Coming Soon: Disrupt Yourself!
Grab a free chapter for a limited time here: Free Chapter of Disrupt Yourself
What is Disrupt Yourself?
We are living in a period of massive, unbelievable, and relentless change.
Disrupt Yourself is the powerful tool you need to help prepare for that change and learn how the rules have completely changed in the new economy.
Here’s just a small sample of Disrupt Yourself.
Work is Changing
A college graduate who graduates after 2010 will work for close to 3 companies in their first 5 years of employment, compared to 1.75 for a graduate during the 1980’s (LinkedIn).
A millennial or GenZ-er is estimated to have almost 2x as many jobs during their career as a Baby Boomer or GenX-er. That’s a lot of change! (The Balance Careers)
Think these changes only impact the younger generations? Think again. Still-working Baby Boomers and GenX-ers will have to adapt, or will be forced out of the workforce early.
Your career is being disrupted.
You need to act now to Disrupt Yourself.
Businesses Are Changing
It’s easier than ever to start a business. Even if you aren’t planning to start one yourself, this increase in accessibility and entrepreneurship will impact your working career (if it hasn’t already).
The competitive barriers — both domestic and international — that once protected large, “stable” companies are crumbling. No company, no matter how competitive it is today, is ensured to exist in even 10 short years.
Even the CEO of the most valuable company in the world, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, said recently:
If you look at large companies, their lifespans tend to be 30-plus years, not a hundred-plus years.
If the most valuable company in the world is predicting its own demise, how can you put unwavering confidence in the company you’re working for to be around for the duration of your working life?
You can’t and you shouldn’t.
Even if you aren’t working in a very clearly declining industry like Newspapers or Movie Rentals, you may be surprised that automation has already begun disrupting industries like:
- Port Operations (-58% since 2007)
- Professional Employer Organizations (-48% since 2007)
- Savings Institutions/Retail Banking (-46% since 2007)
These industries and many others have rapidly shed over half of their workforce (totaling over 441,000 jobs lost in the just industries above), while the economy has been in the longest period of growth in history.
Imagine if our economy was contracting, these industries would have collapsed even further and even faster.
Industry disruption has already come and you need to get ahead of it by Disrupting Yourself.
Success Is Changing
A slow progression upward through the ranks at a nameless mega-corporation with an obligatory home purchase and 2.5 children in the suburbs no longer meets the definition of “success” for Millennials and Gen Z.
Success to these generations looks much more like a strong work-life balance, great work amenities, unlimited vacation, tiny houses, and frequent leisure travel.
Because of this changing definition of success, companies are changing, benefits are changing, and cities are changing.
There is no longer the guarantee of a 9–5, 40 hour per week job. There is no longer a separation between “work” and “life” with tools like Slack, Google Hangouts, and collaborative tools.
There is no longer the guarantee of retirement.
Retirement Is Changing
Millennials and Gen Z-ers are already planning to work longer than previous generations, bumping the expected retirement age for this generation up to 70 from 65. Much of this increase is driven by these generation’s massive burden of student loans.
In 2018, the median living retiree left work at 62 years old, and the most common age to retire was 62 years old. 18.7% of retirees retired at age 62, and a whopping 63.1% retired between the ages of 57 and 66.
In the mid-1980s, only 25% of American men aged 65–69 worked; today, nearly 40% do.
Between the elimination of pensions, the unstable future of Social Security, and Millennials’ poorer saving habits, early retirement is looking less and less realistic.
Citations: Dqydj, Time, Economist
How to Keep Up?
With all of this change happening everywhere at a faster pace than ever before, how can you possibly keep up? The truth is, there is really only one way: You need to continuously Disrupt Yourself.
If you stay the same, much like the companies (and industries) that have disappeared over the past decade, things won’t end well.
In short, you need to disrupt your career, you need to build your brand, you need to become a life-long learner, and you need to invest.
Sound exhausting?
Don’t worry, I’ll be with you every step of the way to help you achieve success in the new economy.
Are you going to wait for change to impact you, your career, and your family?
Or are you going to get ahead of that change and Disrupt Yourself?
How Can I Learn More About Disrupt Yourself?
You can learn more about Disrupt Yourself at www.disruptyourself.co
How Can I Pre-Order Disrupt Yourself?
Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover pre-order links coming soon!
For now, grab a free chapter before I send it off to the publisher: Free Chapter of Disrupt Yourself
What Chapter Sounds Most Interesting?
As I put the final touches on Disrupt Yourself, I’d love to hear what chapter sounds most interesting to you.
Chapter 1: Disruption is the new normal — it’s happening faster than ever before.
Chapter 2: The Fallacy of “Careers” in the New Economy
Chapter 3: Building Your Network in the New Economy
Chapter 4: Once You Stop Learning You Stop Disrupting
Chapter 5: Everyone Needs to Build a Brand
Chapter 6: Diversify Yourself for the New Economy — Have a Side Hustle (or Two!)
Chapter 7: Invest in Technology, Invest in Others, Just Flat-Out-Invest!
Chapter 8: Pay Attention to Trends — How to Recognize Change Happening
→ You can vote here: Most Interesting Chapter Survey
Interested in Helping With Disrupt Yourself?
Complete this short survey and I’ll find a way for you to help out, whether it’s as a contributor, an editor, or a chapter author!
Building Digital Products
Alex is also the Author of Building Digital Products, a handbook for Product Managers.
