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 Volume 8, No. 5 |
May 8 , 2009 |
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When unemployment figures are announced, the media takes up the challenge of trying to show what x% of joblessness looks like in human terms, and the images they choose are predictable—long lines of applicants trying to get into job fairs, rows of jobseekers at computers in job centers busily scanning listings. These pictures reinforce the message that the right, indeed the only, way to find work is to apply for a job, wait for a response, and hope you get lucky. Rarely does an alternative approach get noticed, and when it does it is treated as something new and foreign. Take for example a recent story I heard on NPR about a laid-off architect.
Instead of wasting his time standing in line somewhere, John Morefield is making his expertise visible at a booth he has set up at a farmer’s market in Seattle. Sandwiched between a fish market and a store that offers locally grown honey, he sells advice to homeowners who are thinking about remodeling—for 5 cents! He got the idea from Lucy's “5¢ Psychiatric Help” stand in Peanuts, and he is using it to do the best possible thing he can do with potential customers—engage them in conversation about problems they want to solve. He’s also collecting email addresses and offering the same kind of conversation on his website. John has made the choice to get off the “post and wait” merry-go-round. He is thinking outside of the box, entrepreneurially, demonstrating his skills in the world instead of listing them on a sheet of paper (aka a resume). Rather than pounding futilely on real or virtual doors trying to get someone to talk to him, he is attracting potential customers (aka employers) who want to engage in conversation with him. It’s a brilliant example of “bigger-picture thinking,” the kind of thing that, according to Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, we will all need to do to stay employed in the new age of work. The way Pink sees it, technology and globalization have pushed us out of the Information Age, where knowledge workers with dominant left-brain, linear thinking have been able to make a good living through their capacity to “acquire and apply theoretical and analytical knowledge.” We are now transitioning into the Conceptual Age, where a left-brain groove will not be enough to sustain a competitive advantage. To thrive in the 21st century, Pink says, “We must perform work that overseas knowledge workers can’t do cheaper, that computers can’t do faster, and that satisfies the aesthetic, emotional and spiritual demands of prosperous times.” In other words, we will need to engage the right hemisphere of our brain, the side where the creative, non-linear thinking goes on, and become more whole-brained. Unfortunately, the same qualities that have made many of us effective as head down, step-by-step, detail-oriented, left-brain thinkers, have kept us stuck following the herd and exclusively relying on obsolete job search practices. This may explain why there are so few stories about creative approaches to finding work, like John Morefield’s, and why so few of us strike out on our own on what Joseph Campbell called “the hero’s journey.” Heroes don’t stand in line. They try things they’ve never done before. They step outside their comfort zone, sign up for adventures, go for the ride and hold on for dear life! It’s unlikely that the architect at the farmer’s market feels much like a hero, but that’s how I see him. He is using his creativity not just to re-design kitchens, but to recreate himself, and the hero’s journey is always about being transformed. What I see in his example is a response to the question a client once asked me: “I know looking for work is a full time job, but what do I do all day?” My answer is, feed your creativity.
Readers Write
Professional Speaker, N. Haven, CT
We loved that “feed me, fund me, leave me alone” comic strip. How clever of you to work that in here, as it is exactly appropriate. Principal, Organizational Development Firm, Boston, MA
Only a person who has had “everything, and more, thrown at them” would be able to make a compelling comment like that supported by an article with very warm and practical points followed. Business Consultant, Weston, MA
PO Box 156, 40 Oak Leaf Rd
Our long-term relationships with clients, recognition by peers, and growing reputation as a community resource speak to the excellence of the services we provide and our commitment to making the world of work a better place for all. Stick illustrations by Eloise Morley. Copyright © 2009 |
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The hero’s journey has three main parts: Departure, Initiation, and Return. The hero hears a call, refuses it at first, and then crosses the threshold into a new world. During Initiation, he faces stiff challenges and stares into the abyss. But along the way—usually with the help of mentors who give him a divine gift—he is transformed and becomes at one with his new self. Then he returns, becoming the master of two worlds, committed to improving each. This structure underlies Homer’s Odyssey, the story of the Buddha, the legend of King Arthur, the story of Sacagawea, Huckleberry Finn, Star Wars, The Matrix, and, Campbell would have argued, just about every other epic tale.
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I just had to write to compliment you on the beautiful metaphor you used to draw the reader into this month’s issue of your newsletter. It captured my interest to hear you talk about “Spring on the Cape” and then you seamlessly transitioned into the current economy and your message—absolutely lovely!
