The old concept, so last century, "if you stay here and do a good job, you have employment for life," is dead. The corporate safety net is dead. What now?

With the recession of 2008, companies of all stripes encountered a need to be more nimble in an increasingly competitive global economy within a highly compressed cycle of change. Mega-bank HSBC in June announced the sale of units in various countries, shedding 50,000 jobs in a global realignment. Firms and employees must be more flexible as to where specific jobs and roles are located and what skill sets are utilized. The old concept, so last century, “if you stay here and do a good job, you have employment for life,” is dead. The corporate safety net is dead. What now?

Welcome to the “sharing economy,” which takes various forms, often leveraged with information technology. Individuals, entrepreneurs, corporations, and other entities may use technology to distribute goods and services, sharing or reusing excess capacity, often disruptive to existing channels. Witness online marketplaces impacting brick and mortar businesses, example eBay, Amazon, Internet banks and travel services.

On June 25 taxi drivers in Paris and elsewhere in Europe blocked streets and access to airports protesting Uber, the U.S.-based car sharing service, that is undercutting traditional taxi services. (This writer was in a Paris taxi on June 23 and the driver was complaining bitterly about Uber’s impact on his business). That same week, Parisian officials raised concerns about Airbnb impacting traditional hotel services and tax revenues. Airbnb is an online service listing homes, apartments, and rooms for rent in over 190 countries. Established in 2008 in San Francisco, Airbnb, with 600 employees, is now valued at $25.5 billion, higher than the old-line Marriott hotel enterprise valued at $21 billion.

Job security is being redefined. True security rests on your skills, expertise, self-confidence, and ability to clearly define your strengths and value-proposition to a potential employer or client. A story in USA Today on June 5 focused on the 80 million strong Millennial generation (ages 18-34 in 2015), “a new army of workers who cobble together freelance gigs and contract work to make a living.” Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) worries about workers with no safety net, “no unemployment [benefits], no workman’s comp, no disability [insurance].” Benefits like a 401(K), group insurance, stock option plans, etc., elude such workers for whom personal and economic security is a do-it-yourself project.

Warner notes that Millennials are willing to embrace disruptive change. They don’t anticipate working at one firm forever; they expect to “cobble together a series of different opportunities.” The question “is not, ‘Where do you work?’ It’s ‘What are you working on now?’”

These trends also impact the GenX generation (ages 35-50) and Boomers working toward retirement age. Diagnostic assessments and coaching such as that offered by Norcross, Georgia-based consultant Maria C. Forbes (www.firepowerteams.com) help new graduates define their strengths and value proposition, a critical element in successful career transitions. Older workers must plan for job changes and career realignments, whether forced or voluntary, and diagnostics and coaching can spur success.

Financial security is shifting to individuals and families to a greater extent. You must have actionable strategies for debt management and saving for emergencies and the future (educations, retirement, fun, funding meaning and purpose). Insurance (health, disability, life, property and casualty, and liability) must be commensurate with your lifestyle, earning power, debt levels, commitments to loved ones, and exposure to lawsuits. Living and testamentary estate planning should be current─powers of attorney for assets and health care; will; advance directive. Trust planning may be needed to care for minors, or incapacitated or special needs children or adults.

At age 18 in most states, a person is an adult. Young people (or their parents) who think they don’t need a will or powers of attorney should think again. If junior or sis has a car wreck at college, without proper documentation mom or dad cannot even get health status under privacy laws.

The new age clarion call to “blaze your own path” may be exciting to some, scary for others. If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there. Financial planning has shifted to life planning; financial security is a bigger picture exercise in life security.

A safety net is your responsibility. You could depend on government as millions do. That isn’t a plan. It’s a default option!

Lewis Walker is President of Walker Capital Management, LLC. Certain advisory services offered through The Strategic Financial Alliance, Inc. (SFA). Lewis Walker and Mike Hostetler are registered representatives of SFA which is otherwise unaffiliated with Walker Capital Management, LLC. lewisw@theinvestmentcoach.com