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The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C., Ken Burger columnFeb 02, 2010 (The Post and Courier - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Chances are you're a worker bee, like the rest of us, showing up every day and wondering what in the world your bosses do in their fancy offices all day. While you're at your desk making or selling widgets, you see your boss yakking on the telephone, noodling on the computer, going out to lunch and holding meetings with other big-shot bosses. There have been times, no doubt, when you envied that person with the corner office, figured you could do their job and wondered when the company was going to recognize your innate abilities and pay you what you're really worth. Well, first of all, in this economy, be glad you have a job at all. And, secondly, you might be surprised to know what your boss is dealing with these days. Because this is not your grandfather's economy. Strategies have changed overnight. The old business models are in the shredder and the future is a hazy horizon. John Clarkin is an associate professor for entrepreneurial studies at the College of Charleston. He says the future of business will have little resemblance to the past. "Basically, all the chaff has been weeded out," Clarkin said. "The weak companies are all gone. What's out there now are the real survivors." And it's not just the businesses. It's the people. "The people who are employed now are the real talented people," Clarkin said. "And they should be very happy to have their jobs because things have ramped up. "If your company has a position open up, your boss is confronted with this huge labor pool and will get hundreds of applicants for that job from people who are especially agile because they are lean and they are survivors. So it's a jungle out there." And it's changing every day. So your boss sits there, looking through a glass darkly, trying to figure out how to approach an uncertain future. "Doing things the way you used to do them is out the window," Clarkin said. "If that was your business model -- we're successful so we're going to keep on doing it that way -- that doesn't work any more." In other words, your boss can't tread water. He or she can't afford to be sitting at the board room table when the shareholders bring up a situation and they have to say, "Oh, well, I never thought of that." Their job is to think of that, and figure out what to do about that, before somebody else does. "This is a critical time for entrepreneurial thinking, for adaptability and critical thinking," Clarkin said. "It's needed in every organization now." So, while you're at it, you better quit rolling your eyes about the job your boss is doing and worry a little more about the job you are doing. Because, like the man said, it's a jungle out there. Reach Ken Burger at [email protected] or 937-5598. To see more of The Post and Courier, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.charleston.net. Copyright (c) 2010, The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |