Fractional is the most goddam American thing there is.
As a Fractional practitioner, author, speaker, podcaster, blogger, coach, and educator, I get a front-row seat to the massive changes happening in how we choose to work. In case you haven't noticed, things are a wee bit different since the pandemic. Micromanaging managers continue to scream for everyone to get back into the office. Meanwhile, the people are responding with a resounding "buzz off." Take what happened this month at Dell, for example...
Dell said, “return to the office or else.” Nearly half of the workers chose “or else.”
Pause for a moment and think about how bold that is. How flippin' American that is. Given a choice, people are saying, “I choose me, not you. I choose my own future. I choose to make my own way. I choose freedom.”
That's some damn fine American freedom stuff right there. When your 401k, healthcare, sense of security, and even sense of identity are knit tightly with where you work, and who you work for, it is bold—very bold—to put all of that on the line.
And yet, people are doing it. Why?
I think I know why. Freedom.
The Sword of Damocles hangs above us. Its name is "Benefits."
When mass layoffs happen at profitable companies, and happen so effortlessly, what chance of "job security" does anyone have? How secure is your job and the 401k, healthcare benefits, and hoped-for promotions that come with it? This year alone, Tesla, Amazon, Google, and Apple have laid off thousands of people. (People. Not workers. Not staff. Not robots. Fucking people.) Google made $82 billion in profit last year. There is no job security. It's a mirage. With a single swing, their 401k, healthcare, position, colleagues, future, hopes, wishes, and dreams were cleaved like the head of a hysterical chicken on a Jamestown farm. (Family story. I'll tell you later.) When benefits can vanish so quickly, so effortlessly, are they really benefits at all? Or are they a sword that hangs on a thread above your head, keeping you in line?
Meanwhile, in another part of America...
I have groused enough. Let's go to where the real action is. Let's go to the other 33 million businesses in America. Let's talk about what's happening off the Fortune 500 and S&P Index. This week, a small business will add a fractional professional to their org chart. In fact, hundreds if not thousands of them will do so. Rather than follow the status quo and hire a full-time exec, they will tap the shoulder of a fractional executive to help them solve their stuff. And this is what will happen...
First, they will get a person who has already chosen freedom. Chosen to be their own boss. Chosen to put their future on their own shoulders. A person who left corporate life for a future anchored to their own grit, their own wisdom, their own acumen, their own ability to solve things. A person who will no longer sit underneath the Sword of Damocles. Goddamn, that's American. Goddamn, that's who you want on your team.
Second, they will get an entrepreneur. A person who is fearless. A person who makes no excuses. A person who loves accountability rather than runs from it. A person who can see around corners. A person who is not a "staffer" but an ally. A listener. A coach. They will get a fresh shot of critical thinking and a diverse perspective.
And third, they will get their missing piece. Maybe they're hiring a fractional sales leader. Or HR leader. Or ops leader. Or IT leader. Or finance leader. Or marketing leader. Whatever missing piece they had will no longer be missing. And they can get back to growing again.
领英推荐
Fractional is a whole new American mojo.
While the activity in the same old, same old corporate world continues to be defined by the status quo, herd mentality, micromanaging, and fear-based loyalty, an entirely new mojo is taking shape at scale. (I say at scale because the part of our economy that is defined as small and mid-market is a $15 trillion earner for America. Half of our GDP. And that's who fractional pros serve.) The new mojo is Fractional. Freedom-loving, responsibility-taking, problem-solving, growth-triggering Fractional.
That's about as American as it can get.
Go Fractional. Hire Fractional.
John
#FractionalFreedom #WorkRevolution #NewWorkMojo #FutureofWork #EmployeeEmpowerment #ChooseFreedom #CorporateChange #AmericanDream #JobSecurityMyth #SmallBizGrowth #FractionalProfessionals #WorkTransformation #HireFractional #EntrepreneurMindset #InnovateWork
Author & Learning Facilitator | Center for Mentoring Excellence
8 个月"Freedom-loving, responsibility-taking, problem-solving, growth-triggering Fractional." The complex tapestry of how work gets done is like sand shifting beneath our feet. Some may not want to accept your words here, John, but you observe and report facts. I, too, encounter bold, outstanding, experienced talent who are now in business for themselves—healthy, busy, and doing well. #shiftingdynamics #capacitytoflex #workredefined #balance #harmonization
Business Value & Growth Advisor | Fractional COO | Right-Hand (Wo)man
8 个月Love being a Fractional!! Thanks for leading the way John !