It’s no secret that employment patterns have shifted in America over the last thirty to forty years. What was once the norm – long term employment with a single employer, with bi-directional loyalty being highly valued both as an employer delivered benefit and as a desirable employee character trait, has shifted to a much more dynamic, market-based relationship. Employees in today’s corporate job market expect to change employers multiple times over their careers, in pursuit of experience and economic benefit. It’s not unrealistic to say that the legacy pattern – long term service at a single employer – is now sometimes being perceived as suspect, or an indicator that the individual is too risk averse, and lacking adaptability to change necessary for corporate success. Considering the relatively short time frame being discussed (really across the course of one average individual’s career), it is truly remarkable to see how fast old norms have been discarded. The pendulum has truly swung, and the new model is the norm.
The reasons for this change are many; most would agree that it was initially employer-driven, as the decades in question are characterized by the continued pursuit of cost reduction on the part of many corporations. Reductions in employer benefits, and other loyalty dis-incenting changes created new behaviors on the part of employees, who began to perceive that many of their assumptions about employment norms were being undercut, and reacted accordingly. Depending on how deep you care to drive, true root causes may be tied to the increasing globalization of the corporate playing field across the same timeframes – forcing corporations to begin to measure their costs across a much larger and more competitive landscape. Free Marketers would argue, of course, that globalization is a good thing in the long term – the bigger the market, the greater the opportunity and the cheaper the cost of goods sold becomes, with consequent benefits to consumers.
The purpose of this blog is not to discuss the rightness or wrongness of the causes of this change, but to discuss an interesting piece of fall-out associated with it, something I describe as the rise of the new craftsman culture. The concept is based on the fact that there are people who still value loyalty, who prefer to focus on a talent and develop it, and who thrive on developing and sustaining long term relationships. Valuing these experiences is not wrong, nor is it intrinsically better or worse than the new corporate model – it depends, of course, on the context of the individual. It may not be a good fit for a multinational, but it does have a home in at least one particular place – small business.
In addition to changing employer-employee norms, small business revitalization has also been energized by the impact of the Great Recession. Many individuals found themselves questioning their attachment to an employment pattern that could promise no increase in security, and realized that the historical downside of starting a small business and entering the arena of entrepreneurial ownership – risk to security – was really no greater than continuing to be periodically forced to swim in a job market to find a new ship, which may or may not, in the end, be any more seaworthy.
The upside of taking the plunge? The luxury of focusing on a passion, of developing a skill set, and of working with like-minded individuals. The realization that while success is never guaranteed, the worry about arbitrary decisions far removed from the context of your work pulling the rug out from under your feet is greatly diminished. The core requirements for a sound business plan and a quality product or service remain first and foremost, but with those fundamentals, many have realized that it is entirely possible to once again, enjoy what you do.
I characterized this above as the rise of a new craftsman culture – with the fundamental central tenet being a craft, a skill set, a passion or an expertise that requires experience, practice and maturity to achieve excellence. The small business landscape is increasing populated by entrepreneurs that have decided to leverage their strengths, and to earn the right to specialize, and succeed. Small teams of craftsmen and craftswomen are carving out their own roads, and finding that, in fact, there are other ways to succeed that don’t entail being held hostage to a fortune that they often cannot truly influence.
Why do I believe in the phenomena of the new craftsman culture? Because that’s what we are, here at AMI. Our craft is analytics, our passion is problem solving and our principals are practiced masters of their trade. Furthermore, we believe in the need for relationships to be personal, direct, and invested.
A smart man once said that “all politics are local” – our version says that “all business is personal.” We try to act that way with each other, and with our customers.
Chris Schultz, Chief Operations Officer
Analytic Marketing Innovations, Inc