The October 2009 issue of Men's Health includes Mike Zimmerman’s article Income for Life — Guaranteed! Schools have fire drills, and New York and other big cities have emergency responder drills — by the same token, according to Zimmerman, in these tight economic times the rest of us should “blueprint...a God-forbid plan for your most important asset other than your health — your income.” You’ll have a better chance of keeping your job in these days of downsizing if you follow the strategies suggested by Zimmerman and the experts he consulted:

Strategy 1: Lose the high-school-cafeteria approach to work.
Funny, cool, and popular aren’t job skills. The only way to become a more visible and dynamic presence at your current job is to get results. Become the person who can be given Job X and fully execute it without hesitation or attitude, as well as making yourself more valuable by becoming a source of execution and strategy.

Strategy 2: Aim for excellence, not happiness.
We’re taught to pursue happiness in our work. If we feel unfulfilled, something must be wrong, says Alain de Botton, author of The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. “Aristotle stated that no one could be both free and obliged to earn a living… (it was) akin to slavery, and denied a man any chance of greatness.” Eventually Benjamin Franklin and others asserted that work can and should be fulfilling. But in today’s devastated job market, this pursuit of happiness keeps unemployed men from taking jobs they might not like, and employed men from becoming better at jobs they're lukewarm about. Larry Winget, former host of A&E’s Big Spender and author of It’s Called Work for a Reason, says, “Did you ever get a paycheck where it says down in the memo section, ‘because you're so darn happy’?… Passion shouldn't be job one. I know people who are passionately incompetent. It's much more important to be excellent… Be amazing and you'll always have people wanting to work with you” — and that leads to more job security, money, and yes, happiness.

Strategy 3: Embrace discomfort.
“Discomfort is opportunity,” Winget says. “When we're comfortable in our jobs, we don't change or grow. That puts us at risk.” Ask yourself career questions until you find the truth that makes you squirm, such as: “Am I prepared to walk away from or lose this job?” There's your point of action for meaningful change.

Strategy 4: Look beyond your industry.
Joe Calloway, national business consultant and author of Work Like You’re Showing Off, suggests assembling a “mastermind group” of four or five people who you respect and who work in different fields than you do. Meet with them periodically in a relaxed atmosphere to discuss your work situations. “Networking with people who don't do what you do can give you ideas that would never occur to you.”

Strategy 5: Make “The List.”
If you lost your job today, who's the first person you'd call for another job? The 10th? How many people are on your call list, anyway? If you don’t know, your income is at risk. Calloway says, "I can't think of anything more important than having a network of people you can immediately reach out to — even if you plan to stay in your job forever." Stay current with your network — including getting updated email addresses — and set aside five minutes every few days to reach out and catch up with people. If you know people who’ve moved on to other companies, touch base and congratulate them. Your career depends on it!

Strategy 6: Be like Eric Clapton.
Think about it: “Slowhand” always has a side project, jamming with someone, writing with someone else, bringing people in to work on his projects with him, resulting in more diversity and creativity. Calloway says, “It’s easy to fall into the trap of ‘Well, this is what I know how to do,’ when in fact, no, it’s just what you’ve always done.” If you have a marketable talent outside your day job, you can increase your income and expand your network and skill set by freelancing or moonlighting in your spare time. (But don't freelance for a competitor — you don’t want to put your primary income source in jeopardy!)

Strategy 7: Distance yourself from your current employer.
No, this does not mean “Stop caring about your job!” You should always care about your job, but do so from a genuine emotional distance, because a company will never, ever love you back. As Winget says, “Companies don’t exist to keep their people safely employed, or to be loyal to them. Companies exist to be profitable. You are a means to an end. That’s it. A lot of bosses like to argue, “No, no, my employees matter.’ Not true. What matters to bosses is making money, because if they don’t, they lose their jobs.” As the saying goes, “It's just business.” If you maintain a healthy degree of detachment, a layoff won’t be as traumatic, and you’ll have a more immediate emotional starting point when you look for work.

Mike Zimmerman is a Contributing Editor at www.menshealth.com