From Passion to Purpose – Doug: A Success Story

Awhile ago I wrote a post entitled From Passion to Purpose? where in lamenting the permanent loss of jobs during this Great Recession, I discussed Geoff Bellman’s book Your Signature Path: Gaining New Perspectives on Life and Work, where he noted that “We don’t always need new skills to be successful; we often just need a new perspective.” I also referred to Simon Sinek’s admonition to “start with why,” to begin with your motivation and purpose as the basis for what you do and how you do it; which drive us toward discovering our passion.

Shortly after the publication of that post, I had a call from Doug, who wanted to share his story. Last year, Doug found himself unexpectedly laid off from his job as Director of Quality Assurance for a New England manufacturing company. At 57, he found himself out of a job for the first time in 26 years (full disclosure: Doug is my cousin). While Doug knew his manufacturing company was in trouble, he expected that he would be the one, in his words, “to lock the door, turn out the lights.” He saw himself as a key contributor to the company’s on-going operations. As Director of QA, he had been instrumental in establishing operations at their Mexico plant. It came as a complete surprise when he was informed that his position was no longer required. However, as he mentioned in our conversation, “it took me about ten minutes to get over it.” On the way to his car, with his personal effects, he began taking stock of his situation.

For some time, Doug had been a fixture on the local music scene, playing in a bluegrass band at venues in his community. He had an extensive network of local musicians in the region, from Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He loved playing with the band and jamming with others.

Doug and his wife, Melanie, were empty nesters – their kids “were off the books;” their house was paid for and they had health benefits through Melanie’s job. He figured he needed to bring in $2,000 a month to make ends meet. His six month severance package from his company would give them a cushion for awhile.

Doug started a business that incorporated his passion for music – as well as playing with his band, he books and advertises his friends and others in venues in the three state region. He also appears on a radio program that showcases the regional music scene. When he’s not playing with his band, he’s checking out other musicians’ at their gigs.

Doug realized he couldn’t make a living on his music alone, nor could he rely on just one source of income. He’s expanded his business to include event planning, providing all the needs of customers for their special events. Moreover, Doug didn’t burn any bridges with his old company. He does some consulting for them as well as for a handful of other clients. The retainer from one of his clients provides him more of a cushion for his needs.

Being laid off has enabled Doug to realize his inner entrepreneur. He’s a self described “semi-schemer,” networking all the time and thinking of new projects to take on.

Labor Day 2010

Robert Reich recently wrote an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times entitled “How to End the Great Recession.” Reich’s pessimistic take on the failure of current efforts to stimulate the economy is because the structure of the economy has changed rather than due to the normal business cycle.

Reich notes that productivity enhancing software and outsourcing jobs to countries with cheaper labor forces have been among the contributors to many jobs vanishing from the economy and thus, the continuing high rate of unemployment. Reich argues that it will take a restructuring of public policies to encourage job growth and position America to be competitive in the future.

The permanent disappearance of jobs is one of the most difficult issues for those of us who counsel and coach people looking for their next position. Those clients in real estate related fields, financial services and other occupations have seen their jobs just evaporate.

Dan Pink, in his book, A Whole New Mind, wrote about the “3As” of Abundance, Asia and Automation. His thesis was that traditionally routine work that can be automated will be outsourced to Asian countries where smart people can do the work cheaper than their American counterparts.

The point is there are jobs that are not coming back and the people affected most are the middle class, which has long been the mainstay of this country’s economic well being.

So what can you do? Whether you’re employed or not, there are things you need to do to ensure that you retain your value (and your job):

• Take responsibility – for both your own career and for being informed on how the changed economy affects your future. I’ve written plenty on the New Normal and strategies to navigate it relative to your career.

• Be accountable – for your own career development. Don’t rely on the organization for which you work to provide a career path. Know your value; tell your story of how you influence outcomes that contribute to the organization’s bottom line.

• Pay attention – regardless of your political leanings, don’t swallow the simple bromides that either incumbents or their opposition offer about what’s wrong with our nation. Make them go deeper with their explanations and proposals for improvement. Think about what they’re saying. Does it make sense, why or why not? Don’t succumb to the polarizing arguments that both sides present. Question them, get engaged, hold them accountable.

So what do you think needs to happen to remain productive and employed in today’s economy? Can you as an individual have an impact, if not on macro economic policy, on your economic policy – on your career?

From Passion to Purpose?

One of the more disconcerting aspects of this jobless economic recovery is the disappearance of jobs that just won’t return. The vanishing jobs are, in large part, what keeps our unemployment numbers consistently high; there simply aren’t enough jobs to go around. Moreover, most experts agree that it will take a Herculean effort to create jobs to replace those that have been lost.

In an effort to get a handle on this issue, I’ve been re-reading a terrific book by Geoff Bellman: Your Signature Path: Gaining New Perspectives on Life and Work (you can preview the book here). Bellman wrote this book in the mid-90s, but it is a timeless piece on how to reframe what you see and act on it. I’ve been trying to find a resource for clients who, in transition, are looking for more meaning in their work. Bellman’s book may just fit the bill.

Bellman’s premise can be summed up in this quote: “We don’t always need new skills to be successful; we often just need a new perspective.” His book provides a number of relatively simple exercises to gain, and act on, our new perspectives.

Bellman notes that many of us seek purpose through our work; which dovetails nicely with Dan Pink’s Motivation 3.0, where engagement produces mastery – becoming better at something that matters. Bellman’s ideas also jibe with Simon Sinek’s admonition to “start with why;” to begin with your motivation and purpose as the basis for what you do and how you do it. Like Sinek, Bellman notes that we’re most comfortable talking about our practice – the “Whats” and the “Hows.” However, “the focus on practice can lead us away from our purpose. Our methods can lead us away from our meaning.” The “Whys” drive us toward discovering our higher purpose; they speak to our motivation, our passion.

Bellman goes on to address the intersection of passion and work, which he notes, are seldom considered together. He mentions that while the world of work is more demanding and less secure, people are hopeful about work as a path to life meaning (and this was 1996). He offers some additional exercises to assist in linking passion to work, entitled “Romancing the Grindstone.”

So how does Bellman’s book help retrieve those lost jobs? The obvious answer is that it doesn't; not directly. However, the disappearance of jobs that are unlikely to return provides the opportunity to re-discover one’s passion – why we do what we do. Starting with why may lead us to a whole different set of actions, maybe even a new job, that can provide more meaning in our life. The jobs that evolve from an approach of following one’s passion can replace those lost jobs that were defined by someone else.

So, can you gain a new perspective; one that focuses on your passion? Can you begin with why – focus on your motivation and purpose, rather than on the what and the how? Can you provide meaning to your work? Can you define your work with meaning? Can your passion drive your purpose?

The Future of Work

I’ve been writing of late about the “New Normal” – the way talent needs to be acquired, developed and managed by organizations and by the talent themselves. Click on the YouTube link below and watch this short video of “The Future of Work.” I believe it aptly describes the New Normal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Yt4wxSblc

The video notes that the Future of Work will embody four critical characteristics:

1. Transparent – Productivity matters, all the time
2. Flat – Communication trumps location
3. Competitive – There will be no excuse not to know how
4. On demand – The word “career” is as outdated as the typewriter.

In the Future of Work individuals will have more freedom and power.

Can you see yourself in this New Normal of the Future of Work?

Can you demonstrate (constantly) your productivity, your value?

Can you work with, and be a part of, a virtual team, working with people all over the world?

Can you continue to learn of and use new tools to increase your value? Can you be an effective member of the crowd?

Can you envision a new world of work based on projects solved by those virtual teams rather than a career where you’re valued as a sole subject matter expert?

Can you assume responsibility for your own progress, not abdicate it to an organization?

Check out the video. How comfortable are you with the new paradigm? The New Normal?

Start with Why

People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.

Check out the YouTube video link below with Simon Sinek.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4

Why do you do what you do? What’s your purpose, your motivation?

Here’s mine:

I believe there is a “New Normal” in the way talent needs to be acquired, developed and managed by organizations and by the talent themselves. I believe new career management models are required and that people need guidance in navigating the uncertain, often turbulent waters of the New Normal.

By writing about the changes I’m observing, I can help people navigate the New Normal.

I counsel and coach clients about how to navigate through their careers.

So what about you? Can you start with why and work towards what? Can you explain to a potential employer why you do what you do? Can you articulate your purpose, your motivation?

Wouldn't you rather work for someone – or an organization – who started with why?

Book Review: "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us," by Daniel Pink

In Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Dan Pink has written a book about motivation and the problem that most businesses haven’t caught up to what really motivates us.

“Too many organizations – not just companies, but governments and nonprofits as well – still operate from assumptions about human potential and individual performance that are outdated, unexamined, and rooted more in folklore than in science.”

The pursuit of short-term incentive plans and pay for performance requires an upgrade to Motivation 3.0, which incorporates three essential elements: Autonomy – the desire to direct our own lives; Mastery – the urge to improve on something that matters; and Purpose – the desire to do something in the service of something larger than ourselves.

Pink’s Motivation 3.0 is the logical evolution from two previous societal “operating systems” – the laws, social customs and economic provisos that “sit atop a layer of instructions, protocols, and suppositions about how the world works.” Motivation 1.0 was a basic survival operating system of early humans – the hunter-gatherers – whose day-to-day survival governed their behavior.

As civilization progressed and became more complicated, economic rules spawned a new operating system of external rewards and punishments – Motivation 2.0, which was extremely effective for rule-based, routine tasks of the type that prevailed from the Industrial Revolution up through the mid 20^th century.

The carrot and stick approach of Motivation 2.0, however, has become unreliable for how we organize what we do; how we think about what we do; and how we do what we do. In fact, in our current operating system, Motivation 2.0 tends to “extinguish intrinsic motivation, diminish performance, crush creativity and crowd out good behavior.” It can encourage unethical behavior, create addictions to rewards that distort decision-making, and foster short-term thinking.

Thus, an upgrade is required – Motivation 3.0 – for the smooth functioning of 21^st century business, which depends on and fosters the inherent satisfaction of the activity itself; what Pink call “Type I” behavior. Type I behavior leads to “stronger performance, greater health and higher overall well-being.”

Pink shows how companies that are embracing the upgrade Motivation 3.0 and its basic elements are outperforming those that continue to employ the old Motivation 2.0 carrot and stick techniques.

The “default setting” of Motivation 3.0 is autonomy and self-direction. People need autonomy over task (what they do), time (when they do it), team (who they do it with) and technique (how they do it). Management’s role, then, isn’t about walking around and seeing if people are in their offices at certain times; it’s about creating conditions for them to do their best work.

While Motivation 2.0 required compliance, Motivation 3.0 demands engagement. Only engagement can produce mastery – becoming better at something that matters. Mastery abides by three basic rules. Mastery is a mindset – it requires the capacity to see your abilities as infinitely improvable. Mastery is a pain – it demands effort, grit and deliberate practice. And mastery is asymptote – it’s impossible to realize fully.

Autonomous people, working toward mastery perform at very high levels. But those who do so in the service of a greater objective – greater than themselves – achieve even more. Thus, in Motivation 3.0, purpose maximization, along with profit maximization, is an aspiration and guiding principle. Pink contends that the “move to accompany profit maximization with purpose maximization has the potential to rejuvenate our businesses and remake our world” (my emphasis).

So, if you’re running an organization, are you running on an outdated operating system or have you upgraded to Motivation 3.0, which will provide greater performance. As an individual, can you embrace the elements of Motivation 3.0 to enhance your performance within the organization?

Perhaps a greater question is, can organizations and individuals upgrade to Motivation 3.0 or are we doomed to run inefficiently on an old, obsolete operating system?

Rethinking Your Comfort Zone

In the New Normal if you’re not adding value to the organization, you’re not of value to the organization. This means you can’t afford to get comfortable in your position. You need to be able to speak to your contribution to the organization; you need to be constantly contributing; and you need to be comfortable doing so.

Among the 6.5 million long term unemployed people in the U.S., many are having trouble getting out of their comfort zones. For many years, they were well rewarded for being comfortable. They worked at their companies; did their job; came in at 8 AM and left at 5 PM. Occasionally, they may have been involved in a special project or two. They survived acquisitions, restructurings, and for a time, layoffs. In the meantime, they earned a good living; received annual salary increases; they enjoyed a lifestyle that their income enabled. And they got comfortable.

The problem came when they were eventually laid off from their job. They hoped for a quick rebound. They may have taken a few weeks – or a few months – off. They may have enjoyed their time off; got some projects completed around the house; took a family vacation. Then they were ready to get back to work. They drafted a resume; one that noted that they had 20 years of experience; one that spoke to their responsibilities. They may have listed every project they worked on since graduating from college. Then they posted it on Monster.com or CareerBuilder, or both. And they waited. They may have applied to a few positions that they felt they were perfect for. And they waited. They may have been contacted to sell insurance or be financial advisors, but not much more.

Weeks of unemployment stretched to months. Some have hit the year mark without a job. They may have changed tactics in their search. They may have a profile on LinkedIn.com. They may be attending networking sessions with other unemployed folks. They may get the occasional interview.

What they can’t do is clearly articulate why the organization should hire them; how they would add value to the organization. What they did for 20 some odd years isn’t of value any longer. They are members of the “Too’s Club:” too experienced, too old, too expensive.

Over the years they’ve gotten comfortable with their lifestyle and their perceptions of work. They’ve known their roles with the company and what was expected of them. As long as they met expectations, they were safe.

Unfortunately, expectations have changed. It’s not enough to meet or even exceed expectations. These days, you have to be able to define expectations. You have to be able to say how you can meet the organizations needs, which means you need to know what their needs are. And you have to show how you've been successful in similar situations in the past: “I’ve done it before; I can do it for you.”

All this means you have to rethink what you’ve done; how it affected the organization (the company or the team) you were part of. What were your accomplishments? How can they be applied to the organization you’re interested in now?

This also means that the role you’re seeking may be very different from the roles you’ve had in the past. An organization (company or team) may be willing to hire you, but only in a temporary, project-based role. Once the project is over, you’re done. You may spend the next ten-to-fifteen years of your career going from company to company, from project to project. You may have to get comfortable with being the person who finds work, rather than having work assigned to you by someone else.

This could well be the world of work in the New Normal. Can you rethink your comfort zone? Can you work completely differently than you have in the past? Can you adapt to the New Normal?