Today's Employee: Creative. Adaptive. Temporary. | Big Think

Today's Employee: Creative. Adaptive. Temporary

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The brightest companies in business are always on the lookout for the brightest possible employees. What characteristics in particular are they looking for? Author and entrepreneur Ben Casnocha explains that versatility and an adaptive mindset can set you apart because taking risks is integral to 21st century success. Companies want employees who are able to roll with the punches and won't be afraid to stick their neck out.

Enter: job hopping and the employee tour of duty, which Casnocha calls "mutual investment and mutual benefit." Rather than delude ourselves with the customs of a bygone era in which employees spent entire careers with one company, more hirers and hirees should come to the understanding that employment is one stop on a longer journey.

Big Think is proud to partner with Mercer on Inside Employees' Minds, a series that examines employees' changing mindsets and the ways workplaces are responding to them.

Mercer’s new Inside Employees’ Minds™ research reveals what more than 4,000 workers in Canada and the US think about their jobs, their employers, and the changing work experience. It explores trends in employee engagement and the evolving employee value proposition, highlighting key differences by generation, job level, and more. The research confirms that, as business needs and the workforce composition continue to evolve — with the boomer generation moving toward retirement and the preferences of the younger generations starting to dominate — employers need to rethink and reshape their value propositions to lay the foundation for future success. In this compelling video series, Mercer business leaders and other noted experts share their thoughts on the transforming work experience and what it means for both employers and employees.

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BEN CASNOCHA:

Ben Casnocha is an American writer and entrepreneur, based out of San Francisco, California. He is founder of Comcate, an e-government technology firm, and the author of three books, including the New York Times bestseller The Start-Up of You. Casnocha's latest book is The Alliance.

He is a keynote speaker at many business events and conventions. He has appeared on The Charlie Rose Show and is a commentator on NPR’s Marketplace and in Newsweek. He has also written for the American Enterprise Institute and the U.S. State Department. Casnocha is also an advisor to venture capital firm Wasabi Ventures and a mentor at startup incubator TechStars.

In 2006, BusinessWeek named Casnocha one of America's best young entrepreneurs. Politics Online named him one of the "25 most influential people in the world of internet and politics."

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TRANSCRIPT:

Ben Casnocha: Today in an economy that’s marked with technological change and globalization and heightened competition, uncertainty, companies recognize that they really need to be adaptive. And in order to successfully adapt their organizations, they need to be able to recruit, manage, and retain people who themselves are adaptive, people who themselves are entrepreneurial, able to take risk. Really, what organizations do to attract these sorts of entrepreneurial people is they deliver a value proposition that resonates with ambitious talent. And the way we distill that value proposition is in the word transformation. Amazing, ambitious, talented, entrepreneurial employees seek the opportunity to transform themselves, their organization, and the world at large. They want to know that by working at your company they will have the opportunity to acquire skills, develop experiences, grow their network, and in general make their LinkedIn profile look more impressive. They want to be on the winning teams within the company. And they want to know that they’re not just going to be shuffling papers, but really have the opportunity to transform the company’s trajectory.

In the modern world lifetime employment is over. It’s just not the case that great people want to spend 50 straight years working for the same organization. And it’s highly unlikely that the same organization will need that particular type of person and that particular personality and skill set for the rest of time. Far better to be open and honest on day one. Far better to have what we call an alliance conversation whereby the manager sits down with the employee and says: ......

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