Meaningful Work

In late September I wrote a Career Tip on finding meaning in one’s work.  I received a lot of positive feedback about it, so I wanted to post it on our blog as well.  I normally do not post our Career Tips on the blog, so if you want to read other career tips, you will have to sign up through our website to be a subscriber.  Go to http://www.cameron-brooks.com/candidates_career_tips_sign_up.html.

I am very fortunate that I find tremendous meaning in my work and life.  It is a journey.  For our November 2011 Candidates, I look forward to starting the journey with you on November 4 in Austin, TX.

“Meaninful Work”

This past week, I met with several JMOs in Germany listening to their career and professional goals as they develop courses of action for their future career decisions.  A common theme I heard from them was the need to find meaningful work where they felt they were serving others.  Time Magazine recently ran a feature article on this generation as the “New Greatest Generation” playing off of Tom Brokaw’s popular and inspiring book, The Greatest Generation.  I can see why Time chose to feature this group and also why Time called them “Great.”  This generation’s mentality is to serve, to give back, and to find meaningful work.

Today’s JMO finds meaning in wearing the uniform and serving in the military, and is concerned about whether they will find something similar outside the military that will equal this level of contribution.  I understand this because I remember going through the same thought process when deciding to leave the military.  I remember having breakfast with my Brigade Commander as he tried to convince me that I would not find work with the same amount of service as being in the Army.  I thought a lot about what he said, then I recalled what my Notre Dame Marketing Professor, Bob Drevs, told me:  “It’s not what you do, but how you do it and who you are.”  I realized that wearing the uniform and being in the military did not make me a service-oriented person, nor did it define me. Rather, my attitude and approach did. 

The military does create an environment where it is natural to feel good about the service aspect of the work because our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and families are making tremendous sacrifices every day, often for great lengths of time when deployed.  However, it still takes the right person to lead with integrity, mentor junior leaders, focus on results, make the “hard rights” instead of the “easy way outs,” and look beyond oneself to the greater good.  It is the person who gets up every morning and chooses to live and work this way; it is not the uniform nor the environment.

One of my favorite quotes is, “Every day, you either make your workplace a little bit better or a little bit worse.  Try to leave it a little bit better.” (First, Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham).  I am not 100% successful, but I do want to leave my workplace better every day, and I encourage you to adopt this same approach.  You may not be building schools, churches or water pipelines for people in Iraq or Afghanistan, but you can make a huge difference in your co-workers’, suppliers’, and customers’ days and lives. 

Whether you are a JMO or are already in the business world, improving the lives around you begins in very simple ways.  Simple things include attention to common courtesies – a smile, saying hello, a morning greeting, please and thank you – and taking a few moments to ask about someone’s son’s football game Friday night, their weekend or recent trip. 

Sincere compliments also help.  Do you thank someone for a job well done and give them a specific compliment?  Do you seek out other people doing things well, or do you mostly provide “constructive feedback?”  Feedback is important, but so is letting others know that you appreciate and respect them. 

When I am not traveling, I go home every night and share my day with my wife and children. I talk about how I feel, what others said and things that bothered me. I imagine other people also talk about work when they go home.  I want my teammates to go home feeling good if they put in a hard day’s work and did their best.  I want them to not only have a sense of accomplishment, but also to know that their contribution mattered. To have that, they must hear it from me and not be left guessing.  Simple things like common courtesies and sincere compliments can get lost in the daily prioritization of goals and deadlines, but recognize them for what they are.  They are service and they add up to make a world of difference.

Giving back and serving does start with the small things, but you can also give back in more significant ways.  This is possible in the civilian world because most people find more control over their careers in business versus the military.  Therefore, they find time to volunteer in the community, mentor high school students, coach a team, or get involved with their church.  Personally, Susan, my wife, and I decided to get involved with Foster Care.  What started out as service ended up being life changing as we adopted two children.  The old saying, “First, you give, then you receive,” certainly holds true as I feel so lucky to have them.  Possibly, this is a path of service we may not have chosen had I stayed in the military.

Service is a choice, an attitude, a paradigm, a way of living a life – which includes your work.  You spend 75% of your waking hours at work, so you cannot be a “giver” at home, but say there is no place or time for it in the workplace.  You cannot turn it on and off.  Certainly, there are environments like the military where service is more overt, and certainly your values must be in line with your company’s to be the servant leader you aspire to be.  Creating a life of service and contribution does not hinge on whether or not you stay in the military.  It begins and ends with your day-to-day commitment to give – in big and small ways – to those around you.

 

Joel Junker

 

Millenials Part Three – Discovering Meaning in Life and Work

Junior Military Officers come to my firm, Cameron-Brooks, to seek help in finding their next careers after transitioning from active service. They often tell me their goal is to find meaningful and worthwhile work. This search criterion has increased with the coming of age of the Millennial Generation (born after 1980) in the workplace. The frequency of this request has caused me to explore the ideas around “meaningful work.”

In his book, Prisoners of Our Thoughts, Alex Pattakos writes about the application of Viktor Frankl’s principles for discovering meaning in our daily life and work.  The foreword is written by Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and one of the most frequently-read books on the Cameron-Brooks recommended reading list. Covey writes in the introduction about how deeply Frankl’s work and book, Man’s Search for Meaning impacted his life. Covey also writes about something that is a fundamental part of Frankl’s philosophy of finding meaning in our life and work. There is a moment in time that is uniquely human. It is that space that lies between stimulus and response. “In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our happiness.”  Although I may have no control over the stimuli that enter my life (my recent canceled business flight for example),  I do have total control over my response and my attitude. Sometimes finding meaning in our work requires a shift in attitude. Like the young shepherd in Paul Coelho’s book, The Alchemist, sometimes we find the destination of our journey close to home – perhaps, even within ourselves. My challenge to you is to look at your current work and find the meaning in what you do. Remind those with whom you work of the meaning they bring to you, themselves and others.

When you look for a new career opportunity, place more emphasis on the intrinsic meaning of the work than extrinsic considerations like starting salary and location. Make a list of the factors that bring meaning to you and allow you to live your life within the values that define you. Use the list as a guide in the journey towards your new career, and your destination will be meaningful and worthwhile work.

Steve Sosland

Millennials – The Search for Worthwhile Work

One of my favorite Buddhist quotes is, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”  I have found that the more willing I am to be a student the more teachers I will find. I wrote an earlier blog titled, “The Alchemist and the JMO” where I told the story of traveling to Germany on a recruiting trip last December and having two Cameron-Brooks candidates (two of my “teachers”) recommend I read The Alchemist, by Paul Coelho. One also recommended I read, Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. These recommendations came from JMOs who are members of the Millennial Generation – born after 1980. During recent trips, when I interview junior military officers who are considering transitioning to corporate America through the Cameron-Brooks Development & Preparation Program©, I have heard an increasing desire to find worthwhile and meaningful work in their next career. Sometimes this desire leads JMOs to only consider other government service sector careers. Some assume that selfless service is common only to those who wear a uniform. Certainly we are indebted to all who serve the public in uniform. I believe selfless service and meaningful work is also found in hundreds of private companies in a wide variety of industries.

The issue is complex and requires research and a broad career search. I also think it requires self-insight. Meaningful work to some may focus on the quality of products or services a company provides. To others it may be working with people of their ilk. In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins writes that one characteristic of great companies is the belief that getting the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus is more important than where the bus is going. The deeper question for an individual is, “How can I find meaning in my work?” Viktor Frankl developed his philosophy of logotherapy during his years as a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps. He observed that a common characteristic of those who survived the camps was awareness that their life had meaning to someone else. In one case he gives the example of reminding a man contemplating suicide that he had a daughter waiting safely for him in another country who was counting on him to live. Having this meaning to his life allowed the man to dig deeper within himself and survive his suffering. We can all look within ourselves and our current work to find meaning in what we do. Who is counting on us? Who benefits from the product of our labor? One easy to read book on the subject is, Gung Ho, by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. The book tells the story of a manufacturing manager and former active duty U.S. Marine who instills the notion of worthwhile work in his team. The lesson is broadly applicable in many companies and gives those searching for worthwhile and meaningful work a way to evaluate possible career opportunities.

Steve Sosland

The Emerging Millennial Generation

Joel Junker has written about the generational shift as our country transitions from the leadership of the Baby Boomer generation to the next generation. His writing is well-researched and based on dozens of conversations he has had with leaders of Fortune 500 companies. Scott LePage and I are seeing a major shift of focus among junior military officers (JMOs) who come to Cameron-Brooks to interview for our Development & Preparation Program© as they prepare to transition from active duty service to careers in corporate America. There is an emerging focus common among JMOs who express to us their desire to find meaningful and worthwhile work. This is a welcome shift from the Gen-X focus on rapid promotions, high starting pay and restriction to starting in their first choice of location.

To explain this shift, it is important to first understand the factors that contribute to generational stereotypes. “Baby Boomers” is the term used to describe those born in the years 1946-1964, during the baby boom following WWII. “Generation X” is used for those born from 1965-1980. Those born after 1980 are part of the “Millennial Generation” (aka Baby Boomlets or Echo Boomers). Each generation develops characteristics from key events called generational markers. The generational markers for the Baby Boomers include the space race, the Vietnam War, Beatles and Rock & Roll, the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK, and the Cold War. We remember the asinine schoolhouse drill to duck under our desks or in the hall in case of a nuclear attack. We received our news from three networks that went off the air each night at midnight playing the Star Spangled Banner. Gen-Xers were the first generation to be termed “latch-key kids” because both parents typically worked, and kids came home to empty houses and grew up responsible for fixing their own meals and doing their homework alone. The emerging technology was typically used for toys and games where getting the next new version was important. This independence was coupled with a lack of trust of authority that came from generational markers like the Watergate break-in and subsequent resignation of President Nixon.

Their news came 24/7 with the emergence of CNN. So what are the generational markers of the Millennial Generation? Less has been written about them, but certainly recent history can allow us to assume they will include 9-11, the war on terrorism, environmental disasters, and the impact of green technology. They don’t wait to receive news. They make it by using social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. They have elected presidents and created social awareness. I remember where I was when President Kennedy was shot and when Neil Armstrong took his first step on the moon. Millennials know where they were on September 11, 2001.  They also remember that our country came together, albeit briefly for a common goal. The dream to come together to make a difference has been deeply implanted in them. The average age of JMOs who transition to corporate America through Cameron-Brooks is 28. That means there is an increasing number of officers from the Millennial Generation who have a different focus than officers we have seen in previous years. I often hear comments about frustration with senior officers who appear to care more about their own careers than taking care of their subordinates. The overwhelming desire among this group is to find worthwhile and meaningful work that will change the world. I, for one, believe they will.

In my next blog I will discuss the definition and source of meaningful work as well as several books on the subject that may allow all of us to find it. Until then, I recommend you review my earlier blog on this site titled, “The Alchemist and the JMO.” http://blog.cameron-brooks.com/2009/12/29/the-alchemist-and-the-jmo/.

 Steve Sosland