Staying In The Game

The message came from Human Resources. There's nothing to worry about with the newly announced organizational changes and pending merger, it reassured. The changes will be good for the company and good for the people who work here it coached.

I've seen a couple dozen messages like this during my career. In fact, I've even crafted a few. I've been through mergers, acquisitions, downsizings, organizational changes, personal career set-backs and a myriad of new corporate initiatives. And the best lesson I learned from all of them? Stay a player.

Granted my tactics for what that meant varied with the situation. Sometimes the safest play was to keep my head down and do my work exceedingly well until I understood the new landscape. Sometimes I rolled with the punches long enough to realize what was happening might be great for the company, but not a great long term choice for me, so I moved on. Sometimes I helped others acclimate to the new direction or culture and found new opportunities emerging along the way. Sometimes the toll was personal, like when a promotion I'd worked my entire career to reach was given to an outsider. Still, I stayed in the game.

I'm not saying I didn't yell and complain to friends or go into a woe-is-me victim mode licking my wounds for a time; or require space to sort out the divergent directional messages appearing to me like a corporate minefield. I'm not wired to change with the immediacy of a remote control. But I am wired to change. I know taking myself out of the game, retiring on the job, or sitting it out on the sidelines is not a viable option if I want to be winning at working. As Charles Darwin reminds, "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

But there's more to winning at working than survival. To grow and thrive in the corporate world you must find your resilient center and evolve. That may mean learning new skills, aligning with a new boss or company, changing direction, letting go of the way things used to be done, compromising approaches or moving on.

Only fifteen percent of S& P 500 companies listed at the end of the 1950's are still in existence fifty years later. In a Fast Company (Nov04) interview with Jim Collins, author of the best selling book, "Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies," he advises companies to, "Preserve the core! And! Stimulate progress!" He claims, "To be built to last, you have to be built for change!"

His advice is as true for successful companies as it is for successful people. You need to preserve your core and stimulate your progress. If you do, you'll stay a player and deal with the changes coming your way. Sure, change can be painful and difficult and uncomfortable, but if you're open to what it brings, it may surprise you. It did me. My best lifetime career opportunity came after I was denied the promotion I coveted. It never would have happened if I hadn't stayed in the game.

(c) 2005 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.

Sign up to receive Nan's free biweekly eColumn at http://www.winningatworking.com Nan Russell has spent over twenty years in management, most recently with QVC as a Vice President. She has held leadership positions in Human Resource Development, Communication, Marketing and line Management. Nan has a B.A. from Stanford University and M.A. from the University of Michigan. Currently working on her first book, Winning at Working: 10 Lessons Shared, Nan is a writer, columnist, small business owner, and on-line instructor. Visit http://www.nanrussell.com or contact Nan at info@nanrussell.com.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Children At Work: Looking at Child Labor in the Victorian Age

Today, it isn't that uncommon for some children and teenagers... Read More

Image and Style Count

When I was a child, there was a pool nearby... Read More

What is Contract Programming? An Alternative to the Conformity of Everyday Employment

What is contract programming, you ask? Well, when companies need... Read More

How to Give Job-Winning Answers at Interviews

Human Resources personnel, professional recruiters and various other career experts... Read More

Surprise! Accounting is the Hot New Major

There was a time when accounting was the boring college... Read More

How Well Do You Manage Your Boss?

Are you in this situation? You and your boss just... Read More

Career Change - Creating Wealth & Happiness

Whether you have a business idea or not, here's what... Read More

Mastering The Lunch Interview

Interviews can be nerve-racking, brain-draining, headache-inducing experiences. These days, recruiters... Read More

Your First Job

"Your first job is an extension of your education"Fresh out... Read More

3 Ways To Succeed On Your First Job (Or Any Job)

You've heard the real estate cliché: the three factors that... Read More

Youre Fired!

One-day you're minding your own business and your boss comes... Read More

Multiple Skills for the 21st Century

(excerpted from The Weekend Seminar - Skills for the 21st... Read More

Planning To Work Abroad

Working abroad can be an exciting, rewarding and horizon broadening... Read More

Skilled Mechanic Wage Study Review

Well what is a good mechanic worth these days? You... Read More

Job or Career

At this present time I have a job. It pays... Read More

Job or no Job: The Certainty of Uncertainty

Headline from AP via Yahoo News! January 11, 2005: "Chrysler... Read More

Pair Your Powerful Resume with a Great Cover Letter

Every great resume deserves a great cover letter.A cover letter... Read More

An RX For Your Résumé

Whether you are an accountant, virtual assistant, or a corporate... Read More

Have Enough Money to Change Careers - Five Key Steps

At every talk I give, I ask the audience to... Read More

Does Your Resume Have What It Takes To Survive The First Cut?

Qualifications" or "Personal Profile") uses bullets and succinct wording to... Read More

How to Close Your Interview and Leave a Lasting Positive Impression

Closing the InterviewKnowing how to successfully close an interview can... Read More

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone in the Job Search

Most everyone these days knows what a comfort zone is.... Read More

How to Work Effectively With Recruiters

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T / find out what it means to me" is... Read More

Little Mistakes That Keep You Unemployed

If your job search is dragging on and on, you... Read More

Successful Job Seeking ? The Importance of Your Cover Letter

As an employer I receive many job applications each week.... Read More

Your Value Proposition: A Critical Component To Having A Successful Job Search

Your value proposition is a series of statements defining your... Read More

From Bumbling Bosses to Cranky Co-Workers ? How to Overcome What Makes You Hate Your Job

I'll be the first to admit that I hated my... Read More

Six of the Best for a Winning Resume

1. Be CompleteMake sure that your resume includes EVERYTHING your... Read More

How To Find A Telecommute Job

The answer may be easier than you think, but there's... Read More

Choose Your References Wisely!

So, you need to submit employment references. A simple task,... Read More

10 Key Career Success Questions

At some point in every professional or managerial career, there... Read More

Resume Objectives: How Do You Know if Resume Objectives Are Right for You?

Some experts say NEVER bother with resume objectives. While others... Read More

What You Should Know About A Medical Billing Specialist

Whether you are a person who is thinking about becoming... Read More