In Jim Collins’ book, Great by Choice, he writes about
a few simple traits that the leaders of great thriving businesses in tumultuous
times share. The one that stands out for
me is “hypervigilance”. These leaders live
with the expectation that change happens. They prepare for the worst. Bill Gates strove
to have cash reserves that would cover the operations of his company for one
year without income.
The vast majority of people I am meeting do not possess this
trait. They are slowly beginning to
doubt the positive economic spin by the media (after 5 years), but continue to
do nothing and cling to the “hope for the best”. Three facts that have been in front of our
noses for the past year are not wasted on the “hypervigilant”:
1. 77% of all jobs being created since January
1, 2013 are part time.
2. The number of jobs in America currently are
no where near where they were in 2007.
The reports range anywhere from 1 million to 11 million fewer jobs today
than in 2007. It is a very wide
range. Even at the very least, we have lost a huge number of jobs.
3. Next is the fact of who our employers
are. Who are the four biggest employers
in the private sector? We would love to
hear it is Microsoft Standard Oil, GM or US Steel. However, the top four actually are: Walmart,
Kelly Temp Services, McDonald’s, and
Taco Bell. Tell me what you think your potential for a successful career is
with any of these four?
For starters, what do you think about
your chances for a full time job?
So,
what does this mean? It means people
should be taking action, not sitting still with a “wait and see” attitude. Multiple
Streams of Income is a strategy gaining greater consideration. Since all jobs
are TEMPORARY, whether you know it or not, isn’t it logical to look for ways to
spread the risk? Every opportunity you
hear of, should be explored. Of course,
there are good and bad opportunities. So
what? If you want to be successful, you
will undertake the burden of evaluating the options out there. I have been evaluating home based businesses
for years. I’ve found one that is
exceptional and would be happy to explain it when you’re ready to take a
look.
Great info, Bill. As a recruiter I see people continually looking for that $50-60000/yr J O B that will make everything peachy. That is until they really look at their true expenses. Until you put it into black and white, the rank and file worker will never get off the spinning wheel. Not unless they have a backup plan.
ReplyDeleteMike Kalaskie