Navigation

Jobs 101 – Evolution

By on May 8, 2013 in Job Search

Jobs – Evolution

The Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick Maker – were jobs highlighted and immortalized in a famous nursery rhyme, Rub a Dub Dub, first published in 1798.  Town by town – these were widespread jobs of the day, and these three trades/professions required skills and talents and various personality traits to produce results.   These jobs are now less prevalent and have significantly evolved.  For instance, the advent of electricity and ever-improving light bulbs [thanks, Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison and many others] to minimize the functional use of candles.

Today’s jobs still require various skills and personality traits to yield results, and we call them – Success Attributes.  Our never-ending challenge is to understand these elements, add to them for both job/career progress, apply them to new roles, and communicate them when seeking a new job in your resume and when interviewing.

Yes, today’s jobs are different and evolving; and we are changing.  Let’s examine this evolution further.

The Butcher – As recently as the 1950’s, some of the largest companies in the Fortune 500 were titans such as Swift and Hormel, the Spam producer- companies in the meat packing industry.  Our local and corner grocery stores were frequently run by the butcher, and the meat department was the main attraction. Many of us can remember visiting the many neighborhood grocery stores – often owned and run by `the butcher’.  He also sold a variety of food and goods including our favorite sodas/pop and those packs of baseball cards (and bubble gum).    Chain grocery stores, microwaves, manufacturing efficiencies and fast food restaurants were among the many forces of change to the industry and to the butcher’s job (both in numbers and in role).  Today’s [fewer] butchers have become specialists in packaging, culinary cuts, and `sushi’.  The accomplished, successful ones also have developed and demonstrate their technical, customer service and communication skills as well as friendly, positive, and resourceful personality traits.

The Baker – Some of us can remember visiting the neighborhood bakery where we enjoyed the smells and samples.  Today, high-volume production and distribution by corporations keeps the loaves, rolls, and pastries in restaurants and on the shelves of large grocery stores as well as a multitude of convenience stores.  This has certainly reduced the number of local bakeries and traditional `baker’ jobs, today.  Specialty bakery enterprises still flourish – for special events and the aficionados of freshness and taste.  Today’s  successful bakers have developed both technical and interpersonal skills, perfected their creative talents, and worked hard with long hours and with a dedication to quality, excellence, and customer service.  These are also the required and transferable traits which are valuable in a variety of other production and service roles.

The Candlestick Maker – The `lighting’ jobs of today are varied and found at power plants, at bulb and tube facilities, and in a variety of installation and service operations.  They require very different technical skills and process and problem-solving skills as well as dependable and adaptable traits.  Only `specialty’ candle production for scents, special-occasion and seasonal products seems to rival the profile requirement of the candlestick maker job of yesterday.  Many have learned the new, different skills and adapted to produce, market, and serve in our `well-lit’ work and play and living environments.

What’s happening with your job and profession, today?

What are you doing to prepare and adapt for tomorrow?

 

Improvement Principle

By on May 2, 2013 in Career Success Tips

20-60-20 Work Improvement Principle

Recently, a client called and told me that his wife was facing the following situation at work.  Her employer was in the midst of reducing payroll and one of the plans (in addition to reducing hours) was to have her become the supervisor of two departments and lay-off a number of people (including a fellow supervisor).  Quite naturally she was concerned for those losing their positions and for her increased workload.  My client had recently read that all of us are actually working at only 60% of our capacity (in spite of the productivity improvement statistics); and he was encouraging her to assume the new responsibilities with `you can do it’.

We met and discussed the 20-60-20 work improvement principle.  She agreed that she `can do it’ and is doing it!  Following is a description of this principle with a hope that it will give all of us a reminder of the possibilities and opportunities we have each and every day.

Working at “110%” sounds good, but is it realistic?  Alternatively, Working with purpose and a focus on improvement seems a better choice.

How do we spend time at work?

Background:  For over a hundred years, industrial engineers [Frederick Taylor was a pioneer] have conducted `time-in-motion’ studies and summarized their observations of numerous workforce efficiencies with a basic conclusion:  

We [individuals, teams, and organizations] spend 60% of the work day/month/year – performing our jobs (the duties and responsibilities from job descriptions).

What about the other 40%?  Is it wasted time? water-cooler chat?  inefficient, excess payroll? non-valuable work?  No, or not necessarily so, when individuals, teams and work units understand and embrace the 20-60-20 `improvement’ principle:

20% is about Going from and `letting go‘  … it is work and activity that could or should be Discarded, Transferred and Delegated to someone else, or Automated and changed.  Perhaps some of your work is redundant and/or obsolete and is a candidate for change and improvement.  Think about what your customers truly need and want (as well as what others expect of you);  then consider some low-hanging fruit (tasks, time, methods) to:  discard – stop doing;  delegate and/or transfer – provide others with an opportunity to learn and with a new challenge; and automate – using either technology or a different method.  Reviewing your past week, what could you have discarded, delegated, or automated?  Start making a list of these things … and take action!  Does it work?  Years ago, General Electric launched a company-wide program called “workout” – they targeted 10% for `letting go’.  They achieved dramatic success with productivity gains and increased profitability.

60% is about Doing your job … it is your primary purpose and activity at work.  Learn it, understand it, and do it well.  The challenge for all of us is to do it well and to work effectively and efficiently and to improve.

20% (the balance of time) is about Going toward … it is the `exploration and a new journey’.  It begins with observations and questions:  what else? How else? Why? How about?  It is about Inquiry, Discovery, and Invention.  Many `high-tech’ firms such as Google assign `mandatory’ time to being `creative’ and brainstorming and developing `new’.  While many of us are not inventors, we can observe, ask, learn, and take on new responsibilities (e.g., unburdening some tasks from others).  We can consider, try, and choose another way.

Consider that 20-60-20 is a powerful framework with application for personal time management and improvement and productivity as well as for teams and organizations to make improvements and produce results that exceed expectations.

By looking at work activities, processes, and time in these three `blocks’, you and your employer will see value.  You will discover opportunities to make your job more empowering, satisfying, interesting and rewarding!  And, you will gain significant improvements to your bottom line by being both more efficient and effective.