The tsunami is coming

At high tide fish eat ants. At low tide ants eat fish. (Thai proverb)

The tsunami is coming

In the great Indian Ocean tsunami some people survived because they knew the signs of disaster waiting to happen. They had learned, "When the sea retreats far past the beach, run for the high ground. It will soon come roaring back." It is a natural occurrence before a disaster.

Job disasters also have signs of impending doom. Think about it. What happens before a car plant closes down entirely? Work is cut back. Minor layoffs occur. Sales are obviously dropping. Cars stay on dealer lots for longer and longer. Rebates and special incentives are used to sell cars. Managers, supervisors and foreman are laid off. Finally the plant closing is announced.

Signs of doom I have seen where I worked included: A new quality program annually. No more flowers sent to funerals of workers and their family members. Business travel cut backs. On the job training cut back to "just in time" training. Payments for outside tuition cut back. Technology innovation specialists moved back into production jobs. Promised bonuses cut back or not paid. Refusal to let employees transfer to other areas in the company. Relocation expense reimbursement eliminated. Sudden personal interest in the workers by the company president and chairman. Empowerment training during declining markets. Not replacing people who quit. Reorganizing more and more often. Stock price dropping. Replacement of salespeople at a quick clip. A frenzy of competitor acquisitions.

When you see the signs of impending problems, you may still have years to prepare. Or you may have days. The important thing is to start preparing without being part of the problem. Take positive steps in your own sphere of influence.

Later I will talk about how businessmen in India cope with far worse problems than Americans can even begin to understand, and do it with a smile.

Something to do today

Draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper. On the left put signs of company strength, reasons for optimism. On the right put a list of troubling signs of decline. Now pick how you can help accentuate the positive or eliminate the negative. Not only will your actions help your company, they will insulate you from layoffs and prepare you for a new job.

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Tomorrow: Businessmen from India

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Copyright 2005 thru 2008 by Bryan Dilts. "How to REALLY get a GREAT JOB" and "REALLY get a GREAT" are trademarks of Bryan Dilts. Connecting the Best People, With the Best Companies is a trademark of AGI. All rights reserved.

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Message Added: January 15th, 2008 at 5:27 am