Career Development Archives - Page 3 of 3

How a Crappy Cup of Coffee Helped Me Find My Purpose in Life and How to Find Yours

12/19/201708/06/2021Jon Rennie

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Winter in Northern Ohio is tough and the people who live through these winters are even tougher. It was then and there where I realized my calling, when I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Mark Twain.

As general manager of an industrial business, I was responsible for the manufacturing plant I was visiting in Ohio that winter. I was 35 years old and only 8 years out of the Navy. I was young and aggressive but still trying to figure out what I was going to do in my civilian life.

I had fulfilled my dream to serve as a submarine Naval Officer and now I was a civilian, working for a large multi-national company. I never really thought of life after the military. I didn’t know what I wanted to do next in my career.

In my first general manager role, three years earlier, I implemented monthly “all employee” meetings. I thought it was important to communicate how the business was doing and what the priorities were each month. I also loved interacting with the manufacturing plant personnel.

In my current role, I had responsibility for two manufacturing plants. I had come to the Ohio plant, in the middle of winter, to meet with employees. It was 2AM and I was scheduled to talk to the 3^rd shift team.

We had a room reserved right outside the production line on the second floor. The building was old, dark and drafty. It was cold and I was tired. I found a greasy old coffee pot with hot coffee right outside our meeting room. I poured myself a hot, black coffee into a small Styrofoam cup and went into the meeting.

Our QA manager was presenting the quality numbers first and I sat in the back of the room and listened. I was thinking about what I was going to say. This business was losing money. We had to turn it around. I wasn’t sure how I was going to create a sense of urgency without inciting panic.

As I sat, thought and listened, I looked down at my coffee. It was the worst cup of coffee I had ever seen in my life (worse than anything I had seen in the Navy). There were unknown things floating in it. There was a sheen of oil on the surface. I could see coffee grounds on the bottom of the cup. It was dreadful. But I drank it anyway.

It was then when I realized my purpose in life.

With an engineering degree, two master’s degrees, military service and years of leadership experience, I could be anywhere doing anything. I imagined I could be working at amazing companies doing incredible things anywhere in the world. I didn’t have to be in Ohio, in the winter, in an old drafty manufacturing plant, in the middle of the night, drinking the worst cup of coffee I had ever seen. I didn’t have to be in charge of a business losing money that needed a turnaround.

But I realized at that moment, there was nowhere else I would rather be.

Despite the challenges (or maybe because of them), I wanted to be with these employees. I wanted to share what I knew about the state of the business. I wanted to work with them to craft a plan to turn the business around and make a profit. I wanted to lead these people and this business. I wanted to be here and nowhere else in the world. I wanted to make a difference.

“The grand invitation is to embrace the reality of your life and to figure out what to do with it.” Chip Edens

That crappy cup of coffee told me that I had found my life’s purpose. I knew that, despite the tough circumstances, I was built for this. I wanted to be here.

Have you found your life’s purpose? Most people haven’t. If you have, fantastic! If not, here are some signs to look for.

You love it. When you’re doing what you were born to do, time goes by fast. You look up and hours have passed because you are so focused on your work. You are “in the zone” when you are doing purposeful work. You look forward to it. These are the activities you “can’t wait” to get started. It’s your passion.

You are great at it. You are doing your life’s work when you discover you are really good at something. You are recognized, promoted or even awarded for your work. You are identified as an expert or an opinion leader in your field. You are great at something when people seek you out to understand how you are doing it.

You are paid for it. One of the greatest compliments you can receive is when people pay you to do something. If your skills are adding so much value to someone that they are willing to compensate you for it, you are doing something important. Passion without a paycheck is simply a hobby. Your life’s purpose should also pay the bills.

The world needs it. In some way, your work is making a difference. You are doing something that has meaning. It has impact. You are changing the world in some specific way that has meaning to you and others.

15 years later, I’m still leading manufacturing businesses. I’m still working in manufacturing plants and drinking suspect coffee. And I couldn’t be happier. I found my calling. I found my life’s purpose. I love what I do.

How about you? Have you discovered what you were designed to do? Have you found your life’s purpose?

5 Reasons Why We’re More Productive on Planes and How to Replicate it at Work

12/13/201708/06/2021Jon Rennie

“Please place your seat back and tray table in their full upright and locked position and check to ensure your seat belt is securely fastened.”

Now, get to work!

Have you ever noticed you get more work done while flying? You’re not the only one. What if we could understand the reasons why we are so productive in the air and replicate those techniques at work? The good news is that Jon Acuff has shown us how to do that.

In his new book, Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done, Acuff tells us that, if we want to get things done, we need to learn when we are most productive and replicate these results at work. As it turns out, most people are exceptionally industrious at 35,000 feet and the reasons are simple.

You can only bring a limited amount of work. You are physically constrained on a plane. You have a limited workspace, so you typically focus on completing one task like finishing a presentation, writing a report, or analyzing an income statement. You actually do deep work while flying because you are focused and not distracted. This can be replicated at your job by taking a limited amount of work to a quiet place and focus on completing just that task.

White noise helps you focus. The constant drone of the jet engines actually helps contribute towards deep work. We are naturally wired to be easily distracted and the workplace is one of the worst places for interruptions. White noise in the background is filtered out by the brain and forgotten, like how you quickly forget an air conditioner is running until someone mentions it. This noise masks out other sounds which would otherwise distract you. This can be replicated at work by purchasing a white noise machine like the Big Red Rooster Sound Machine.

Limited Internet connectivity keeps you from unnecessary distractions. On a plane, there is little to no internet to distract you. This means, no text messages, no e-mails, and no urges to check social media status. This allows you to completely focus on the task at hand. At work, this can be replicated by scheduling time where you focus and completely turn off your Wi-Fi and phone. Others have experimented with the Pomodoro Technique which requires intense focus, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. You can use a Miracle Cube Timer to time your focus sessions.

Deadlines push us to get things done quickly. When traveling, there are well-defined deadlines for boarding, turning off cell phones, taking out and putting away laptops, etc. These force us to work quickly to beat the deadline. This is a reflection of Parkinson’s law, where work expands or contracts to fill the time available. This is why, if you wait until the last minute to do something, it only takes a minute to get it done. This can be replicated at work by creating and enforcing strict personal deadlines for tasks or activities.

Nobody knows you. Except for the occasional chatty seat-mate, people leave you alone when you travel because they don’t know you. Anonymity allows you to work without friends and colleagues interrupting you. To do this at work, try working from coffee shops, libraries, or co-working spaces where no one knows you. This will help you get away from colleagues who unwittingly cut into your deep work. The new surroundings will also provide additional inspiration.

If you want to be more productive, there’s no need to book a flight. Simply take the productivity lessons from flying and apply them to your work life. Learn to limit your work, surround yourself with white noise, turn off the Wi-Fi, set deadlines, and change your surroundings. These simple changes to your work life will help you focus, do deep work, and get things done.

The Joy of Middle Management

01/19/201508/06/2021Jon Rennie

So you’ve finally made it to middle management. You’ve arrived at that magical place where you are responsible and accountable for the performance of a team but you still have limited authority and influence in your organization. Welcome to the Danger Zone!

Why is it so dangerous? Because, if you are not careful, this is where careers come to die. At least that’s the conclusion of Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman. In a recent Harvard Business Review article called Why Middle Managers Are So Unhappy, they discovered the unhappiest employees are, in fact, middle managers.

They looked at data from 320,000 of the most unengaged and uncommitted employees from a variety of organizations and focused on the bottom 5%. They wanted to understand the driving factors behind the most disgruntled employees. What they found were people who were “stuck in the middle of everything.”

The most common profile for employees in the bottom 5% was:

They work as middle managers
They earned a college degree, but not a graduate degree
They have 5 to 10 years’ tenure
They receive a good (as opposed to a superior or a terrible) performance rating

The truth is, it can be tough if you find yourself “stuck” in middle management. It can lead to frustration and disillusionment, but it doesn’t have to be this way. If you have made it to middle management, it’s because someone thinks you have what it takes to lead people and that’s one of the greatest honors bestowed upon any individual. So how do you avoid getting “stuck” in the middle?

Let me suggest five things you can do as a middle manager to avoid becoming an unengaged, uncommitted, unhappy employee:

Contentment. One of the biggest causes for frustration for middle managers is the desire to be promoted to the next job. I’ve seen many managers so focused on trying to get to their next position that they never actually do their current job. Be content. You’ve been asked to lead people, lead them well. Enjoy your time as a middle manager.

Excellence. While you are in middle management, be excellent in everything you do. Instead of focusing on your next job, set your sights on mastering this one. If you can build a reputation for performing at a high level with a smaller organization, you will likely be considered for larger role.

Education. Mastering your job means learning everything you can about being a valuable leader in your company. Use your time as a middle manager to continue to educate yourself. Read business books, take courses that will strengthen your weaknesses, complete an advanced degree, complete an industry certification, join industry groups, volunteer for challenging assignments, or find a mentor in your company to learn from. Most companies offer a variety of ways to continue your education, take advantage of them all. The more you know, the more valuable you will be for your company.

Commitments. Become a trusted performer in your organization. Senior managers are looking for people who get things done. They are looking for leaders who do what they say they are going to do. Build a reputation for meeting your commitments and honoring your promises.

Exploration. Use your time in middle management to figure out where you get the most satisfaction out of your work. Is it executing a large project or landing a significant order? Is it leading a kaizen event or executing a new marketing strategy? Is it becoming a functional expert or focusing more on general management? Expose yourself to as many diverse opportunities as you can to learn what you really enjoy doing. This will help prepare you for what you really want to do in your next assignment.

Middle management doesn’t have to be a place where careers go to die. With the right attitude and focus, your time in middle management can be the best years of your work life. It’s a time where you can master the art of leading people, learn to perform at a high level, continue your education, build a reputation for meeting commitments, and explore what you really enjoy doing. The key is to become a trusted and valuable asset to senior management. Does it mean that doing these things will get you promoted to the next level? Maybe or maybe not. What it will do is give you a lot more satisfaction in your job and keep you away from that bottom 5% of unengaged, uncommitted, unhappy employees.

So, what do think? Is it possible to avoid getting “stuck?” Are there other things that can be done to avoid the middle management trap? How much does your boss or company influence your ability to continue to grow? What options do you have if you find yourself stuck?