All in Careers
How many newsletters do you get in your inbox every day? How many emails do you get with an update on some issue or department or project? How many notifications do you get on your phone with the latest piece of “must-have” information?
Now, how many of them do you actually read?
When we’re evaluating options that involve other people’s decisions, for example, a competitor’s next move or an employee’s decision to stay or leave, we can either guess or we can anticipate.
There’s a big difference between the two.
We crave clear cut answers. We love How-To’s. We keep looking for the ultimate 10 Step Process.
Why? Because we’re always on the hunt for clarity, predictability and, more to the point, security. It’s a natural human desire.
The problem, though, is that when we’re creating (a team, a piece of output, a business), that’s not often possible or realistic.
In school, we’re taught a range of different subjects - from history to math to science to art to music to physical education. We’re tested, judged and evaluated on our proficiency in each of these disciplines, and by the end of it, given a numerical average of our performance across all of these areas, otherwise known as our Grade Point Average (GPA).
Change is scary.
There’s a comfort in stability, in consistency, in predictability. I know what to do, where to go, how to do it. There are no unforeseen circumstances, no surprises for me to react to, and as a result, my heart rate and blood pressure stays constant and manageable.
One of the hardest things to do in our professional lives is to say no to someone when they ask for our time.
We always want to be helpful, to lend a helping hand whenever we can. If someone wants to show us their latest product, discuss their latest activity or just get together to “network”, we feel compelled to say yes.
We tend to romanticize the path to success. We maintain this perception that getting there was a straight-forward path. Particularly when we see others achieve it. This view that these folks took step 1, then step 2, and so on and so forth, until they achieved what they set out to do. That it was a clean path. That things just happened for them.
The truth is…
I have an out-of-state friend I've met in-person only once but have stayed in touch with via social media ever since. Every so often, we'll message each other, usually with regards to something we posted on FaceBook.
During one recent exchange…
There's a cynicism we tend to have when it comes to advertising and branding.
So many brands adopt personas based on their desire to attract a certain type of consumer. These personas are fashioned on the basis of deep consumer research, canvassing their likes, dislikes, tastes, preferences and more. Some of these personas succeed, others don't.
It's natural. We start a new project or new initiative and we get excited, as we should be. We see the potential for change, the potential impact and we want to make sure it's a success.
So we plan. We think through our goals, all the needs and requirements, where we need to get to. We identify the piece parts needed to make for our definition of success, because…
A few years ago, Professor Jens Krause at the University of Leeds conducted numerous experiments where he and his team asked groups of people to walk randomly around a large hall. Unbeknownst to the majority, a few individuals were given specific instructions as to where they should walk. No one in the group (informed or otherwise) was allowed to communicate (verbal or non-verbally) and everyone had to stay within arms length of each other.
I think all too often we tend to overcomplicate our choices. Particularly, when we're trying to decide whether we should do something or not, as it comes to our work.
A new project. A new role. A new job.
On October 10, 2007, Radiohead released their seventh studio album, In Rainbows.
The album marked a milestone - not only for Radiohead fans (like me) eagerly awaiting the release of the band's first album since 2003's Hail To The Thief, but also for the manner in which it was released.
There are times when persistence, dedication, devotion are absolutely essential. Nothing great has ever been achieved by flitting from one activity to another, without considered thought for quality, without regard for tangible results. Success - however you define it - depends on this.
But to persist in situations that don't align with your inherent values, that don't feel right in that regard, is a recipe for failure.
As I wrote in my post on Monday, it's all about the team. No matter who or how many stars you have, their success - our success - depends predominantly on the ability of team to deliver as a cohesive unit.
But there is a critical lesson for all us in the mentality, the mindset of the star performer.
Guys like Michael Jordan are the "Go-To" guys on their teams.
If there's a need for a result, a change of pace or a game change, then you would pass the ball to Mike and let him do his magic.
We don’t work alone. We weren’t meant to. We’re not wired that way, we really don’t think that way and we certainly don’t get things done purely by ourselves in any practical sense.
I'm a reasonably open book. I like to think that I'm pretty transparent about what I think, how I feel and what I believe.
If I like something, I'm not hesitant about sharing my love for that thing. If I don't like something, for example, how an individual is behaving, I'll say that as well. (I'll try and find the right time and approach, of course, but I generally prefer not to leave things unsaid. Particularly if they are someone I need to have some sort of relationship with.)
You're either in the game or you're not. You're either playing or you're not. There's no point otherwise.
You don't get to pretend there's a middle ground. You don't get to coast and just reap the rewards. You don't get to stare at the race through your tinted windows and then expect to show up for the medals.
It seems to me that if you want to develop a support base or a following for the long term - a group of people who buy into your vision of the future, a tribe, if you will - then there's no better time to lay the groundwork than now.
Because building tribes is not an easy process.
