Today, Caterpillar laid off 20K, Pfizer 19K, Sprint 8K, and Home Depot 7K among others. In total, 76K Jobs were lost today, but I'm not alarmed. Job loss is not the only issue. Job creation is the other half of the equation. Every company has cash inflow and outflow. Every river has inflow and outflow. It's just a natural part of business cycle and life. Industries grow from nothing...from an idea...and then they die...just like people. Nothing is permanent. Regardless of what industry you're in, in light of what happened today, you may want to ask yourself the following questions to determine if it's time to jump ship:

The Jump Ship Test

1. Is my industry currently living or dieing?
2. When was the last major innovation or turn of events? How often do they happen?
   
3. What innovative idea may destroy or resurrect my industry?
4. How innovative has my company been in leading and dealing with change?
5. Who or what does/should my company have their eye on? Why?
6. Will my company be an industry leader in 3-5 years? If not, then who will be?

Send this to anyone you know in the auto, airline, or investment banking industries.