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Careers: Confronting Reality About IT JobsCareers: Confronting Reality About IT Jobs
Larry Bossidy's advice for making hard choices in business works for people looking at their careers
2 Min Read
As Larry Bossidy, former CEO of Honeywell, ticked off the factors shaping the economy and executive decision making in general, globalization topped his list. Speaking at the information Spring Conference last week, Bossidy aimed to push business leaders to make tough, realistic choices. As I listened, I kept thinking: These same factors could just as easily apply to someone assessing an IT career in today's uncertain times.
Bossidy, co-author of a management book called Confronting Reality (Crown, 2004), laid out four ways people avoid confronting reality and four steps for finding it. For IT pros wondering if their careers might be at risk because offshoring and outsourcing are changing the landscape underneath them, it feels like a good framework for analysis.
Why People Don't Face Reality
Filtered information: People surround themselves with others who agree with them. "They become obsolete together," he said.
Selective hearing: People hear only what they want to hear.
Wishful thinking: People see the world the way they'd like it, not as it is.
Fear: It may be that a person doesn't know what to do about the reality. "The longer you wait to confront reality, the fewer options you have," Bossidy warned.
How To Find Reality
Ask fundamental questions: Are supply and demand in balance? How far are your products from commodity? How do you stack up to the competition? "Realistically, are you the best?"
Look at the business model: Assess competitors, customers (employers, in our career lens), customer health, regulations. Then set a revenue (salary) goal.
Set a strategy to reach that goal.
Decide if strategy and environment harmonize. "In many cases, they're opposed to each other," he said. If so, iterate until you find ones that do.
For a person looking at a career, iteration might mean applying for different projects or roles, adding new skills, even changing employers. Bossidy wasn't talking careers, so he didn't offer specific advice. But consider his challenge for companies. "You've got to be more willing to change, even if you're winning," he said. "There's a large sense of denial." To Bossidy's way of thinking, even those not feeling the globalization pinch should ask the tough questions.
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