role modeling. Today, people fail because of isolation.

My colleague Dr. Mary Campbell and I gave a speech last year to a professional group. We were presenting how parents and children can better prepare for the future. The organization was next door to one of the wealthiest charter schools in America. After we took the last question, they gave a Student of the Month award to a young sophomore. As about a hundred people applauded, she refused to get up and go to the podium to accept her award.

When an entire institution is filled with people who are frightened of attention, we produce young people who are also afraid of attention.

In the new world of work, our ability to connect with others is now the single most important life skill for thriving. Grocery cashiers that don’t look us in the eye will be eliminated by robots. Well-meaning business owners will fail because they believe putting up a website and a sign will be enough. Law students will graduate from schools that didn’t breath one word about business development. The underemployed will hold onto obsolete jobs hoping the human resources death angel doesn’t pay a visit.

Do you want to become a thriving addition to the future of work?

Do what you love.

Do you want to succeed in the work that you love?

Develop courage skills.

As we learn the skills and put them to use, new confidence will emerge. I promise a turning point where you realize,

“I can do anything that I want.”

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

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