Tag: career choices

The Collision of Profit Motive and Meaningful Work

I'm all for profit, wished I had more.  And I'm very into meaningful work. The problem is found in the collision of profit motive and meaningful work.

The problem rears its ugly head when the profit motive starts taking greed steroids.  Meaningful work exits when this happens.  I wish this scenario was rare, but you and I know it's not.  The crazy part is profit and meaningful work can coexist and thrive.

In many ways we live in a tale of two cities.  One city is a place where management (entry to executive) is focused on profit, expenses, quarterly news, and the like.  The other city is a place where the employee is looking and longing for meaningful work.  They're not immature children or idealistic dreamers, just people who understand that life is a limited time offer and they desire to make the most of the time given.  This is the reality and the reason we're in such a mess, relating to how we do and live out our work.

So why are the two at odds?

  1. At some point we put a higher value on things (money, possessions, titles) versus people and the lives they lead.  And what is valued most, is what will get the lion-share of attention.
  2. Greed and power can be just as addicting as any drug.  The person is overtaken and refuses to give it up.
  3. We started telling our children to fit in a box.  See standardized testing as a measure of intelligence, for example.  We've all but poisoned their ability to recognize meaningful work.
  4. Wall Street (for those entities in the publically traded realm).
  5. The absence of courageous leadership inside the halls of management.

I've always been about people-for better or worse, so I'm not writing to offer solutions on how to fix corporate America.  In the spirit of giving you a place to start, a place to begin discovering where meaningful work may be found, I want you to take a look at the following video clip:

 

 

 

Getting Involved In Something You Shouldn’t

There's a trap out there, actually a lot of traps, around getting involved in things you shouldn't.  It ranges from career, relationships, business ideas/plans, and much more.

The premise of why people do this is not easily figured out, but when it happens you can usually find self-deceit nearby.  The idea of telling yourself a lie in order to do something in the moment.  Just the moment and no further.  You find yourself regretting it every time.

One of the ways I've found effective in minimizing the number of times I make the mistake of mis-involvement, is to check my God-given peace meter.  For example, I sometimes get pitches to get involved with a business venture.  If I find myself debating or squirming inside, I know it's time to stop.  It doesn't mean I'll never do it.  It just means "right now" is not going to work.

The worst mistake is to move into self-deception and convince yourself that you should do something when everything in you says stop.  Your gut is worth listening to.