In an age of economic turmoil, business failure, and downsizing, simply being good at your job is no longer good enough. To weather the storm and emerge as a survivor it is vital to be a key contributor within your organization-to be someone who is considered indispensable. The Organization Survivor model is a practical tool based on hundreds of surveys of hiring managers and survivors of downsizing, conducted in companies ranging from Fortune 100 to small entrepreneurial start-ups. Here is a blueprint for individual survival and ultimate success inside the new organization. Learn how to survive downsizing and keep your job while thousands of other talented individuals are losing theirs. Assess and sharpen your organization "survival skills" and put yourself in the forefront of key contributors within your organization. Multiply your personal power by perfecting two key "survival instincts" that lay the groundwork for high-performance. Stock your survival toolkit with the four critical "survival skills" that will make you indispensable to your company. Create a foolproof plan to ensure your survivability and establish your reputation as a key performer in your organization. Don’t leave your future to chance!

Survive Downsizing

How to Keep Your Job and Become Indispensable to Your CompanyBy Donald J. Minnick

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2009 Donald J. Minnick
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4401-6410-1

Contents

Preface The World Has Changed ... and So Has the Workplace.....................................................ixIntroduction...................................................................................................xiHow I Met the Organization Survivor............................................................................xiiiHow This Book Will Help You Become Indispensable to Your Company...............................................xviiHow This Book Is Different.....................................................................................xviiChapter One The Two Survival Instincts That Will Protect Your Job in Tough Economic Times......................1What Our Surveys Revealed......................................................................................1Measure Your Survival Instincts................................................................................2What You Know ... Instinctively................................................................................5Personal Initiative............................................................................................6The Organization Driver........................................................................................6The Organization Survivor meets Survivor.......................................................................14Stock Your Organization Survival Kit...........................................................................15Build Your Personal Initiative: Become an Organization Driver..................................................15Capacity for Collaboration.....................................................................................22Involve Others and Multiply Your Impact........................................................................22Grow Your Capacity for Collaboration: Get the Right People on the Bus and Get On With Them.....................30The Survival Skills Emerge.....................................................................................34Chapter Two Mental Agility: Corporate Quick-Change Artistry....................................................37Mental Agility Is at the Core of Life Inside the New Organization..............................................38What Our Surveys Revealed......................................................................................39Twenty-First-Century Minds or Ancient Wisdom?..................................................................43Time Has a Different Meaning for Survivors.....................................................................44Do You Have What It Takes to Be Mentally Agile?................................................................53Master the Skills of Mental Agility: Become a Corporate Agility Expert.........................................56Chapter Three Visibility: Making Your Competence Unmistakable..................................................87Make Yourself the Guru in Your Organization....................................................................88A Cohort of Competition........................................................................................88Oh, Gosh, It Was Nothing ... Really............................................................................89What Makes Your "Product" Stand Out from the Crowd?............................................................90What Our Surveys Revealed......................................................................................91Do You Have What It Takes to Make Your Competence Visible?.....................................................106Increase Your Visibility: Make Your Competence Known to Those Who Count........................................110Chapter Four Boundary Spanning: The Horizontal Fast Track......................................................141Organizational Cross-Pollination...............................................................................141What Our Surveys Revealed......................................................................................142Do You Have What It Takes to Be an Organizational Cross-Pollinator?............................................149Build Your Boundary-Spanning Capability: Become an Organization Ambassador.....................................153Chapter Five Action Learning: The Learning Leverage of Information Mining......................................159The Power of the High-Impact Participant-Observation...........................................................159What Our Surveys Revealed......................................................................................160Do You Have the Skillset of Action Learning?...................................................................169Cultivate the Skills of Action Learning: The High-Impact Participant-Observer..................................173Chapter Six Beyond Downsizing: What do Do If You've Lost Your Job..............................................187Focus on Your Strengths, Not Your Weaknesses...................................................................188Build Your Resume Around Survival Skills.......................................................................193Bring Your Survival Skills and Ace Your Interview..............................................................197Take the Last Five Minutes to Make Yourself Remarkable.........................................................201Appendix 1 Building a Plan for Your Long-Term Survival: Stocking Your Survival Kit.............................203Table 1: Your Survivor Profile.................................................................................204Table 2: Personal Initiative Survival Kit......................................................................206Table 3: Capacity for Collaboration Survival Kit...............................................................207Table 4: Mental Agility Survival Kit...........................................................................208Table 5: Visibility Survival Kit...............................................................................209Table 6: Boundary Spanning Survival Kit........................................................................210Table 7: Action Learning Survival Kit..........................................................................211Appendix 2 The Way Forward.....................................................................................213More Applications of the Organization Survivor Model...........................................................215Notes..........................................................................................................219

Chapter One

The Two Survival Instincts That Will Protect Your Job in Tough Economic Times

What Our Surveys Revealed

At the core of our model are two key capabilities: personal initiative and the capacity for collaboration. These "survival instincts" are thought to be inherent value choices, present in all of us. Humans have a natural tendency-as voluminous research on the topic has taught us-to act decisively, to seek achievement (personal initiative), and to associate with and cooperate with others for the common good (collaboration). At one level, we are concerned about doing what needs to be done for our own self-interest. At the same time, we are social creatures, forming associations and friendships to meet a human need for connectedness. This desire for companionship and approval goes beyond just huddling together for survival. In fact, we struggle to reconcile these seemingly opposing parts of our nature-the desire for individual survival and sustenance, and the desire for connectedness. We are not both social and striving by accident, we are both social and striving by nature-as a consequence of behavioral predispositions selected for over eons of evolutionary history.

The survival instincts-personal initiative and capacity for collaboration-occupy a central place in our model. Personal initiative is the booster rocket of organization survival. It provides the power and drive to be successful and, ultimately, to become indispensable. The capacity for collaboration is the social glue that holds together many of the survival skills we will detail in later chapters. As we began to build the model, we started with these core competencies.

Measure Your Survival Instincts

In the following brief assessment, you will identify the strength of your two key survival instincts. This self-assessment will set the stage for assisting you in building your organizational survivability.

For each of the following thirty pairs of value descriptors, you are to circle, from each pair, the one most descriptive of you. You may feel that both qualities describe you-or that neither does. But for each pair, you must choose one. You are to select the option that best describes you. Sometimes it may be difficult to select between the two statements because you feel they both are descriptive of you, or that neither is. Don't worry, that's the way it is supposed to be. We have deliberately paired statements that are not polar opposites. As you make your selections, you are creating a pattern of choices. You are describing what you feel is "most characteristic" of you in a "forced choice" manner. It is the pattern of choices that will be the most revealing, rather than any specific choice. There is no right or best choice to any pairing. As you go through the instrument, try not to overanalyze the choices or second-guess how you think you should respond. Simply pick the option that feels best to you. Total the number of choices you circled at the bottom of each column.

What You Know ... Instinctively

We all know that we have the ability to make the work of our colleagues easier or more difficult, if we've a mind to. The decision we make is largely determined by our willingness to take personal initiative to solve work problems, and by our willingness to consider others and involve them when appropriate.

Our survey results indicate that 82 percent of our respondents identified some form of either personal initiative or the capacity for collaboration as a key capability for success inside the twenty-first-century organization. And, although both competencies were seen as of high value, the most sought-after individual of all was the one who had both these competencies in balance.

On this short self-rating quiz, if your endorsements indicate a marked preference for one column's descriptors over the other, your survival instincts are out of balance. If your total score in the Personal Initiative column is much greater than your total score in the Capacity for Collaboration column, for example, you may be systematically avoiding the expression of collaboration or systematically choosing personal initiative as your primary work style. While it is true that all of us have the capacity for both instincts, we often emphasize one over the other when we work. The assessment instrument's "forced choice" format allows you to determine your typical, most preferred stance.

Look at those items that you did not circle in the column where you scored the lowest. To bring your survival instincts back into balance, begin to think of ways in which you can incorporate those (non-endorsed) value choices into your work style. Remember, organizations appreciate both personal initiative and the capacity for collaboration. But the most valued organization member of all is the individual who has both of these key capabilities in balance.

Turn to Table 1 in Appendix 1: Your Survivor Profile. Enter your scores on the two survival instincts: Personal Initiative and Capacity for Collaboration. You will use these scores later to begin to build your Organization Survival Kit.

If you would like to increase the expression of either personal initiative or the capacity for collaboration in your work style, the tips that appear later in this chapter will help you to sharpen those instincts. Personal initiative Skill Builders and capacity for collaboration Skill Builders are detailed in the chapter sections following the explanation of each of the instincts.

Personal Initiative

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started." -Agatha Christie

Personal Initiative: A Rare and Powerful Commodity

In my consulting work I often have the task of assisting organizations in looking at how their employees manage the unpredictable-the crises that organizations face. My estimate of typical employee capabilities, drawn from my work in dozens of organizations, is as follows:

Percentage of employees who ignore or misjudge the early warning signs of a crisis-about 60 percent

Percentage of employees who do some investigating about the nature of the crisis-about 30 percent

Percentage of employees who evaluate the crisis properly and take appropriate action-about 10 percent

The Organization Driver

Survivors know that great opportunities are always present, no matter what the condition of the organization. A weakness in the organization can be an avenue to show your skill and leadership. Instead of waiting for "them" to take care of it, survivors get busy, show initiative, and take a risk. Survivors attach their sense of self-worth to tangible results-setting clear goals and pushing to achieve them. For survivors it is the active deed-accomplishment-that is satisfying. Outward, energetic action defines their personal style.

In our model, the survival instinct of personal initiative includes four more specific aptitudes:

1. Proactivity

2. An Internal Locus of Control

3. An Achievement Orientation

4. Hope and Confidence

Let's have a closer look at each of these specific aptitudes.

1. Proactivity

"When a great moment knocks on the door of your life, it is often no louder than the beating of your heart, and it is very easy to miss it." -Boris Pasternak

Survivors know that to be effective, one must act. Success depends on what you do, not just on your reflections or speculations. In their organizations, survivors see what needs to be done and find ways to do it. They show a willingness to take the lead, to take the action necessary to move forward, rather than wait and react to circumstances as they unfold. For survivors, their motivation appears largely from within and seems to stem from some deeply felt personal goals. They believe that success comes due to dogged determination and follow-through.

The following quotes about survivors are typical and are drawn directly from our surveys:

"We had several projects that had been talked over for months. When he got the assignments, things started happening."

"She was a doer rather than a delegator. If something looked like it might get dicey, she would take responsibility herself."

"If he has an idea, he has a plan to make it happen."

"She wasn't inclined to sit around and think about things for too long. Her style was to take action, and she almost always knew what to do."

"He notices what needs attention and what needs to be done, and others follow his lead."

"He is considered to be the 'take-charge' person in our organization and steps up to the plate when no one else is willing to."

2. An Internal Locus of Control

"Wisdom is knowing what path to take next. Integrity is taking it." -Robyn Elpruhzlein

An internal locus of control is just a fancy way of saying that survivors believe their fate is in their own hands. Survivors with this aptitude are best described as "hurdlers"-they know that the path to success is strewn with obstacles. They are comfortable with independent action and develop a knack for overcoming or outsmarting any roadblocks that might get in the way.

The following quotes about survivors are typical and are drawn directly from our surveys:

"He could kick down any door that stood in the way. If there was an obstacle to be overcome, we gave him the assignment."

"Her motivation is internal. She doesn't need any pep talks."

"He is quite independent, accustomed to going his own way-making decisions and taking action on his own. And he's usually right."

"He is extremely impatient with delay, indecision, and excessive reflection. But he gets things done."

"He is self-reliant and independent and has the capacity for independent thinking and action."

"He gets things done when he says he will. He doesn't make commitments that he can't keep. This is a guy we can count on."

3. An Achievement Orientation

"Well done is better than well said." -Benjamin Franklin

Survivors are self-directed learners and problem solvers. Opportunities for advancement and personal challenge are important to them. They actively seek challenging assignments and opportunities that put them to the test. They continually seek to expand their abilities and sharpen their skills. Self-assurance and self-confidence are also part of this mix. Leading by example through an orientation that stresses achievement is the operating style of the initiating survivor.

The following quotes about survivors are typical and are drawn directly from our surveys:

"He likes to be the one making the decisions and steering the course of what's happening, and he's usually the best one for the job."

"She always seemed to have a goal in mind and was working toward something."

"This guy sticks his neck out on the high-profile assignments, and he almost always comes through for us."

"She is not shy about expecting recognition equal to her contributions, and she deserves it."

"He seems to be continually seeking new challenges and new experiences."

"He is someone who can be counted on to move in and seize an opportunity or create one."

4. Hope and Confidence

"We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This quality of hope and confidence is much different than just rosy cheerfulness. Rather, it is the expectation that you can prevail over obstacles through your own efforts. Survivors stand out from the crowd because of their enduring hope for the future and the belief that with the right combination of effort and perseverance, success is just around the corner. They tend to focus on what can happen, rather than on what the obstacles are. When there is light at the end of the tunnel, they don't build more tunnel. The survivors we found displayed the "hope" that allowed them to be persistent and successful in their efforts.

The following quotes about survivors are typical and are drawn directly from our surveys:

"When something isn't going right, he is the one who wants to find out why and fix it."

"She will stay with a difficult or challenging situation to prove it can be done."

"He believes that if you want things to happen, you've got to make them happen and convince people to trust in your competence. You can't wait for things to come to you."

"She can make all kinds of decisions with a minimum of fuss and panic."

"He is exceedingly self-assured and self-confident-which leads to his performing well in most situations."

The Organization Survivor meets Survivor

On the popular and long-running CBS television reality series Survivor, contestants compete to outwit, outplay, and outlast other participants in a game set in remote and primitive locales. Initially, contestants are divided into two competing groups ("tribes"). Every few days, in a "tribal council" (team meeting), contestants decide to "vote off" one member of their tribe. As the game continues and contestants are systematically eliminated, the remaining few "survivors" are merged into one tribe.

Over a thirty-nine-day period, contestants compete in a series of physical and mental challenges where winning protects them from being voted off by their colleagues. An individual who wins one type of challenge, an "immunity challenge," is safe from elimination at the next tribal council. A second type of challenge, a "reward challenge," results in a reward that contributes to the winner's tribe doing well in subsequent challenges-the materials to make fire, food, or the opportunity for relaxation, for example. Initially a team-against-team game, halfway through the thirty-nine-day ordeal, the tribes are merged and the game becomes an individual survival competition. However, when only two survivors remain, they must face a "jury"-other competitors who have previously been voted out of the game. At this point, the two remaining survivors must convince this jury of their peers that they have played the game in such a way as to be deserving of the million-dollar prize.

Clearly, in this game individual skill, teamwork, and competing with integrity all count. The parallels to the challenges faced by individual organization members in tough economic times are obvious.

Stock Your Organization Survival Kit

In the section that follows (and in the final sections of each of Chapters Two through Five), we will detail tips for how to increase your ability to be an organization survivor and how to stock your survival kit with the skills you need to be indispensable in your organization. To parallel the Survivor show metaphor, we designate some tips with an icon [??], indicating a personal "immunity" tip-one that is likely to result in your being seen as indispensable (a star) in your organization. Other tips will be designated with a "reward" icon ([DELTA])-the delta symbol indicating change. These activities will result in your being seen as someone who works for the good of the enterprise. But the higher-ups will recognize that you're a valuable asset to have around because your actions also change the organization for the better.

"OK ... Survivors ready? ... Go!"

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Survive Downsizingby Donald J. Minnick Copyright © 2009 by Donald J. Minnick . Excerpted by permission.
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