Corporate Idealist

An interesting discussion is taking shape at Life Without Pants: How Far Are You Willing to Go for Your Dream Job?

The economic wasteland we find ourselves has me thinking, and many of you as well. How far would you go to get the job of your dreams? Would you lie? Would you cheat? Would you misrepresent yourself and provide false information? Would you fake your references, having a buddy pose as a former supervisor to ensure a ‘glowing’ recommendation? Would you lie about your GPA or the degree you received? Where do you draw the line? How far are you willing to go to stand out from the rest?

What say you? Leave a comment here or there. We’re interested in following the discussion either way.

photo credit: TheeErin

Take a stroll through most corporate offices these days, and the attitudes you’ll often encounter are anxiety and skepticism, whether camouflaged or blatantly on display. With all the layoffs going on around us and friends and family out of work, it is difficult for many people to work up even a modest enthusiasm for their work, let alone passion.

Yet for businesses to succeed in a tight economy, they need dedicated, passionate people. How can a leader instill passion?

John Baldoni addressed this question in an article on HarvardBusiness.org the other day called How to Make People Passionate About Their Work. Some of the suggestions were:

Focus on the positive. Passion in leaders can be palpable; you know in an instant that the executive cares about the company. In my experience, those senior leaders who stroll through the halls with a nod or good word to say to all are those executives who get things done. And it is because they are out and about, not cloistered in their offices on mahogany row. Rather, they are meeting with employees and customers, vendors and investors, getting to know issues and concerns. They also use these times to talk up the good things.

Address the negatives. Passionate leaders are not Pollyannas; they know the score, precisely because they spend so much time out of their offices. They see firsthand what is working and what is not, and because they have a relationship with people in all levels of the company, they can more readily mobilize employees to solve problems.

At first blush these suggestions seem at odds. But it is vital to address both the reality of the situation and to foster hope for great outcomes. At the risk of sounding like a Jim Collins groupie, Good to Great addresses this as the “Stockdale Paradox,” citing it as one of the factors that allows great companies to survive difficult times and ultimately triumph.

(Moreover, in the book The Opposable Mind, Roger Martin relates management examples where leaders are able to “hold two conflicting ideas in constructive tension.” This is a skill we need as managers and executives.)

How are you rallying your teams to be passionate about their work? How are you, as an individual, cultivating your own passion? Tell us in the comments.

This is probably going to classify me as a total geek, but so be it: one of my favorite books of any genre is Jim Collins’ Good to Great. (I know, right?) I re-read or re- skim it every so often just to keep the concepts fresh in my mind.

What’s important to recognize about that book is that it has lessons beyond managing a business.  The famous “hedgehog concept” from Good to Great can be applied to your own individual development and is an excellent way to focus your talents and energy on that which you do best.

If you’re not familiar with it, the hedgehog concept is the overlap of the answers to the following questions:

personal hedgehog concept

What you are passionate about? What is it that gets you out of bed in the morning, excited to face the day? I mean, sure, not all mornings go this way, even for the brightest-eyed-bushiest-tailed morning person. But most of us have experienced the feeling when you wake up and remember something you’ve planned for the day, and you can’t wait to do it. Whatever last caused that feeling for you, there’s a good chance it’s part of the answer to this question.

What you can be the best in the world at? A lot of people struggle with assessing themselves critically and honestly: we’re either too critical of ourselves or not honest enough about our shortcomings, and most of us experience both extremes. But it’s important to be able to look at your talents and skills, and decide sincerely where you have the opportunity to excel.

This is where you can start to see the power of the overlap in your answers: you may really enjoy and even be passionate about riding your bicycle, let’s say, but if your ability doesn’t stand out as exceptional, it’s not going to be your hedgehog concept. (It can still be a hobby, but it isn’t where you can focus your talent and energy to really propel yourself forward professionally.)

What drives your economic engine? This reference may be a little obscure if you haven’t read the book, but the gist of it is that your business (or in this case, your personal operations) thrive on some characteristic factor that can be measured. Maybe if you’re in sales, it has to do with calls made. Or if you’re a writer, maybe it has to do with pages written. In some way, you should be able to tie your area of focus to a measurable number.

Why not spend a little time this week answering these questions for yourself so you can come closer to understanding what your personal hedgehog concept is? Once you have a better idea of it, you will be able to ensure that you are set up to pursue it.

Have you applied principles from a business book to your individual development? Tell us about it in the comments.

photo credit: netwalkerz_net

Clearly we here at Corporate Idealist have been on a work-life balance / productivity kick lately. We’ll be taking our own advice and working more balance back into our topic mix over the next week.

Meanwhile, have a puppy in a basket, and as we approach the weekend, let’s hear from you: what topics should we cover more? What do you want to read more about?

And have a happy weekend!