Jim Carroll, Futurist, and Trends and innovation Expert, who delivered the keynote at the Tenrox User Conference in the fall, has published a new document on his web site, entitled "Where’s the Growth?" This is a good read for project managers who are taking charge of their own careers and seek to keep their careers on the leading edge, even in the "economic downturn" that so many experts are forecasting.

Carroll outlines a number of industries and ideas that point toward growth in the coming months and years. Whether the economic indicators point upwards or downwards, the skills for survival in a flat world remain the same.  They include the ability to learn new things, and to adapt to the ideas and skills where there is growth.

I continue to recommend that today’s professionals should commit to projects and not to companies, even though a recession might tempt us to focus on the promise of a steady paycheck. The real "steady paycheck" comes from your ability to deliver successful projects, not from your reliance on any one company. It makes sense to stay where you are as long as the projects you work on truly challenge you and make you more competitive.