On October 24th I attended the Global Wealth Management Summit at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. A variety of world-class speakers spoke about economic uncertainty, policy changes and how investing will change in the coming decade. I love attending these events because they provide considerable insight into implementation strategies for career transition and your personal brand. Ten ideas and concepts that were discussed (in no particular order):

  1. Borders frequented by trade seldom need soldiers
  2. 1990 – the Berlin Wall fell, America felt like it won the Cold War and slowly began to accept mediocrity
  3. Numerous successful people in America are first generation immigrants
  4. The biggest threat to America isn’t external, it’s our education system
  5. Europe will take the next 10 – 15 years to recover economically
  6. Best growth prospects are in India and China as America is no longer viewed as the world’s hegemon
  7. America will experience 2% GDP growth and an unemployment rate between 8 – 10% for the foreseeable future
  8. There is a mass exodus of talented people renouncing their American citizenship and domiciling elsewhere
  9. Taxes and inflation are both going to increase in 2013
  10. Investment portfolios will become increasingly borderless as nation states lose power to multinational corporations

I’m guessing that you are formulating your own ideas around the implications of this confluence of events and ideas on your career. Here are my top ten implications.

  1. The rate at which we change jobs will increase
  2. More people will start entrepreneurial ventures
  3. Developing a career plan will become more commonplace
  4. More people will seek to do business internationally
  5. Talented people with high EQ will command higher wages
  6. Continual learning will drive professional success
  7. Relationships will play a bigger factor in business decisions
  8. Trust will be the currency of the 21st century
  9. To win in business, you must “out-behave” others
  10. Personal innovation will become a sought-after character trait

Making quantum leaps in how you view the impact of the above factors on the next decade of your career will help you to find comfort in the uncomfortable and confidence in knowing that you prepared yourself appropriately. So many people fear innovation because they think it is something that only creative people can do. Each and every one of you can be innovative in your career when you identify your intention, ambition and unique value proposition. With that foundation set, you can take on a variety of salaried jobs and entrepreneurial ventures that ultimately support your triple bottom line goals, help you become who you want to be and help you generate wealth for a wide variety of stakeholders.

Fear mediocrity and be radical.