Is "Happiness" Stealing Your Future?

Have you created a plan to leverage your investment in your career?  What was the cost of your education, continuing education, certificate programs, etc?  Are those sunk costs or are you doing your best to not only recapture but make the most out of that investment?

Today we view and read much about work life balance, career satisfaction, and self fulfillment.  I am going to be blunt about something.  Those are all buzz words to justify complacency.    Your investment in your education, your development of your skills and knowledge are all investments in a business.  Satisfaction, self fulfillment, and happiness are emotions.  I understand that those are important emotions but should be looked upon separately.  If you are unhappy, you can fix that easily by changing your circumstances along with how you view your situation.  Being happy doesn't exclude you from more happiness in the future by doing something different and no career will make you happy if you are not one that focuses on being grateful.  Again, don't mistake emotional fulfillment with your business.  You can be equally fulfilled working elsewhere and/or doing something different.  

Don't rest on your laurels as we enter the 4th quarter of 2020.  Evaluate, then take action.  Here are some things to consider. 

Is my company well positioned financially to weather the uncertainty in today's business climate?

Where do I fit into their plans?

What areas of opportunity exist in my company?  In my industry?

What areas can I help expand business currently?

Am I proficient to step in and assist in those areas?  If not, how do I get to where I need to be?

What are the most valuable skills that I must learn that I don't currently posses?

What competitors may be better positioned to allow me to continue my career growth?  

What is my plan to meet with them before the new year to insure that I am maximizing my investment in my career and continuing to be satisfied professionally and personally?

 

The Face of the Conversation

I normally refrain from social commentary when posting on professional sites like LinkedIn but I am going to change my conduct, at least for today.

The picture below is my daughter Adele, taken about 25 years ago.  Adele will be 30 in a few short months and is my reason for getting up everyday, even now.   Being her father is a privilege as it is a privilege for each of us to be a parent.  I still have a responsibility, even today, to influence Adele in positive ways.  I know that even as she continues to mature, how I respond to things will have an influence on her and I take that responsibility seriously.  

Claudia Apolinar and her partner are also someone's daughter and son.  I can't imagine the horror that they felt when learning of the life threatening injuries inflicted upon them by the criminal that tried to murder them.  They instilled values in them that lead them to a career of service to and protection of others.  As I read of the attacks and continue to think about them this picture of Adele comes to mind, the innocence and the happiness.  I pray for her to have that today and everyday as I am sure that the parents of the deputies do for their children.  

The upheaval we are experiencing is not due to racism, it is due to the destruction of the nuclear family.  The absence of a mother or father from the home creates an imbalance in discipline, teaching of values, reinforcement of positive behaviors and the lessons taught by spending time together everyday when the children see how we react to everyday challenges.  Regardless of the teachings of the social justice movement none of us are limited in the United States by anything other than our own beliefs, attitudes, talents, skills, education, and effort.  Am I saying that racism, ageism, sexism and other isms do not exist?  Certainly not!  I am saying that those prejudices are overcome with performance.  That is the message that our young people need to hear.  

Our conversations with our children should never include our negative limiting beliefs.  Our duty is to drive them to levels of success insuring that they obtain the education that they need, develop their skills and talents and understand that regardless of their limitations that they can persevere with their efforts.  

Overcoming the racial divide

 Today Major League Baseball celebrates the life of Roberto Clemente.

Growing up in the 1960s & 70s in Western Pennsylvania, Clemente was an icon. Millions of Pirates' fans, of all races embraced him for his skill, athleticism, accomplishments and his humanity. Clemente transcended racial boundries as did some of his contemporaries in Pittsburgh Sports. Names like Willie Stargell, Joe Greene, Manny Sanguillen and Franco Harris come to mind. I think Clemente may have struggled more than most due to his language barrier earlier in his career, the distance from his family and friends and the racial hostilities in the 50s and 60s, but, his efforts, skills and loving nature won over the majority. Clemente was known by the media to be a hypochondriac and moody but as fans we either didn't see it or overlooked it due to his other attributes. Clemente was also part of the first all Black lineup fielded by Danny Murtaugh in 1971. Imagine, that was a big deal.

Today we see athletes at the forefront of much of the discussion about race. Most have little understanding or appreciation for the struggles of the Black pioneers in pro sports and have lead a privileged life from the time that they were children due to their skills and the accommodations granted due to those skills. They too have the ability to transcend race due to their skills and have a much larger platform from which to speak due to the new age media yet they choose to inflame rather than inspire.

As American's we have an obligation to lift each other reminding those that we influence of the possibilities that are available with skill, hard work and determination rather than tear down our institutions. When we see wrong, we can change it. That is what the ballot box is for. In any community, White, Black, Asian, or Hispanic the possibilities in the US are far greater than any place on Earth. Let's promote that!

Finally, my Pastor challenged us with his message on Sunday to take 5 minutes daily to consider the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. Pretty tough to riot, loot and burn if you consider that. Do you want to see change? Find someone in your sphere of influence that is struggling and become their mentor giving them hope, love and encouragement. That will transcend race, national origin, religion or socio-economic status.

The Facts of Life When Negotiating

Quite often other things in life can teach us valuable lessons for business.  I am including an article ( https://rumbunter.com/2020/09/04/pittsburgh-pirates-ja-happ-mlb/ ) that is a story of a failed negotiation to land a valuable free agent.  

JA Happ played the second half of the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015 and was outstanding.  The team had a high level of interest in resigning him as a free agent for the 2016 season and beyond.  They presented a 2 year contract with the caveat, if someone offers more we would like to have a chance to match.  Someone did, and Mr. Happ accepted the other offer.  The Pirates walked away empty handed and many believe that this was the beginning of a spiral for the team that had gone to the playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons.  

The moral of the story is, when negotiating to hire talent, make your highest and best offer the first time, every time.  Use all of your resources to strongly advocate for your firm putting it in the best light possible. The ramifications can be devastating if it is a key hire and you miss.  The Pirates have gone from one of the top teams in baseball to likely having the worst record in baseball in 2020 after missing on this chance, leading to several miscalculated additions that didn't pan out. Not only did the roster suffer, but their reputation took a hit eliminating them in other pursuits.   

REACH FOR THE STARS!

I help companies hire Professional Civil Engineers.  My clients very often have specific ideas as to what achievements that they prefer experienced candidates to have accomplished.   Success in pursuing business is often a leading attribute that they desire.  As I discuss this with hiring managers I learn that they have been disappointed in the past with professionals that they hired that did not perform at suitable levels rapidly enough.  Other times I am told how hard it is to find people with those skills.  I usually reply that of course it is difficult.  Those folks are compensated well and treated even better as the skill set lacks among engineers.  Students don't endeavor to become engineers because they want to sell  They are technically focused with strong STEM skills.

The question begs to be asked, what should you do?

There is no way to know if someone will be successful in sales, especially when they are technically focused but your culture and hiring practices of entry level professionals can insure long term success.  Don't just look at classes taken, grades and interview performance.  What extra curricular activities did they participate in?  Did they work through school?  Are you administering personality skills assessments and considering the results in your hiring process?  What activities are you encouraging that they be involved with in addition to their project work?  Are you involving them in Toastmasters?  Are they participating in Client interviews?  When do you ask them to begin to pursue new business?  How are you preparing them to get there?

As your hiring practices develop, be sure to include analysis of personality types, achievements, types of activities in school, etc.  As an example, someone that participated in a debate class or was involved in a school drama club may have more confidence to interact with potential clients.  As I stated earlier, we all know how difficult it is to attract established professionals with strong business development skills.  The results are mixed at best.  Control what you can and reach for the stars when hiring, then invest in developing the desired skills to interact with and develop new clients.