Career and Industry Disruption – You Just Can’t Make this Stuff Up!

Career and Industry Disruption

I have been writing and speaking on career and industry disruption for most of 2021. The more I dig into the industry disruption I keep seeing a correlation to career disruption.

Some of this is people experiencing the industry disruption being caused by a variety of calamities and therefore, causing them so much stress they are just saying enough is enough. Many are calling this “the great resignation“.

We are seeing customer buying habits changing, the Snowpocalypse that deep south in February of 2021 having a lasting effect, and the world’s supply chain is just plain FUBAR. All of this is affecting people’s current and future careers.

Some of this is so crazy you just can’t make it up. Career and Industry disruption is here and will be with us for quite a while.

Customer Buying Habits have Changed

We have all seen and experienced the growth of online purchasing during the pandemic. One of the areas that have seen the greatest growth is the online purchasing of groceries. As we exit the pandemic it looks like this is not going back to the way it was. The real shocker is that 48% of the online purchasing of groceries is done by baby boomers.

Who could have predicted this in January of 2020? No one!!

This has led to the creation of a new concept in retail, a dark store. A Dark Store is a brick-and-mortar location that has been shut down and turned into a center for fulfillment operations. Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, opened up their first dark store in Brooklyn in the 2nd half of 2020.  Walmart is pursuing the same strategy and they are exploring ghost kitchens.

What does this mean for your career?

If you have worked in the retail industry or have been a supplier to the retail industry your career is being disrupted. The retail industry has tentacles that affect real estate, distribution, warehousing, and technology. You will need to research how your industry has been affected by this disruption. I suggest you read my post 5 Examples to Research Industry Disruption to Safeguard Your Career.

There are many other examples of how we have changed how and what we buy.

Climate Change

We have seen a flurry of horrific weather events in the last few years. The one I want to highlight is the Snowpocalypse that hit the southern US in February of 2021. I closely monitored this event as my wife and I owned a condo in Austin Texas that we were renting out.

If you have ordered any furniture this year that requires foam you know there is a huge wait for delivery. Most foam in the US is produced in Texas and Louisiana. Manufacturers of foam shut down operations due to lack of demand early in the pandemic, then their plants were damaged by a hurricane, and then they were hit by the Snowpocalypse.

This string of events has had a ripple effect on a lot of industries. Think of everything that contains some form of foam whether it is in your car seat, a motorcycle helmet, or just in the protective packaging of products.

This will take a while to recover but more importantly, the weather is changing and severe weather events appear to have become the new normal.

Severe weather events caused largely by climate change have and will continue to affect a variety of industries and therefore, careers in those industries.

Have you thought about how severe weather events will affect your industry and therefore your career?

Supply Chain Career and Industry Disruption

When I first started to discuss this topic in 2020, the global supply chain problems were not being discussed like it is today. The origins of the supply chain go back to 2018 with the tariffs imposed on the Peoples Republic of China. The imbalance of trade got worse due to the tariffs and then the pandemic lockdown happened.

After the lockdown was lifted customer buying habits shifted to buying a lot of consumer electronics manufactured in Asia. Along with poor planning by auto manufactures for future needs of electronic components we ended up with a huge imbalance of supply of electronic components for different industries. The large semiconductor manufacturers in Asia shifted capacity to make consumer electronics and away from automotive components.

The Great Retirement Affect on Supply Chain

The number one job listing on Indeed is for truck drivers. There are over 100,000 job listings for truck drivers. It is believed that the shortage could grow to 160,000 in just a few years. Why is it growing? The average age of a truck driver is 55 years old. On top of that, the industry has a notoriously high turnover rate.

Given the age of the average truck driver, it is not surprising they may be retiring due to COVID-19.

The shortage of truck drivers has created a huge bottleneck in the supply chain. We have all heard about the problems with container ships stuck in west coast ports. The next problem is if they get them unloaded there are not enough truck drivers to get products to the warehouses.

You just cannot make this stuff up!

What Can You Do About Career and Industry Disruption?

I just exposed you to the tip of the iceberg of what is going on in career and industry disruption. There is a lot more disruption going on and it will not stop anytime soon.

You cannot stick your head in the sand think this is all going to go away. You need to take control of both your life and career. If you are still employed start planning an encore career. Start a side business doing something you want to do. Research, research, and research what is going on.

If you have not been networking, you need to make a real effort to get out there and speak with people in person, on the phone, over video conferencing, and on social media.

Make yourself relevant! You need to take a hard look at your experience and determine how relevant it is in the ever-changing world. If you have lost relevancy then it is time to reskill. It has never been easier to gain new or refresh your current skills at a very low cost.

Now is the time to get moving.

What is your next step?

Marc Miller  

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