I'm not an unnecessarily cynical person. I just think of myself as cautious and forward thinking.
Think of me as a necessarily cynical person instead.
In my career I've been impacted by many recessions, economic changes, business changes, etc. I've been there in the dot-bomb, I got cut in mergers, I was there when industries melted down. I tried to keep on top of those issues with a moderate amount of success.
We're still in a recession or the tail end of a recession as I write this. I expect we've got a recovery that's going to take 2-3 years on average, but the long term recovery will mean pain. Dubai is having its own economic meltdown.
So, despite the fact we're in the middle of a financial crisis, here's your challenge for the week.
1) Ask yourself what will the next economic crisis be once this one passes and has been forgotten by the short sighted.
2) Ask what this means for your career – and your ideal career.
You don't have to be totally cynical, but it never helps to keep an eye out and notice what may go wrong in the economy of your nation and the world or what trends are coming to an end (if you wish to sound less cynical).
So go on, what do you think? Me, I'm betting the next decade will bring a few general corporate mergers and collapses caused by the economic fallout and the changing economy, and probably a mini-financial crisis in the next 5 years when a few more financial institutions can't keep faking it.
– Steven Savage