Being Proactive

Stephen R. Covey, in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, writes: "While the word proactivity is now fairly common in management literature, it is a word you won't find in most dictionaries. It means more than merely taking initiative. It means that as human beings, we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We can subordinate feelings to values. We have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen."

By being proactive (thinking about what the future could hold) and limiting ourselves to moderate house and car payments, and eliminate short term credit card and installment debt to the bare essentials, we would all be in a better position if some situation (out of our control) caused the loss of employment.  Many people lost their homes in the downsizing of the late 1980s and early 1990s – and now, in 2008, the greatest numbers of foreclosures are occurring since the Great Depression. This is a sobering wake up call for all of us. Most people are not prepared for the length of time it takes to find a new job nor for the decrease in salary they may have to accept when they find new employment. And if you are dealing with a bad manager – start the process straight away, while you are still getting a paycheck.

Religiously read trade journals and business reviews to know what is going on in your industry and related businesses. This will give you all of the clues you need about the long-term condition of the industry and stability of the companies comprising it, not to mention your own organization.

If you see negative signs in your department or company of pending layoffs, be prepared by getting your resume completed and start networking with friends and colleagues, so you’ll be a step ahead of the game. But always use caution: When you begin a job search while still employed, make sure you keep quiet about it.  If you’re already dealing with bad boss, it could be the excuse he or she needs to get rid of you. So do your job hunting on your own time, your own PC and phone. Don’t let your boss or co-workers see that your have been searching job sites on company time.