Sunday, March 13, 2011

What Do You Do?

What do you do?

How do you answer this question? Do you give your job title: Car salesman, plumber, housewife, career coach? Or do you respond with WHAT YOU DO? Do you give what you do meaning?

I can’t recall where I read this, but it had an impact on me. In essence, the idea was to give meaning to our work rather than respond with a job title.

Instead of responding with a title: Car salesman, plumber, housewife or career coach; respond with meaning.

I facilitate the process, from selection to acquisition, of customers choosing which automobile they wish to buy. I help them in this process, making sure they get exactly what want they want, within their price range” … or …

I keep people above water” … or …

I make sure that the most important people in my life get out the door every morning with what they need to be successful in that day” … or …

I help clients figure out what they want to do next in their life and how they can achieve their goals.

Can you give what you do meaning? Can you see by making what you do meaningful that you provide value?

What do YOU do?

3 comments:

  1. I would like to add that it is not only "giving meaning to what we do" when we are asked what we do. We have to add "impact" also. We have to tell how we impact others. If we only give it meaning, then we are only giving explanations. Instead what we have to say also is how we impact others.

    It took me a while to understand that when I present myself to others I can not just tell them what I can do, but rather what I can do for them.

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  2. Thanks for that insight, Husni. You're absolutely correct, meaning and impact are inseparable.

    Scott

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  3. Scott, thanks for the reminder. We get caught up in ego driven job titles (or in my case, the lack of one. We need to remember what it is that we DO. It also creates better openings for conversation. Who knows where talking with people will get us?!

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