Dan Erwin

THIS RECESSION DEMANDS THAT YOU PAY ATTENTION, LISTEN AND NOTICE

A recession is not a good time to be asleep on the stick.  Most people get nervous in an economic recession but don't know what else to do--unless they're on the street looking for a new job.

Here are four important issues to stay attuned to in a recession:

1.    Pay close attention to your company's business.  What's happening to the firm's customers or clients, and what affect is this causing to your the company income and cash flow?  Does it look like your firm is going to be fairly stable over the next few months?  Is it time to take some personal steps to cover your personal career?  Should you recheck your credit line with your banker?  How much does the firm require your service?  How relevant is your service to the company's market strategy and its customers?

2.    Watch for personnel changes in the firm.  Although a few firms actually recruit in a recession, lay-offs are more common.  But look for other personnel clues.  Are there managerial changes in the firm?  If so, what do those changes mean?  How might those changes impact your career?  Do you need to realign your network, or build further alliances with other managers? 

3.   Nervousness or fear about your career can drive your own development.  What skills do you need for success?  And what skills should you be adding to your toolkit to make yourself more valuable to your company?

4.    Do you have a knowledgeable network in place?  Do you have a trustworthy contact in every department of your firm--someone who can keep you updated on significant direction or change?  Do you have contacts that seem to have a sixth sense about company opportunities--people who can help you improve your standing and value within the organization?  Do you have contacts that know not only the important rumors and gossip, but also have a direct line to employees who are really critical to the firm's success?  Do you have a well-rounded contact who can help you make sense of the information out there and give you insights into how to use the information to your own advantage?

FINDING A JOB THROUGH NETWORKING

Although the internet seems to be getting all the attention from fearful or laid-off workers, this is the time to take charge of your network building.  And that's true whether you're secure in a job or about to get the axe.

I've often suggested that networking is the process that every business person believes in, but practically no one acts on.  Now comes a brief article by Phyllis Korkki in the NYTimes making the same argument, even more directly.  Do you have to do networking to find a job? she asks.  Unfortunately, she responds, the answer is an unqualified yes.  I would hope that the business public will begin to recognize that our economy is a highly networked economy  And jobs go to those who have a broad network of "influentials."  

A small network of friends simply won't do the trick.  Birds of a feather flock together, and the fact is that feathered friends know the same people.  That won't provide you with much in the way of intelligence opportunities.  What you want are a large number of networks--not merely a single network.  All you need to know is the broker in each network--and that person will have entre to his or her set of networks.  

The rule for finding jobs is that opportunities are usually found through a friend of a friend of a friend--thrice removed.  In a tough market it will probably take more than that.  But that's why distant networks with a contact broker are so important.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't use the internet, but I certainly wouldn't rely on it.  I have colleagues whose networks were so extensive that when they were let go, they had another job before their time ran out on the current job.

The most knowledgeable person on networking is Ronald Burt at the University of Chicago.  But Keith Ferrazzi has an excellent popular book--NEVER EAT ALONE.  My own experience helping people build networks is that the language of conversation is missing--so they don't know how to talk about the issue with possible brokers.  In the near future, I'll put up some language on my white pages--so watch for it.  

KEYS TO EFFECTIVE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

 An excellent article in the December 15  Wall Street Journal focuses on training and the keys to effective learning.  As the author, Harry Martin of Cleveland State University points out, the keys to effective learning aren't found in the classroom.  And the fact is that less than 40% of training is ever used in the workplace. 

Instead, training that results in the acquisition and use of new competencies takes place best in a supportive work environment--an environment "that actively encourages people to change."

Martin makes a number of useful suggestions.  "Simple activities such as having trainees write down how they plan to use new skills or knowledge on the job, or having them discuss their progress with peers and supervisors can significantly increase the amount of learning that is transferred to the workplace."

In my coaching of clients, I stay on top of their learning.  Indeed, the initial social contract with a client sets expectations, gets buy-in to those expectations--and that always includes modelling for learning effectiveness.  Clients understand from our conversation that "your success is my success.  And that I intend to make certain they succeed--because it supports my business."  The result is that I have their permission to be very direct with them.  However, I refuse to work with clients who are not on a fast track or viewed as high potential--so I'm blessed with a great group of clients.  They can expect that I will check on their learning with them, their peers and their boss. 

I have a built-in learning protocol for client development meetings. At the conclusion of each session, the client is tasked to detail how he/she will use the training, as well as the specific reporting needed for the next session.  As a result, clients bring exact reports of specific steps they have taken between sessions--including very concrete information for what went well, and what needs to go better.  Periodically, my client and I sit down for updates with the involved senior executive and that also creates an excellent learning environment.  As Martin suggests, when employees know that they are going to be observed, and will receive feedback, the incentives for learning are built in.

As Martin also adds, peers can make a significant contribution to learning.  On occasions when I have 2 to 4 people working on similar skills, I put them together for a training and updating session.  Listening to each other discuss successes and failures, not only emphasizes collegiality, but also provides the problem solving expertise of members of the group to resolve learning issues.  Although I give time to expert input in these hour-and-a-half meetings, most of the time I facilitate the learning with extensive questioning.  That enables the group to cover all the learning issues.  Peers and a boss (when available and open to the process) learn a great deal from each other.  Of course, the knowledge that there will be another follow-up next month is highly motivating to these managers and execs. 

I'm very curious to know what other approaches my colleagues in the field are taking to the learning process.  Your feedback would be very helpful.

HOW WILL THE RECESSION CHANGE JOB SKILLS?

Recessions have consequences.  Obviously they force people and companies to focus on money, finance and the economy.  Lynda Gratton, a thought leader on people in organizations  and Professor of Management Practice at the University of London reminds us that each recession also impacts the organization's workforce. In her December 10 column in the Finacial Times she summarizes the skill  impacts of the last two recessions and suggests the effect of this recession on work and job skills.  It is important to recognize that though the financial implications of a recession are dire, in the long term "the effect on work and working habits can positive."

The 1981-82 recession put an end to the notion of a "job for life" and transferred the responsibility for our work career from the organization to the individual person.  Indeed, the employer/employee relationship could be described as moving from "parent-child" to "adult-adult."  The culmination of that change is becoming more and more obvious in the current and drastic restructuring of the American auto industry.  Sadly, workers are quite unprepared for their career losses, and organizations and government have done little to prepare them for those changes.  That may be harsh, but in any instance few workers have little insight or understanding of how to successfully change their careers. 

Although Gratton did not allude to it, the recession of 1981-82 also shifted organizational talent requirements from managing--with all its mechanical control focus--to leading--a competency requiring more people skills than had ever been emphasized in the past.

The recession of 1990-91 confirmed those changes and added the dimension of globalization--a dimension that has both positive and negative consequences.  Low-cost, out-sourced products and services are a blessing to Wal-Mart consumers, but disaster for many manufacturing employees.  The effect of that recession was the globalization of talent--an issue that is felt profoundly in some sectors.  Not only manufacturing, but especially information technology and research now are global talent markets.  Microsoft is not the only firm that has located research and development in India, China, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.  Medical and scientific research is carried out all over the world.  Inevitably, American workers compete with the workers from all over the world.  That, too, according to Friedman's Flat World, is not going to change.

The recession of 1990-91 also accelerated the need for leadership competencies.  Although an entry-level manager used to be rewarded for his/her ability to control employees, employees now have more authority--and power--requiring enhanced leadership sklls from their their bosses.

So how is the current recession liable to impact work and work habits over the next decade?  Gratton suggests that leadership and decision-making will become more and more decentralized.  If companies are to avoid organizational failure such as that experienced by Lehman Brothers, they will decentralize not only leadership, but also decisionmaking.  Unilateral decision-making by command-and-control types such as those in the finance and auto industries will be scrutinized far more closely in the future.  In short, if the taxpayer is going to give business a lifeline--such as is currently happening--senior people might as well get used to the scrutiny.  It will be taking place throughout the nation, the result of employees who are deeply concerned about their company, because their own and their children's future are tied its balance sheet. 

What this also means is that workers at all levels are going to be responsible for decisions at a pace and depth not seen in the last one-hundred years of business.  My take on decision-making is that business leaders are going to have to make decisions, usually with incomplete information and too often in less time than is needed.  The old-fashioned ways of depending on intuition, common sense, and narrow specialized expertise are simply no longer sufficient.  My experience over the past five years tells me that Gratton is exactly correct in her focus on decision-making--and that this recession is bringing it all to the fore.

Decision-making can no longer be taken for granted by leaders--and furthermore, decision-making is not nearly as easy as many think.  As a consultant, I've had plenty of experiences with managers who when faced with a decision simply pull the trigger based on past experiences.  And when I ask about the data required and used for a given decision, they look at me like I'm from outer space.  People really need advice and training in how to improve their chances of getting a decision right, where they are liable to make a mistake, and who they need to get involved in a decision.  There are proven skills and strategies for successful decision-making, but thus far, they've not been widely disseminated. 

What do you think?  Am I too narrowly focused, or are the times ripe for this kind of change?

 

  

WHAT'S RIGHT WITH LARRY SUMMERS?

As this morning’s New York Times readily admits, there is a long, public history of what’s wrong with Larry Summers.  He thinks with his mouth open, readily intimidates and offends, tends to impose his ideas on people rather than persuade, stifles debate, is an elite ass, and, according to some of the Harvard faculty is a thorough-going misogynist.  That, according to Elena Kagan, Dean of the Harvard Law School, is a “bum rap.”  Still, it’s Larry Summers that Barack Obama has just invited to serve as his preeminent economics advisor.

So the better question is what’s right with Larry Summers?  A lot!  “One of the top economic minds in the country, with a resume that may make him overqualified for the job” with Barack Obama (as Head of the National Economic Council, who will advise the president and nurture needed economic proposals).  It ought to be obvious that with this financial debacle—call it a meltdown—we need all the brains and pragmatic expertise the Obama administration can put at the country’s disposal.

 

The New York Times article takes a different tack--that Summers has at last found a path to personal renewal.  It reveals that Summers is returning to his first love of economics, forgetting education reform, and making certain that people learn that he’s no misogynist.  He’s also become highly successful as an economics writer for the Financial Times, delving into the economic troubles of the globe, and offering pragmatic prescriptions for its eventual resolution.  Significantly, says the Financial Times, Summers is casting his recommendations into both economic and political terms.  For example, Summers strongly suggests that “in order to keep public support for open markets, you have to do more for the disadvantaged and the losers in globalization.”  Clearly, he is bringing strong, viable and relevant solution recommendations to the Obama leadership.  In short there’s a lot right with Dr. Summers.

 

Yet, there are plenty of people who are going to dismiss Larry Summers with a single question:  “Can the leopard change his spots?”  Of course, that’s a setup for an obvious “NO!”  The conventional wisdom is that it’s impossible for a person to change his bad habits much less his relationship style.  Intriguing, ever-present notion, but the research won’t support conventional wisdom.  Can the leopard change his spots?  Sure, but not overnight. 

 

Making change is a matter of developing your intelligence (yep, that too), and of deliberate practice (not just any kind of practice), supported by some effective coaching. 

 

Where shall I go with this post from here? 

 

Let’s go to developing your intelligence, first.  IQ as we commonly think of it is not a “ceiling” and no reputable psychologist today believes it is—and that includes social intelligence.  Stephen Ceci has shown conclusively that intelligence is a function of the schooling and coaching you have and it is the schooling and coaching that causes the increase, not the innate intelligence.  (Stephen Ceci:  Intelligence:  Knowns and Unknowns—written as a consequence of the Bell Curve fiasco—which continues in popular forums)  There’s plenty of support research out there, but check my website for a summary (www.danerwin.com).

 

Second, we make significant change through a process called “deliberate practice.”  Anders Ericsson is beginning to reverberate and resonate in sports, academics, and even business, relating how deliberate practice can support change, growth and learning. Anyone can engage in deliberate practice, and in this economy it’s wise to put deliberate practice to work on your own needs.  Here’s a link to just some of the articles in the business press about the work and success of deliberate practice:  http://www.hooversbiz.com/2008/04/14/deliberate-practice-in-the-working-world/

Geoff Colvin of Fortune takes the reader through these issues in  his new book, Talent Is Overrated.  I did a brief review of his book on Amazon.com—check it out: 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A30BPDS18NDONS/ref=cm_cr_pr_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort%5Fby=MostRecentReview

Well, can the Leopard change his spots?  Can Larry Summers change his ways and develop into a still more useful human being?  Can his path to personal renewal make him a still more effective contributor for our country’s needs?  The research gives an affirmative answer to the question.  So you’re damned right, Summers can make the changes.  I have been working with the process for years and I am heartened by the changes I’ve observed in many clients.

MANAGING YOUR CAREER SUCCESS WITH SOCIAL NETWORKING

As a result of the web, most of us are familiar with social networking--the uses of Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace.  Yet very few are familiar with the highly profitable links between organizational networking and career success.  In fact, my consulting has revealed that nearly everyone believes in networking, yet very, very few have networks, or know how to build an employee network.

Here's the surprise!  Extensive research by Ronald Burt and colleagues at the University of Chicago shows that networks make it possible to build career-valuable social capital.  Certain kinds of personal networks are strongly associated with more creativity, faster learning to increase your brainware ("deep smarts"), more positive individual and team evaluations (how smart is that in a recession when execs are figuring out who to lay off?), faster promotions, and higher earnings (I'm for that!).  Burt distinguishes between "echo networks" and networks across "structural holes"--distant networks. 

Echo networks are those networks that you create through your friends.  They follow the standard social rule:  "birds of a feather flock together."  They're composed of your friends, and your friends friends.  You can be sure that echo networks think the same way, usually have the same values and insights, know the same skills, and view the workworld through the same lens.  Echo networks are composed of intimate friends who reinforce all the same stuff.  They're also composed of the people you gossip with in front of the water cooler. . . same stuff, over and over.

In significant contrast, smart networkers understand that a single network of friends (echo network), can't give them the success they want in their career.  They get to know people in a number of distant networks (shoulder length networks)--weak connections with employees from different levels of the hierarchy, different divisions inside the company, different jobs, different generations, different ways of thinking, different education (MBAs, research scientists, manufacturing experts, lawyers from in house counsel), etc. Each of those employees is probably a member of a different network, or knows someone in a different network.  You won't have the intimacy from your old friends' network, or even the trust and common likes/dislikes, but the values are terrific for your career.  Think about what you can get from contacts with a lot of diverse networks:

    --positioned for better communication--so you know more about what's going on in your company, the risks you face in a churning economy, what competencies the senior officers really value, how a recession is liable to hit you, what are the possibilities of bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, etc.

    --positioned for important resources--so you can find a coaching or training mentor, get help as you become more street smart, learn who knows what so you can make a better contribution to your team and your company, gain help in reframing your job insights for a different job, learn how others think differently about your world so that you can make more well-rounded decisions, and learn how to work with difficult people.

    --positioned for better opportunities--so you can find out about new projects, stretch opportunities for your career, effective personal positioning, moving across divisions, and taking advantage of market changes. 

    --positioned for faster promotions and better pay--'nuff said there.

Jim Classe graduated from a top Eastern university nearly two years ago, and shortly after that hired on at a major West coast financial services company.  His first job was working with residential mortages, a job that bored him after six months, and lost its challenge.  Using his growing network, after the required year in that division, he found a job working with retirement funding, and has well-supported plans for another division change for his career, after his second year with the firm.  Jim developed intimate and distant networks within his division, then was able to build on that to several other divisions and networks.  A Millennial (25 years old), he told me it took him six to twelve months to really get his network going--but he's well on the way, has a great reputation, is well-liked, and periodically is able to make valued contributions to his organization that have gotten him recognition throughout the firm.  He told me that his friends (same age, same division, same kind of job) were clueless about what he was doing--and thought it a waste of time.

Here's the lesson:  start your networking as soon as you're out of college--and never stop.  It's a career necessity in the highly networked New Economy.  I suspect most of you will need  to learn how to build a network, how to develop protocols and scripts to communicate (what I call the language technology) with potential network members and grow your network, so watch my site for a white paper that will show and tell you how to do it.

I'm very curious about generation X and Y.  What do you need to know about networking smarts?