New Rules for the New Millennium
by Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE

The new millennium is upon us. Some, like the ancient prognosticator Nostradamus, think that the end is near. Time will tell. I, however, think the end is here: the end of out-dated assumptions about what it takes to survive and thrive in the new world of work. The notion of work--employment, jobs, how we make money--is changing before our eyes. We aren't sure what will be, but we're damn sure what isn't.

The rules are different. What changed the old rules is interesting; what it will take to play by the new rules is critical. You can't count on what worked yesterday working tomorrow (or even today). 

With that in mind, I offer a synthesis of 13 lucky years consulting with and speaking to corporations throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia. Specifics are difficult to isolate, but principles are readily identified. The following 12 new rules will serve you well, from today into the new millennium. 

1. Who you know is as important as what you know 

A recent article in the usually very savvy magazine Fast Company said that networking--who you know--was more important than what you know. While I don’t completely agree, I believe that networking is essential. After all, the New Testament says "Don't hide your light under a bushel." Although that passage wasn't career advice, the truth is transferable. It is a shame when ability and competence are well-kept secrets. No employer or teammate can call upon you for assistance if they don't know what you can do and how well you can do it.Having a good product means little if you have no distribution for it. Likewise, the best distribution system can't compensate for a poor quality product. Think of your skills set as a product. Think of your network as your distribution system. Invest time in developing both.

When it comes to marketing personal abilities, what makes for a good network? In your network, the best distributors aren't just acquaintances, they are advocates. They know who you are (your character), what you do (your competency) and how well you do it (your skill level). And they believe in you to such a degree that they are willing to tell others about you. Whenever they hear of an appropriate opportunity, they think of you. (Of course it is a win/win. By suggesting the right person for the right project, they've just created value for both parties. An important corollary is don't just develop a distribution system, become a world-class distributor as well.)

2. Career security is an inside job 

In the old days, you could land a job, work hard, keep your nose clean and expect a gold watch and the security of a decent pension 25 years later. Today, you can do everything right, work hard and still be looking for work in a matter of months. The best you can hope for from any employer is to be paid fairly for your contribution and, if you're lucky, to learn something that increases your skills set while you are under their employ. Don't count on anybody but you to take care of you. Earl Nightingale said that " the biggest mistake you'll ever make in your life is to believe that you work for somebody else. Your security is internal. It includes 1) your ability to learn: keep constantly adding to your skills set, 2) your ability to find and/or create earning opportunities, 3) the ability to build relationships and networks (Your network can assist you, but it isn't your security), and 3) resilience: the ability to bounce back from setbacks. 

3. Substance without style goes unnoticed; style without substance is superficial

Yes, your skills set is a product. And packaging is important. But the best packaging can't compensate for an empty box. Does your personal presentation and demeanor indicate your value? Is there congruency between your abilities and your appearance?
"I've just gotta be me!" is the song of the individualist. But if you choose to be different, the question becomes “What point are you trying to make?” There is a fine line between looking creative and looking foolish. As my friend and futurist Dave Zach points out, “Being an individual isn’t foolish  if you've got something of value to offer.  Just be prepared to understand that if you choose to be a maverick, you will have to forge your own path.”

For the past several thousand years people have made assessments of another's capabilities, intellect and character based on such seeming superficialities as appearance, cleanliness and dress. Don't expect this behavior to die out anytime soon.

The thinker knows that substance is more important than style. He or she also knows that you can leverage substance with style. The objective is to attract the right kind of attention.

4. Don't think in terms of "employment," think in terms of "employability"

Ever been unemployed? If not, you're lucky. Count on it in the future. The workforce is expanding and contracting like an accordion on speed. During boom times employers need your services. During a downturn, you are an expendable commodity. (Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger.)

Here's the idea: the more employable you are, the less time you'll spend unemployed. That is, certain skills will make you attractive an any employer, no matter the industry or geographic location.

So what makes you employable?

The most important job skill of the new millennium is the ability to create value for your company, colleagues or customers without spending more money to do it. It is the ability to replace  money with imagination and capital with creativity. Anybody can write a check to buy their way out of a problem or into the customer's heart.  The much-in-demand alternative is to think your way out of problems, dream up creative ideas for increasing value and not only solve problems, but also spot opportunities. 

5. Become "intellect intensive"--outthink your competition

It matters little how much money or education you possess; your greatest resource is your brain. Most people are on autopilot. They are so busy "doing" that they don't have time to think about what they're doing, why they're doing it....or if they should be doing it at all!  You can leverage any result with intellect. Precede every action with study and follow every significant action with introspection. Learn from everything you do. 

Your competition isn't just "out there." Sure, your company's fiercest rival can decimate the corporate ranks by cutting prices, stealing customers or just being collectively smarter. But as projects become more important and opportunities for advancement become more scarce, you've got to make the internal cut to succeed. Being a team player is vital, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get ahead by being a little bit smarter--not shrewder--than your colleagues.

Become a creative analytical, a wonderful oxymoron if there ever was one. An analytical can dissect a problem, process, product or service into their tiniest component parts. A creative can then find ways to eliminate, add, reconfigure or synthesize those component parts to do each more (quantity), better (quality), faster (speed) or different (innovatively). Creative analyticals are masters of creating or adding value.

6. Either create value or add value

Your employer can program a computer to do what they want, or invest in robotics for redundant physical tasks. Because you can think, you have the unique ability to create or add value to any product or service. 

If you do your work the way it’s always been done, you’ll never get ahead. Somebody else has already figured out how to do it-you’re just repeating the recipe. The challenge is to enlarge your work so that it is more valuable and valued to your employer and customers.

If you’re short on ideas on creating value, just ask. Ask your boss, “How could I be of greater value to you?” Ask your customers, “What could I do to make your life easier?”

There are no dead-end jobs, just dead end attitudes. Are you an administrative assistant? Reinvent your work. Is your boss buried in paper? Record a daily executive summary on audio tape that he or she can listen to on their drive home.

7. Projects are more important than positions

A title may give you prestige, but it doesn't give you power. Power comes from performance, not position. And performance is demonstrated best in worthwhile projects. The best protection you have in any organization today is to be intimately involved in a critically important project. 

How do you harness the power of the project? Begin by asking yourself where the action is. What new products are being developed or coming on-line? What big, hairy problems are begging to be solved?  What wonderful opportunities are waiting to be exploited? In each lies the seed of a powerful project.

There are two kinds of projects. The first is "in progress." It already exists. Some person or group said, "Hey! This is important stuff! Let's get to work on it." How do you get involved? You volunteer. Don't wait to be asked. Raise you hand. The worst thing that can happen is that they turn your down. Of course they won't IF, and this is the proverbial BIG IF, you bring something new and valued to the party.

What in your skill set qualifies you to contribute to an existing project? You need to know what it is and be able to sell it to the project leader. Almost every project of any magnitude is cross-functional. That means it requires people of diverse skills, background and perspectives. 

The only thing better than being the member of a project team is being the leader of a project team. That's the second kind of project: the one you create. Be the first to spot the problems or opportunities. Name it and claim it. Be prepared with a plan: here's the challenge, here's what needs to be done and these are the people who can do it.

Use your network/distribution system in reverse. Find the best people with the best expertise and recruit them to work with you. If you've identified a worthwhile project, and the people understand the new rules, they'll be grateful for the opportunity you are bringing them. Isn't it great how what goes around keeps right on coming around?

8. Master Your Moods

Employers can't peak inside your head to determine if you really like what you do and who you are currently working for. The only clues they get come from what you do. That means you better be able to control observable behaviors. 

One of the lamest excuses in history is "I don't feel like doing it." You don't get recognized and rewarded for what you feel like. You get rewarded and recognized of what you do. Here is a definition that can bring you unbelievable success: discipline is doing what needs to be done despite how you feel about doing it.

What is attitude? There are lots of definitions, but let's call it a predisposition towards something. It is how you feel manifested in behavior. From a deeply philosophical point of view, most things are neither good nor bad--they just are. But there aren't a lot of good paying jobs as a deep philosopher, so let's stay practical. 

You can either make the most of any project, person or situation, or you can make the least of them. You can do what you like, like what you do, or do what you don't like. Frankly, employers value those who appear to like what they do. 

I absolutely and unequivocally love my work. And yet there are aspects of it that are dull and monotonous. That is true of any job, work or project. Anybody can have a great attitude about the enjoyable stuff; the test of one who has mastered his or her mood is how they handle the hard work and the drudgery.

While a future employer may have the money, they almost certainly don't  have the time to train you in mood control. Furthermore, moody, emotion-controlled people are easy to spot. Being recognized as such is a fool-proof way to get eliminated as a job candidate.

If your moods control you, that's bad for you. It's even worse for your employer. If you value the opportunity to work for pay, master your moods.

9. Learn the most important stuff the fastest

Only a few years ago, we defined an expert as somebody who knew the most about a given area. Their depth of knowledge and/or expertise accounted for their expertise. The problem was, it took time to learn and experience enough to truly be considered an expert. Then there was a secondary problem: no sooner had you become an expert in an area than what you have learned either changed or became obsolete. Suddenly, you knew the most stuff about something that wasn't that useful or important. 
My pal Zach points out, “Experts are arrogant but expertise is humble, because it always admits there's something else that needs to learned.”

In the new millennium, an expert will be the person who learns the most important stuff the fastest. That is, when an area of knowledge becomes important, the expert will be able to a) recognize the importance of that knowledge and b) learn what's most important about that area c) as fast as possible and d) update when needed or e) abandon when necessary. Practical expertise will be a continually shifting skill set. 

Don't strive to know the most stuff about anything. But pay attention to what's most important, in the present and near future. Then learn the most important of the most important as quickly as you can.

10. Execution is everything

"I tried" are two of the most pathetic words an employer ever hears. Why didn't you save the account? "I tried...." How come the part didn't arrive in time? "I tried...." You won't be rewarded for good intentions. The glory goes to those who achieve, not those who conceive. A good idea that isn't implemented is an exercise in intellectual futility.

"Say what you'll do and do what you say" is the battle cry of valued employees. Don't make promises you can't keep. Period. Follow-through on commitments no matter what.

11. Extra effort gives you an edge

Ever heard the old cliche that selling is a numbers game? It's not true. Selling is a numbers game and skill game. Results = Activity (number of contacts) X Skill (ability to convert those contacts to sales). 

That's why I emphasized learning and intellectual activity. But you can't think yourself to success. To convert ideas into results requires effort. Effort directed by sound thinking to be sure, but effort none-the-less.

You or I may not be the sharpest quills on the porcupine. We inherited our genetics. But there is one area of our lives completely within our control: our ability to work. In the new millennium, these is one old colloquialism that will still be true: the harder you work, the luckier you get.

12. Every  moment can be a defining  moment 

Most people live lives of boredom punctuated by sporadic moments of joy. "Defining Moments" are defined as those rare instances that shape our destiny. Big news: every moment can be a defining moment if we choose to make it so.

You can live life be design or by default. A life by design is the product of intentionality: you choose both how you spend each moment and how well.

Before I became self-employed I held two jobs. The first was the result of my network. An old friend and fraternity brother met an employer who was looking for a new account executive. My friend thought I was just who the employer was looking for. I was, and I landed a terrific job thanks to my distributor.

The second job was a move up in salary, benefits and geographic location. I got a phone call, out of the blue, to interview at a company in the east. I got hired. I never learned until much later what prompted the president to call me. He eventually told me, "I was having breakfast at a trade show. Some young guy walked into the restaurant to meet a client. I was so taken with his confidence and style, I figured, that's the kind of person we need here. I checked around to find out who he was and who he worked for. . .You were that guy."

I remember the time and place he was referring to. It was an early am breakfast meeting with a less than memorable client. And I couldn't have guessed that that particular moment would be a defining one. But it was. 

The light bulb blinked on: Every moment can be a defining moment.

Our lives are defined by the choices we make, and those choices begin with what we think and believe about the world in which we live. The new millennium will be full of new challenges. But now you’re familiar with some of the new rules that will be required to survive and thrive. Choose wisely, and you will define the moments that define your life.

Copyright 2002 Used with permission of the author Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE is a professional speaker and president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea studio for leadership development. He is a member of the exclusive Speakers Hall of Fame. For additional articles, resources and ideas, visit his website at www.marksanborn.com or call 800.650.3343.

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