In the previous installment of this series, I talked about how to describe the value in the job you'd like to create. One of the most difficult concerns about creating a job is how it affects other people around it. This includes areas such as: People who receive value directly from the work you'd do Others who are already delivering work which might be addressing what you'd be doing Others who have to change what they're doing because of your new job People who would sense a status … [Read more...]

In the previous installment of this series, I talked about addressing others who are affected by the job you'd like to create. Two of the special groups that we should delve into deeper are Stakeholders and Gatekeepers. Stakeholders are those people who would receive some kind of value from your work. This might be WHAT you deliver, HOW you deliver it, even WHEN it happens. But most importantly, it's TO WHOM, FROM WHOM and WITH WHOM. When creating your list of Stakeholders, start with the … [Read more...]

In the previous installment of this series, I talked about the stakeholders and gatekeepers involved with your wonderful job proposal. That's a good thing, because now it's time to get to work on those critical people. You have your clear statement of the compelling organizational need, which you tested with many people in part 2. You also described how and why you'll address this need by the value you'll provide in part 3. That also included how you'll handle the important risks involved … [Read more...]

In the previous installment of this series, I talked about how you start by identifying the compelling need that key stakeholders in the organization have. Now that you have this reasonably stable, you can start describing how you provide value by addressing the problem. You'd like it to be this simple: The organization needs X. I will do X. This is missing the big picture, which is: It's never just about the one problem. If it were that easy to identify and solve a problem, it would … [Read more...]

In the previous installment of this series, I talked about the larger context of job creation. So let's get started on creating your own custom job. Whenever you're selling an idea, it has to start with an established customer need. But who is the customer in this case? It's the higher level managers who have a role in accepting your proposal, in creating your new job. If you're looking to do something different within the scope of your current team, that might be the person you're working … [Read more...]

I've been fortunate to have had opportunities during my career to create jobs. Ultimately I even ended up creating customized jobs for myself, based on bringing my best talents and passions to giving great value to my employer. In this article, I'm going to describe the general approach. In the next ones, I'll walk you through the process of creating a job which could just be the most exciting work you've ever done. … [Read more...]