You can’t look at the competition and say you’re going to do it better. You have to look at the competition and say you’re going to do it differently.
Steve Jobs – Apple Founder & Entrepreneur
The big change I’ve seen in COVID time is many VUCANs look at careers and jobs as competition even as war. COVID time is going to makes jobs even more competitive. David D’Allessandro even wrote a book Career Warfare: 10 Rules for Building a Successful Personal Brand and Fighting to Keep It! Career warfare is kinda like Hunger Games!
It’s a survival approach to work, where the hunter in olden times had to take smart risks and be constantly aware of immediate surroundings. Otherwise the stronger, bigger, and possibly even smarter predator would have the hunter for lunch. Could this be Future of Work where IQ (knowledge application), EQ (emotional application), and value execution reign supreme? Let’s unpack this.
Almost all work from the receptionist to the CEO is knowledge and information work. You, individually or as part of a team, may create a new product, offer a unique suggestion, or provide value-added services. You have to use your best judgment, tools, methods, and knowledge in your work to create marketable value.
Since the risks of poor attitudes, low skills, and inadequate performance are too high, each VUCAN is considered a self managed professional. In an employee involved atmosphere, workers and teams have responsibility and authority to control their work and ultimately their destiny. Work accountability rests with each employee. Implicit is you use best judgment to do the right things right.
Then, there’s value execution, which is a challenge for many VUCANs. I’ve noticed that a lot of VUCAN professionals are running faster in COVID time. But, they don’t seem to have direction. They confuse running for direction and speed for impact. They confuse process for outcomes. Ask them about this and their response is that they’ll run faster. My thought is if you don’t know where you’re going, no path will take you there.
Work lesson Earned: Here’s a tip. See how your boss looks at his career or her job. Does he or she believe in career warfare? If so, what are the rules of engagement? Most importantly, do you understand the rules of engagement?