Change is the most pervasive influence within today’s workplace. Profound changes are shaking up our lives and the way we do business. And the pace of change will continue to accelerate -- driven by sharp economic swings, increasing competitive pressures, new technologies, government regulations, sociocultural shifts, further globalization of the marketplace, and the continued reshaping of organizations worldwide.

Dealing successfully with a changing reality means facing some hard truths: Today you work for yourself. Your only family is your real family – not the company. No big organization is going to take care of your future. This means that the responsibility for your success and happiness is in your own hands. You alone are in charge of clarifying your values, defining success, designing a career path, building motivation and developing a winning strategy for anticipating and capitalizing on the future.

For many of us, realizing that we are totally in control of our lives is traumatic. Gloria Steinem has said, “People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.”

I call this phenomenon the Oz Factor – the belief that someone wiser and more powerful than ourselves (the wizard) will provide us with solutions to our problems. Just as it was for Dorothy and her friends, it is time for all of us to look within and to realize that we can rely on our own hearts and minds and courage.