Stretch How to Future-Proof Yourself for Tomorrow's Workplace

The problem is you are so busy keeping up with the day-to-day that you can't prepare for tomorrow. Stretch: How to Future Proof Yourself for Tomorrow's Workplace gives you the confidence and knowledge you need to achieve your goals in an ever-changing world. Karie Willyerd and Barbara Mistick—established experts and the collective winners of dozens of awards in the field of personal development and learning—offer evidence-based guidance on obtaining the skills you will need to thrive in tomorrow's workplace. Built on solid, global research and dozens of personal interviews with people who have achieved new and inspiring goals, Stretch offers advice, valuable insights, anecdotes, and recommendations to make achieving your goals practical and within reach.

If you are like other professionals, your biggest worry is becoming obsolete at work. Shifting technologies, fierce competition among corporations, and recruitment occurring on a global level would give anyone concern. To remain relevant in spite of change, you need to know how to:

• Learn in any situation
• Open your thinking to a world beyond where you are now
• Connect to the people who can help you make your future happen
• Seek experiences that will prepare you for tomorrow
• Stay motivated through the ups and downs of a career so you can bounce forward

Stretch: How to Future Proof Yourself for Tomorrow's Workplace offers five practices to help you start, enhance, and lengthen your career by anticipating the needs of tomorrow's work environment. Don't become obsolete.  Instead, stretch to achieve your potential.

KARIE WILLYERD is the Workplace Futurist for SuccessFactors, an SAP company. She is the coauthor of the bestseller, The 2020 Workplace: How Innovative Companies Attract, Develop & Keep Tomorrow's Employees Today. Her articles and blogs appear regularly in Harvard Business Review and in the HR and Learning press. She has been a Chief Learning Officer for five Fortune 500 companies.

BARBARA MISTICK is the President of Wilson College. Recently, she made history pioneering the nation's first loan buy-back program for college students. She is a seasoned entrepreneur and was named a Distinguished Service Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Her public service advocacy on behalf of entrepreneurs has won numerous awards from the US Small Business Administration, Ernst and Young and The Girl Scouts of America. Dr. Mistick was the first woman to serve as president of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. She holds an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and received her doctorate in Management from Case Western Reserve University.

Foreword ix

Preface xi

Part 1: Introduction 1

1: The Stretch Imperative 3

Who Do You Want to Be Tomorrow? . . . Megatrends That Will Affect Your Future . . . Do You Have a Sell-By Date? . . . The Stretch Imperatives . . . An Overview of the Five Practices . . . The Story of Brandon

Part 2: It’s All on You 31

2: Learn on the Fly 33

Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough for Long . . . Learning a Living . . . What Does Excellence Look Like? . . . Strategies for Learning on the Fly . . . Learning Traps to Avoid . . . The Payoff . . . Stretch Summary . . . What Organizations and Managers Can Do

3: Be Open 61

The Importance of Being Open . . . Are You Closing Doors to Your Future? . . . Accept Uncertainty . . . Stretch Strategies to Be Open . . . You Are Not on Your Own . . . Stretch Summary . . . What Organizations and Managers Can Do

Part 3: You Need Options 91

4: Build a Diverse Network 93

What Is a Network? . . . The Two Networks Everyone Has . . . Why Do Diverse Networks Matter? . . . Strategies to Build a Diverse Network . . . It’s All About Options . . . Stretch Summary . . . What Organizations and Managers Can Do

5: Be Greedy About Experiences 123

The Tale of Two Attorneys . . . The Experience Catch 22 . . . No Two People Are the Same . . . Boost Your Skill Set . . . Strategies for Being Greedy About Experiences . . . Managers Matter . . . Evaluate Your Options . . . Stretch Summary . . . What Organizations and Managers Can Do

Part 4: You Have Dreams 153

6: Bounce Forward 155

Don’t Bounce Back—Bounce Forward . . . Silver Linings . . . Pursue Mastery . . . Fits and Starts . . . Finding Meaning in the Commotion . . . The One That Got Away . . . The Workday Blues . . . The Recipe for Springing Back . . . Mental Strategies to Help You Bounce Forward . . . Maintain the Faith . . . Stretch Summary . . . What Organizations and Managers Can Do

Part 5: Charting the Path Forward 183

7: Stretch into Your Future 185

Ten Predictions for the Future of Work . . . The Top Ten Capabilities for Tomorrow . . . The Home Stretch . . . Onward

Supplemental Materials 209

Acknowledgments 211

List of Figures and Tables 215

Appendix A: Research Methodology; Key Workplace 2020 217

Survey Findings

Appendix B: Essential Books to Learn More 223

Notes 225

Index 245