STRATEGY SESSIONS #21
 
THINKING AND WORKING SMARTER

by Dr. Steve Payne

 

The vast majority of Americans are neither very wealthy nor extremely poor.  Most of us are likely to be what has been traditionally called the working or middle class.  The last thirty years, and particularly the last three or four years, have really impacted the lives and prospects of many working- and middle-class Americans.
 
James Carville and Stan Greenberg are the authors of a 2012 book entitled It’s the Middle Class, Stupid.  They describe economic and other challenges for most Americans.  The gap between working- or middle-class incomes and those of the richest Americans has been increasing.  At the same time, middle and working class Americans have been putting in more hours at work in recent years.  Taking an extra job or working more overtime, no doubt, improves the earnings income of workers, but often at the expense of their quality time with family and needed time away from work for rest and renewal.

Zbigniew Brzezinski’s new book, Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power, tells us that two-thirds of Americans think that our country is in economic decline and that a serious and difficult renewal process is necessary.  Overcoming political gridlock and actually accomplishing change at the national level takes high priority in Brzezinski’s book and in other recent commentaries.  Assuming responsibility and taking action must occur, however, at the individual level as well.  Many Americans are now working harder or working longer hours, but are many of us working smarter?  

By working smarter, I’m suggesting something other than increased resourcefulness in handling existing job demands.  I’m saying that many individuals are working at jobs that don’t well match their actual skills, interests, and potentials.  They have accepted and settled in jobs that sap their enthusiasm, sense of accomplishment and pride -- instead of becoming more strategic or smarter about their own personal characteristics and certain market or employment niches that might better challenge their abilities.  Steps 1 and 2 in the strategic decision-making process that I’ve been recommending focus on just these two concerns – greater self-knowledge and improved understanding of employment markets and those competing within these markets. 

Many Americans have become frustrated and disillusioned when weeks and months of search effort have resulted in very few or no employment prospects.   For some of these folks, their job search tactics are not nearly as effective (or smart) as possible.  Some are looking in the wrong places for opportunities, and some don’t really know how to conduct such a search.  Personal habits and old routines are often followed, without much fresh thinking, in the early stages of their searches.  Only failure can cause some to question their self-knowledge or their assumptions about existing job markets.  Deep or extended recessions lead some, though, to reassessing, and even “reinventing,” themselves.   They are able to develop a strategy to better shape themselves and their image to appeal to certain employers.  Such strategies do take some thought and research, but those unemployed or underemployed often have available time for this.

 
Writing a resume is a common approach in trying to get a job.  I’m suggesting that perhaps as helpful of a personal tool or process would be writing a strategic plan for determining a career path, for choosing a particular job market, as well as for marketing oneself for such jobs.