Creativity, risk-taking needed in upheaval

Q: My industry is going through tons of changes, and I'm paralyzed about directing my career. How do you decide on career directions when your whole industry is in chaos?

A: I'm receiving this question from readers in every industry right now. Many industries are in crisis because the old way of doing business isn't producing the profit or results the industry expects. But new avenues of doing business are untested and risky.

Many of my readers and clients are blaming themselves for this state of affairs rather than noticing that old business models are falling apart across the country, not just in their department.

Here are the new rules of the game called work:

1. The future (and the profit) will belong to pioneers who can move from paralysis to risk-taking because all new avenues for business are untested and may fail.

2. Don't just go for the short-term money; look at the long-term needs of your customers. Jobs will come and go, but having a track record of creatively benefiting your market will keep you employed.

3. Realize there is no "Guru of Everything" in any industry right now. Rules are changing so fast that your evaluation of your choices may be better than that of any expert in your industry.

4. Don't just follow your head in making career decisions. Your heart often will help you think in ways that set you apart from others in your field. Think like your customer and ask yourself what would be the most fun for you to pursue.

5. Fear is not an option for anyone employed today, but your decision about how to handle fear is.

6. Imagine there were no rules in your industry. If you had to reinvent your field from the ground up simply using your common sense, what do you think needs to be done?

The old ways of doing business are going down like the Titanic, and your career will go down with them if you refuse to reorient the compass on your career path.

Research from the Titanic shows that the reason so many lifeboats were launched half-full is passengers refused to believe the boat was going down.

The last word(s)

Q: Do some people simply not care about how they affect other people?

A: Yes.

Daneen Skube, Ph.D., is an executive coach, trainer, therapist, speaker and author of "Interpersonal Edge: Breakthrough Tools for Talking to Anyone, Anywhere, About Anything" (Hay House, 2006). She can be reached by e-mail at interpersonaledge@comcast.net; or at www.interpersonaledge.com. Sorry, no personal replies. To read other Daneen Skube columns, go to www.seattletimes.com/daneenskube