I can see clearly now that the money is gone!

As organizations continue to face massive challenges, more budget cuts and layoffs are inevitable. The WSJ reported today that Liz Claiborne CEO William McComb is flying commercial these days to cut costs. The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) reported on a Watson Wyatt study that U.S compensation committees are continuing to adjust CEO pay plans. And a recent survey from Expertus reveals that roughly 48% of learning executives expect to see decreases rather than increases to their budgets in 2009.

As I've talked and interviewed with colleagues and journalists over the past few weeks, I've given them the typical learning executive mantra that now more than ever "training must be aligned to the business objectives". And almost 100% of the time their retort is "well shouldn't it have been that way all along?". I chuckle now even thinking about their logical but naive question. Of course the obvious answer is "YES!" So what have we been doing? Well not unlike Wall Street, Main Street, GE, Ford, Chrysler, the U.S Government and a host of others, we ignored our better judgment in some cases and thought that it would always be springtime. The sky would always be blue. Flowers would always be in bloom and everything that we touch would prosper and grow. But for those who've been living in a cave, Winter has officially arrived.

As we've seen recently, corporations can be somewhat short-sighted in their pursuit of market share, profit and competitive advantage. This doesn't exclude the training function. During the times of plenty, we implemented programs that had some intrinsic quality of goodness and our gut told us that the organization would realize some benefits from it but we couldn't quite articulate or better yet credibly correlate those benefits to desired business outcomes. Well, those days are over. With limited budgets and resources, learning executives and their teams must now take a step back and assess their portfolio of learning assets and make tough decisions on what stays, what goes and what can be repackaged and repurposed. There needs to be a clear and credible "line of sight" between the programs we deliver and the desired business outcomes. While training cannot claim 100% of the credit for positive results, we certainly aren't in any position to give away any credit that rightly belongs to us. For more information on isolating the effects of training programs, Jack and Patti Phillips of the ROI Institute have done some outstanding work.

So as we settle into winter, can we expect a bailout for corporate training fuctions? Um, probably not. While training departments certainly shouldn't hold their breath waiting for a bailout from the C-Suite, I'm hopeful that we will come out of this better focused and positioned to drive positive performance for decades to come.

I sat down and discussed this topic with journalist Scott Wescott a few weeks ago. Check out his recent article for HR Executive Online.

533,000 jobs lost in Nov 08: I see opportunity!

Today, several news outlets including CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported that an additional 533,000 jobs were lost in November alone which is the highest in over 30 years. The unemployment rate is at 6.7% it's highest level in about 15 years. I think we all agree that most of us have never seen numbers like this in our lifetimes. While attending a Women's Leadership Exchange event last month, the group of women executives was reminded that the Chinese symbol for crisis and opportunity is the same. I remembered hearing it somewhere before but at this time it was particularly relevant. On a national economic level 6.7% unemployment is definitely a crisis that needs to be addressed at the national level by creation of new jobs, restructuring of the financial markets and other things that the government should and can help facilitate. But for the individual, these tough times can represent a new beginning for some.

So, what do you do if you're one of the over 1.5 million people who have lost a job this year? Here's my list of some things that can help turn your personal crisis into a potential opportunity:

1. Research emerging and recession-proof industries. Some industries still manage to do well in a down economy. Research those industries and skill needs in those industries to determine if you have transferable skills. It's important to stay current with what's going on in the overall economy and workforce not just on your former employer and industry.
   Re-skill. Essentially if you're in an industry that has been hit hard and isn't like to recover in the next five years or so, look closely at other industries where your skills may now be in-demand. Where you lack the industry specific skills, get them! Your state's Department of Labor has several great resources to help you with research and your job search.
2. Develop a "career portfolio". If the perfect opportunity presented itself tomorrow, would you be prepared to take advantage of it? If you were with a company for several years and your resume hasn't been updated, it's time to give it an upgrade. The standard resume format and content that was popular 10-12 years ago, won't cut it today. Companies and recruiters want to know less about what you've done and more about the results or outcomes of all your work. You need to have that work documented and compiled in one place. A Career Portfolio should include a brief summary of your professional experience including industries you've worked in, highlights of 4-5 major career accomplishments, work experience with results (not just a list of activities or duties) and sample work products (things you actually produced - widgets, processes, training, improvements, revenue, expense reduction, etc.). Some candidates opt to create their portfolio's as password-protected web pages. This makes it easier to submit to prospective employers and/or clients.
3. Go back to school. If you don't possess some of the critical skills to become or remain viable in a time when the search for jobs is highly competitive, you may need to return to school to obtain new skills. Think carefully about the industry and function you will pursue. It should be something that compliments or builds on existing skillsets and will broaden your level of expertise. At 40 or 50 years old, you don't necessarily want to start over. Also some retirement plans allow for non-penalty withdrawals if you use them to take college-level courses at an accredited institution.
4. Work as an independent contractor. Even though some companies don't have funding for headcount, they do have budgets to hire consultants. Corporate executives know that in times like this, the work still has to get done. So even if they can't afford a permanent full-time resource (fully loaded for benefits and bonuses), they may be willing to outsource the work to an independent consultant. In some cases, you can consult with the employer that just laid you off. Make sure you are up to date on any legal implications and IRS requirements of working as a contract employee.

So, there are lots of opportunities out there for people affected by these massive layoffs. So once you're done crying and panicking and being angry remember, you're not a victim. Your career is yours to control. It always has been!

PeopleBuilders Podcast

The criticality of vision and execution

I, like many others, am struck at the coming together of President-Elect Barack Obama's cabinet members. I start each day reading the latest blogs, vlogs and online articles to find out who he has named and for which post. The observation that many pundits have made regarding his decision to select very experienced "insiders" for key positions is one that bears further investigation.

Since most of my time is spent in the world of leadership development and helping organizations establish high performing teams, I'm all over these cabinet appointments! Obama is doing exactly what I advise organizations and executives to do..."staff your weaknesses". As a leader not only do you have to have a clue about your strengths, you also need to be keenly aware of your weaknesses. It's ridiculous to think that Barack Obama possesses all of the intelligence, insight, temperance, fight, good judgment and wisdom to run this country alone. It's just as ridiculous to assume that our corporate leaders can do their jobs alone. What President-Elect Obama and successful executives have figured out is that you need to put competent people around you with diverse perspectives and who are committed to execute your vision. A cold, hard fact of establishing a team like this also means that sometimes the most qualified person to serve beside you may not be your biggest fan. Great leaders have to be willing to check their egos at the door for the sake of getting the job done. Even if your "rivals" occassionally make your job a bit frustrating, that's the price of sitting in the big chair. You're the leader....LEAD!

In an interview that aired on CNN over the weekend, Obama was asked if he was concerned that appointing so many Washington insiders after he campaigned and won on a platform of change might be seen as hypocritical? He replied that he chose experienced people who he believes will be able to execute but that the changes in vision and the direction the company must go in will come from him. In leadership both vision and the ability to execute are critically important. This is sure to be an interesting study in contemporary leadership principles. I can't wait to see how the next four years unfold!

"He that thinks himself a leader but has no one following him is simply taking a long walk." John C. Maxwell

Innovate without people? Impossible!!!

There's not a company out there that doesn't have growth or innovation as part of its corporate strategy. Despite the global economic challenges we face, most corporate executives remain hopeful that they can develop and implement strategies that will enable them (at some point) to dig themselves and their companies out of this self-made hole in our financial markets. Some of these same executives are under tremendous pressure to cut expenses and some have opted for the "across the board layoffs" that we've seen reported in the news in the past couple of months. As I sat in my banker's office last week, we discussed the pending 53,000 employee layoff announced at Citigroup. In comparison, she mentioned that would be more than the equivalent of my banks entire Southeast region...gone. Erased. Deleted.

So what's my point? People still drive the bus...make the donuts..and are the only real source of competitive advantage a company has. After my more than a decade of experience working with some of this countries top corporations, I know this to be true. Now before you jaded realists delete my blog never to return again, let me assure you that I certainly know that there are times when companies have to make difficult decisions to eliminate jobs and that some of those roles may in fact be critical ones. However, I also know that these decisions are usually made and executed in less time than most companies spend picking out executive office decor. There is no growth without people. There is no innovation without the individual and collective wisdom of talented and skilled people working to execute on forward-moving strategies.

So while it's certain that jobs will be lost, companies need to take care to ensure they aren't losing talented people. Companies must implement and continuously improve processes to assess and develop their talent pools. It's less about an employee's role or title and more about the critical skills, knowledge, abilities and attributes they bring to an organization. It's a matter of value. A critical question that every manager must ask and answer about each member of their team is "would I want Joe The Employee working for our top competitor?" If the answer is "No", then it's obvious that "the company" can't afford to lose him. There's an adage in the Human Resources arena that must be kept in mind -- "tough times don't last but talented people do".

Just think about it...every million dollar idea for a new product or innovative way to capitalize on a market need started as just that...an idea. And last time I checked, people still hold the exclusive patent on those!