Apparently corporate ad agencies have realized that despite the millions they’ve spent on denial campaigns, people aren’t buying it. So they’ve changed their messaging. I can’t be critical of this, though I certainly am cynical about what it really means. However there is huge money in developing a new global infrastructure for energy. In developed countries like the US and the EU, this means a new grid and energy efficient transportation, not mention renewables. In under-developed countries it gets more interesting. The correct analogy is the spread of mobile phones.

Before affordable mobile phones, people in poor countries had no means of communicating with each other. Telephone lines and switches were primitive and costly and there was no incentive for telecom companies to invest in these poor economies. So, as mobile phones became ubiquitous even in these countries, it became obvious that they don’t require the networked telecom grids. Just build towers which is far cheaper than running fiber to houses and businesses. They are not tied to telecom grids.

The same will happen with energy. Solar, wind, geothermal, etc. can be localized to a building or a village. It does not require a physical link to a power plant hundreds of miles away. This means that we should see rural electrification in places like Africa which will help them pull out of the vicious cycle of poverty.

The awakening of the corporate giants to energy opportunity that is not tied to fossil fuels will be slow. However their futurists know that the current model is unsustainable, not just on supply issues but also because the vast majority of oil comes from regions that are politically unstable (Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, etc.). As the supply shrinks, the use of oil as an economic weapon will increase, creating instability in oil markets worldwide. Without a serious effort to provide alternative sources on both a national and local level worldwide, we will see wars waged over fossil fuels. As it is, a lot of us believe that the jihad being waged now is really about distribution of energy.

Fortunately Seth Godin has taken his usual way of changing perception and applied it to the work model. Work is going to mean assembling your skills, experience and connections and creating a package that others will pay for. For example I’m building (on a wiki platform) a site that contains everything in Rochester’s waterfront neighborhoods: Real estate, parks, shopping, sights, restaurants, services- everything. When I’m done I’m going to invite residents of these neighborhoods to write about their area.

Once this ‘package’ is complete I’m going to sell exclusive access to it to an area real estate firm or broker. They’ll appear on all the pages as a link to learn more about buying or selling a waterfront property in our area. Leads for these properties are worth a lot of money. You’ll be able to find it at WaterfrontRochester.com. I also own WaterfrontFingerLakes.com and several other cities. They’ll get packaged up too.

The Recession and its downsizings have forced all of us to think differently about work. Those who understand this change and jump right in will do very well. Those who cling to the idea that their old jobs will somehow come back will not.

Job security no longer exists

Why do I say there’s no job security? Well, if you’re about to graduate from college it is estimated that you will have had 15 jobs by age 35. By my count that’s a lot of job changes. Even us 40+ people are now experiencing career changes that were unthinkable to many only a few years ago. There are many who are shell-shocked by the loss of the ‘only’ job they’ve had for many years. In a meeting of the recently unemployed I attended as part of my benefits it was apparent that fear was the dominant emotion being expressed.

Skills replace job security

I’m fortunate in that I never believed in job security unless you were doing something indispensable and I can’t think of any examples of that. I have a lot of skills and I’ve kept up with the constantly evolving trends in my discipline (online marketing and communications). I also have a mindset that tends to move forward rather than hold onto cherished beliefs. In my change message here I’m going to assert that this is not only a desireable way to look at things, it is an inevitable one.

How do you accomplish this flexibility? First look at your skills, not the amorphous ones, the real ones. Building a successful web site is a skill, managing a meeting is not. In these times you need tactical skills as opposed to strategic skills. That’s because tactics deliver sooner and recession business management is first and foremost survival management. What can you make? What can you deliver? What specifically can you do to help people now? If you cannot answer that with measurable outcomes (numbers, not concepts), you need to develop some skills pronto.

Connecting is more important than networking

You also need connections. As the founder of two very successful networking groups, I’m not going to slam networking but…you’re wasting your time networking with other out of work people with one exception. The exception is if you are looking for ad hoc project partners. Successful networking means going where the people who can use your skills are. One of my groups has evolved into primarily unemployed folks seeking ‘connections’. It fits all the conventional requirements for networking. I no longer participate because these people are not able to help me move forward- it’s not personal.

Connecting is sharing value mutually

The other group is a group of area CEOs of small to mid-sized businesses. It is totally private and job seekers and vendors are not invited. This is important because this is a peer group. We started it because of a shared interest in the economic development of our region. I’m an organizer and a former senior management person so I sort of qualify, sort of. I wouldn’t miss these meetings for the world because the discussion level is very interesting.

Connections are not people you exchange business cards with. They are people with whom you’ve found an engrossing mutual interest, one that will continue beyond your initial meeting. They are people who will return your calls and whose calls you will gladly take. One of the prime skills of thriving during change is understanding what you have to offer, finding those who value it and making a connection that shares value equally.

I started Burner Trouble several years ago to write and vent my frustration about developing climate change issues that simply weren’t being written about in conventional media. The particular granular focus was on how it affects us on a personal level. Since then we have seen gas prices jump drastically (and fall somewhat back though they appear to be headed up again) which suddenly made energy issues a lot more personal. We elected a President who actually believes in science and we have a precipitous economic situation that gave him relative carte blanche to actually change things. These are not minor changes but they are not enough.

Franke came along with her new book about doing more than recycling grocery bags and drinking tap water. She and her husband sold their SUV and did not replace it. They ripped up their driveway and put in a garden. And she wrote a book called Bothered by My Green Conscience that asked us how we are going to explain to our unborn grandchildren what we did (and didn’t) do about the environment. And why.

This is the big question for all of us baby boomers. We’ve been living it up for a half century, give or take. Now that we’re at or over 40+ it is not only time for change, it is critical that we actually do it on a major level.

So I’m going to write about changing your life at 40+. Everyone I know is talking about this. What are we changing? Here a list for starters:

- work
- family
- friends & relationships
- community
- world and travel
- money
- health
- self
Is that a big enough subject? I think so. Tim Ferriss (The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
) calls it Lifestyle Design. I’m going to be changing a bunch of things and chronicling it here along with stories from anyone else who has one of their own.

So, though I have so few readers that this may be a cry in the wilderness, how can you help? Read and link. Tell your friends. Send me a story. Comment. Converse among ourselves. Change is good.