Imagine the average workplace of 1900—a place without the Internet, without computers of any kind, without calculators, without even electricity in many places.
When people look back on 2001, what tools will they marvel that we functioned without? What devices will become commonplace that nobody has yet even imagined?
Those who are more capable of dealing with the future and the changes it holds are those who do not fear change and who practice flexibility. Your job will not be the same in twenty years no matter what it is like today. But that doesn’t mean you won’t excel in the future. It just means you need to embrace innovation because those who fail to do so will not stay on top.
Barry and Judy Wirth own ProPet, an independent pet store in central Pennsylvania. The Wirths watched as pet superstores moved into surrounding towns. These chains had massive stores, incredible selection, and the buying power to lower prices on dog food, the biggest-selling item in the pet store business.
While Barry and Judy knew what it took to succeed with a small business that filled a unique niche, they had no idea how to stare down the challenge of thriving in the face of big and powerful competition.
“I looked at every aspect of what we did—and looked for things we could do better,” Barry explains. Although they had long appreciated the freedom of being completely independent, the Wirths decided the future lay with a pet supply cooperative that allowed small stores to operate with the collective buying power of hundreds of others.
Barry says the continued success of the store is dependent on one thing: “We need to keep up with the future direction of this business. If you don’t change to keep up, you’re going to be blindsided.”
Research on employees who experienced layoffs that had nothing to do with their job performance found that flexibility, a willingness to try new tasks and learn new skills, was the single best predictor of how long people stayed unemployed.
Ingram 1998