In today’s world, jobs are changing so fast and require flexibility and a wide range of skills on the part of the worker. If you are not reading, taking courses, or surfing the web on a regular basis, then you are not keeping up with the demands in the workplace. You will be left behind in the informational revolution with skills and abilities suitable only for yesterday’s job.

At least every quarter, invest some time to review your skills with an eye toward the future. New Year’s Day is an ideal time for this activity. Identify two new skills to acquire, then take classes, study, or read books to master the new skills. Identify skills you have now and how you can develop those skills to the “Master” level.

I have observed and experienced that a time comes in our lives when we evolve to appreciate investing in knowledge and experiences to better ourselves and those around us. I believe that at this time going into a new year, there’s no better investment than in our personal and professional development.

First and foremost, get excited about your personal and professional development. There’s great payoff now and in the future.

What are your plans for personal and professional development?

Business sustainability and job security are top-of-mind for my clients and their employees. The future of work is evolving. Each one of us must adapt and evolve or become extinct (in business and in the work we perform). I am recommending that my clients take specific steps supported by my feedback and guidance as they follow the ‘Seven Keys to Job Security’. Key #1 was Find Passion in What You Do.

Key #2 - Find Excellence in What You Do.

What are you really good at? This may include specific skills or more general attributes. You can be really good at fine-tuning something technical or in handling difficult situations with clients.

When you have identified your core competencies, you will feel good about letting others know that you love what you do and you are also confident in what you do. Your pride in your contribution and passion for your work with grow and show. You will be able to see how your competencies can transcend to other job opportunities as your job and your workplace change - and so it will.

I would be interested in hearing about your search for excellence in what you do and how you are opening the doors to new opportunities to thrive in 2009.

Our program Personal Quality and Leadership (90-Day Personal Quality Branding) has assisted many clients in setting standards of excellence and stepping up to the challenge of evolving and thriving in rapidly changing environments.

Your comments are always appreciated.

Thanksgiving is also a time for being grateful for what we have and therefore can be a kick-off point for introspection. I hope that the keys to job security offered over the next week will assist those who appreciate the time to enter serious introspection with the intent to counteract the negativity of the news. I recommend taking these steps with a coach or mentor who can help by providing honest feedback and guidance.

Key 1 Find passion in what you do. Choose work that you can get excited about. You do have a choice. Passion gives energy like no other feeling. When you have passion, you have purpose. You can speak about your work with enthusiasm. Discover on a more specific level what excites you. Find out what you really love doing in your work. Then on a not-so-good day, you can draw on the energy of passion.

“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” [Dale Carnegie]

The gallery is hosting a fascinating display of antique typewriters. The walls are lined with photographs of people working in offices and stores back to the early 1880s. A poster reads

“Gateway to the Information Age. Today’s keyboards provide an essential entry point for global communication and help define the personal and business technology of our “information age.” The original keyboards - typewriters - have largely been ignored as cultural artifacts but their impact on life in the 20th century was considerable. Along with other machines of communication, the typewriter helped create the modern world.”

If you asked a Gen X, Y, or Millennium to describe a typewriter, many would give you a blank stare. Nor would they believe that their communication technology sprouted from this antique machinery.

Babyboomers who learned to “type” were fortunate to be able to transfer their skills from the mechanical typewriter to the latest version of the keyboard - even the miniature versions on Blackberry’s and other handheld devices. Other shifts from machines to technology have not been able to preserve human labour - an interesting observation. I still value typing or keyboarding as it is now known as the most valuable and transportable skill that I ever developed.

The gallery display also chronicles the story of a typewriter repairman who made his fortune walking from one office to another, then by car. When typewriters when Selectric (IBM), his business adapted. When typewriters moved towards obsolescence, his business adapted. He noticed that computers spawned printers. He didn’t stay ahead of the curve, but he certainly kept his eye open for opportunity as technology changed. His competitors became obsolete just like the typewriters that they serviced. More market share for him.

In this time of technological and enonomical shifts, are you seeing the opportunities or are you wallowing in obsolescence.

If you cannot make to the MALTON Airport Gallery, you can read more about early typewriters at www.antiquetypewriters.com .

All typewriters and accessories on display in the gallery are from the Martin Howard Collection.

Manufacturing, as well as much of the service sector, is undergoing a transformation as profound as the one experienced by the agricultural sector at the beginning of the last century. We are still in the early stages AND clearly we are experiencing a shift from mass labor to highly skilled labor, along with increasing automation in the production of goods and delivery of services. Analysts predict that, in this century, employment as we know it is likely to be phased out in industrialized nations of the world. Human labor is being systematically eliminated from the economic process. A new generation of sophisticated information and communication technologies, together with new forms of business reorganization and management, is wiping out full-time employment for millions of blue- and white-collar workers.In a ruthless, globally competitive market, companies can no longer afford the luxury of holding on to more employees than they need. Because of technology, some jobs are being eliminated completely.The evidence is clear that we are shifting to a new economy - one that is booming for some jobs, and devastating for others.

What do these changes signify for you? Are you taking notice, taking responsibility, and investing in yourself to prepare for change or are you burying your head in the sand?

In future blogs in November, I will offer keys to the new job security.

My fondest memories of Labour Day were when I would watch my dad from the parade sidelines as he marched in the parade as a member of Local 30 Sheet Metal Workers. We were all so proud! Dad would receive a new uniform including a windbreaker with the Local 30 crest just before Labour Day each year so that he and his colleagues would show there best as they entered the CNE grounds. Mom, my brothers, and I would be admitted to the CNE grounds free on Labour Day and there were all sorts of activities, hot dogs, soft-drinks - an exhausting day of family, fun, and food.

Labour Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in Canada since the 1880s. The origins of Labour Day in Canada can be traced back to April 14, 1872 when a parade was staged in support of the Toronto Typographical Union’s strike for a 58-hour work-week. In New Zealand where Labour Day is celebrated on May 1st, the origin is associated with the 8-hour day movement in 1840. With recent changes to our current Labour Standards “abolishing” the 60-hour work work, I question our progress over the last two centuries in celebrating the “worker” and improving the quality of life in the workplace.

Ironically, Labour Day also signifies the end of a string of long-weekend holidays timed approximately every 4 weeks apart throughout the summer. An insinuous scent of fall is beginning to rock the lazy days of summer. Many families are preparing to kick into high-gear for the first day of school and the thrust of fall business activities. I have intentionally avoided shopping malls this weekend knowing that there are crowds of parents and children shopping for new clothes, equipment, and supplies. Emotions are running high: excitement, anticipation, fear, love.

While I am spending the day clearing and re-organizing my office to prepare for new business in the fall, I am also giving thought to all the men and women who have contributed to moving our economy forward through hard labour. We have much to be thankful to these workers for improving our quality of life. Welcome Labour Day and a toast to all workers. Have a safe and happy holiday!

The topic of work/life balance is covered in the press almost daily: radio; television; newspapers; magazines; and last but not least, e-newsletters and blogs. Because of the timing and overwhelming focus on this topic, most of us have bought into the notion that a “balanced life” is actually attainable.

Experience and observation has taught me that a “balanced life” simply is not attainable. Just think about this for a moment. Balance in any context is delicate. Anything that is balanced (think of a scale) can become unbalanced with the slightest pressure from any direction at anytime. An enormous amount of energy is exerted and depleted trying to keep something in balance - including your life. Can you see how incessant focus on achieving a balanced life affects the quality of your life? The effort is actually counter-productive. I have come to appreciate how “integration” rather than “balance” can be the key to maintaining quality of life and actually thriving. Understanding this distinction has a profound effect on sustaining your quality of life and basically, staying sane.Here is my interpretation of the distinction between integration and balance.

“Integration” implies acceptance, assimilation, and sense of continuous flowing energy. As something is added, it is embraced but it does not take over. When something is deleted, the gap is filled in just the right proportion without losing sight or appreciation for what was removed or lost. Wholeness is maintained. Our sense of being whole gives us strength to flow through the transition. We attract the best. We go with the flow.

“Balance” on the other hand implies struggle to achieve and maintain. Any addition or deletion from the equation causes upset or feeling of being “off balance”. Again, think about the scales. When something is added or deleted, there is a compensating reaction. Under or overcompensation fuels the imbalance. We feel fragmented along with a gamut of other feelings and fears that tear at our sense of being whole and compromise our strength. We focus on the hurdles, we trip, and we lose the flow.

Here is my call to action. Stop the Balancing Act:

1. Examine your distinction between integration and balance.
2. List what is most important to you at this very moment. Be as detailed as you feel is meaningful for you to benefit from this exercise.
3. Use my distinction and/or your own regarding “balance” to determine how well (or not so well) you are currently “balancing” or “juggling” what is most important to you. How do you feel when “A” gets more attention than “B”? Or, when you add “C” which forces you to eliminate “B”? What is this “balancing act” costing you?
4. Now explore the shift to “integration”. Can this shift allow you to give the appropriate amount of attention to “A” and “B”? Can you accept and assimilate “C” without total exclusion of “B”? If the unexpected comes along, will you be able to accept it with ease and maintain the flow?

I would love to read about your experience in stopping the balancing act. Please post your feedback.

Internal and process improvement is the theme at Maestro Quality this summer. After all, process improvement is our business and I am adamant about being a model for personal quality and leadership.

Sandra (my Personal Assistant) is in the middle of intensive training and taking on more responsibility to allow me to devote more time to discovering new ways to add value for existing clients and developing new business.

One major improvement that we have implemented affects how we stay connected with and deliver more value to our clients and readers of Maestro’s Notes. To enhance our effectiveness and better serve clients and readers, we are moving our e-zine services to 1Shopping Cart effective with the next newsletter to be released this week. 1Shopping Cart is a leader in delivery of e-newsletters, e-books, and other online products.

Stay tuned for June’s issue of Maestro’s Notes - Did you look forward to going to work today? - Learn more about the 2008 list of 50 Best Workplaces in Canada. According to Great Place to Work(R) Institute, when employees of the 50 Best Workplaces in Canada were asked if they look forward to coming into work, 84% said yes! By comparison, only 34% of respondents answered favorably to a related question in a national workforce survey.

Our mission is to see every one of our clients on that list by assisting them to create great places to work where people want to go to work and actually look forward to going to work.

Money? While most of us strive to raise our income to achieve a better quality of life, we also strive for a mosaic of satisfying characteristics with both tangible and intangible intrinsic rewards. When I speak with clients about creating an environment that enhances quality of life in the workplace with the result of high job satisfaction, I often get into the debate about whether or not “money is the prime motivator” for employees.

Graham Lowe, president of Graham Lowe Group in Kelowna, B.C., references a 2007 study 21st Century Job Quality: Achieving What Canadians Want when emphasizing what Canadians value and look for their jobs. These characteristic are presented in order of importance.

1. respectful treatment
2. a healthy and safe environment
3. trustworthy management
4. work-life balance
5. a sense of pride and accomplishment
6. training to do their jobs effectively

How interesting that “money” is not in the top six above. Even if money is next on the list at #7, many employers’ cling to 20th Century beliefs and employment priorities that are out of sync with the current reality. Resistance to new and innovative practices that embrace and support quality of life in the workplace is holding many employers back from creating a happy, productive, effective, and profitable workplace. They are losing good talented employees and the “pool” is drying up.

If employers continue to address only the “money” reward, they will be insulting and demoralizing their workforce. This is the disconnect that results in everyone missing out on a great opportunity to build a satisfying community at work. Future blogs and e-newsletters will focus on creating a workplace that meets the needs of employers and employees: happy, productive, effective, and profitable.