According to an article posted on CNNHealth.com on December 31, 2010, the #1 New Year’s Resolution was to lose weight. That was always on the top of my list. A lifetime member of Weight Watchers, I took comfort in the fact that every January Weight Watchers would come up with some new variation of their program to make it smarter, more effective and easier to follow. So, every January I find a WW meeting and take my place on the scale to get the new program books and embark on yet another attempt at downsizing myself.
If companies want to remain fresh, sought after and solvent, they have to listen to the needs of their customers and make adjustments in their products and services. If not, they will lose those customers and their dollars. If the past two years of recession has taught us anything, it is the need to constantly reassess ourselves as professional service providers (employees) and to continue to remain fresh, educated and valuable to our companies, clients, and customers. Just like Weight Watchers has lots of competition from other diet and weight loss providers, employers have a vast pool of talent looking for jobs. If you haven’t kept up with the latest technology, skills or education in your field, you could end up being replaced by someone who can offer better value.
Think of yourself as “Me, Inc.” What is it about you that could use an upgrade? Have you fallen behind? Do you have what it takes to meet the challenges of today’s (or tomorrow’s) workplace? If someone told you to go to the “cloud” to do some work, would you know what they were talking about? I kept hearing the term, but didn’t have the faintest idea. Becoming comfortable in your knowledge and experience can be a dangerous thing. It’s like the old story of the frog in the soup pot. Put him in there when the water is cool and he thinks he has a private pond. Light the burner underneath the pot, and he isn’t even aware that the environment in the pot is changing. It’s slow, but eventually the cool water he enjoyed turns hot and is the cause of his demise. Complacency can kill a career.
Whether you are aware of it or not, your work and industry environment is changing. I heard someone say in a meeting yesterday, “…well, it has worked for the last 25 years, so why change it?” Dinosaurs made some valuable contribution to the planet millions of years ago, too. If you look around, you don’t see them anymore. Resolve not to be a dinosaur that needs to be made extinct. Renew, reinvent and relaunch yourself for a profitable and successful New Year.
Mary Nestor-Harper, SPHR, is a freelance writer, blogger, and workplace consultant. Based in Savannah, GA, her work has appeared in "Training" magazine, "Training & Development" magazine, "Supervision," “BiS Magazine” and "The Savannah Morning News." You can read her blogs at www.skirt.com/savannahchick, www.workingsmartworks.blogspot.com/ and on the web at www.mjnhconsulting.com.
If companies want to remain fresh, sought after and solvent, they have to listen to the needs of their customers and make adjustments in their products and services. If not, they will lose those customers and their dollars. If the past two years of recession has taught us anything, it is the need to constantly reassess ourselves as professional service providers (employees) and to continue to remain fresh, educated and valuable to our companies, clients, and customers. Just like Weight Watchers has lots of competition from other diet and weight loss providers, employers have a vast pool of talent looking for jobs. If you haven’t kept up with the latest technology, skills or education in your field, you could end up being replaced by someone who can offer better value.
Think of yourself as “Me, Inc.” What is it about you that could use an upgrade? Have you fallen behind? Do you have what it takes to meet the challenges of today’s (or tomorrow’s) workplace? If someone told you to go to the “cloud” to do some work, would you know what they were talking about? I kept hearing the term, but didn’t have the faintest idea. Becoming comfortable in your knowledge and experience can be a dangerous thing. It’s like the old story of the frog in the soup pot. Put him in there when the water is cool and he thinks he has a private pond. Light the burner underneath the pot, and he isn’t even aware that the environment in the pot is changing. It’s slow, but eventually the cool water he enjoyed turns hot and is the cause of his demise. Complacency can kill a career.
Whether you are aware of it or not, your work and industry environment is changing. I heard someone say in a meeting yesterday, “…well, it has worked for the last 25 years, so why change it?” Dinosaurs made some valuable contribution to the planet millions of years ago, too. If you look around, you don’t see them anymore. Resolve not to be a dinosaur that needs to be made extinct. Renew, reinvent and relaunch yourself for a profitable and successful New Year.
Mary Nestor-Harper, SPHR, is a freelance writer, blogger, and workplace consultant. Based in Savannah, GA, her work has appeared in "Training" magazine, "Training & Development" magazine, "Supervision," “BiS Magazine” and "The Savannah Morning News." You can read her blogs at www.skirt.com/savannahchick, www.workingsmartworks.blogspot.com/ and on the web at www.mjnhconsulting.com.
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