Career Insurance - Flying Above the Turbulence Copyright CAUSE 1994. This paper was presented at the 1994 CAUSE Annual Conference held in Orlando, FL, November 29- December 2, and is part of the conference proceedings published by CAUSE. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, that the CAUSE copyright notice and the title and authors of the publication and its date appear, and that notice is given that copying is by permission of CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources in higher education. To copy or disseminate otherwise, or to republish in any form, requires written permission from CAUSE. For further information: CAUSE, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 302E, Boulder, CO 80301; 303-449-4430; e-mail info@cause.colorado.edu CAREER INSURANCE - FLYING ABOVE THE TURBULENCE Shane Putman Sr. Systems Analyst / Adjunct Professor of MIS Dallas Baptist University 3000 Mountain Creek Parkway Dallas, Texas 75211-9299 (214)333-5156 (P) (214)333-5164 (F) ABSTRACT This paper will allow the information systems professional to identify exactly where he or she resides on the continuum of the 'change' paradigm currently captivating the executive minds of our society. As hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies 'downsize' or 'rightsize,' the resulting tensions cannot help having detrimental effects if allowed to progress unchecked. The paper reinforces how those who deal with daily technological change must evolve using concepts explained with future-based personal development strategy models. The 'age of specialization' is over. Executives embark on rampages requiring greater results on less money and fewer personnel, and 'closet programmers' may no longer be welcome. The primary element ensuring continuing personal growth, security, and advancement is presented with suggested means of attaining the necessary personal skill set to survive and advance amid the turbulence of the 'nanosecond nineties'. THE WORD Turbulent -- (adjective) wild or disorderly; full of violent motion [Webster's New World Dictionary] THE PROBLEM No other adjective could describe as well the times in which we now live. With the advent of downsizing, rightsizing, and reengineering, we spend much time and effort attempting to penetrate the haze of the future and prepare accordingly. The current trend in organizational structures is an intense drive to increasingly accomplish more work with fewer resources. Unfortunately, the resources many organizations are cutting back on include their employees. On May 9 of this year Business Week reported that since 1991 approximately 624,000 employees have been released by the 25 most-reduced companies. How do we survive these 'nanosecond nineties'? As informationprofessionals, we must dedicate ourselves to continuous, self-motivated personal growth, security and advancement. In essence, we must learn to fly above the turbulence. THE REASON To accomplish this lofty goal, we must first understand the underlying currents that are driving todays organizational events. To protect ourselves from the chaotic environments we sometimes find ourselves, we need to understand why the environment is so turbulent. Once we identify the causes, we have the framework from which we derive our individual strategies to protect ourselves as much as possible. How do we judge what tools are necessary for this? My suggested answer is we must first judge the environment itself in which we are operating. The only way to match our skill set to future career requirements is to grasp what our environment as a whole will require. One good way to anticipate environmental demand is to utilize the concept of 'environmental turbulence' as referring to today's global competitive environment. Turbulence usually rates on a scale of 1 through 5. The slower and more predictable the environment is, the lower the environmental turbulence. The more chaotic, complex, novel and changeable the environment is, the more we labeled it as 'highly turbulent.' The higher the turbulence level, the more flexible and changeable an organization must be to survive and flourish. The primary characteristic of high turbulence environments is that of being nonextrapolative, or different from the present. The higher education field has a turbulence level approaching level 4. As seen in Figure 1, the environment is one of rapid change, capacity outpacing demand, and aggressive, competition. The necessary conclusion is that organizations must match their internal structure and capabilities to the environment in order to meet future demands. In Figure 2, we see exactly what factors to examine for determining the future potential of the entire organization. [FIGURES NOT AVAILABLE IN ASCII VERSION] As the environment moves up the turbulence scale toward level 5, the resulting changes pressure organizations to adjust accordingly. However, the focus of this paper is on the final category, capacity. Specifically, the focus is the capacity and capabilities of the most important resource -- the people. Today's roles and requirements of Information Systems (I.S.) personnel have evolved to a much higher level of active organizational participation. The demands on us are greater than ever before. Once, the majority of I.S. staff communicated with a direct supervisor, manager, or technical liaison only. Today, entry-level programmer/analysts must be able to interact with all organizational levels from data entry clerk to CEO. As the demands of our career change, so must we. As an organization must increase its internal turbulence level to match that of the external environment, so must each employee make the effort to match their personal turbulence level to the same standard. As the environmental flux around us increases, it is imperative that we develop the flexibility and adaptiveness to survive. Career advancement will truly become survival of the fittest. Only by matching our individual turbulence levels to the environment may we aid our quest for continued advancement and success. THE RESPONSE "We want every person to be a businessperson." Ralph Stayer CEO, Johnsonville Foods, Inc. November 1990 In the same way that your institution must gauge the future and adjust, so must each of us read the future and prepare ourselves accordingly. Today's technical personnel must develop a 'multistock portfolio' of skills and strengths. Those familiar with investments know that a portfolio consisting of stocks that are unrelated carries the least amount of risk. In addition, developing varied stocks of personal skills lessens your risk of an employment 'market crash.' As mentioned before, the future will become more nonextrapolative. The career development strategies handed to us in the past will no longer meet the requirements of our environments. The ritualized 'ladder of success' personnel development programs used by many organizations do not take into account the changing demands on employees. In addition to job-specific training and education (hard skills), there needs to be an instilling of more general strengths that applies to any position (soft skills). Listed below are these characteristics of survival in high turbulence environments. Identifying -- anticipating needs of your organization. Become affiliated with your firm's management elite, or those 'in the know.' Learn what your firm's directions are and examine your areas of operations to insure that your activities are not in conflict. Being able to identify future trends could possibly be our greatest aid to advancement. Preparing -- having answers ready before the questions. This means reading and research. Be aware of current trends not only in the technical arenas but also your industry. This aids in identifying future opportunities also. Live by strategic planning. Never begrudge the time -- the job you save may be your own. Marketing -- where most highly technical people fall by the wayside. To advance, you have to enjoy the limelight, accept scrutiny, and be visible. Most of all, avoid the 'us vs. them' syndrome. Alienation does not win friends and influence people, at least positively. When dealing with resistance or apathy to your ideas, always relate your plans and projects to achieving organizational goals. This ensures the success of the entire enterprise and identifies you as a team player. Facilitating -- taking our fabulous ideas and making them happen. You will have to deal with people constantly -- messy, emotional, illogical, and seemingly endless series of interpersonal struggles. However, in any organization, the only way to major accomplishments is through groups of people. The better we work with others, the more we will accomplish. Implementation -- As you climb the career ladder, daily routine moves from task-based to project- and goal-based. Fortunately, if we achieve the skills discussed here, the vision necessary to make the transition is almost a side- effect. OK, now we have our goals and direction. Where do we go from here? How we take these five characteristics of survivors and incorporate them? How do we weigh our present strengths and skills in relation to what see needed in the future? One simple yet highly informative method uses a variation of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) product decision matrix. The matrix is composed of two axes, the X-axis for the present level of competence, and the Y-axis for the potential future reward for acquiring or possessing that skill. Figure 3 gives a hypothetical example of this skill chart. [FIGURE NOT AVAILABLE IN ASCII VERSION] This overview gives us a visual aid to see the strengths and weaknesses of our individual skill sets. The skills we have that are charted in Quadrant One are money in the bank. These skills are attractive for the future and we have developed the necessary level of expertise. Those skills that fall in Quadrant Two are those that will require further investment. These skills are what we need to align our personal goals to acquiring. The items in Quadrant Three are those that need no more investment of time or training. We have become highly proficient, but there is a declining need for these particular tools. The items in Quadrant Four are those with no particular place in the future and unworthy of our time or resources. As we view each personal strength or skill in terms of its future growth and advancement potential, directions for continuing professional development tend to become obvious and imperative. THE ACTION PLAN Not intimately knowing your organization's business limits advancement and long-term survival may be questionable. The simplest way to expand your horizon is acquiring a variety of literature dealing with business topics, both general and industry-specific. Beyond that, I recommend entering graduate school or other course of study for an MBA or equivalent. You will expose yourself to new ideas, methods, and acquire the vocabulary necessary to communicate with many highest level administrators. Become a communications expert. Managers spend up to 90% of their time communicating. Learn to speak confidently and well, if necessary with speech training. Take a business writing course. Learning to say much in few words is invaluable in communicating with a busy executive. Unless you communicate your ideas, enthusiasm, and convictions effectively, your efforts will be hindered if not halted. Consider cross-training with other organizational functions. Know the core activities of your business, even if it means being 'in the field' for a time. Our positions on campus frequently require intensive interaction with the faculty. What better way to build relationships and enhance rapport than teaching a few classes? A primary guideline for interpersonal communications is the development of rapport among the party or parties trying to communicate. Sharing experiences as well as vocabulary enhances the clarity of these communication channels. SUMMARY The world continues to change. However, the very character of today's changes is different from those of 20 or even 10 years ago. No longer are organizations progressing along an 'evolutionary' path. Today's universities and colleges are moving along 'revolutionary' paths. The institution of higher education of the future will bear little resemblance to the staid halls of learning from which we graduated. As competition for students becomes more intense, so will the pressure on university administrations to become more aggressive and innovative. Especially among the smaller public and private universities, there will be a continued drive to provide high quality services to the student with severely limited resources. This competition will permeate the entire organization. The only question will be involve whether or not we have what it takes to compete, survive, and flourish. Only by developing the traits of the survivors will our potential for success be insured. Only by actually developing ourselves above and beyond today's expectations will we be ready to meet and beat the future and the turbulence sure to come. SUGGESTED RESOURCE LIST Communications _How to be a Great Communicator: In Person, on Paper, and on the Podium_, Nido Qubein, Nightingale Conant, Chicago, Ill., (800)323-5552. Tape Series _Business Writing for Results_, Fred Pryor Seminars, Pryor Resources, Shawnee Mission, KS., (800)255-6139. Seminar Materials. _Business Communications Workbook_, Raymond A. Dumont, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Mass. _McGraw-Hill Guide to Effective Communications for MIS Professionals, Larry M. Singer, McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, NY. Change Management Managing Change_, Todd D. Jick, Richard D. Irwin, Inc., Homewood, Ill.