Category work thoughts

Three Novelists Create Narratives About Work

Eileen Kohan Leave a comment

It’s the weekend, and if you’re looking for a good story to fill you day, here are three suggestions from three authors who in their respective novels capture our attitudes toward life, work and success. Often we find in the imagination of others, inspiration and understanding of our own lives. These three authors give voice to our expectations of work and success and the inevitable collision with reality.

Meg Wolitzer  ‘The Interestings’

In the summer of 1974 a group of adolescents meet at an arts camp. The narrative follows their progress toward realization of their dreams. Meg Wolitzer  “allows her characters to come to see happiness not as getting what they thought they wanted, but wanting what they’ve wound up having — a definition in which succeeding doesn’t require exceeding.” writes Liesl Schillinger reviewing ‘The Interestings’ for the New York Times Sunday Book Review.

“Though I think about work all the time. For me, it’s not just to stay busy. I mean, partly it’s a distraction from what I can’t change. They need me at the studio. When I’m gone, like this week, they all…flail. But mostly it’s because work is just so great to think about. It’s sort of an endless replenishing…If you can’t have a good relationship with somebody then you should at least have a good relationship with your work. Your work should feel like…an incredible person lying next to you in bed.”

Dave Eggers ‘A Hologram for the King’

Dave Egger’s character, Alan Clay is a self-employed consultant who arrives in the Saudi Arabian desert to work on an ambiguous assignment. Alan is a middle management American, looking to regain his self confidence and find meaning in his work.

“…He was more than that. Some days he was more than that. Some days he could encompass the world. Some days he could see for miles. Some days he climbed over the foothills of indifference to see the landscape of his life and future for what it was: mappable, traversable, achievable. Everything he wanted to do had been done before, so why couldn’t he do it? He could. If only he could engage on a continual basis. If only he could draw up a plan and execute it. He could! He had to believe he could. Of course he did.”

Joshua Ferris ‘Then We Came To The End’

“We were fractious and overpaid. Our mornings lacked promise.” begins the narrative of Joshua Ferris’ 2007 novel, ‘Then We Came to the End’.

Set in a Chicago advertising agency, this is a story of work and co-workers. It’s a story of the inhumanity of downsizing and the humanity of people who show up every Monday morning for work. He vividly describes the culture of a shrinking organization.

“What little work remained was never any fun….We could enjoy nothing but our own rumoring. Conversation never extended beyond our walls, walls that were closing in on us, and we failed to take stock of anything happening around them…In the last week of August 2001, and in the first ten days of that September, there were more layoffs than in all the months preceding them. But by the grace of god, the rest of us hung on, hating each other more than we ever thought possible.”

What Work Is – A Poem by Philip Levine

Eileen Kohan Leave a comment

On Fridays, at the end of the traditional work week, I want to share the poems that have given voice over time to workers and their work.

The poem this week is by former United States poet laureate Philip Levine who died on February 14. On Monday, Dwight Garner writing in The New York Times described his background and achievements: “Mr. Levine was born in Detroit, was educated in public schools and went to college at Wayne State in Detroit. He held, he liked to say, a lot of “stupid jobs.” Those stupid jobs informed his sense of the way so many Americans live.”

In 1991 Mr. Levine published a book of poetry, ‘What Work Is’.

We stand in the rain in a long line
waiting at Ford Highland Park. For work.
You know what work is—if you’re
old enough to read this you know what
work is, although you may not do it.
Forget you. This is about waiting,
shifting from one foot to another.
Feeling the light rain falling like mist
into your hair, blurring your vision
until you think you see your own brother
ahead of you, maybe ten places.
You rub your glasses with your fingers,
and of course it’s someone else’s brother,
narrower across the shoulders than
yours but with the same sad slouch, the grin
that does not hide the stubbornness,
the sad refusal to give in to
rain, to the hours of wasted waiting,
to the knowledge that somewhere ahead
a man is waiting who will say, “No,
we’re not hiring today,” for any
reason he wants. You love your brother,
now suddenly you can hardly stand
the love flooding you for your brother,
who’s not beside you or behind or
ahead because he’s home trying to
sleep off a miserable night shift
at Cadillac so he can get up
before noon to study his German.
Works eight hours a night so he can sing
Wagner, the opera you hate most,
the worst music ever invented.
How long has it been since you told him
you loved him, held his wide shoulders,
opened your eyes wide and said those words,
and maybe kissed his cheek? You’ve never
done something so simple, so obvious,
not because you’re too young or too dumb,
not because you’re jealous or even mean
or incapable of crying in
the presence of another man, no,
just because you don’t know what work is.

Philip Levine reads “What Work Is” from What Work Is on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=386758771&m=386758772&t=audio

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

It’s more than competence and confidence

Eileen Kohan Leave a comment

Each week there are new books released on the topic of effective leadership and management. Clearly there is a wide audience seeking the perfect formula for success. Over the course of my career I have built a library from many of these titles. What occurs to me is that the majority of these qualities are developed long before arriving at the executive suite.

My list of seven qualities, distilled from experience and the wisdom of others include: competence, confidence, common sense, clarity, creativity, curiosity and caring.

You develop your expertise with education, experience and mentoring. As you test our your knowledge you gain confidence in your abilities. But having confidence and a basic working knowledge of your field is only the beginning.

Take that knowledge and experience and apply common sense, plain, ordinary good judgment. Maybe this is the ‘go with your gut’ mentality, provided your gut is led by an accurate read of the facts.

Adam Bryant, the New York Times journalist has interviewed hundreds of CEOs for his weekly Corner Office column in the Sunday Business section. In his book, ‘The Corner Office’ he described five essentials for success. One is ‘a simple mindset’. A leader must convey their goals clearly so that each of the employees can identify with the organization’s direction. If you have more than five goals, you may want to go back and edit.

Creativity continues to be a leadership ‘buzzword’. The authors of ‘The Innovator’s DNA’ suggest that creativity can be learned and define the building blocks to get there. However, if you are not curious, you will never be creative.

The last, but most important on the list is caring. If you do not genuinely care for your colleagues, employees, clients, investors and community you limit your opportunity to succeed.

Think about your portfolio. Where are your strengths related to these seven categories? Where are the gaps?

Explore ways to fill in the blanks. Identify experiences, education and people who can help you. And don’t limit yourself to your current career field, open yourself to the wealth of multidisciplinary resources.

 

 

 

 

Work ‘place’

Eileen Kohan 1 Comment

There seems to be a great deal of controversy over the topic of finding your ‘passion’ at work. Many feel that it’s unrealistic to expect a job to provide meaning, and others question how this is possible for people who don’t have access to the resources and network required to achieve their dream. The conversation itself may cause pressure for those who’ve not yet developed a coherent definition of their dream.

I think we have become lost in the semantics of the moment. I believe what we are looking for is a place where we can be successful, however we individually define success, among colleagues who value our contribution and managers who provide constructive evaluation of our work. We want to be better at what we do than when we started. We want to learn enough about ourselves and the work to make decisions about our next step.

In other words we need to find our work ‘place’ and if this is synonymous with finding your passion, great. If it’s a way station on a longer journey of discovery, perfect.

The key is momentum. Find your community, learn and contribute. Seek out the advice of others, but own your career choices. Don’t think of your work ‘place’ as a cubicle or corner office, but a moveable feast, a dream built on experience, connections and growth.