Staying Relevant, a Personal Imperative

Businesses face the continuous challenge of having to remain relevant in the marketplace.  They must

continue to provide products and services that the market wants and needs which means they must be constantly investing time and focus to assessing the future. It is only by reviewing possible future needs that they can prepare today to meet those potential needs The better equipped they are to satisfy those needs, the more successful they will be.

You and I are not so different. We must also look ahead to the future and gauge what skills and abilities the business marketplace will need and prepare ourselves to deliver them. We must assure our relevancy to ensure our employability. Staying relevant is an imperative for each of us if we are to future-proof ourselves for tomorrow's workplace.

We must all Learn for a living if we hope to continue to Earn a living

The continual challenge we all face is to find ways to keep pushing our sell-by-date so that it exceeds our 'need' to work. We must therefore be constantly refreshing our skills but, not just any skills.  We must become more strategic in the skills we grow.

Organizations will typically invest willingly in developing our skills to fill gaps they have today. However, this may not serve us in the future if those skills will one day be redundant. Our time, energy and focus will better serve us by developing skills that will also be relevant in the marketplace of the future.

In ensuring we remain relevant, we must rely on ourselves. We must become ruthlessly selfish in our pursuit of development that will serve us not just in the short-term, but in the long-term also.  We can't make the mistake of solely focusing on increasing our marketability today, if it doesn't serve us tomorrow also. Focusing on building and strengthening our Career Path will not serve us in the long-term if that career is housed within an unsustainable industry. It doesn't matter how far or fast we climb if we are part of a dying industry.

Though there are many tips and hints out there to help you to future-proof yourself, here are a few to get you started...

1. Develop and maintain a diverse network of contacts.  You want to have connections that span across industries and roles, people that will help you to keep on top of trends and changes in the workplace. You want a variety of opinions and insights to better gauge your best options.
2. Remain open to new experiences. Though trying anything new expands and stretches us in some way, be more selective. Use your limited time wisely. Not all new experiences will stretch you in a way that prepares you for the future. You may have to actively search out those opportunities that not just allow you to experience new things relative to today's marketplace, but for those that also prepare you for tomorrow's.
3. Constantly explore what lies ahead. Don't get caught up in putting your head down. You need to continuously explore what's happening in your industry, what's happening in your role. What are the trends, what are the issues, what are the future needs, what are the gaps? Knowing the answers to some of these questions allows you to build capabilities today that will serve you (and others) tomorrow.
4. Be a digital native. Digital technologies are only going to continue to become more and more integrated into the work that we do. It is important to stay up to date on the latest digital strategies, tools and technologies. 
5. Personal Brand. Having a recognisable and defined brand helps to draw others to you. Knowing who you are, what you can do and what you stand for creates a trust in your deliverables and helps separate you from the masses.
6. Leadership skills. Even the marketplace of tomorrow will require leaders, however technology will be changing how we must lead and communicate with others. Leaders will need to possess a dexterity in working with diversity (different countries, cultures, genders, ages) as technology breaks down physical borders. Leaders will need to be more open and transparent in their styles as they create networked teams that collaborate virtually.

It is far too easy for us to get caught up in the work of today that we fail to look forward to what 'work' will be available for us down the road. However, it is those that take the time to look forward that are best situated to ensure their employability. Staying relevant is not a task left to later or to someone else. It is, and should be, a personal imperative and priority. Look forward to what is coming and prepare for it today. Your future self will thank you.

Unwrapping Your Gifts!

We all have our own special and unique gifts; talents and skills that we excel at.  Yes... everyone, including you!  The issue is not whether we have strengths or not, but whether we know and understand what they are.  It is pretty difficult to utilize our strengths fully if we are still struggling to understand what they are.

Unfortunately, many of our experiences in life have taught us to focus on our weaknesses, on what we typically end up labeling as our shortcomings.  In grade school we had those big red circles highlighting those shortcomings.  Our parents likely spent far more time focusing on how to pull up our grades than they did on how to build on the areas that we excelled at and our workplace managers tend to do exactly the same.  However, it is important to recognise that our performance over a range of skills will always vary.  We have some activities that we will be better at than others.  In the picture below, these are the 'above the line activities', those areas in which we tend to exceed expectations.

We will also always have some areas in which we fall short.  Always.  We cannot be good at everything, nor should we expect or try to. Unfortunately, our parents and bosses have trained us to agonize over the below the line results.  We put our focus, energy and even money into improving those skills.  However, for most of them, the best we can hope to do is to raise our skill level to the meets expectations line.  For the most part this is fine.  There are many areas in our work and our lives where being and doing 'good-enough' is, in fact, good enough!  We know that there is a law of diminishing returns telling us that additional effort is not going to net us the equivalent in return, in which case that additional effort could be put to better use elsewhere.

However, there is a far larger problem.  If we are focusing all of our efforts on improving the below the line skills, and not focusing on the above the lines skills at all, then we are creating a system of mediocrity.  We get what we focus on.  If we only focus on pulling our weaknesses up, and not on growing or developing our strengths, then our talents fall down to meet that middle red line, even while our weaknesses grow.  However, in the end, we are simply meeting expectations.  This does nothing to inspire or motivate us, and is therefore the problem with many corporate performance management programs.

If you are looking to advance your career, or to build your business, then uncovering and leveraging your strengths is the single most important thing you can do.  

It is through our unique gifts, our talents and strengths, that we add the most value.  These are the skills that set us apart from the crowd.  The good news is that we are most satisfied and energized when we engage in work that utilizes our key talents and strengths.  This is when we do our best work, this is when we truly shine.

The little stumbling block in all of this of course, rests in uncovering just what your true gifts are.  If you catch yourself denying you have any or are at a bit of a loss in identifying them clearly enough to build some career strategies around them, then follow some of the suggestions below to help you to discover your strengths.

Take an Assessment

There are numerous online tools that you can use to help you to uncover your strengths, the most popular of which is Strengths Finder.  You can take their short version for free or pay a nominal fee to take the extended version for greater insights.  If you buy their book (See below for link) then you get a link to take the full assessment for free.  If you decide for some unbiased insight then these tools can be useful but don't take them as gospel.  Use the results as a starting point of your exploration and couple them with some of the suggestions below to gain greater clarity.

Follow the Feeling

Learn to pay attention to how you are feeling over the course of your day.  When we are using our gifts we will experience greater levels of energy and engagement, a sense of Flow or a feeling of being in the Zone.  Time will move more quickly during these moments and we are more likely to derive feelings of satisfaction, excitement, interest and pride from activities utilizing our strengths.  In general use the following to help you to uncover insights into your strengths and weaknesses.

• Strengths - are energy boosters
• Weaknesses - are energy drainers

Experiment

Sometimes, to uncover our gifts, we need to get out and try new things.  We often have undiscovered strengths, only because we have not explored our abilities fully.  Experiment a little.  Follow an interest or a passion.  Dabble in something new, explore opportunities you may have given a pass on - all with an eye to discovering new abilities and talents.

What's Different?

Pay attention to what you do differently than everyone else.  When we meet expectations, or operate below the line, we are usually just following the direction of those around us.  However, when we are playing to our strengths we feel more empowered and confident, often stepping off onto our own little path.  Looking for your areas of difference, in thinking or approach, can often highlight a talent or gift you have overlooked.

Others Know

Gain some insight from those around you.  Consider what others typically seek you out for.  What help and advice do your co-workers look to you for?  Often, those around us recognise our talents long before we do and will ask us for help in those areas, knowing we do it better than they ever could.  However, because our true gifts may feel so natural and comfortable to us, we may downplay their value and fail to recognise that those skills don't come as readily to others.  Others know the value - use their insight to build your recognition of the value.

• Exercise.  Get others in your life to share a story with you - a story about when they thought you were are your 'best'.  As you gather the different stories, review them looking for common themes and threads that indicate your strengths.  

Of course, once you have identified your gifts and strengths, you need to develop an action plan on how to build and leverage them.  Volunteer for activities that use your gifts, build a career path that utilizes and grows them, even offer support to others in the areas of your talents. All will help you to capitalize on your gifts in ways that help highlight the tremendous value you represent.  For additional help with your strategies you can check out Marcus Buckingham's book on putting your strengths to work (see below). 

You represent a unique blend of skills and talents that no one else has. Unwrapping your gifts allows you to offer the world the best you have and are. Focus on your above-the-line skills.   Above-the-line is above average.  Above-the-line is about meeting your expectations not theirs, and above-the-line is above what most others are offering, leaving you standing head and shoulders above those around you.

Great view from up there!


Book Links:

Healthy or Intelligent? Which Leader Would You Choose?

When choosing a leader, if you are only given an option between choosing someone that looked healthy or someone that looked intelligent... which would you choose?

I think that most of us, consciously, would say intelligent. Don't we all want our leaders to have the intellect to understand the challenges we face, to navigate through the tough political waters, to have the knowledge needed to create strategies that assure us success?  Our logical, rational minds respond 'Yes, of course'.

However, a recent Dutch study, published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience,  found that, when given a choice between a leader that looked 'healthy' and one looking 'intelligent', almost 70% of all respondents selected the healthier looking leader.  In fact, both leaders they viewed were the same individual, each photo simply being a digitally altered version designed to portray more healthy or intelligent characteristics.

"Here we show that it always pays for aspiring leaders to look healthy, which explains why politicians and executives often put great effort, time and money in their appearance," study lead author Brian Spisak, assistant professor at the department of management and organization at VU University Amsterdam in the Netherlands

Although our conscious mind may use rational thinking in making its decisions, it appears that we are still more influenced by our reptilian brain than we may like to believe.  Our reptilian brain is the most primitive part of the human brain, the part that handles our instinctive responses and reflexes, some of which are millions of years old.  It is the part of our brain that is essential to, and focused on, our basic survival, overseeing functions like breathing and heart rate, but also driving your desire for food or sex and responding to perceived threats and rewards.

It's this most primitive part of our brains that receives information first, making it our primary behavioural driver. This means, when considering the Dutch study above, that participants viewing the two potential leaders are influenced first by the reptilian part of their brain which wants to follow the healthier looking specimen... because that is a key trait necessary for survival.

From an evolutionary perspective this would make sense.  In the early days of man you couldn't afford to get sick, there was no medicine. You needed to be able to run down your prey and out run any predators. You needed to be strong to be seen as necessary to the 'group'; strong enough to be Alpha or be seen as useful to one.

We may have come a long way but our reptilian brains are still wired to respond in ways that served us, and saved us, in the past.  These responses still continue to influence choices that we make, in ways that we don't always control or recognise.  The conscious and more logical parts of our brains simply form reasonable explanations for the actions and decisions that our reptilian brain makes.

I have long coached my clients on the need to project a positive energy through their body language.  To be able to convince someone that you are not just willing but able to take action and see a project through, you must demonstrate it through your body.  It is through the subtle cues of the body that your credibility is established, that people will believe and trust in your ability to deliver.  Try selling someone on your ability to take action from a slumped position!  Your reptilian brain is wired to pick up on the subtle cues derived from body language and will respond according to what it perceives.  Conveying a strong, positive energy appeals to the survivalist mentality of your primitive brain.

Looking 'healthy' is a visible source of that positive energy.  People are instinctively attracted to it.  If you want to get ahead then research has provided yet another reason for you to get healthy.  Break out the walking shoes, learn to love kale... they might just be the best things you do for your career.

How to Become Indispensable

With the way businesses shift and change, downsizing and rightsizing at will, it is difficult for anyone to feel truly 'safe' with their jobs today.  However, the company has to keep someone during these changes and the ideal situation is for one of them to be you!

When it comes to 'restructuring' situations, most people sit back and cross their fingers, hoping that their good work will be remembered, or the donuts they bring in occasionally are appreciated.  However, it is imperative that you take actions today that truly help you to build the profile of someone that adds true value to the organization, someone that is needed in whatever the future is that they are envisioning, someone that is indispensable to the company.

Although there are clearly no guarantees that I can offer you, I can give you the following tips that you can follow today, which just may prove to be your life-preserver tomorrow.

1.  Consider that every day at work... is an interview for your job.  In an interview you are making an effort to put your best foot forward, ensuring that you are seen in the best possible light.  Don't stop.  Career guru Barbara Moses likens this to the difference between dating and marriage.  When dating you suck in your gut and highlight all of your positive attributes.  When married things may tend to slack off a little.  You no longer are 'selling'.  If you are employed by someone else you must constantly be selling yourself.

2.  Add value.  When it comes to being seen as someone who adds value to the organization and is worth retaining, it helps if you are someone who is truly adding value.  Don't mistake 'busyness' with value.  This is not about just getting 'stuff' done, it is about getting the 'right stuff' done.  If you aren't engaged in activities - every day - that are making a difference to the company's bottom line then go and find some that do.  If you're simply keeping busy pushing paper then, when forced to take cost cutting measures, they will find a cheaper way of pushing that paper around.

3.  Build your Brand and Profile.  When it comes to making the decisions about who to keep and who to cut, your reputation in the company will have a significant influence over which list you hit.  Take the time now to assess what your current perception within the organization is, what your key differentiators are, and start consciously building a brand that highlights your worth.  You must work at building this before you need it, and you must do so both consciously and strategically.  If you don't have the level of self-awareness needed to clearly assess how you are currently viewed then find someone to help you determine this.  You can't build strategies from an inaccurate base of understanding.

4.  Take charge of your career development.  Lamenting that the company failed to train you for the requisite skills of the future does nothing to help you when you are out of work.  Your career is your responsibility, which means that your development is also. Working for a company that will pay for this development is a privilege, not a job requirement.  Although it may be in their best interest to keep your skills current, it is not their responsibility.  If they aren't investing in you... then you need to.  This is how you stay marketable, both internally and externally.  You don't hurt anyone but yourself by taking a back seat in your development.

5.  Build relationships with key Decision Makers.  It is always easier to make decisions to cut employees that are simply names on a sheet of paper.  These kinds of decisions are tough to make at the best of times and are much more difficult when you have an established relationship with the person.  The more that you create visibility with decision makers, helping them to know and understand who you are and what you bring to the table, the easier it will be for them to keep you on board.  The more that they know, like, and respect you and the value you bring, the easier it will be for them to justify keeping you on board.

Although you can't be one hundred percent positive of a company's ongoing need for your services, you can take charge of ensuring that you remain and indispensable to them as possible.  The nice side benefit of course, is that the better you position yourself within your current organization, the more marketable you are to others.  Therefore, ensuring you are indispensable today also serves to make you a top candidate in the job market.  You know... just in case!

How to Excel to Stand Out

Let's face it, you can use a lot of little gimmicks to stand out and be more memorable.  Sometimes this will work for you, sometimes it won't, depending upon how well you have determined what will appeal to your audience.  However, when it comes to business, there are three clear, proven and sure-fired ways to ensure that you will excel in your chosen profession and stand out from the crowd.

1.  Be Productive.  This may sound trite, but getting 'stuff' done is an important aspect of standing out, and one that many people overlook.  The top people in any field are those that have figured out ways to ensure that they operate at their most productive levels throughout the course of their day.  They simply manage to get more done, in the same time frame, than anyone else.  It doesn't mean they are smarter, or that they work harder, but it does mean that they work smarter.  Take a close look at the way in which you work each day, the systems you have in place to support what needs to get done, and start implementing some changes to help you work smarter.  This might involve some creative strategies that exceed setting up better filing systems or hotter to-do lists.  Three essential ideas...

• Consider whether there is some of your more menial work that you could farm out to a Virtual Assistant.  The company may not pay for it but it might be the very thing that frees up enough of your time to bang out that project, getting on senior management's radar and getting that promotion. Sometimes it only takes $20/week to get the time you need, in which case consider it an investment in your future. It may be hiring someone to take care of household tasks or chores to free up time (I love my robot-vacuum... known around the house as Rosie).  
• Work on the one most important item from your to-do list first. Always ensure that the item(s) that is going to have the biggest impact gets done.  Generally this means taking care of it before your day gets away from you.
• Exercise and eat for the energy you need to maintain your productivity.  I've spoken about this many times and likely will many more to come.  If you want to get things done, you have to have the energy needed to do them.  Productive people know this, use this and live by this.  Become one of them.

 2.  Solve Problems.  Put your time into solving problems - for the company, the customer, your boss.  This is where the money is within any organization.  You increase your value and worth every time that you develop solutions that eliminate issues.  Crush those roadblocks, create work-arounds, find a solution for someone's sleepless night.  Value is added each time, taking your personal stock price higher.

3.  Take Risks.  No one ever truly gets ahead by playing it safe.  Playing it safe keeps you firmly ensconced in mediocrity.  If you want to excel then you have to take some risks along the way.  You can't keep doing exactly what you've done, the way you've always done it, if you are expecting bigger, better results.  Take a few risks, try a different approach, switch things up if you want to net greater returns.

Sure, you could go for the snazzy suit or take to wearing hats to stand out or... you could out-work the competition to be remembered.  Quality and content will remain long after the flash and sizzle have faded. Building a reputation on deliverables is a marketable, portable and powerful strategy to excel and get ahead, that works in any industry.  

What's your Advantage?

Your Competitive Advantage that is...

In the Industrial Age, having access to certain tools, whether knowledge, training or physical tools of some kind, provided you with a very distinct competitive advantage over others.    In today's marketplace though everyone has easy and ready access to information.  Experts are more accessible than ever, as is even education through the internet.  The accessibility of and to 'tools' therefore is no longer a defining feature or benefit in the marketplace.  Likely most people that you are competing against will have a similar educational background, a similar set of physical skills and abilities and comparable experiences.

How then do you differentiate yourself in the marketplace of today?

More than ever before, people are having to learn to position and sell themselves.  The 'personal' them, not just simply their skills and abilities.  In today's business place the job market is extremely competitive.  There are a lot of highly skilled and technically competent candidates competing for the 'good' available roles.  Employers then are able to be selective when hiring.  The key differentiator between those that receive offers, and those that don't, tends to be based more on the personal qualities and characteristics of the candidates than on their technical merits.

• how likeable is the candidate?
• do they appear to be someone that will fit in well with our existing team?
• how self-focused versus others-directed do they appear?
• what is their work attitude?
• how trustworthy did they seem to be?
• are they competitive, cooperative, innovative, conventional, group oriented, self directed...?

These are all questions that your interviewer is asking themselves - whether consciously or unconsciously - and likely basing their decision upon.  We know from research that the likeability of political candidates is one of the top three reasons for us voting the way we vote.  We know that apparent trustworthiness is one of the top two components to creating a strong first impression.   If you are not concerning yourself with 'how' you deliver your answers to your interview questions, with 'how' you come across to others in your first impression, you are likely not as competitive in the marketplace as you should be - certainly not as much as you would want.

Still the best, and easiest, way to assess this is to film yourself in a mock interview.  Pay attention not to the content of your responses, but to the delivery of them.  How did you look, sound, move?  What feelings did your responses stir and generate?  When you said you were delighted to be there did you look and sound delighted?  If you were meeting you for the first time through your videotape - what would you think of you?  Would you like you?  

All of the above is a great starting point for beginning to understand how others see you, allowing you to begin the work of strengthening the delivery of your secondary messages.  Having the 'right' answer is one thing.  Delivering it in a way that makes it - and you - memorable is an entirely different component but one that is proving to be the deciding element.  You spend time and effort in crafting and learning your interview stories.  Now... practice the delivery of them. 

Each should have underlying messages to the audience, telling them how they should think, feel, or respond to what you are saying - all communicated through how you deliver it.  These secondary messages may be indirect but they are powerful.  They can be the difference between your message being believed, or not, and are what is needed today to give you the true competitive advantage over your competition.  

Finding Your Passion

When it comes to choosing a career direction we are often told to 'Follow our Bliss'.  The goal being,of course, to engage in work that we love and are passionate about.   For many of my clients this proves to be good in theory but much more difficult in practice.  Most lament that they don't seem to feel passionate about any job and therefore they feel they must settle for something that they are perhaps only mildly interested in.

Often the challenge in determining what 'job' might push your 'passionate button' rests in getting past the title. We have preconceived notions not only of what specific jobs and roles do, but of whether or not we are capable or suited to do them.  All too often we discount opportunities simply based on their title, and all that conveys to us.  'No, I wouldn't like that' or 'No, I don't have the skills for that' or, even worse, 'No, I could never do that'... are the phrases that limit our choices and restrict us from truly being able to explore, and determine, where our true passion lies.

The following exercise has proven useful to many of my clients in uncovering new paths and new sources of passion for them.  If you're feeling a little stuck or want to establish that 'path of purpose and passion'... give it a try.  You might be surprised what you discover about yourself, your interests and the path you could be on!

The Work...

Step One.  Get rid of your labels.  We want to start with a clean slate, no preconceived notions about what a 'job' is or does or whether you would be interested in it, good at it, or qualified to do it.  So... no focusing on titles, just ignore them completely.  For our purposes they are completely irrelevant. So too with job level...  we don't care what it is, how much money it pays or where it's located.  Also irrelevant.

Step Two.  Go to the job boards and read as many descriptions of different jobs as possible.  Read descriptions from different areas, disciplines, levels.  There is no pre-qualifying what might be a fit for you.  We are working from the broadest part of the funnel here, so you want to go as wide and broad as possible.  You don't currently know where your passion lies so don't disqualify anything before you check it out fully.

Step Three.  As you read over the descriptions, highlight for yourself any aspect of the description that strikes you as interesting or exciting.  It doesn't matter whether it is practical for your lifestyle or whether you have the skills to do it.  Keep an ongoing list of these elements, adding to the list any segment from any description you read that stirs your soul, or that moves you even a little!

Step Four.  Once you have uncovered a number of items and recorded them in your log, start to categorize them by their key skill and functional areas.

Step Five.  Analyze any of the trends and insights that you gain concerning the areas of interest that are now uncovered.  Spend some time thinking about how it fits to your current career path.  Are you on the right path already?  Are there some minor shifts and tweaks you need to make to strengthen your interest and passion?  Is it a major change that is needed to set you on the right course?

Step Six.  Determine what you need to create this new direction for yourself.  More education?  A coach or mentor to help bolster your skills?  A new role entirely?  Consider what you need to set you on the right path and list them.

Step Seven.  Should be intuitive...  go out and take action.  Even one step in the right direction will feel empowering and help stir the embers of your passion, filling you with purpose.

Oh, and one final caveat.  This is your list, your choices, your passion.  Other people get to choose their own path, don`t let them choose yours.  Sometimes what others want for us will not align with what we want for ourselves.  Uncover your passion and pursue it.  You only get this one go `round...  it`s a much more interesting ride to fill it with work that you love and that fulfills your purpose than spend it working to fill someone else`s.

We've Come a Long Way... or have we?

Check out this latest article in Fast Company, which highlights how pervasive the desire for boy children is around the globe.  (http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/161/branding-for-girls-advertising-for-women)  Certainly, in second and third world countries the impact is clear:  higher abortion rates (now that the fetal sex can be determined early in a pregnancy), sex trafficking, rising incidence of 'missing' female children, the list goes on. 

Given the statistics outlined in the article, it's not a big leap to assume that these perspectives infiltrate the workplace, leading women to not only feel devalued but likely BE devalued, all of which operate below the radar of  'political correctness'. 

Believe we've come a long way?  These statistics would indicate we've still got a long way to go!

Ditch the Career...

I'm an Entrepreneur.  I own a couple of businesses; businesses that I started from scratch and continue to market and grow.  Okay... typical of the expectation you have for 'entrepreneurs'.  However, I want you to consider that, regardless of where you work or who you work for, you too are an Entrepreneur.  And... if you're not thinking of yourself as one... yet... you need to start!

Let's face it.  The 'old' definitions of careers just don't fit the world of work that we experience today.  The guarantees that our parents and grandparents once had no longer exist. The 'career' framework has shifted and we must shift our view with it.  This requires us to assume total and complete responsibility for our own futures and, I would suggest, necessitates a shift from thinking of our 'careers' to adopting the perspective that we are thinking of our 'businesses'.

With all of the right-sizing and down-sizing taking place, with the shift in 'how' work is getting done, we are doing ourselves a significant disservice by failing to ensure that we remain marketable and competitive.  We shouldn't need to be formally outplaced from our jobs before we begin to think more strategically about our world of work.  Accepting all this as true, what should we start to consider?

1. Shift from the linear definition and picture of Career and adopt a more Entrepreneurial perspective.  Rather than looking for or expecting that linear career path, open yourself to a more 'adaptive' version.  This pathway may have more twists and turns.  It may require you to jump to another parallel path, or to go off-roading for a while.  Whatever the case, it is much more experiential and reflective of someone who is able to adapt to changing situations and conditions, shifting their views and approaches to 'fit' with a new reality and changing market.
2. Be Professional, not Naive.  In a recent blog post, noted author Seth Godin differentiated between these two concepts.  A naive individual will keep themselves busy doing the work of their 'job', while a professional is consistently working to improve; themselves, their systems and processes.
3. Study the Market.  Watch for the shifting business trends, watch for new growth opportunities and actively ensure that you prepare yourself to take advantage of these.  No one is going to care about your development as much as you should and need to.  You can't take advantage of new opportunities if you are always playing catch up.  It's work to stay ahead of the curve but it's those people who are willing to invest a little time and effort today that will be poised to take advantage of those opportunities in the future.
4. Network.  I know that you hear this all of the time, but it is only because it is true!  Be clear about what networking means though.  It does not mean... collect as many names and business cards as you possibly can so that you have contacts on hand when you need them.  Your job search, due to a recent layoff, should not be the first time that someone has heard from you in the past 5 years.  Instead, try to put yourself out in front of your network every 6-12 months, whether with a quick check-in call or email, sending them an article you think would be of interest to them, through your blog or newsletter etc.  Work (yep... there's that word again!) your network.  Give something to them first, before you find yourself needing to ask something of them. 
5. Study the Competition.  I know that you may consider your coworkers your friends, but you need to also consider them your competition.  If they will potentially be vying with you for that next big promotion then don't let your friendships overshadow your need to stay a step ahead.  Watch what they are doing to develop themselves, keep an eye on what skills and experience they are developing.  You might not be well-suited to duplicate it, but you definitely need to ensure that your value-added skills continue to keep-pace with or exceed theirs if you want those future opportunities.  Similarly, you need to be able to address the relative advantages of your mix of skills versus theirs.
6. Become skilled at Self-Marketing.  This is pehaps everyone's least-favourite activity and therefore one in which most fall short.  However, it is important for businesses to strategically build and market their brand and it is equally important for you to do the same.  Don't expect your hard work to have a loud enough voice to do all of your talking for you.  Ensuring that others know the nature of your contributions and achievements is necessary as a means of standing out from the crowd.  This needn't be an obnoxious recitation of all of your accomplishments at every meeting.  It requires a little more finesse, but it does require you to be very clear about what you bring to the table and to highlight and remind people periodically.  (more on this to come in the following months as I gear up to launch a new program in this area!)

Competition for jobs in the future is only going to get tougher.  Companies are using technology to accomplish more with fewer headcounts, big businesses are arising that require limited staff to operate(consider Facebook at $100 billion, Groupon at a valuation of $30 billion, Zynga at $20 billion, even Twitter at $8 Billion.  These are not businesses that require a big headcount, but they do require a skilled one!), companies are merging, roles are being outsourced overseas... the list goes on.  The Bottom Line to all of this?  You need to do the 'work' today to ensure that you have 'work' tomorrow.