New Ideas For a New Year

Welcome to the first full work week of 2012. We hope the cobwebs have cleared and that you're back in the swing of things. And, of course, already thinking about Valentine's Day, which is fast approaching. (Sorry. Just trying to watch your back.)

Speaking of new ideas for a new year, we would like to present two we think are compelling and worthy of your attention. We believe both concepts are essential to any organization's ability to sustain profitable growth and to the people within it -- that's you -- crafting a successful and rewarding career.

No surprise, by the way, that a company's growth and the growth of its people are inextricably linked. They are. Show us an organization that takes career growth seriously -- and is good at it -- and we'll show you a company that attracts and retains the best and outperforms the competition. Or, said more colloquially, show us a company that grows its people and we'll show you a company that kicks some serious butt.

So, to those concepts:

1. Two Hats Are Better Than One. Not two heads, two hats. As in two jobs or key responsibilities at work. We propose that the successful workplace of the future will give anyone who's willing and able the opportunity to have two different roles. A primary role and a secondary role. Like a major and a minor. Working in Sales, for example, and being involved, say, in product development or HR.

We advocate this for two important reasons:

• It's great for the company. Having people wear two hats helps to eliminate those dreaded silos, enables more cross-functional thinking and collaboration, more fully utilizes the skills and abilities of its people, increases efficiencies, and produces more powerful outcomes. It also helps build a capable bench, as well as strengthens the company long-term by creating flexibility and scalability. Think of a baseball team with players who are skilled at both a primary and secondary position. A catcher who can play the field, for example, increases the team's resilience and likelihood of success over the long run.
  

• It's great for the individual. Wearing two hats gives people that much more of an opportunity to make a significant difference at work, something many yearn for -- and is central to one's level of engagement in and commitment to an organization. Wearing two hats also provides an opportunity for the individual to develop a broader, more diverse set of skills. Indeed, the concept of being only in Sales, for instance, is so traditional, so last century. Being in Sales and having some responsibility for product development or HR, for that matter, will make for a more talented, well-rounded performer. Yes, having major and minor roles at work is more demanding but ever so rewarding.

We think all good companies will embrace this approach within the next 5 years.

2. What's Your App?™ Our second new concept for the new year is about the skills and abilities you bring to work and how you define them. Specifically, what expertise do you provide your company and what does that expertise produce? If an app is a specialized process that results in something tangible, what app or apps would represent you? How much demand would there be for your app(s)? Said another way, how often would your app(s) be downloaded? And at what price?

Creating and packaging yourself -- defining your value proposition, we consultants would say, with an emphasis on producing a tangible, valuable outcome -- will be essential in the new and emerging world of work. This will be especially true as companies move to allow many to have multiple roles at work. Thus, you may need at least two apps to define you, two clusters of skills that each produce real and valued outcomes. Regardless, clarity, specificity and reliable, outstanding performance will be key. We'll talk much more about this in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, what are your apps?

Have a good week. With or without those cobwebs.