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Article from Smart Investor Magazine, March 2000
Survival Skills for the Modern Corporate Warrior
Why You Need To Manage Your Career
Before the business world got to be so complex, there was a popular human resource activity called “succession planning”.
Then … and now
This usually involved firstly, the identification of key positions in the organization. Having done so, the next task was to find the potential number two by searching internally for likely candidates (existing staff members) capable of filling the existing incumbent’s shoes over a period of time, say three years. This search usually extended across all geographical locations and functional departments, allowing for lateral transfers should the need arise.
The exercise therefore also served as an opportunity for cross-functional transfers and career movements, providing the much-needed motivation for employees to remain loyal to the organization. Here is where the dilemma came in. Having found the number two, management sometimes had to struggle with the following: Should they let the potential successor know, or keep the decision a secret?
Both approaches had their merits and disadvantages. In the first approach, the incumbent could feel threatened and insecure by the fact that he was that much more indispensable. However, keeping the potential successor a secret made it tricky for him/her to receive training and development.
Either way, there were obvious ‘shortcomings’ from the perspective of the employees. Firstly, the organization decided when and how their career was to progress. Movements, if any, were entirely driven by the management, not the employee. Secondly, movements were within the organization, making the employees very inward-focused.
Whose responsibility?
With the rapid, ever-changing business environment we are now in, it is inevitable that something as important as career planning and management is also changing. In fact, the responsibility now that of the employee, rather than there are external factors beyond the control and influence of the employers. Product cycles, for example, have become much shorter, thus creating the need for more Research & Development (R&D) jobs. Customer expectations are on the rise, whilst e-shopping is threatening the continued survival of retail malls. Mergers and mega-mergers have become daily staple for some of us.
Steve Jobs, forced out of Apple Computer, returned to save it and has now been reinstated as CEO. Time Warner merging with America On Line? Unbelievable, but it has happened! In the business world, nothing is impossible these days.
Why the need?
Employees have come to realize that nobody owes them a living anymore. Even if you have spent a decade or two with the same organization, it does not mean that you will be ‘taken care of’. Increasingly, organizations are more bottom-line focused and everyone is expected to add value. F not in terms of contributing directly to the kitty, then in some other less tangible and measurable form. One-job careers are now considered passé. Prepare yourself for the multiple-jobs career.
Given this, it is incumbent upon the employee to now be more ‘employable’ rather than to focus on staying employed. Hence, should the dreadful day come when you are ‘shown the door’, you will not have to panic. Given time and the right opportunities, you will move smoothly to a new challenge with another organization.
In the subsequent five articles, I will share the how-to’s of managing your current organization.
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