by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
The main thing people will remember about you is how easy
you are to do business with. Let's look at how Hollywood
is doing business these days.
A few of years ago, I conducted a series of programs for
government agencies on entrepreneurial thinking. Speaking
with me was Carolyn Corbin, author of CONQUERING CORPORATE
CODEPENDENCE. Carolyn is a futurist, who projects trends
and their consequences.
Her
theory is that government imitates business, while business
uses Hollywood as a model of how to do business. By the
year 2005, she predicts 70 percent of the business world
will be doing business like Hollywood where, at any one
point, a huge percent of the work force is unemployed.
Today,
when people come together in Hollywood, it is for a project
with a beginning and end. The old studio system allowed
steady employment for tens of thousands who worked with
each other for decades. That is now a distant memory.
Today's workers may never have seen or worked with each
other before. Yet, the pressure is tremendous to get the
job done as efficiently as possible. This leads to a Hollywood
fact of life: The people who get hired are those with a
reputation for BOTH excellence and being easy to work with.
Today's corporations are imitating this Hollywood model,
constantly breaking into smaller units for projects or "outsourcing."
Few people can or want to work their whole life for one
or two companies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor sets average job tenure at 4.6
years, and USA Today cites a trend among fast-trackers to
change jobs nine times before age thirty-two! That's a year
and four months on each job, assuming there is no downtime
in between.
Your job is to be employable, not just employed. No matter
what you do and
for whom, be the Chairman of the Board of your own career.
Be loyal to your
company, of course. It's good for your career, and it's
the right thing to do. But while you're being loyal and
dependable, be visible in your company, your community,
and your industry. Then, if (or when) you are out of work,
the word goes out, "Oh, good, there's a wonderful person
available."
Within
corporate America, as in Hollywood, people may stay employed,
but they
will probably rotate among different teams working on different
projects. When you earn the reputation for getting things
done and "doing the impossible" (that is, doing
at least one thing better than almost anyone else), you
are more likely to be selected for the fun, high profile
projects. The more in demand you can become, the more your
fee or salary goes up. That's "Hollywood economics."
People are going to remember if you did a great job, but
they'll also remember if you were professional and easy
to deal with, or unreliable and a pain in the neck. Either
way they won't forget you, but being a professional will
get you hired again. Think about that as you plan your career.
(516 words)
Patricia
Fripp, CSP, CPAE is a San Francisco-based executive speech
coach,
sales trainer, and award-winning professional speaker. She
is the author of Get What You Want!, Make It, SoYou Don't
Have to Fake It!, and Past-President of the National Speakers
Association. She can be reached at: PFripp@Fripp.com,
1-800 634-3035, http://www.fripp.com
We offer this article on a nonexclusive basis. You may reprint
or repost this material as long as Patricia Fripp's name
and contact information is included. PFripp@Fripp.com,
1-800 634-3035, http://www.fripp.com
