From the Author
Security and stability are hard to find these days. It's as though all American employees are walking on shifting sands.
The shape of companies to come is a three-part organization. The first part is a small permanent core. The second part is a collection of vendors, each also a three-part organization, to which the company outsources many functions that it once performed in house. And the third part is an assortment of temporary employees and consultants that the company calls on when it needs them.
The closest thing to security and stability that an employee can find in an organization like that is to become part of the core. But even then a merger or acquisition could threaten a downsizing.
There's an old Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times!" You couldn't be blamed in these days if you felt you'd been cursed by an old Chinese.
It's said that the Chinese character for "danger" also means "opportunity." To see opportunity in the times we're going through requires a new attitude.
First, you have to view yourself as an entrepreneur. The company you work for is your customer. It doesn't owe you permanent employment. Nor do you owe it loyalty.
What you do owe it is a good day's work today. What it owes you is a good day's pay at the end of the day. Tomorrow? We'll see.
Second, you have to understand that the only security you have is in your own skills. As a result, you must keep those skills current.
About the Author
After receiving his Ph.D. in English from UCLA, Sam Sackett taught for 23 years at Fort Hays (KS) State University, achieving a national reputation as a folklorist and publishing a collection of Kansas Folklore and an award-winning children's book, Cowboys and the Songs They Sang. Dr. Sackett burned out on teaching in 1977 and became, in order, a freelance writer, dean of a proprietary business college, a newspaper reporter, an account executive and Director of Creative Services for an advertising agency, Assignments Manager for a public relations firm, and President of his own PR company. Having by this time become an expert in career change, Dr. Sackett joined a human resources consulting firm. He has spent a total of twelve years advising clients on career management issues, including more than five years as Vice President of the Oklahoma City franchise of Bernard Haldane Associates. He is one of only two Oklahomans recognized by the International Board for Career Management Certification as a Career Management Practitioner.
