Past Five

Don't Be Happy to Be Called an Overachiever

I have never understood the term “overachiever.”  What it says to me is that people underestimated you to begin with. Why did they under estimate you? Were you not as outgoing as you could have been? Did you not put the time into your work to make it stand out? Did you not go the extra mile in the past?

You should have goals, and your managers and bosses should have goals for you. You should be able to achieve those goals, and then set new ones. At times, we all underachieve, and then we make adjustments to do better next time. However, the idea that someone would set goals low for you should be perceived as a negative more than a positive.

As long as I am on this bandwagon…I don't really understand the idea of giving 150%.  100% is a 100%. If you are able to give more than 100%, then really, the 100% you were giving before...wasn't 100%.

Would You Fire Yourself?

Your manager is unfair! The deadline was too tight!

At the end of your day look at what you did and pretend that you owned the company and that your effort was of an employee who worked for you. You took a home equity loan out on your house, plus a third mortgage, you cashed our your 401k, and you borrowed money on your credit card at 22% to get enough cash to start your company. Then you hired staff and paid them twice a month no matter how well the company did that month or what they accomplished. Then you look at the day you had today from the eyes of the entrepreneur.

You came in late because your workout at the gym didn't start on time because your personal trainer was late. You were late, yet you still managed to stop at Starbucks for your coffee. When your manager came over to talk to you, you were on the phone with your girlfriend talking about your upcoming trip to Florida. You spent time on Match.com looking for a date for your best friend and then also had to check your personal e-mail four times during the day. You ducked out at 5:00 p.m. on the dot because you were having friends over for dinner, yet there was work left that can "wait for tomorrow."

Don't forget you are the person who took a home equity loan out on your house, plus a third mortgage, you cashed out your 401k, and you borrowed money on your credit card at 22% to get enough cash to start your company. The above paragraph is someone who worked for you. How would you feel knowing your pay may vary to make the business survive, yet the person who did all of the above still gets paid.

Would you keep yourself employed? Work like you own the place...maybe someday you will. I can guarantee this, you'll feel better about your job because the results will be better, your manager will be happier and you will get promoted!

Is Work Ethic Innate or Trained?

I dropped my seven-year-old son off at the mall at 10:30 am for a birthday party at one of these build-it- yourself toy car stores, and I had an hour and a half to kill with my two other children. My daughter was thirsty, so off to the food court we went.

I was very surprised at what I saw at 10:30 in the morning. McDonald's was open serving breakfast, and Sbarro and Taco Bell had workers there doing prep work, apparently for lunch. They looked efficient, they were focused, not lolly gagging around and dressed in their work uniforms. I looked at the other stores and saw many were not open yet. Others, over the course of 20-30 minutes, had staff gingerly walking in and chatting on their phones, etc. Now, I readily admit that my analysis is based on one moment in time, and I could be dead wrong. So with that written, here it goes.

These larger organizations had their staff their earlier, more prepared and more focused. Why is this?

• Is it because they have a more defined training program?
• Is it because they have a more developed interview process?
• Is it because, as larger companies, they have a defined career path?

I don't know the answer, however, I do believe we need to look at every position in the labor force, be it minimum wage food operators or multi-million dollar athletes, and look at what motivates, challenges and de-incentifies the workers of our society.

Professional athletes who don't like to practice...I don't get it! Movie stars who are late to rehearsals...boggles my mind! As managers and employees, we are quick to blame generations. People say, "Millennials have no work ethic!" and "Baby Boomer managers don't understand us!" Then there's "I can't believe we don't have dental insurance!" or "I've had four managers in three years" or "This company stinks." What people fail to do, is look at situations from multiple perspectives.

I find that staff members who criticize lower level, hourly workers tend to be average workers because they have no empathy. Leadership or executives who criticize lower level employees tend to be poor managers because they lack empathy. It's time that all of us look and listen to those outside of our four walls who do exemplary work, and try to incorporate their dedication and focus into our careers.