Are you Thriving or just Surviving in Today’s Modern Job Market?

Should you go Deep or Wide?

Become a Specialist of your craft or a Polymath with a wide range of interests?

What is the right Answer?...

Most of us have heard the classical story:

A specialist is called in to fix a machine after the owner has tried in vain for hours to start the engine.?

After a careful examination, he takes out a small hammer, taps 3 times on one of the sides and then turns on the key: magic! the machine starts working again.

?When the owner gets the invoice, he is shocked: $100,000 USD for a five-minute consultation.

?Astutely, the owner rejects the invoice alluding that he needs a breakdown of the costs.

?A few days later, the new invoice arrived. He took some scissors and started opening the envelope with a grin on his face, but to his surprise, this is what he found:

?· Use of the hammer: $1.00 USD

?· Knowing where to tap, how hard to tap and what tool to use: $99,000.00 USD…

OK, hold that thought for a second there!

Let’s do a thought experiment, let’s pretend we continue the story according to our current times…

A couple of years later, the owner saw with concern that, in order to remain competitive in the market he must improve his efficiency: It was obvious that the old machinery was no longer fit for that purpose.

As the new equipment arrived and was carefully installed, tested and set into motion, the production increased tenfold in a matter of weeks.

The machine was fully automated, with the latest-generation sensors connected to a computer and the best was:

Whenever maintenance or repair was needed, the system would flag it immediately, sending a request to the provider.

A day later a young technician would arrive, plug-in a small device to the machine’s computer and in a matter of seconds he would know what, where and how something must be repaired or replaced.

That was it, plain and simple.

And what happened to the old Specialist?

Well, the old Specialist was now faced with a dilemma:

· Either take an early retirement package (with a substantial cut in his payment) and see the grass grow through the window …

· Move into a (boring) administrative position within the same company to fill in orders, track shipments and other amenities or…

· Pivot into a new career path and start over again, with the associated risks and stuff.

Pick your poison…

I know, I know: “what a grim perspective of the future”.

Right?

OK so, what changed then?

A Broken Covenant.

If you have been working for a company for some time now, you might have noticed that:

• The current job market is not the same that our fathers encouraged us to work…

Scrap that!

• The current job market is NOT the SAME when I started working almost 30 years ago!

Before it was a given that two things would take place:

1. The company would look after you (and your family).
2. You would work your tail off, proudly wearing your company’s badge.

I think this quote from Richard Branson captures it perfectly:

“Look after your People, and your People will look after your Business “

You had a feeling of being part of something greater than yourself.

If a reorganization was expected to happen, the company would diligently looking for alternatives to place you.

Likewise, if you had a new opportunity, you would ensure proper handover and closure to affect the operation as little as possible.

But things have dramatically changed the last 10 to 15 years.

For me it came in the form of a general announcement along these lines:

"From this day on, the company will no longer look after your career path or learning opportunities; the means have been made accessible to you"...

Toward a Solution.

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly… Specialization is for Insects” (Robert Heinlein)

For many of us, the path ahead feels uncertain:

I’m currently trying to survive my third reorganization and the odds are not looking good…

There are layoffs everywhere, and the speed at which they occur is only accelerating.

If you are in a similar situation — or just fed up with your current work — you might be grappling with the BIG question:

Should I continue down the same path and double down on my expertise, or is it time to explore new opportunities and broaden my horizons?

But then I realized that it goes deeper than this:

• It doesn’t matter if you go deep or wide if you end up in the same latrine…

So, here is the thing:

“Pick and industry where you can play long-term games with long-term people. All returns in life come from compound interest over many turns of the game” (Naval Ravikant).

Final Thoughts

Whether you are employed, self-employed, entrepreneur or something in-between, make sure you:

• Work with people that you are comfortable with and that you can trust (plus points if you also like them).

• Work in something that is dear and relevant to you, so you can avoid that yucky feeling of doing something you despise.

There you go, is not rocket science and for sure is not something new, but it is well worth reminding…

Thanks for Reading!