NEW WORK HABITS FOR A RADICALLY CHANGING WORLD

NEW WORK HABITS FOR A RADICALLY CHANGING WORLD 13 Work Habits 13 GROUND RULES FOR JOB SUCCESS

New Work Habits For a Radically Changing World • • • • Become a quick change artist Commit fully to the job. Speed up. Accept ambiguity and uncertainty. Behave like you’re in business for yourself. Stay in School. Hold yourself accountable for outcomes. Add Value. See yourself as a service centre. Manage your own morale. Practice Kaizen. Be a fixer, not a finger pointer. Alter your expectations. 13 Work Habits

Habit - 1 Become a Quick Change Artist REALITY EXPECT : : Organisation changes. Restructure. Outsource. Downsize. Alliances. Takeovers Short term assignments. New Boss. New Coworkers. New Position Plans No one likes it, but it is a reality. Change is painful. Mobility & Not Mourning. Shoot for rapid recovery. 1

2 Habit - 2 Commit Fully to your Job REALITY : Market place is more demanding than the Organisation. Old Solutions - Hire more people, spend more money - will not work. How to manage ? SPEED IS ESSENTIAL - People are used to “instant” everything. Days to do more, faster with less. We will need more committed people.

Habit - 3 Speed up 3 Those who are lean, agile & quick to respond have the advantage. Organisations can’t go fast if the employees go slow. Therefore develop sense of urgency. Quality is crucial but it must come quickly. New Hires have - Drive, are open, are willing to learn. They are eager to prove. Why not develop the attitude of new hire after every change ? Develop the reputation - As “one who pushes the change along”

Habit - 4 Days of : Accept Ambiguity and Uncertainty 4 Ever-changing expectations shifting priorities New reporting relationships. Your JD’s will be vaguely defined. Your assignments will get altered constantly. Learn to play roles & not follow JD’s & rules. Only those who have high tolerance to ambiguity & uncertainty will survive.

Habit - 5 Behave like you’re in business for yourself 5 Organisations are becoming flat, decentralised. They want to get closer to customer. These are the days of small self contained work groups. Empower yourselves. Know your boundaries. Know the Org. Plans. Act - to get results. Cut Costs. Meet Targets. Satisfy Customers. Behave like a contractor. Build reputation. Build your own careers. Think like an entrepreneur.

Habit - 6 Hold yourself Accountable for Outcomes 6 EMPOWERMENT : - Responsibility, power & authority are being pushed down. - Careers with more personal exposure. Flat vs. Pyramids Think broadly. Look at big picture. Look beyond specifics of your job. - Are you really doing well ? ? • Do not fall in love with specific methods. • Develop real passion to get results. • Create a boundaryless organisation. Shouldering personal responsibility helps you clean the clutter in how place operates. Avoid type issues.

Habit - 7 Add Value • Contribute more than your cost. Only good work does not help Is outsourcing a cheaper option ? • Long years of service does not count. Your worth today is more important. What can you contribute now ? ? ? • Do not use history to justify your continued employment. • Work smarter not just harder. Efforts will gain you respect & not the paycheque. • Contribute, Contribute. Ask - will my Company miss me ? ? 7

Habit - 8 See yourself as a Service Centre • Better you serve your customer Better you protect your career. • If you take your jobs for granted You will take your customers for granted. • Provide best services at low cost Otherwise your customer will replace you. • Get close to your customer Seek direct feedback. • Customers are the only source of your job security. 8

Habit - 9 Manage your own morale 9 BELIEF : Top Management is responsible for employee morale. Manager should do handholding (emotional) till employee is happy again If you put someone else incharge of your morale - you abdicate your responsibility. Giving into grief though necessary has limited healing power. Low morale drains your energy. Destroys your self confidence. Take charge of your mood. Act upbeat. Depersonalise the situation. Change is painful but helps you build your emotional muscles.

Habit - 10 Be a Fixer Not a Finger Pointer 10 • Problems are natural. Become a problem solver not a pointer. • Complaining is not a constructive act it often leads to accusing. Blaming but does not solve anything. • If you search beyond yourself for solutions, you disempower yourself. • Do not expect too much of the institution & too little of ourselves. Assume ownership of the problem Let the solution start with you

Habit - 11 Alter your expectations 11 • Organisation can’t stop world from changing Smart ones Lucky ones Losers - Adapt Scramble Become history • Market place is merciless. It limits organisation’s ability to be generous with its people. – Only 16 of the 100 largest US companies of 1900’s are existing today. – During 80’s 230 companies in USA disappeared. 46% were ‘Fortune 500’. Constantly upgrade your skills Stay flexible. Put your faith in the future & yourself

Habit - 12 Practice Kaizen 12 A strong organisation is in best position to protect your career. Make it stronger to make your career brighter. Kaizen (continuous improvement) is the best insurance to your career and to your organisation. Without this you and your employer will loose ground. Good quality is a stupid idea. The only thing that matters is rapid continuous improvement in your quality. - Tom Peters Assume self responsibility for continuous upgradation. Your skills should be in the state of constant self renewal. Constantly remain marketable.

Habit - 13 Stay in School 13 World has no pity for the person who gets lazy about learning. It doesn’t take long for skills & knowledge to get outdated. Some careers don’t even get a chance to change They simply disappear. Lifelong learning is the only way to remain competitive. Come up continuously with new skills & services that you can offer. Develop a relentless drive to update your credentials, Acquire new skills & stay abreast. Accept lateral moves that will broaden you.

Habit - 13 Stay in School (contd. ) You need specialised knowledge. You also need transferable knowledge & skills. This gives portability to your career. Give yourself option. 13

“The world doesn’t care about our opinions. Our feelings. The world rewards only those who catch on to what’s happening, who invest in learning and who invest energy in finding and seizing the opportunities. ” - Price Pritchett New work habits for a radically changing world.