Results Economy - Edge from Pedigree (Educational/Genetic) Not Lasting Long, The New Infrastructure for Success in America

 "I went to private school then Oxbridge then a top MBA but nobody at my firm cares at all. Sure, I technically had a great education and I might use that for my work. But the important thing is the output. It is about the work I do every day ..." - Response to lament on Fishbowl Consulting, November 26, 2023, about the supposed edge of pedigree and the negative impact on strivers. 

BUT WAS THE EDGE EVER SUSTAINABLE?

Look around at the masses of newly jobless. Obviously, this is a very different world for how to make a good living. For short let's refer to it as the Results Economy. 

Even at the rank of partner, that is shareholder in law firms, the falloff in producing results can result in being forced out. That isn't just in Big Law where big things are expected. In my coaching, partners in Small Law share their shock at the pressure to step down, even though they "went to Harvard or Yale." They're not bringing in the new business, as anticipated given their background. 

Therefore, in many ways the bellowing-in-pain about the advantages of certain pedigrees or the professionals who are Nepo Babies is out-of-date. Maybe it never really was sustainable. Sure, it is predictable that members of what slang classifies as the “Lucky Sperm Club” or those with an elite educational resume would receive a warmer welcome to get through doors. And once inside to receive some special protection. 

CAGE FIGHT FOR ASSIGNMENTS IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

But the harsh reality is that the euphoria about getting in/feeling protected has become on short time in much of Knowledge Work. With the ramped-up focus on return to shareholders (forget the triple bottom line of ESG) and, in non-public businesses rigid cost-efficiency, the requirement is for results. There is even the additional hurdle in professional services such as practicing law and doing management consulting of being assigned projects. There can be gallows humor that once hired and assured of being mentored there is the cage fight to have access to real work.  

STIGMA OF RAW HUSTLE STICKY

On the other hand, there is another reality. The lack of the preferred background can have long-term impacts, even if permitted in to play the game and doing quite well at it. In the elite corridors of large law firms some still put the knock on giant success Kirkland and Ellis. It began as a Midwest hustler. That branding has been sticky. That is in contrast to the nerdy aura of a Paul, Weiss with its statesmanlike rhetoric and the old-world ethos of a Cravath, which had been established in 1819.

MAKING THEIR OWN GAMES WITH THEIR OWN INFRASTRUCTURE

There is no longer ducking it: The formulas for success are mutating. Coaching gives me a front-row seat to pick up on and analyze that. 

More are opting out of the conventional contexts and starting a series of micro businesses. Those range from rental property to an ecommerce site for used whatever. With that shift in approaching making it in America the playing field really does become more level. 

In my coaching practice, there is no jaw-jawing about diversity. Clients simply go out there and make their own kinds of advantages through creating their own games, with their own networks.

BACK TO IMMIGRANT/BLACK AMERICA AND THE CHURCH

This circles back to Immigrant America when controlled by WASPs. Helped by the Catholic Church, those from Europe in the 1930s/1940s put together a new economic infrastructure. At the top of the list were Catholic institutions of higher learning which served as feeder pools for white collar employment. We first-generations made it in. For Blacks there was also the guidance of churches. 

Currently we one-time outliers who are established take on the roles of churches in mentoring those who could be locked out or lock themselves out. 

Data or the gut for your careers and communications? Both of course. Complimentary consultation with intuitive coach, content-creator, and Tarot reader Jane Genova (text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com).