September 7 2011, Toronto
It’s the week after Labour Day. It’s time to be lucky. You know why? Because LUCK stands for Labouring Under Correct Knowledge. There are two kinds of labour: the first holds one back, weighs one down and wears one out. This is the kind of labour that exhausts one with unnecessary tasks or details. This is the kind of labour that gives work a bad name and makes us long for Friday after a week that’s been too long.
The second kind of labour is what I’m all about. It’s physical and cerebral work in pursuit of a meaningful goal. It’s productive activity that delivers measurable results. It’s the execution of a personal mission that is exciting and exacting. It’s what builds our mental muscle and gives our lives meaning. Someone who loves their labour finds it much easier to love everything else. Inner work life has a profound impact on our creativity, commitment and collegiality.
And yet all the research says it’s getting harder and harder to love one’s work. According to the most recent Gallup Poll, 52% of Americans believe economic conditions are poor, 76% believe they’re getting worse, 45% believe they’re struggling, 33% think their health is suffering, less than half say they’re happy. Americans now feel worse about their jobs than ever before. In Canada, The 2011 Environics Social Values Monitor revealed that almost 60% of Canadians do not consider their jobs secure. 42% believe their jobs are even less secure than 2010 and 48% are dissatisfied with their financial situation.
As president of Environics/Lipkin, One of Canada’s leading motivation companies, I’ve seen a widespread disengagement of people from their jobs over the past three years. We’ve all been rocked by the great recession and the tepid recovery. While unemployment is around 7 percent in Canada and 9 percent in America, underemployment may be double those figures. “Reorgs”, cutbacks and product or market withdrawals are rampant. Confusion may be the order of the day.
Thomas Friedman, writing in the New York Times on August 28 2011, expressed our global inflection point beautifully: “the European Union is cracking up. The Arab world is cracking up. China’s growth model is under pressure and America’s credit-driven capitalist model has suffered a warning heart attack and needs a total rethink. Recasting any one of these alone would be huge. Doing all four at once — when the world has never been more interconnected — is mind-boggling. We are again ‘present at the creation‘ — but of what?”
I love that question: We are again ‘present at the creation‘ — but of what? What are you creating that will make a difference, leave a legacy, add value or create happiness? How are you finding the meaning that motivates you to be magical? Yes, magical – that’s where you create a solution or experience for others that captivates, charms and empowers them to be extraordinary.
Here’s the good news: Through the 2011 Environics Social Values Monitor, one of Canada’s leading syndicated research studies, we have identified the seven most powerful trends that you can leverage to create your own personal magic. Each trend reflects a movement on values that drive people at the deepest level. If you use these trends to guide your thoughts and actions, you’ll create LUCK for yourself and those around you. And remember, if you like what you read, pay it forward. Knowledge is only power when it’s shared.
The biggest trend of all is Introspection & Empathy. It’s grown 54% since 2009. It’s the need to examine one’s actions and find meaning in one’s life while understanding others at a deeper level. It’s a move away from judgment and intolerance to acceptance and appreciation. There is an interdependence between self-discovery and external connection. Introspection can only occur through others because they are a mirror into ourselves. We’re only as good as all of us together. In the face of exponential change, no one person has the perfect answer. It takes a combined action to find the solution. So go within by reaching out. I am you and you are me, separated only by circumstance. We share a joint responsibility for helping each other.
The next biggest trend is New Social Responsibility & Community Involvement. This trend is defined as a deep feeling of belonging to one’s community and a pronounced feeling of social responsibility where mutual assistance plays a key role. It’s also a measure of interest in what’s happening in one’s neighbourhood, city or region. This trend is up 49% since 2009. There is an understanding that being alone will make you more vulnerable. It’s a coming together to take on bigger, more complex challenges. Call it the new social cocooning where likeminded networks enable their members to adapt and thrive. So join or form your groups and become known as a valuable contributor to them.
The third biggest trend is Social Learning & Cultural Fusion. This is an attraction to and interest in diversity. It’s a feeling that there is a great deal to learn from people different to you, Diversity is perceived as a source of personal enrichment, and a way to satisfy one’s hunger for discovery and exploration. This trend also measures the inclination to incorporate some of these new cultural influences into our own lives. It’s up 41% over the past two years. The influx of immigrants and explosion of social media is expanding the scope and scale of our conversations. Increasingly, we’re all plugged into the global village. The best insights may come from the most unlikely places. At Environics, we see a direct correlation between financial success and being outward looking – connected, committed and open to other’s point of view.
The fourth biggest trend is Vitality & Effort For Health. This is a sense that one has an abundance of energy and that one is connected to this energy. It also measures a commitment to transform one’s lifestyle through exercise and radical changes to one’s diet. Half the Canadian and American populations are over 40 and while two thirds are overweight, there is a rapidly rising awareness of the power of lifestyle to enhance one’s wellbeing. This phenomenon is combining with a recovery from the chronic fatigue of the past three years. People are adapting to the new realities. They’re evaluating their lives and realizing that the worst didn’t happen. The sky didn’t fall in. Canadians, especially, believe they’ve come through a rough time, but they’re well poised for the future. There is a rise in demand for people and resources that enhance one’s wellbeing. Optimism and feeling good is so 2012. Being pessimistic and cynical is so 2008. Deliver on other people’s dreams and you’ll make good on yours.
The fifth biggest trend is Rejection of Authority & Support For Government Involvement. This is a rejection of unquestioning respect and deference to those in authority. It’s a belief that authority should not be respected for its own sake. It’s also a questioning of the institutions for which one may work. The pursuit of efficiency may be mutually exclusive to one’s wellbeing. This trend is up by 49% since 2009. But here’s a fascinating counter-trend: Support for Government Involvement. This is a confidence in government’s ability to positively affect how society works. It’s a tendency to believe that the government performs a socially beneficial function. And this trend is up by 35% since 2009. At a time where surprise is the order of the day and no one has a clear roadmap to success, people are skeptical about the leadership ability of their boss or management team. Business cannot always be trusted to take of business but we appreciate the role of government in guiding us through the crises.
The sixth biggest trend is Equality Of The Sexes. This is a desire to transcend sexual stereotypes and see an end to discrimination. It’s a commitment to eliminating all differences between mean and women in the family, culture and economy. This trend is up by 32% since 2009. It’s also a measure of the rising influence of women. The Environics Social Values Monitor shows that women are far better equipped to handle change than men. They score higher on Idealism, Courage and Sociability. Of the 17 million jobs projected to sprout up in the US and Canada over the next decade, the vast majority will come in fields that currently attract far more women than men. In fact men dominate only 2 of the job titles expected to grow the most between 2008 and 2018 – construction workers and accountants. Call it the “feminization of society” – after a brutal crisis, there is a great demand for nurturing, caring, friendship and tenderness – all traditionally female traits. If you are a woman, this is your time. If you are a man, learn from a woman.
The seventh biggest trend is Pursuit of Originality & Personal Creativity. This is a need to demonstrate one’s individuality, and use one’s imagination and creative talents in daily life – both at work and at play. This trend has grown by 24% since 2009. It’s fuelled by the rise in personal energy and creative opportunities, enhanced by technology and social media. It’s also driven by the need to experiment and explore new ways of being and living. We’re all new immigrants in this new society carving a path out of the wilderness.
That’s it for now. It’s time to get to work. Adapt to the trends and create some of your own. Go first. You may just be the one others have been waiting for.
