Are You Keeping Up? How to Prepare for Your Future. Best jobs in 5-10 years. August 2002 Horizon Time

A leadership development resource

from the Institute for Leadership Excellence & Development Inc.

August 2002

On the Horizon This Month:

Are You Keeping Up? How to Prepare for Your Future.
Key insights on how to answer Yes!

Special Offers from the Institute
Sign up today for Andy's new tele-seminars on reducing stress while getting more done.

Leadership Tools: Outlaw Teams
A practical way to develop your team.

Interview with an Expert: John Challenger
One of the most quoted men in business today talks about how you can prepare for your future.

Brain Teaser!
Take a break to enjoy this Brain Teaser in the Fun section!

Help for leading during these challenging times! Click on the cover above for details.

Stop being overwhelmed by your e-mail! Click on the cover to get my new e-book on reducing e-mail clutter.

This is one of the best tools I've purchased in the last 12 months. Every leaders has to do planning, brainstorming, and facilitating. This tool is a MUST in your software library. Click on the box above to get it now!

[Keeping Up?] [Special Offers] [Outlaw Team] [Interview] [Links] [Fun] [I LEAD Online]

Welcome!

Welcome to the August edition of Horizon Time! Students around the world are heading back to school to prepare for their future. How are you preparing for yours?

The lead article this month helps you make sure you're prepared with the skills you need for the job of your future.
Want ideas for how to prepare your staff for the future as well? Check out this month's Leadership Tools section.
Don't miss this opportunity! Check the Special Offers feature for how my new tele-seminar series will help you reduce stress and get more done. Classes are filling up fast!
Make sure to check out this month's Interview with an Expert. John Challenger shares expert insight on the hottest jobs in the coming years.
Finally, check out this month's Brain Teaser in the Fun Stuff section!

If you don't have time to absorb this all now, just print the newsletter out and enjoy it when you have more time.

May I encourage you to forward this month's edition to friends, family members, and colleagues that share your passion for personal development? They will join the thousands of other subscribers from all over the world who read Horizon Time each month.

Have a great month! Committed to helping you get things done,

Andy Kaufman

Speaker, Author, Consultant

President, Institute for Leadership Excellence & Development Inc.

Are You Keeping Up?

How to Prepare for Your Future.

By Andy Kaufman

Have a great title today? It means nothing 10 years from now. Part of a good company in a solid industry? Circumstances will likely be radically different in a decade. Think you’re in an untouchable position within your organization? Think again.

As we end August and move into September, it's back to school time for much of the world.

Do you miss those days?

Though formal schooling may only be a memory, your future success in the marketplace is in great measure influenced by how effectively you keep learning.

The idea of lifelong learning isn’t just a neat idea. If you want to better guarantee your employability in the coming years, you had better be investing in your learning today.

Lifelong Learning
“Ten years from now I want to be working on things I learn eight years from now.” I still remember the day my friend, colleague, and fellow-author John Chmela uttered those words.

Stop and re-read his statement. What's your reaction?

John states it as a matter of choice—that he will be learning and doing different work with that learning. Let me say it to you slightly different: If you want to be successful 10 years from now it will be because of what you learn between now and then.

You see, I don’t believe any of us have the luxury of living the next 10 years off the expertise and accomplishments we’ve achieved thus far.

Think about the last 10 years…. Few people knew what the Internet was a decade ago yet it has revolutionized major aspects of communication and how business is conducted. Could the same sort of revolutionary shift occur in the next 10 years?

Unquestionably. Think about advances based on decoding the human genome, nanotechnology, the spread of terrorism, biotech, the aging of America's population....

It's not a matter of "if" the employment terrain will be radically different in a decade. The question is whether or not you and I will be in a position to take advantage of those changes.

Living off the Past
I work with way too many people that entered our new century resting on their past—what they had already learned, their current position, industry, etc. Life in the late 1990’s was pretty easy as stock portfolios grew and employment demand far overshadowed supply.

Then the downward economic spiral began. It wasn’t just the “all vision and no revenue” internet companies being shutdown. In the companies still standing, it wasn’t just the poor performers being walked out the door. Plenty of good companies are no more. Talented people are still looking for jobs.

Welcome to the new reality.

Thriving in the Future
My mission is wrapped up in helping you successfully live the life you were meant to live. The only way to thrive in the future, and thus to live your dreams, is to proactively prepare for it.

Here’s my August challenge for you. Take time to honestly answer the personal reflection questions below. They will lead you to a place requiring you to set goals and take action.

Do it! For the sake of your future, get started!

Incidentally, remember John—the guy who said the quote about 10 years out? He’s gone from being a very good computer programmer to being an author, a business owner, an influential leader in an organization helping the “differently abled,” and the driving force behind an exciting new initiative designed to recognize innovations in helping people with disabilities.

And it’s only been 7 years!

What will your story be? I can’t wait to hear! Have a great month!

Andy Kaufman

P.S. To help you further prepare, make sure to check out the other resources in this month’s newsletter! My upcoming tele-seminars are a low-cost option to develop one of the top skills that will be required in the future. Don’t miss my interview with John Challenger about what industries will be hot in the next 10 years and how you can prepare for them.

Personal Reflection Questions

1. What are 2-3 of your greatest strengths? (Consider recurring praises you’ve heard from bosses, peers, customers, family members)

2. If you were living your dreams 10 years from now, what would it look like? (Consider where would you be living? Who would be around you? How would you be spending your days? What would be most fulfilling to you?)

3. What are 2-3 things that are getting in the way of you living those dreams right now? (E.g. “I don’t know what my dreams are!”, “I don’t seem to have the time or money necessary to do what I want”, “I don’t know how to get started.”, etc.)

4. What are 2-3 things that, if you did them consistently and learned to do them well, would better enable you to live your dreams?

Chances are there are resources available to you to help you do the things you mentioned in your response to Question 4. Chances also are that they are available in some form at a price you can afford and with a timeframe that, if you really made it a priority, could manage. So here’s my final question….

5. To navigate the course of living my dreams down the road, what actions will I start taking right now?

If you took these questions seriously and answered from your heart with conviction and a commitment to take action, you are on the next leg of an incredible journey! Tell someone about your insights and decisions from this exercise! Tell me! I’d love to hear from you. Here’s to your future!

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Special Offers from the Institute

The Personal Productivity Tele-Seminar Series:

Reducing Stress While

Getting More Done

What if I told you that you were within weeks of being able to better handle the demands being made on your time.... at work... at home... in life....

Sound too good to be true?

It's not. In September I'm conducting a new tele-seminar series that allows you to get on top of life's demands while reducing stress. And you can participate at a low fee without having to travel anywhere.

I enjoy all the topics I teach on, but quite frankly, I do have a favorite. I love helping people who are feeling overwhelmed with life, with too many demands and too little time to keep up. I love hearing how the material shared in these sessions literally change people's lives.

I've had the privilege of presenting powerful yet practical insights on this topic to countless people from around the world. I would like to share it with you as well.

Want to skip the rest and get to the details? Click here!.

Here are a few comments from previous participants:

“I cannot believe how on top of things I am after just a week. I will never go back!”
“Being better organized does not seem so impossible now!”
“The way you interacted with the audience was truly remarkable. You brought folks into the presentation and made them participants instead of attendees.”
“Really appreciated Andy’s flexible approach & enthusiasm!”

Why a Tele-Seminar?

This session is usually presented in-house within a top corporation. However, the same learning they are paying a lot of money for is now available to you at a significantly reduced price.

You can get your hands on the learning while sitting at the office or at home. All you need is a phone line and you're ready to start getting more organized.

Why Do I Offer it So Inexpensively?

First, delivering the content over the phone allows me to provide it more economically.

Second, my experience is that once you grab onto the practical techniques I share, you'll be more excited than ever to bring this learning into your organization so others on your team can benefit.

What Will You Learn?

Here's just a snapshot of the powerful lessons you'll learn...

Why we struggle to keep up with increasing responsibilities and (the bad news) why it won’t get easier without help
Practical, easy-to-learn steps on how to get more done with less stress
How to start benefiting from the material right away!
6 time management myths holding you back from improved productivity
Productivity skills that can be learned regardless of personality or temperament
Skills that work with any time management tools you are comfortable with
Tips for keeping things from falling between the proverbial cracks

How To Learn More and Sign-Up!

Learn more about the tele-seminar series by clicking here. You'll find schedules, prices, and special offers that you won't want to pass up. Don't put off the decision to sign-up because once the lines are taken, there's no more room for you. Click here now to learn more!

Need a Speaker for an Upcoming Event?

If you have a need for a top quality speaker or trainer on a subject that I do not cover, I can still help! Contact me right away and I can connect you with some of the best communicators available today! A good way to save time finding a speaker for a particular topic is to work with two of my favorite speaker bureaus: Speaker Resource Center and the Sandra Ford Agency. Click on their names to contact them by e-mail. These people do nothing but find the perfect speaker for your needs. Tell them I sent you!

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Leadership Tools: Outlaw Team

By Andy Kaufman

Proactively growing your own skills is a definite challenge presented in this month's newsletter. But what about growing your team?

Is your team, for the most part, resting on the achievements of the past? Are you getting better, as a team?

Simply sending team members to conferences or training sessions doesn't necessarily mean they are truly growing their competencies. I fundamentally believe leadership is only developed over time, and is best learned when modeled and through hands-on experience (for more on this, click here).

So, what are you doing to help your team develop their leadership skills?

For some years now I've used a forum I call the Outlaw Team. A future newsletter will go into more detail on why it's called that, etc. But for now, here's the 30 second version on how you can start proactively developing the leadership skills on your team by starting your own Outlaw Team.

Create a recurring meeting that meets once or twice a week.
The primary objective of this meeting is to develop the leadership competencies of your team. Let me be clear: this is not a status meeting.
Prior to a meeting, find an article, case study, book, etc. that discusses a certain leadership related topic (e.g. delegating, meeting facilitation, decision-making, negotiation, listening, performance management, time management, etc.). Potential sources include trade journals, newsletters, and web sites. NOTE: Many Horizon Time subscribers use articles from this newsletter as a basis for their Outlaw Team meetings.
In the meeting, use the source as a point of discussion. An option I found effective was to split participants into teams of 2-3 people and have each team read a subset of the article. Their mission would then be to digest the material and present the main points back to the group.
You would then facilitate a discussion about what the team agrees with, disagrees with, and what actions need to be taken as a result of the learning.

This is just a brief overview of a method to develop the leadership competencies of your team. Interested in learning more about how to start your own Outlaw Team? Contact me today! Do you have a unique way to develop your staff? Let me know about it!

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Interested in an insightful book on leadership? Check out Paul B. Thornton's "Be the Leader: Make The Difference".

Interviewing is simply gaining information from another person. Interviewing Techniques for Managers gives you the methods for enhancing your skills in planning so you’ll get the information you need quickly and with accuracy. Click on the cover above now to buy training expert Carolyn Thompson's powerful book!

Remember June's interview with Jonathan Niednagel regarding Brain Typing?. Now you get his product directly from Nightingale-Conant. Click on the cover above now to buy Brain Typing on either audio, video, or CD.

Interview with an Expert: John A. Challenger

This month's interview is with John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., an international outplacement consulting firm. John just may be one of the most oft-quoted business executives in America. His breadth of knowledge on corporate practices, workplace issues, the economy and societal trends is sought out by PBS, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, CBS Evening News, ABC World News, NBC Nightly News, Fox News Channel, Fortune, Forbes, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and major press associations and syndicates.

In 1998 and 2001, Challenger delivered addresses before the World Future Society. He also addressed the annual conference of the Ethics Officers Association and a conference of leading business executives in Tokyo, Japan in 2001. In 2002, at the height of the turmoil over corporate governance, The Wall Street Journal invited Challenger to address the issue in a bylined article that appeared in The Journal on June 25, 2002.

Challenger is a graduate of Harvard University and is president of the Harvard Club of Chicago. He is a member of the Young Presidents Organization. He serves on the labor/human resource committee of The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., pioneered outplacement as an employer-paid benefit in the 1960s.

I caught up with John in early August for this interview.

AK: Back in 1996 you told the Wall Street Journal that "most people will have between five and six jobs during their careers." That was before the go-go days of the dot-coms and the bleak days of the recent economy. Has your job-change forecast changed?

JC: Many Generation X and Yers held five or six jobs in their 20s! Now they are settling into more traditional career patterns as they age, marry and have children and because the hyperactivity of the late 1990s has disappeared. Overall and across the entire population, the frequency of job movement has risen. Now six to seven positions in a career is the norm.

AK: As people change jobs, there are certainly the domain specific or technical aspects of the job that they need to be up-to-speed on. But are there skills and abilities that, regardless of industry or title, seem to separate those who are more successful than others at navigating their careers?

JC: Three primary factors separate the most successful. 1) A consistent and high level of success in every job: a stellar track record. A strong work ethic. 2) Exceptional interpersonal capabilities and a high EQ (emotional quotient). Successful people may know lots of people; may create solid and authentic bonds with bosses and higher-ups, or may possess leadership, charismatic, diplomatic and/or strong character traits that draw others to them. 3) Luck is certainly factor. Successful people have often seem to have an uncanny sense for being there at the right time and seizing the opportunity.

AK: There are subscribers reading this interview that are currently looking for a job. What are your personal 3 top tips for landing a job in this economy?

JC: 1) Forget the idea of changing careers, starting your own business or taking some time off to come to terms emotionally with your most recent experience. 2) See everybody you know in person methodically, one-by-one, and ask them to introduce you to people they know who are in positions that you would naturally report to based upon your last five to ten years of experience. 3) In a slow economy, be more open to changing industries and relocating to a new city. Your subscribers are invited to visit our website at www.challengergray.com for statistics on these two essential job changing strategies.

AK: Earlier this month you reported that dot-com layoffs grew substantially in July compared to June, though down from a year ago. From your vantage point, what are the best industries in the short term? In addition, what's your best guess on where the greatest demand for skills will be in 5-10 years out?

JC: The top industries over the next year will be healthcare; residential home construction, real estate, home-based products and mortgage banking; education, public health and social services, federal, state and local government; and security and defense. In 5-10 years, the life sciences will be fertile ground for job creation because of advances in medicine, especially spin-offs from deciphering the human genome. The emergence of China and growth of U.S. -- China trade will be an immense source of job creation. The best way to prepare for the top jobs in 5-10 years is to concentrate on education. Great jobs will be available in every area of the economy and they will go in large numbers to those who have recognized that formal education no longer ends in one's 20s.

AK: Finally, John, what is your personal strategy for keeping up with what you need to know so that you and your organization will be competitive in the future?

JC: Read, read, read. Listen, listen, listen.

AK: Well said, John. Thank you for sharing your insights with us this month!

To learn more about Challenger, Gray & Christmas (as well as get your hands on some insightful resources they offer for free), visit their web site at www.challengergray.com.

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Recommended Services
Below are some companies whose services I recommend for your consideration.

Leadership Links

Each month I include links to help in your personal and leadership development. Here are the links for this month!

"The Talent Myth", by Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, 7/22/02. In a post-Enron, post-WorldCom, post-Tyco, post-fill-in-the-blank world, it's worth asking the question: "Does the company with the smartest people win?" An intriguing article.

"Slack Off", by George Anders, FastCompany, August 2001. Is it all about just being busy? Tom DeMarco says "No!" in this interesting article from last August.

"Average Desk Harbors 400 Times More Bacteria Than Average Toilet Seat", MedicalNewsService.com. OK, this has nothing to do with leadership or personal development but I couldn't resist including this. Thinking about eating lunch at your desk? You may want to think again!

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I've been very impressed with this supplier. If you're between jobs, it is helpful to have business cards with your contact information. Why not get them free? Click on the image above to find out more!

Fun Stuff

Here is this month's brain teaser, courtesy of Braingle.com:

Pastor's Question

A young boy went to a Catholic school. During school he started goofing around. So the teacher called him out and sent him to the Pastor.

Since this was a traditional school the boy would be spanked. But the Pastor believed in giving people a chance. He said, "If you can ask me a question about something you learned and I don't know the answer on the spot you will go free."

The boy may have been lazy, but he was very witty. He asked, "What is it that you can see and I can see, usually everyday, but God cannot see."

The Pastor stood there, stumped. He couldn't figure it out because he strongly believed that God sees and knows all, and that there is only one God. The boy smiled and told him.

Click here for a hint. Click here to see the answer.

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Stay in Touch!

Horizon Time is written by Andy Kaufman and is available via e-mail or on the Web for free to all registered subscribers. You are invited to forward this newsletter to anyone interested in growing their leadership skills!

If you have any difficulty with the hyperlinks in this newsletter, you can view it online at:

www.i-leadonline.com/newsletter/0208.htm.

You can access past issues of Horizon Time by visiting www.i-leadonline.com/NewsletterIndex.asp.

If this newsletter was forwarded to you by a colleague and you would like to automatically receive a copy each month, you can subscribe by clicking here. You can unsubscribe by sending an e-mail to unsubscribe@i-leadonline.com.

For more information on Andy Kaufman and the Institute for Leadership Excellence & Development Inc., please visit our web site.

You can contact Andy by phone toll-free at (866) 88 I-LEAD (866-884-5323), or by e-mail at andy@i-leadonline.com.

Editors and Newsletter Writers! Would you like to use some of the material from this newsletter in your newspaper, magazine, newsletter? You may by including the following credit line:
"This article is used by permission from Andy Kaufman's free monthly newsletter 'Horizon Time' available at www.i-leadonline.com." Please call or send an e-mail to let us know you used the article.

This information cannot be used for resale in any manner.

Special thanks to Paul Bibler and Bernie Ostrowsky for their insightful editorial review.

Horizon Time contains hyperlinks to web sites operated by persons other than the Institute for Leadership Excellence & Development Inc. (I LEAD). Such hyperlinks are provided for your reference and convenience only, and I LEAD is not responsible for the content or operation of such web sites. A hyperlink from Horizon Time to another web site does not imply or mean that I LEAD endorses the content on that web site or the operator or operations of that site. You are solely responsible for determining the extent to which you may use any content at any other web sites to which you might link from Horizon Time.