You’ve all played the game “Monopoly”. It all starts very innocently with chosing a pretty figurine for the board. Money is divided and pretty soon there is the roll of the dice. Everybody is happy. Everybody has dreams of winning. As the game progresses, somebody lands on Boardwalk and buys the property. Pretty soon the same party buys “like” properties. Then a few “houses” are added followed by “hotels”. When another player unfortunately lands on Boardwalk containing 4 hotels, the game comes to an end. The player with the most chips wins. Nobody other than the winner is happy. For the losers, the game sucks. For the winner, the game is euphoric. Lets play on! Yeah, right!
Business life seems to follow the monopoly theme. The big companies get bigger because they have the money to grow and expand. The small companies get bought out by the “bigs” or they just go out of business. Do you see the similarities with “Monopoly”.
Now pretend that you are employed in this big game of changing dynamics. Pretend that you are not with one of the “bigs”. Your company sells out to a bigger company and plods on under new management. The promise is nothing will change. But suddenly you job is in jeopardy. What happened? Happy one day. Fearing the unknown the next.
Grasshopper No.5 has just gone through a year of installing a website in Minneapolis. It was a valiant effort. Awards were in order. It was a fun ride. Lots of recognition.
During the website establishment, your employer sells out to a private equity firm. Your company is now owned by investors with money looking to make more money. The first thing that a new firm does is look for ways to reduce cost to help pay for the acquisition and to eliminate duplicity in “like” operations. It is decided to reduce the work force by 7 percent. 145 employees across the corporation are being encouraged to retire early, accept a buyout lump sum or face job elimination. Huh? No surprise here, the Monopoly game is in play.
So Grasshopper No.5 who was sailing along this last year and having fun (meaningful involvement) is now watching as 145 comrades fear for their jobs. Could she be one of them? You bet! Even though she belongs to the Union, she is low on seniority and not really protected by longevity. She does however possess skills that would be very difficult to duplicate so she will probably continue in her present role.
One of my “Laws” is “there is no such thing as job security”. It is an illusion. If you believe you are secure in your mind, that is close as you can get to feeling job protection. While you toil in your job, there is this bigger game of business Monopoly being played and it can have brutal effects on the losing firms.
The lesson Grasshoppers is “approach each job as a business contract”. You are selling your services for an agreed price. Your services are being purchased with no long term promises. You owe them nothing. They owe you nothing. Be aware that in the larger scheme of things, your role could change tomorrow. All this is neither good or bad. It is fact! You need to continually make yourself valuable to the business world. There is a meaningful role for you. Bear in mind that the “Monopoly concept” is always in play.
Love,
Dad