Toronto, February 14, 2011
We’re almost at the fifty-day mark of 2011. In dog years, an entire year has already passed. It’s been epic. The climate is changing dramatically, both physically and metaphysically. As Elisabeth Rosenthal asks in the February 13 issue of the New York Times: “What happens when 100 year storms are seen every 10 years, and 10 year storms become regular events? How many structures will reach their limits?”
My question is “How many people will reach their limits?” And my answer is “all of us”. 10-year storms are becoming regular events. The difference between the champions and the also-rans is whether our limits become boundaries that constrain us or turning points that redefine us. It’s that bipolar. Either we thrive on storms, or they swamp us. We seize the moment or we seize-up in the moment.
At the beginning of February, I hosted the 2011 HRPA Annual Conference for 2500 HR Professionals across Ontario and the rest of the world. The theme of the event was “Turning Trends To Your Advantage”. For three days, I polled delegates on their perception of what it takes to win in 2011. I then correlated their responses with the Environics Social Values Trends to discern the Ten Winning People-Trends of 2011. Some may strike you as self-evident and some may come as a surprise. But all of them will help you win in 2011:
1st Winning Trend: Enjoy Your Work
This is the Uber-Trend. It’s the antidote to the post traumatic stress following the meltdown of 2008 and 2009. It’s about the pursuit of happiness in the pursuit of revenue. It’s the Fun-Factor that makes the Extra-Effort worthwhile. It’s about the smile, the laugh, and the special touches that elevate people’s moods in difficult times. Sometimes it’s embedded in the culture, and sometimes it’s the initiative flowing from a specific colleague or manager. But with so much time being spent at work, it’s important all the time. So ask yourself how much fun it is to be around you? Do others work with you because they have to? Or because they want to? No Kill-Joys Allowed.
2nd Winning Trend: Be Inspired
Closely aligned with the first trend, this trend is the emotional engine that drives superior performance. As Nietzsche stated, “He who has a WHY to live, can bear almost any HOW”. It’s about being inspired by a higher motive. It’s about hiring out one’s heart as well as one’s head and hands. It’s about making a difference in something that makes a difference. It’s a 50:50 partnership between the employer and staff. It’s not the industry that defines the Inspiration Quotient; it’s the perception of the role that one plays in other’s lives. Inspiration can be the ultimate Game-Changer when everything else is commoditized. So how inspired are you? Are just laying rocks? Or are you creating a cathedral?
3rd Winning Trend: Thrive on Austerity
The tide isn’t rising. As a rule, the market in North America isn’t growing. 1-3% growth may be the order of the decade. The mantra of the workplace is “cheaper, leaner, better, faster.” The winners are the “Adaptive Navigators” of the New Austerity. Their true resources are internal, not external. Their ingenuity increases in direct proportion to the challenges facing them. They feel the fear, but they alchemize it into excitement. They are confident in their ability and courageous in their actions. They back themselves especially when their backs are against the wall. They are the people everyone is looking for. So how lean are you? How are you demonstrating your ability to deliver a lot more for a lot less? And how skilled are you at helping the people around you travel light?
4th Winning Trend: Matrix Yourself
Hierarchy is so boomer. The new reality is about heterarchy – where leaders and followers are interchangeable depending on circumstances. The matrix is the message. Dotted lines connect everyone to everyone so everyone has a license to create a better way. Influence is earned daily. Authority is by invitation only. Informal power and formal structures overlap. Titles are inevitable, and they’re even respected but they’re merely a credential. Whether it’s a commercial bank or a computer start-up, the passion for talent is egalitarian in the champion organizations. So how flat is your world? How accessible are you to others – both physically and psychically? Are you managing by title? Or are you leading by example?
5th Winning Trend: Maximize Your Personal Value
In stripped-down organizations, the individual is decisive. When the rubber meets the road, it all comes down to the quality of the conversation between the representative and his/her client/customer. The bigger the scale, the more important every interaction becomes. Whether it’s an airline or a law firm, the individual is the ambassador of the company and the company is judged by the individuals it keeps. The winners appreciate their power and they exercise it every time. They play their A-Game and they keep raising it. They captivate their customers and they coach their own managements. So how accountable are you for making a difference? Are you aware of your own power? Because with great power comes great responsibility (with acknowledgement to Uncle Ben, Spiderman’s uncle).
6th Winning Trend: Brand Yourself Fabulously
It’s one thing to maximize your value, it’s another to communicate it fabulously. The winners understand perception is reality. They know they’re defined by their words and actions. They’re conscious of themselves but they’re not self-conscious. They do whatever it takes to delight others. They understand how to differentiate themselves not just through the value they deliver, but how they make others feel while they deliver it. And by the way, this applies as much to corporations as it does to individuals. Function and feeling are intertwined. Show them the money, but show them the love as well. So what’s your story? What is your Magnetic Promise? What sets you apart from everyone else in your space? Why would the best customers want to buy from you? And why would the best performers want to partner with you?
7th Winning Trend: Cross The Generational Divide
The Generational Divide may be smaller than you think. Boomers and Gen Xers are already close. But Boomers and Gen Yers can get even closer. There is a middle path where they can meet to create remarkable results. The best Boomers have the wisdom to meet Gen Yers more than halfway. With more than half the workforce over 40, they still have the power but they’re learning a new game that’s being defined by the Gen Yers. Experience can be a liability if it’s rooted in obsolete realities. The most successful organizations are characterized by a mutual admiration for each other. Mentoring flows both ways. Age has its advantages but youth has technology. So how supportive are you to the generations around you? Are you reaching out or shutting down? Remember, if you’re open to others they’ll open you up as well.
8th Winning Trend: Master The Rules
In a post excess reality, every category is being constrained by terms of compliance that can verge on insanity. It’s as much about doing things right as it is about doing the right things. The pendulum has swung to the extreme and it may be a while before it swings back. So don’t complain, comply. The champions treat compliance like gravity. It is what it is. They operate within it. They’re creative in the space open to them. They don’t allow the “administrivia” to excuse them for not excelling. The process is not the enemy but one’s attitude can be. So how compliant are you? Have you mastered the rules of your game? Compliance can set you free to go deep on what really matters.
9th Winning Trend: Build Your Social Graph.
Your commercial worth is a direct function of the number of people you influence. Connections are the new currency. You need to be LinkedIn, Facebooked and Twittered. But networking means a lot more than working the net. It means talking to people in person and by phone – especially if they come from a different place to you. It means building social reciprocity by reaching out and giving more to others than they expect. It means being personally philanthropic so you build passionate promoters – people who become your advocates because you make a massive difference to them. It must be authentic. It doesn’t matter whether you’re naturally gregarious or not. What matters is how much you matter to as many people as possible. So whom have you helped today? And how many more can you help?
10th Winning Trend: Train To Win
Everybody loves to win but only a few love to train. Less than one out of five people have a regimented training plan – mental and physical. The urgent things are so pressing that we don’t find time for the things that are really powerful. It’s not about time-management. It’s about priority management. What matters most should receive the most time, right? But it’s the opposite. On both a corporate and an individual level, the winners find the time for what counts. They expand their capacity to be remarkable so they achieve more without doing more. So how are you training to win? What’s your plan? And how disciplined are you in executing it?
Those are my Ten Winning People-Trends of 2011. I hope they’ve enriched your perspective and energized you to be more. Let me know. This is Mike Lipkin, and until the next time, remember: There are so many people counting on you to be your best. As you step up, you take them all with you.
