When you look for a job, you are looking for something that is fading from the socioeconomic picture because it is past its evolutionary prime.

William Bridges – Change Author

Now in VUCA time where many of us work @ home or do gig work, the following is more true than ever:

“The fundamental unit of such an economy is not the corporation but the individual. Tasks aren’t assigned and controlled through a stable chain of management but rather are carried out autonomously by independent contractors. These electronically connected freelancers – e-lancers – join together into fluid and temporary networks to produce and sell goods and services. When a job is done – after a day, a month, and a year – the network dissolves, and its members become independent agents again, circulating through the economy, seeking the next assignment.”(‘The Dawn of the E-lance Economy’, Harvard Business Review, September, 1998.)

Due to economy or AI, there’s a chance you may become unemployed, which would be a personal paradigm shift. Personal paradigm shifts are an opportunity to change your point of view and even your risk appetite.

You may need to change your point of view of work from employee to small business owner. You now see work like a startup founder sees opportunity as possibility and even probability where others see impossibility.

Another personal paradigm shift is to see your work in terms of a value exchange and use design thinking to create a stronger you. Value can be designing a stronger you, designing a product or delivering an essential service.

You may want to change your risk tolerance from risk-averse to risk-sensitive or even to risk-taking perspective.

Work Lesson Earned: As a fundamental business unit, what is your value-added differentiator and why should somebody hire you? This is the essence of establishing a Brand You Pivot in a disruptive economy. You need to be prepared to work in an increasingly hustle economy.