Forum: Learn well from people you know is lasting advice

By most measures, the Minnesota economy is thriving. Employment is high and general-fund revenue has been exceeding projections; 2019 state income was about $24 billion. By February, we will have more complete numbers that are likely to show record employment and revenue.

In our state of 5.4 million residents, some 2.8 million people are employed in Minnesota. About 6% are self-employed and 21% are part-time employees. Four in 10 of the employed population work fewer than 39 hours in a week. The gender breakdown is 52% male and 48% female. Ethnically, nearly nine in 10 of us are white.

I have spent decades as an adult mentor to young people, some of whom are deep into their careers. Others are not. Why is it that I have so many requests from these younger friends for help in finding a new or better job so they can pay their bills?

Most of those who are struggling tell me that they believe the free-enterprise form of democratic capitalism has somehow missed them, and many are skeptical about the whole thing.

I did a survey of sorts of business leaders I personally know, probing as to what they are expecting of their current and future workforce.

Here is a sample of what I learned.

1) The No. 1 quality the workforce needs is common sense. This is an ability to bring practical, sound judgments to everyday issues. It is breaking down a course of action to address sometimes complex problems that can be widely understood and acted upon.

2) Knowing one's field eventually will require workers to have an on-the-job grasp of what to do. Such specialized knowledge comes mostly through self-education. "You learn by doing," said one manufacturing CEO.

3) Self-reliance, too, will require a kind of gumption to get things going through acquiring relevant knowledge and goals-setting. I was reminded by a health care executive that Thomas Edison, a genius by any standard, said this required 99% preparation and 1% inspiration.

4) An ability to listen and ask questions is a necessity for workplace success. "This is how all of us learn at whatever we do," offered a retail small-business owner. She also suggested that one had to know the business to be of greatest value to management and customers.

5) Communication — both written and verbal — is essential to pulling things together. Good employees must find informed answers rapidly, understand the implications and build cohesive teamwork with others involved to get things done.

Consistently, I heard that three qualities of character — honesty, initiative and a strong work ethic — were the backbone of good workers and leaders.

Finding a qualified career mentor in the workplace can be a most useful idea. I might add that patience, too, has a calming influence on workers.

The bottom line, I tell my friends who are seeking advice, is to learn well from those who know, be conscientiously productive during your working days and, at the end of a work career, give of yourself to build a better society by helping others succeed.

Chuck Slocum is president of the Williston Group, a management-consulting firm.