Career CHANGE MANAGEMENT

About the Book

Designed for the following Readers         This is a book for people who want to move ahead in their chosen field and for recent entrants into the job market who are unfamiliar with the ongoing turbulence in the 21st Century economy. It is also for people who are in Job A and want to, or necessarily have to, move up or over to Job B. Executives responsible for managing change in their areas of supervisory responsibility, however large or small, will find the book useful. Career counselors and Placement officers in Community Colleges and Universities can recommend it to graduates. Corporate Human Resources administrators will find useful for in-house training programs aimed at improving employee effectiveness. In any case, with the information and strategic planning template in this book, readers can take control of career change management!
The knowledge Economy         The information Revolution began in the aftermath of World War II with a technological explosion in electronics, computers, genomics, artificial intelligence, geosynchronous satellites, biology and medical technology. It caused dramatic upheaval and turbulence in the 21st Century economy. Intellectual capital is now the most important asset, change through innovation is the only constant, and lifelong learning is required.
        TNs new economy requires very different skill sets than the traditional ones associated with the Industrial Revolution. Back in 1959, Peter Drucker put it very plainly:

‘Displaced Industrial workers cannot simply move into knowledge work or services .. At the very least they have to change their basic attitudes, values, and beliefs... “This is far more than a social change. It is a change in the human condition.”
        Some people have been able to adapt. Many others have not. This has created two parallel working worlds. One is Blunderland, the land of the status quo, for everyone unable to adapt. The other is DruckerWorid where the people have achieved the right human condition — welcome change and control it to their advantage. Career Change Management provides the necessary tools and knowledge for individuals in DruckerWorld to take firm control of their own career trajectory and for those in Blunderland to work out an escape route to DruckerWorld..
The Strategic Plan          The first step in career change management is to set a goal. It may be the next step up the ladder, a different job, or the accomplishment of some organizational metric in your area of responsibility, It can be an ultimate goal or an intermediate point on the career trajectory. Aim high! Goals are optimistic statements of intent modulated by realism. The next step is the construction of a plan that will systematically control actions so that the goal is reached. The four components of strategic planning are defined as
        Goals — Pinnacles of aspiration or “the finish line of a race.”
        Objectives — Intentions whose successful achievemcnt depends upon meeting objective (measurable) criteria, or milestones, in a                                specific time frame.
        Strategies — Specific plans of action along a definite timeline of measurable milestones aimed at achieving one or more Objectives.
        Tactics — Short time actions designed to reach strategic milestones on time.
        The Objective statement includes analysis of the personal strengths, credentials, capabilities, experiences, and resources required compared to those possessed. External influences, limitations, contingencies, and uncertainties are analyzed. The Strategy statement evaluates the opportunity, innovations required, conflicting factors, obstacles/contingencies, major commitments, probability of success, and milestones to measure progress. The Tactical plan identifies the strategic miles

About the Author

Dr. Thomas L. Martin, Jr. was educated as an electrical engineer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Stanford University. He has served as Dean of Engineering at the University of Arizona, University of Florida, and Southern Methodist University and as President of the Illinois Institute of Technology. He has been a consultant on higher education to the heads of two foreign countries and is a pioneer in distance education. Dr. Martin has six published books — four in electrical engineering, one on civil defense in nuclear war, and a spoof and satire on bureaucracy called Malice in Blunderland. He has been a director of 13 corporations, is, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, an honoree in the Hall of Fame of the American Society for Engineering Education, Fellow of the I.E.E.E., and a Founder of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport.