THE PYRAMID EFFECT

I attended a training session recently and we were reviewing the hierarchy of an organization and it dawned on me that the unemployment situation will continue to worsen. Using the pyramid as a means of demonstration, as you go up the ladder, opportunity and rate of upward movement reduces, number of position available also diminishes as you move up. Imagine a situation where 100 people were recruited on the same and only one can rise to become the Managing Director (which is the highest point for an employee) at any particular point in time. The question then is “what happened to the remaining 99?” This is outside those that are unemployed.

Without creating necessary alternatives and necessary opportunity for the remaining 99, they will eventually be kicked out of the organization into unemployment. It then becomes a made race for the top, making it a free for all battle of supremacy and players resorting to ethical, unethical, orthodox and unorthodox means of achieving their goals. It is however unfortunate that in most cases the just and most qualified don’t always get the position. Aside from the hard skills required for the job, the soft skills become more important and the focus point as you climb the corporate ladder.

The irony is that the person that eventually won the race will eventually be shown the door either willingly or otherwise. Knowing that this change is inevitable, people still find it difficult to plan for the eventualities. Our failure to face reality is not only detrimental to us but to our families as a whole.

I appreciate the fact that we all can’t be entrepreneurs however planning ahead for the eventual exit is for the wise. The following steps can be adopted to make the transition smooth and easy:

1.   Test Reality: do a self-appraisal of yourself and current situation; identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, challenges. This has to be done in conjunction with your personality, traits and aspirations. Determine which works better for you either as an employee or a business owner. Seek knowledge, carry our research and ask questions to be able to make an informed decision before taking the plunge. Make sure your 3 elements: body, soul and spirit are in agreement. 

2.   Prepare for it: once the three elements are in agreement, set out an implementation framework that will highlight various milestones and time frame. Discuss with mentors, people and associates who are more experienced and knowledgeable in what you have chosen. Research and update yourself on current happenings and how you can improve yourself. Document your ideas and start saving towards its whether for starting your own business or as a retirement fund. Discipline is however paramount to stick to the schedule and plan as laid out or documented.

3.     Determine your exit point: select a time frame for exit from your current status either to retire from active employment or change from an employee to an employer. Your current age, environment, reality and opportunity available have a lot to play in determining the duration and nature of exit. This has to be SMART (if I am permitted to use this word) supported with regular reviews to correct deviations and make necessary adjustment as dictated by happenings either within or outside your control.

4.      Focus: there would be distractions mostly from friends and family members. Remember every great idea initially started as a crazy one. Keep your eyes on the goal and never allow any negativism or pessimism to dissuade you. Listen but review all suggestions to determine their viability. The importance of knowledge like I said earlier cannot be over emphasized as your ability to make insightful decisions is highly dependent on the depth of your knowledge.

Remember, he who fails to plan, plans to fail! It is not by choice but by compulsion as the inevitable must surely happen. You will be shown the door eventually and at that point, what can you do in such a confused state. Start planning early to avoid all the associated pain and disappointment. Like death, it can happen suddenly and without adequate preparation, imagine what your family and loved one will be forced to endure; children thrown out of school, stress from the owner of your property, broken home, ill-health, loneliness, etc.

It’s time to get up! Start listing your strength and weaknesses, opportunities and possible threats. Put in place measures to sharpen your strength and convert those weaknesses to strengths. Be observant of the opportunities around you and juxtapose with your personality traits for proper alignment. On the opportunities identified, start working on how this can be maximized. I was once told that: Good luck = Preparation x Opportunity = Success!