July 2003
Best Performing Individuals have Two Vital Qualities
By
President of Workforce Associates
and author of
NetWork: Maximizing Your Career Resources on the Internet
Available online and in print from Author House
July 2003
Best Performing Individuals have Two Vital Qualities
By
President of Workforce Associates
and author of
NetWork: Maximizing Your Career Resources on the Internet
Available online and in print from Author House
1) They are Entrepreneurial
The latest Miliken Institute report about Best Performing Cities notes that one of the most important criteria that was measured was the extent of entrepreneurism. As the study noted,
"Entrepreneurs are necessary visionaries of the economic potential of new technologies and how to apply them to business concept innovations. Fast-growing, entrepreneurial companies epitomize regional economic dynamism. For a metro area to be a successful over the long haul, it has to have capable entrepreneurs. Over the long-term, cities with strength in entrepreneurship will be among our Best Performing Cities."
And it goes on to define the qualities of these entrepreneurial people:
"A region’s most important source of competitive advantage is the knowledge embedded in its people. In the past, firms attracted people; in the current, increasingly intangible economy, concentrations of talent are attracting firms. The knowledge, skills, experience and innovative potential of talented individuals have greater value than capital equipment. A successful enterprise accesses, creates and utilizes knowledge to sustain competitive advantage."
How do you know if you have the entrepreneurial bug? Sometimes you have no choice, as if the cases in this economy where laid off professionals often find themselves between jobs for more than six months. Well, help is on the way. In fact it was on the way in 1994 when We are All Self-Employed first came out. Cliff Hakim, the author, didn’t coin the term, "free agent" but he certainly set the stage by addressing the well-known concerns that folks who have only wage/salary orientation to take the big step and go out on their own.
I was delighted to see the Hakim’s book received long overdue praise in a recent issue of the Financial Times of London. Add the Financial Times to your list of must-read publications. This "pink paper" (actually peach in color but certainly not pinko in orientation!) has a special "Careers" section in every Friday paper. I regularly find fascinating articles with different twists to the conundrums of job searching. I was also pleased to discover the Hakim is updating this book with diverse and relevant "self-leadership" stories that show how people have succeeded in becoming self-employed.
So check out how your own city fares as an entrepreneurial place. If it rates highly, then chances are good that there are many clubs and networking opportunities for you to connect with other entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and sympathetic folks who will vet your business plan. Check out Bizjournals.com for the business journal in your area that lists club meetings. If you look under "venture club" in Google, you’ll find many venture clubs around the country. At the Indiana Venture Club website, you’ll find many links to entrepreneurial resources and related organizations. Your local Small Business Administration, Chamber of Commerce, and SCORE chapter will also help you find many local kindred spirits!
2) They communicate well.
Another dynamite article on the subject of job searching came from Sue Shellenbarger of The Wall Street Journal. Sue writes every Thursday about "Work & Family," another must-read for job searchers. She suggests a new form of prenuptial agreement that will knock your socks off! This is one that defines whose job comes first, who will stay home with kids, etc. Here is a list of questions that she strongly urges that young people, as well as those of us who are married, candidly discuss and write down:
- What happens to finances/further education/career changes, etc. if the breadwinner is laid off?
- How many work hours are too many? In other words, this is the time to confess whether you’re a Workaholic or prefer Work/life balance.
- What takes priority — work or family?
- Will we transfer for a job, and if so, whose job and how often?
All good questions that too often engaged couples avoid until they head to divorce court, instead of working them out prior to walking down the aisle.
Have a wonderful 4th of July. Declare your independence, as Hakim suggests, and become a free agent/entrepreneur. At the same time, declare your interdependence by talking to your fiancé/mate about the economic implications of your marriage.
All the best -- Keep sending me your comments and resumes to vet at jlommel@WorkforceAssociates.com
References
Miliken Institute. Look at their exhaustive list of impressive studies as well as "Best Performing Cities" study.
Cliff Hakim, We are all Self Employed, the New Social Contract for Working in a Changed World. Berret-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco, 1994.
Sue Shellenbarger, "The New Prenup: Planning Whose Job Comes First, Who Stays Home with Kids", The Wall Street Journal, page D1, June 26, 2003.
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation that encourages entrepreneurism at any age. This foundation has released a new study entitled "The Entrepreneur Next Door." This national, multi-year study tracks a group of emerging entrepreneurs as they progress through the entrepreneurial process, revealing that attempts at new business formation are more widespread than previously disclosed and involve all racial and ethnic groups. It also has extensive resources for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial wannabees to tap.
PAIRS Foundation (Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills) of Weston, Florida that focuses on marriage education programs that include economically based pre-nuptial agreements.
Life Innovations that also provides marriage education programs with a work-oriented feature.
SCORE, "Counselors to America's Small Business," is a nonprofit association dedicated to providing entrepreneurs with free, confidential face-to-face and email business counseling. Business counseling and workshops are offered at 389 chapter offices across the country.
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