Compliments of: Janine Moon, MA, Career & Business Coach
	CompassPoints
October 2003	CP Coaching	Execunet	Get-It Columbus
Columbus Senior Roundtable Thurs, Oct 16/03 7:30 to 9:30 am Wedgewood Golf & Country Club Register by Oct 14: Link to Register Execunet Meeting Thurs, Oct 23/03 7:30 to 9:30 am Bank One Corporate Register by Oct 21: Link to Register Great Resource: Find two excellent articles by Denise Lang at Boomer Career.com- "Think Like An Independent Vendor, Not an Employee," and "Richard Bolles: Values & Awareness are the Strongest Parachutes." You must register to access the articles, but registration is free and you are NOT bombarded with mailings! It's worth the time to register to have access to the weekly information. Link here. CompassPoints Subscription? To sign-up for our monthly newsletter: Subscribe If you’d rather not receive CompassPoints: UnSubscribe Janine Moon CompassPoint Coaching LLC 2015 Arlington Ave Columbus, Ohio 43212 U.S.A. Tel: 614.488-6876 Fax: 614.488-1458 Email Janine We’re on the Web! Link to CPCoaching Copyright (c) 2003 Janine Moon CompassPoint Coaching	Keeping up with revolution To most of us, the buzz words “knowledge economy” mean computers and the internet. The most dire prophecy around technology – that people would be replaced by computers – has not occurred, although automation continues to advance certain processes. Many other technological investments are showing returns, however, as productivity improvements continue in varied technology sectors. Whatever the business, we’ll continue to face significant changes in how we accomplish work. Business structures are morphing, systems and procedures are being eliminated. Corporate hierarchy as well as policies and procedures have been found to slow customer response time and competitive activities, and are therefore being scrutinized and revised. Guidelines and principles, self-directed teams and personal accountability are the “structures” that will allow businesses to stay agile and competitive. There’s no doubt that personal productivity looks different and is different today – as is the marketplace. Thirty years ago, your competitors may have been in Ohio or the Midwest, or maybe as far away as the South. This competition may have slowed your growth, but your costs of doing business were pretty similar. Today, every local business is competing with businesses around the world as well as the lower labor costs of doing business overseas. While businesses must excel in quality, more strategic business decisions are including offshore outsourcing and the estimated savings of up to 40 percent. Since 1994 we’ve seen about 3 million manufacturing jobs go overseas, to countries with lower labor costs. Other lower-skilled jobs began leaving in 1996-97. This “trend” isn’t a “trend”…it’s an increasingly common business strategy. In fact, recent research says US companies will send 3.3 million jobs overseas in the next 12 years, primarily to India and China. It is expected that, over the next 5 years, banks, insurance firms and financial services firms plan to ship over one half million jobs abroad. It isn’t just technical support that is going overseas…transfers include financial research and analysis and accounting. The next logical moves include more complex financial skills and business development, and yet another researcher says one out of ten tech jobs will be offshore by the end of 2003. Businesses expect to cut overall costs 25 to 40 percent and build a more stable, intent work force here at home. As a growth strategy, this labor outsourcing will continue to expand and create change in the business economy – change to which we all must adjust. As we move further into the knowledge economy, changes that impact productivity, globalization and business structure will increase – and business change will continue even as our economy improves. Change in our business world is not going to stop or slow down. The economic recovery we’re “waiting for” is going to look different…because we’re in the midst of the shift from the industrial economy to the knowledge economy…and it won’t be comfortable for awhile! Those who succeed in this new marketplace will revise their perceptions of "business reality," upgrade their skills and mindsets, and plan to make the changes work to their advantage. Marshall Goldsmith- “Nothing about this economy prevents you from pursuing your long-term dreams. There are tons of options. It’s just that most of those options involve work.” Art of self-promotion Experts say you can be at the top of your technical field but your career prospects can still suffer if you are unable to sell yourself effectively. You might feel uncomfortable about blowing your own horn, but if your boss doesn’t know about your daily activities, strong teamwork, or other ongoing accomplishments, how will you get recognized? Seek out opportunities to share your insight and expertise, and give your subordinates a chance to show their abilities too. Be your own career ‘boss’ Successful people in today's workplace see themselves as independent consultants... whether they work for themselves or for an employer. They focus clearly on using their skills and abilities to solve problems... whether for a client, a colleague or an employer. They market themselves continually to their stakeholders: employers, internal and external customers, directors and clients. Learning to manage your own career is your number one priority in defining your career success. As a coach, I help you define where you are, where you want to be and actions to help you get there. -JM If you have thought about coaching, but just aren’t sure how to begin, call or e-mail me, I’ll introduce you to coaching and you can “try it on” with no commitment, only learning! – JM Until next month... “Creative ideas reside in people’s minds but are trapped by fear or rejection. Create a judgment-free environment and you’ll unleash a torrent of creativity."  ~ Alex Osborn ~Please feel free to pass along this newsletter to someone else who can benefit from reading it~