What’s YOUR next step?

photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography

At a party a few nights ago with the #RoadTwip crew, I was asked what the goal of this blog is. I said that I think there are steps people need to take, sometimes in sequence, sometimes all at once, to help themselves feel more empowered and like their work has relevance. Those steps aren’t always upward and they aren’t necessarily linear. But my hope for this blog is that it might provide some inspiration for deciding what that next step is, and then taking it.

Somewhat along those lines, Po Bronson wrote a fantastic article in Fast Company, debunking some myths about making changes in your career. In it he addresses the importance of having work that feels right:

Michael Dell once invited me to a meeting with several CEOs on the topic “What do employees want?” The CEOs took turns describing all the benefits they provided and how they gave out free M&Ms on Wednesdays and appeased their employees with stock options and free parking spaces. My point was essentially that employees don’t want M&Ms; they want to love what they do. I thought everyone would laugh at me, snickering “How indulgent! How naive!” Instead, the roomful of CEOs stood up one by one to agree: The value in their companies came from the employees who were motivated to be there. One passionate employee is worth 10 dispassionate ones.

Honestly, I think this is one of the best articles I’ve ever read on this subject. It’s definitely worth reading the whole thing.

Do you see progress in your professional life as a series of steps? Are you waiting to take the next one? Do you know what the next one is yet?