One of the opportunities to express ones leadership is to dressing to fit a new position. Whether it is moving from one senior level position to another or going to another organization,

Here’s an outfit that might have been appropriate back in the day.

Jacob Lawerence Migration

As we “Look for the Way Forward”, which is a phrase parroted by politicians and reporters that sounds better said out loud, focus needs to be on job creation in order to dampen the current economic woes. Not just any kind of job, but jobs that offer the opportunity for people to actually own something, like a house, in their life time. It’s estimated that even in this down housing market the median cost for a home in the US is approximately $215,000.

We are not economists but this approximation puts the average salaried employee some 17,000 short in annual gross income. In recent years there has been a net loss in manufacturing jobs, which usually pay better then the standard service sector jobs. So something will need to give, higher paying jobs and/or a lower cost of living, or possibly a mixture of the two.

Homes still too high for ‘average’ family

By Craig Guillot • Bankrate.com

The US government will look for ways to stimulate the economy and one area where it can guarantee that jobs will be created and not outsourced is in rebuilding the country’s infrastructure. If rebuilding the Infrastructure is part of the cure, which regions of the country will benefit most? We are interested in where people will go next. The three or four major migrations that we have had, have all altered the country’s culture some way.

Here is a short survey for  you to take. We would like to know what you think.

<a href=”http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/71889/86her” mce_href=”http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/71889/86her”>Please take my survey</a>

• Get out the resume and polish it up – even (especially) if you’re employed full time.
• Get involved in creating multiple streams of income that fit what you are passionate about. For me it’s personal development and education. Go to the developmental meetings where like minded people will be congregating. Ask what they are involved in, share your elevator speech, and ask how you can assist them in accomplishing their goals. Create that win-win connection.
• Smile. Sincerely.
• Volunteer in organizations that you believe in. Nonprofits need your support now more than ever. Include this on that resume you’re fine tooling. I have a ‘retired’ friend who is so in the doldrums now. She’s used to working, the money is low and, she’s singing the blues. The best way I’ve found to shift myself is to focus out and give to someone else. When I take the attention off of ME what’s not working for ME (probably made up anyway) to how I can give to someone else, I am absolutely empowered.
• Make a list of promises to yourself – and keep them. Use your promises – your word – as a motivational tool. If you find that you don’t keep the ones you make to yourself but do keep the ones you make to others (stop doing this), let someone close to you know what you’ve promised and ask them to be your “accountability partner.”

Let’s all remember that we each have gifts. Now’s the time to share them before they are returned to sender.

For a lot of reasons – generations, economics, bursting bubbles – instead of counting on a twenty or thirty year “gig” for you and your career big brand, it is proving to be more like 3 years and done. On to the next. The skills you want to have may have more to do with your being comfortable tackling change, being flexible and successful with something new that you don’t know very much about vs. what you did on your last job. (For this reason, it’s good to know that we can learn anything that we want in time.)

Hint: If what you did in the past was relevant you might still be there.

Branding and positioning have been around for a while. Trout and Reis wrote great books about it. Ad agencies made millions on developing them and  some brands have been made enormously successful through smart marketing – McDonalds, Nike, Etrade, GEICO are a few that come to mind. When it comes to branding yourself, a new set of challenges take the stage. Instead of looking at your resume as a set of things that you’ve accomplished, you need to be able to spell out a set of adjectives that you can bring to every situation. Yes, know your personal positioning – what’s unique about you and your skills, your educataional background,what you are passionate about, and your job results. Then do like one seemingly successful automobile manafacturer says when you buy one of their automobiles “you get in addition to the car, the following”…

• Something that is desirable,
• That is passionate,
• Sensual,
• Seductive,
• Artistic and creative,
• That is cool,
• That exhilarating
• And luxurious

What else are you bringing, what is your added value? If you were a lifestyle what kind would you be? Marissa Mayer, VP of Search Product and User Experience of Google says that when they are looking for new hires the top 2 qualifications they must have are “smart” and “take charge.” This is the kind of person fits the description, “When you hire the (background, education, work-experience fill in the blanks) you also get someone who is a leader, dependable and brilliant.” Likely in this economy, desirable too.

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Only a decade or so ago, Women and Business were the exception rather than the rule. Women working was not a new idea, but it was one that was almost completely replaced during the 1950s. In that time, the new American post-war prosperity led to this ideology that women’s work was in the home and not in the office. Jobs for women dwindled to a few services such as secretary and teacher. Outside of those industries, there were few opportunities for women and business. It really is nice to see how things have changed in the last few years. Don’t get me wrong, there is still a long way to go, but even so things are looking up for women and business in the 21st century. More women are going to college and completing it then men, and women are working in high-tech fields in greater numbers than ever before. Salaries are up, dropout rates are down, and it seems that women and business have a bright future. Almost all the females I know are women in small  business.

The interesting thing is that they tend to be actually more successful than many of the men I know. Most of them are in pretty cutting-edge industries and making excellent career salaries. They do not have to deal with workplace harassment, they get paid fairly well, and in general are making good lives for themselves because of a greater degree of equality than our society has ever had before.Nonetheless, there are still things that need to be changed. women and business still get less money for the work than men do. Many women are discouraged early on from pursuing high-tech careers because of entrenched cultural stereotypes that say that women aren’t as good at math or science. Although the stereotypes are not true, they still hold some power over many young women and girls, keeping them away from scientific careers that might be better for them.Even so, there is reason for hope.

When you look at how far things have changed in the past 50 years, it really is like we live in a completely different world. It might take another generation or two for things to even out completely, but I have full confidence they will. Now that they have a taste for equality, they will continue to fight for it until it is theirs completely. I say more power to them! The day of the working woman is at hand.