Become A Career Survivalist!

What image comes into your mind when you hear the word, survivalist? Most people would think of a gun-totting, camouflage wearing skinhead extremist, living in isolation deep in the woods. But the April 6, 2008 edition of The New York Times Styles section had an interesting article about the new survivalist. These people aren’t on the social fringe, in fact they are executives, sales people, accountants—most of them well educated individuals who are concerned about the economy, environmental disasters, rising energy costs, the situation in the housing industry and scores of other potential calamities they feel loom on the horizon.

They are stockpiling food and fuel, converting assets into cash and gold, building “safe houses” and taking other measures to ensure that they and their families can survive when (not if) “doomsday” hits. One woman summed up the feelings of most when she said, “I now think of storing extra food, water, medicine and gasoline in the same way I think of buying health insurance, and putting money in my 401k. It just makes sense!”

While I’m not going to take a stand one way or the other on this subject, I do want to encourage all of us to become Career Survivalist!

Just what is a career survivalist? A career survivalist, as I define it is someone who remains vigilant, continually strives for excellence, constantly seeks to hone their professional skills and expands their network of contacts.

A career survivalist remains vigilant. Yesterday, a man at church told us that the company his son-in-law had worked at for over ten years had informed all employees that it was closing and gave them less than an hour to gather up their personal items and leave the premises. He said that this “came out of the blue, with no warning.” I wanted to ask (but didn’t) how someone could work for a company for that long and not have a clue that things were going downhill. A career survivalist remains vigilant to changes in his or her industry, company and profession. This doesn’t mean that they will jump ship at the first downturn or sign of trouble, but it does mean that they will have an exit plan in place if and when things deteriorate to the crisis point.

A career survivalist continually strives for excellence. For over two decades I have preached the message to large audiences and small groups that the era of going to work for a company, settling in and getting a gold watch and pension after twenty years is over. Companies are running leaner these days and complacency or just getting by can be a career ender. I talk to executives and hiring managers everyday and know for a fact that when considering a person for a position they judge future performance potential by past performance. A career survivalist understands this fact and constantly steps up performance in order to have the type of accomplishments required to remain a vital part of their employers strategy or if necessary be the most marketable candidate for a new position.

A career survivalist constantly hones their professional skills and expands their network of contacts. While recovering from surgery a couple of years ago, I watched a documentary about the camouflage, gun-totting extremist survivalist on The History Channel. One thing that I vividly remember is that these dudes weren’t stockpiling flintlock muskets or World War II M-1’s. No, they had the latest weaponry and knew how to use it! A career survivalist knows that in order to survive, one can’t be content with the same skills “that won their west” so they glean new ideas from books and periodicals that will keep them on the cutting edge, they are members of professional associations and attend seminars and conventions related to their profession These activities provide opportunities to meet new contacts and build new relationships.
Have a great and profitable week!
Robert Hidde
bob@confidentliving.com