“The people who resist change will be confronted by the growing number of people who see that better ways are available; thanks to technology.”

– Bill Gates (Co-Founder of Microsoft)

Personal Disruption in the Era of Socio Economic Change

US Department of Labor reported that the unemployment rate ticked down to 8.1% from 8.3% in July, but for the wrong reasons. The jobless rate fell because 348,000 people without jobs stopped looking for work. Millions of Americans are out of work either currently collecting unemployment benefits or have exhausted them.  It turns my stomach.

Disruptive innovation and socio-economic change is reshaping the world of work. How do you keep your balance and navigate through the choppy waters?

Embrace personal disruption. “Disrupt yourself” to achieve both business AND personal goals. Greatness happens when you push through the fear, and jump, pivot or climb to the next step.

In a recent HRB Blog, “Throw Your Life a Curve”, author Whitney Johnson hypothesize that “those who can successfully navigate, even harness the successive cycles of learning and maxing out that resemble the S-curve will thrive in this era of personal disruption.”  In today’s competitive environment, “the best curve you can throw the competition is your ability to leap from one learning curve to the next.”

Learning Through Peer to Peer Mentoring Programs

During the financial crisis, many organizations tightened their budgets.  They drastically cut Learning & Development expenses, leaving it up to employees to improve their skills on their own.  A segment of the population chose to accept the corporate mandate and plodded along in their jobs; others looked to peers or externally to sharpen their skills. Peer-to-peer mentor programs surged, groups popped up on LinkedIn, and the web provided rich forums, blogs, videos and online communities. c in action!

Over the last 20+ years, I’ve embraced personal disruption without knowing that the term existed! I’ve jumped from molecular biologist, to healthcare, to driving contemporary work practices in insurance…with a lot of other career jumps in between! Gaining knowledge of social media and collaboration tools led to my new role.

Are you ready to embrace personal disruption for your career and set new goals?  Do you experience an adrenaline rush when assigned a new project?  What “learning” will reveal your next step?

I’m at my best when confronted with a difficult challenge. The finest teams that I’ve been on have succeeded because we’ve pushed each other. Innovation and technology will continue to force the workplace to evolve, ultimately creating new jobs.

Build new knowledge, harness the courage to take healthy risks, and push for successive learning cycles.  Embrace personal disruption!