We all know people – friends, colleagues, coaches, mentors, leaders – who are simply great at helping others be the best that they can be. You may well be one of them.
I was in my mid-twenties, with very little business experience. Like many young people that age, I was keen to prove to myself and others that I could contribute in useful ways but had nothing remarkable to point to that would give me any special claim to anyone’s attention. I had potential as we all do, but that potential was still completely unrealized from a professional standpoint and could easily have remained so.
Well over ten years ago, in what now feels like a completely different life, I attended a management meeting with a few hundred colleagues.
I admit it freely: Whether it be books or movies, I’m a huge science fiction fan. I recently re-watched one of my perennial favorites—James Cameron’s 1986 ‘Aliens’ starring Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley.
Work can be hard and it definitely has its highs and lows. But for many people, pride in a job well done ranks right up there in terms of what gives meaning to their lives. Does work get the respect it deserves for the reasons it should?
Here’s an interesting question for you: Should you run your team at work as a high-performance athletic program, or as a community sport club? Stop. Don’t answer just yet. I know, I know: You’re a high-performance type of person.
I was chatting with a colleague a few days ago. He was telling me about the way he likes to scrutinize the numbers every single day and I was telling him how I really don’t. “I’m a mathematician by training”, he offered. “I like numbers.” “I’m a lawyer by background”, I replied. “I like words.” What ensued was one of the most interesting conversations I’ve had in a long time.
Social distancing measures have been in full effect for weeks and legions of people have retreated – more or less happily – to the relative safety of their homes. Workplaces and public spaces that used to teem with people lie eerily empty and many employees – fortunate ones for whom telecommuting proved possible – have carried on with their professional lives in a strange virtual world where newly disembodied organizations large and small continue to operate.
I had lunch, a little while ago, with a friend who had recently vacationed in Japan for a few weeks. As we were waiting for our food to arrive, the sushi chef working close by behind his counter, my friend told me the story of a successful Japanese restaurant owner who had been asked if he had any plans to expand his restaurant—to get a larger space and add more tables.
December 1, 2009. It was on this very day exactly ten years ago that I reported for duty with my new employer. Ten years later, I still work for the same company so today officially marks my 10th work anniversary.
