During the layoffs of the early 1990’s, IBM asked everyone to put their resumes on-line. This had a catalyzing effect on many levels. One is that it forced employees to realize that they had nothing new to add for years of same service work. The market would not reward them the way IBM paternalistically had. They had to face their vulnerability. Too often people get in a groove that becomes a rut, and then, if they aren’t careful, it becomes a grave.

Unfortunately and surprisingly, this confirms what studies have shown: that as a person’s expertise grows, the less motivated they are to learn. And yet scholars consistently point out “motivation to learn” as a key leadership skill. Why does this gap exist? How does this on-the-job fossilization occur? Clearly this points to an opportunity for those that do proactively grow their skills and have more opportunities than those that do not.

For example, as consultants that are rewarded to know what is valued in the marketplace, we actively work to understand what it is now and how it is changing. We have, for example, seen a shift from cost reduction engagements (such as business process improvement work) to business expansion projects (new product and market expansion work). We would be interested in your feedback regarding the skills that you see the market needing more of in the immediate future. Please send an email to mcook@ageos1.com, and we’ll include it in future columns.

What steps should you take now? How do you create a strategy to build your intellectual capital? When our company does strategic planning with our clients, there are three questions to be answered that fit well at a personal strategic planning level as well:

1. Where am I today?
2. Where do I want to be tomorrow?
3. How do I get there?

Join us for upcoming articles as we walk through this framework to build a roadmap for raising your value.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

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