Month February 2015

Who Am I @ Work? Semicolons and Values

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It’s a three day weekend and I am reading a book by Maureen Corrigan, ‘Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading’ and I have not even reached the end of the introduction when I come upon this sentence: “How do you know what you’ve become without losing what you were – and want to keep on being too?”

She is writing about her work ‘place’ where she is the book critic for the NPR program ‘Fresh Air’ and a critic-in-residence and lecturer at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. She describes how she uses a semicolon in her writing to link where she came from to who she is today. “The semicolon is my psychological metaphor, my mascot. It’s the punctuation mark that qualifies, hesitates, and ties together ideas and parts of a life that shoots off in different directions. I think my reliance on the semicolon signifies that I want to hold on to my background – honestly, without sentimentality or embarrassment – and yet, also transcend it.”

It brought back to an article written by Po Bronson in Fast Company magazine prior to the release of his book ‘What Should I Do With My Life?’ In relating the learning experience of interviewing over 900 people for the book he writes:

“Every industry has a culture. And every culture is driven by a value system.”

“One of the most common mistakes is not recognizing how these value systems will shape you. People think that they can insulate themselves, that they’re different. They’re not. The relevant question in looking at a job is not What will I do? but Who will I become? What belief system will you adopt, and what will take on heightened importance in your life? Because once you’re rooted in a particular system — whether it’s medicine, New York City, Microsoft, or a startup — it’s often agonizingly difficult to unravel yourself from its values, practices, and rewards. Your money is good anywhere, but respect and status are only a local currency. They get heavily discounted when taken elsewhere. If you’re successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and opportunity can lock you in forever.”

Who are you @ work? Can you find a link to your history in your day at work? Or, have you assumed the costume of whatever perception is necessary to succeed in your profession and edited your sentence, deleting the semicolon?

Week in Review – February 9 – 15

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It was not a good week for journalism. The week began with speculation about the future of NBC Nightly News anchor and managing editor, Brian Williams. On Tuesday he was suspended for six months. On Wednesday evening, CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon was killed in a car crash in Manhattan. A journalist who had covered wars for the entirety of his career lost his life close to home. On Thursday evening, after moderating a panel on the documentary ‘Citizen Four’ at the New School, David Carr, The New York Times journalist collapsed on the newsroom floor.

Over the past week, our conversation here has covered topics of authenticity, engagement, hope and loving what you do at work. In reading about Mr. Carr’s career, it occurred to me that his words this week were incredibly relevant to our dialog.

On Sunday, prior to the NBC announcement,  Mr. Carr analyzed Mr. Williams’ and NBC’s dilemma in his column for The New York Times:

“I don’t know if Mr. Williams will lose his job. I don’t think he should — his transgressions were not a fundamental part of his primary responsibilities.

We want our anchors to be both good at reading the news and also pretending to be in the middle of it. That’s why, when the forces of man or Mother Nature whip up chaos, both broadcast and cable news outlets are compelled to ship the whole heaving apparatus to far-flung parts of the globe, with an anchor as the flag bearer.

We want our anchors to be everywhere, to be impossibly famous, globe-trotting, hilarious, down-to-earth, and above all, trustworthy. It’s a job description that no one can match.”

I don’t think there is a better description of conflicting expectations in the workplace.

After Mr. Carr’s death, social media lit up in response to the loss of a mentor and talented writer. City Paper and it’s staff collected stories  from his colleagues and young journalists recounting their experiences….take a minute to read these familiar names relating their encounters…and remember we learn from the wisdom of others.

Dean Baquet, The New York Times Executive Editor described David Carr as “the finest media reporter of his generation.”

David Carr was authentic, engaged in his work, hopeful and loved what he did.

In his words, quoted in his obituary, “I now inhabit a life I don’t deserve,” Mr. Carr wrote at the conclusion of “The Night of the Gun,” “but we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn’t end any time soon.”

Do What You Love, Love What You Do

Eileen Kohan 2 Comments

It’s Valentines Day, a day to reflect on relationships and celebrate love. It’s also a good day to have a conversation about our relationship with work and the often quoted mantra, ‘do what you love, love what you do’.

Last year an article in Jacobin magazine, later republished on Slate by Miya Tokumitsu offered the opinion that the concept of ‘do what you love’ degrades work that is not done from love. I would counter that ‘do what you love’ sets an aspirational goal beyond our current situation. That goal will evolve over time, and may even be overhauled with life changing events. But too many people, famous and not so famous, believe that you will only find success and add value to the lives of others if you are doing what you love.

Since his death, the 2005 Stanford commencement speech by Steve Jobs has received a lot of attention for his advice to the graduates. His work/life experience led him to believe: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

He was not alone in his conviction.  Artists, business leaders and politicians have shared their beliefs on the topic and some of the most inspirational been collected on Michael D. Pollack’s website. Here is a sample:

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.” Maya Angelou

“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” Ella Fitzgerald

“Paul and I, we never thought that we would make much money out of the thing. We just loved writing software.” Bill Gates

This doesn’t mean that we love everything we do at work. There is no magic wand that turns the toads into princes of productivity. There is conflict, confusion, uncertainty and ambiguity. But if there were no problems, there would be no work.

If you are not there yet, consider where you would be if you loved what you do and did what you loved. Maybe it’s time to get out the GPS, enter the destination and start your journey.

 

 

Work Without Hope – A Poem

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Today, a poem, ‘Work Without Hope’, written in the 1800s, to remind us that hope cannot survive or exist without a reasonable purpose or motivation.

If it seems everyone around you has their act together and are busy moving forward in their careers while you feel you are treading water, take a minute as the week comes to an end to consider your dreams and be sure to honor them.

 

All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair—

The bees are stirring—birds are on the wing—

And Winter slumbering in the open air,

Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!

And I the while, the sole unbusy thing,

Nor honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing.

 

Yet well I ken the banks where amaranths blow,

Have traced the fount whence streams of nectar flow.

Bloom, O ye amaranths! bloom for whom ye may,

For me ye bloom not! Glide, rich streams, away!

With lips unbrightened, wreathless brow, I stroll:

And would you learn the spells that drowse my soul?

Work without Hope draws nectar in a sieve,

And Hope without an object cannot live.

BY SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE

Lines Composed 21st February 1825

 

You Can’t Go Home Again, Brian Williams

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A few years ago I received a call asking if I could offer advice to a local news anchor who had just been ‘right sized’ out of his morning slot. He had planned a vacation, but someone had given him the advice to cancel the vacation and immediately begin the job search. I suggested he take the vacation. I have no idea if he took my advice, but a few months later he was once again in the anchor seat for another network.

Losing a job, especially when you are at the top of your career game is a major life event. You need time to step away, reflect on the experience and refocus on what you truly want to do next.

For some it’s an interruption in a routine that serves as a ‘career cleanse’, restoring a sense of self, apart from the former career identity.

This past week we have all watched the career implosion of the leading American network news anchor, Brian Williams. He has been suspended from his role as the face of NBC News for six months.

I suggest Mr. Williams should take the six months, reflect and ask ‘Why would I go back?’

On the positive, there is a substantial salary and a celebrity lifestyle. On the other side of the ledger, he has to objectively evaluate the reality of the workplace at NBC.

The culture of NBC News is still significantly influenced by the former news anchor, Tom Brokaw.  Yesterday Ken Auletta, reported in The New Yorker magazine, “Tom Brokaw played a key role in NBC’s decision last night to suspend the news anchor Brian Williams, according to two people involved.” Later in the article he indicates that Mr. Brokaw had concerns about his replacement at the time of the transition. He thought “Williams was a skilled broadcaster but that he was inclined toward self-aggrandizement.” And from his standpoint, “Williams wondered: If his predecessor had retired, why was Brokaw still in the studio, opining on election nights and introducing specials on “the greatest generation”?”

Here is the lesson for us all. At some point the workplace where we thrived is no longer the best place for us to continue our career. Sometimes we make the decision to leave, sometimes that decision is made for us.

Often the benefits of our position cloud our perception of the workplace reality and we become immune to the changing culture around us. We miss the signals and in doing so, abdicate ownership of our career.

In the reporting of this story over the past week, many younger journalists credit Mr. Williams with mentoring them toward success. In many ways this is a sad story, but it’s also one that gives Mr. Williams a new platform to demonstrate how to take ownership of a career and not look back.

 

 

 

Work is not a spectator sport

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There are conversations, articles and books that resonate with us over time because they serve as recurring reminders of the essential elements we need to incorporate into our daily work lives.

One article I recommend is a 2011 OpEd piece written by David Brooks in The New York Times. Titled ‘The Question-Driven Life’ it begins with the statement: “We are born with what some psychologists call an “explanatory drive.” You give a baby a strange object or something that doesn’t make sense and she will become instantly absorbed; using all her abilities — taste, smell, force — to figure out how it fits in with the world.”

I believe that curiosity is a key element to success in a career. But how many of us approach our work with the intense desire to learn of the average two year old?

How do we learn if we don’t ask questions? How do we make connections to solve problems if we don’t ask questions? Observation plays a key role in our success, but sitting back as a spectator does not give us the information we need to actively engage with our colleagues, clients and investors.

The concept of the question driven life fits nicely into the world where investigative skills define the work of the profession; research, science, medicine. However, today, in our information driven world, we are all researchers and problem-solvers.  In a world of Wikipedia, it’s best to get first hand information, asking questions of actual humans, face to face. And in finding answers we further develop our expertise and begin to identify connections beyond the scope of our initial task.

And we become more valuable to others, for the knowledge we possess and share.

Mr. Brooks concludes his article with one of my favorite quotes, encouraging engagement in work and life quoting the late Richard Holbrook‘s essential piece of advice for a question-driven life: “Know something about something. Don’t just present your wonderful self to the world. Constantly amass knowledge and offer it.”

Authenticity and Alignment

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Two years ago I had the opportunity to visit the School of Life in London. Located in a storefront on Marchmont Street, the school was founded in 2008 by philosopher Alain de Botton to create a space for conversation and learning around topics that aren’t necessarily taught in formal education, but critical to success in everyday life: careers, relationships, politics, travels, families.

On my visit I picked up a copy of  ‘How to Find Fulfilling Work’ by School of Life faculty member Roman Krznaric. I have read a lot of career guides, too many. But this short guide stood out from the others in the authors description: “It is a guide for helping you take your working life in new directions, and for bringing your career and who you are into closer alignment.”

We have all heard about authenticity, being who you are, not letting others define you. Just last night Sam Smith accepting the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album shared his example, “Before I made this record I was doing everything to try and get my music heard. I tried to lose weight and I was making awful music. It was only until I started to be myself that the music started to flow and people started to listen.”

There’s something to it. You have to know yourself and be yourself before you can find success.

The School of Life has posted an animated video to help you start the process of how to find fulfilling work.

 

 

 

Week in Review

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Groundhog Day has always been one of my favorite annual celebrations. Since the Bill Murray movie, I think of it as the national day of second chances. So, if you don’t get it right the first time – you get another chance.

I launched ‘Workthoughts’ on Groundhog Day because a blog about work should be a blog of career evolution, lifelong learning and many second chances.

The blogs of this past week introduced some of the themes I hope to expand as we continue our conversation. Here’s a quick summary of the week that was:

Finding your work ‘place’ may be a more realistic way to find your ‘passion’.

The vanishing ‘snow day’ still provides an unexpected window into work/life balance.

Storytelling is still alive and well in both job funding and venture building

Competence and confidence will only get you so far.

Poetry is the portal to visualize your ideal.

We learn from the wisdom of others – this week, Bob Dylan.

‘In the news’ – The New York Times reported the ‘The economy cruised into the new year with a bust of fresh momentum, adding jobs at the fastest pace since the boom of the late 1990s and lifting unemployment and wage prospects for millions of Americans left behind in a long but mostly lackluster recovery.”

Will the recovery lead to more mobility within the employed? Good question to explore as we continue the conversation next week.

Bob Dylan’s Story

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Our careers are a mosaic of hard work, persistence, failure and if lucky, success.  At the center are those who have guided, supported and promoted our work as we moved toward our goals, even when we didn’t know where we were going.

We learn from the wisdom of others. In their retelling of their career stories, we can sometimes find ourselves, even when we confound expectations.

On Friday evening Bob Dylan accepted the MusiCares Person of the Year Award. The LA Times published the full text of his acceptance speech. Here are a few of the comments he shared.

On grit:

“I’m glad for my songs to be honored like this. But you know, they didn’t get here by themselves. It’s been a long road and it’s taken a lot of doing. These songs of mine, they’re like mystery stories, the kind that Shakespeare saw when he was growing up. I think you could trace what I do back that far. They were on the fringes then, and I think they’re on the fringes now. And they sound like they’ve been on the hard ground.”

“For three or four years all I listened to were folk standards. I went to sleep singing folk songs. I sang them everywhere, clubs, parties, bars, coffeehouses, fields, festivals. And I met other singers along the way who did the same thing and we just learned songs from each other. I could learn one song and sing it next in an hour if I’d heard it just once.”

“Well you know, I just thought I was doing something natural, but right from the start, my songs were divisive for some reason. They divided people. I never knew why. Some got angered, others loved them. Didn’t know why my songs had detractors and supporters. A strange environment to have to throw your songs into, but I did it anyway.”

On mentoring:

“Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Joan Baez. She was the queen of folk music then and now. She took a liking to my songs and brought me with her to play concerts, where she had crowds of thousands of people enthralled with her beauty and voice.

People would say, “What are you doing with that ragtag scrubby little waif?” And she’d tell everybody in no uncertain terms, “Now you better be quiet and listen to the songs.” We even played a few of them together. Joan Baez is as tough-minded as they come. Love. And she’s a free, independent spirit. Nobody can tell her what to do if she doesn’t want to do it. I learned a lot of things from her. A woman with devastating honesty. And for her kind of love and devotion, I could never pay that back.”

On change and expectations:

“Times always change. They really do. And you have to always be ready for something that’s coming along and you never expected it.”

Critics have made a career out of accusing me of having a career of confounding expectations. Really? Because that’s all I do. That’s how I think about it. Confounding expectations.

“What do you do for a living, man?”

“Oh, I confound expectations.”

‘To Be of Use’ Marge Piercy

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Folks have been celebrating work in poetry and prose for a long time. The one I share today is my favorite by novelist, poet, activist and memoirist Marge Piercy. It is her 1973 poem ‘To Be of Use’ that has resonated with many. Immerse yourself in the imagery and imagine the emotion of finding your happy work ‘place.’

‘To Be of Use’ from ‘Circles on the Water’

The people I love the best

jump into work head first

without dallying in the shallows

and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.

They seem to become natives of that element,

the black sleek heads of seals

bouncing like half-submerged balls.

 

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,

who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,

who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,

who do what has to be done, again and again.

 

I want to be with people who submerge

in the task, who go into the fields to harvest

and work in a row and pass the bags along,

who are not parlor generals and field deserters

but move in a common rhythm

when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

 

The work of the world is common as mud.

Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.

But the thing worth doing well done

has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.

Greek amphoras for wine or oil,

Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums

but you know they were made to be used.

The pitcher cries for water to carry

and a person for work that is real.