I have a client who has worked on his business for 30 years. Ever since he was a young man.
Every day he shows up inside essentially the same four (very big) walls and does what he’s done since the beginning: build his very complex business into a beautiful, perfectly run, Swiss watch.
Whenever we meet, he’s brimming with passion and full of ideas to make everything a little bit better.
He’s a marathoner; and an exception. For most (or at least many) of us, this is the rule:
THE LONGER YOU STAY IN YOUR JOB, THE MORE YOU FOCUS ON HOW THE JOB CAN SERVE YOU, NOT HOW YOU CAN FULFIL THE MISSION OF THE BUSINESS
You stop thinking about high performance and begin to focus on time off, perks, and how you can live a more comfortable life.
Same with an organization. The longer it’s in business, the greater the tendency to exist for the comfort of the employees. A close friend of mine in the not-for-profit world calls it “managing poverty.” Not so concerned anymore with ending poverty, but making a decent living by managing it.
Most of us need some type of change every 5-7 years. A new challenge, greater responsibility, a new focus, a new product line, a new skillset, or even a new job.
Here are some diagnostic questions to help you see where you’re at:
- Is your 20 years experience the same 5 years repeated 4 times?
- Have you added any new skill(s) to your toolbelt in the last 18 months?
- Have you added new people to your network in 2023?
- Are you taking steps to keep yourself passionate and interested?
Long termers fall into 2 categories: The wonderful and outstanding that the organization couldn’t live without, and the problem folks who have never really been dealt with.
Which are you?
It’s your job to get yourself fired up!
Getting ahead is about getting started!
