Given recent turmoil in the financial industry, and the resulting losses in jobs for many in banking and directly related fields, it is natural for people observing these unprecedented events to bring their own jobs into focus: Are my job and business secure in this environment? What do I do if they are not?
I believe there are three levels of approach to a career, and each one has a certain degree of susceptibility to the type of dramatic event we have seen occur over the past two weeks in the financial sector:
Level 1: You focus on doing what you do well, improving and deepening existing skills
Level 2: While attaining Level 1, you also understand how your job relates to other aspects of your company's business and industry, working to strengthen your position in this context
Level 3: While attaining the first two levels, you understand how your company's business relates to the world and global competition, working to strengthen your position in this context
If you are in Level 1, you are part of the most vulnerable/interchangeable group in today's rapidly globalizing world. If you are part of Level 2, you have likely attained some sustainability in your field or industry and will survive the normal business cycle of upturns and downturns. If you are part of Level 3, you will be resilient enough to survive even the complete elimination of your industry or field--for example, when computers replaced typewriters, cars replaced buggies, etc.
Level 3 people are characterized by higher degrees of adaptability--they learn quicker and are comfortable working with many different subjects. Behind this is the ability to quickly identify patterns, relationships, and general commonalities across multiple fields and concepts. Because of this, they work well across borders, across cultures, across languages, etc.--they are cross-functional, horizontal thinkers that can dig deeper into a subject when required, and within a globalized context.
Supply chain management integrates so many disciplines and is extended across so many borders in today's global economy, it naturally attracts Level 3 people as an ideal profession for utilizing their skills. From an HR perspective, it is also a natural profession for developing and in-sourcing this talent from the ranks of successful Level 2 employees.
As an individual, it is important to objectively understand what level you are at and then pursue ways of building on your capabilities. Level 1 may be exactly where you want to be, but it is important to understand the implications when faced with the kind of adversity that exists in a globalized world. Unfortunately, many of us at this level figure things out only after a plant has shut down, a product goes obsolete, or our job is shifted to a country where it is done cheaper and faster and at similar quality levels.
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