A couple of weekends ago Dave was chatting to Laura. She is in the (to my mind) brilliant position of having lots of jobs. She isn't working full time at any of them, so it's not as bad as it sounds. In fact Dave would like to argue that it is great. Laura has a portfolio of jobs, fixed and short-term contracts and schemes that she works for. They fill her whole week and bring in sufficient income.

Why is this so great? Laura is lucky enough to have some really challenging and fulfilling roles, but even aside from this the whole situation is great because it reduces the dependency of the individual on a single source of income.

This leads to several advantages:

• Can you imagine how much less tolerant of workplace nightmares you would be if the job represented just a small part of your income? Would you put up with bullying, aggression, lack of progress? Would the bullies and idea stiflers be able to get away with it for so long?
• Wouldn't you be more creative and feel more free? You could say much more of what you think in meetings and to colleagues. You could much more real without fearing the consequences so much.
• There is obviously less risk that your income will dry up completely.
• You could accelerate your development and learning just by virtue of having a much wider range of experience in your day-to-day work.
• You would make more friends and contacts at work - feel more connected

My own dream is to work in a more portfolio style - even if within the same organisation - the ability to roam and influence over a wider territory and to experience so much more would be exhilarating.

Got a suggestion?, email Dave