The Left Lane Isn’t Always the Fast Lane
While driving around town this weekend, I was observing how some folks behave on the freeway. We all tend to think the left lane is the fast lane. We don't have to deal with exits. There's only one other lane next to us where cars can merge in and out. In the midst of a traffic jam, there were folks that were insistent on staying in the left lane even though the other lanes were moving faster.
We tend to follow a similar herd mentality in the workplace. We listen to "experts" and take the usual path to achieve success in our careers. When I was in graduate school talking with my advisor about taking a leave of absence, I remember he asked me what I wanted to do instead of continuing in a scientific field. I mentioned my interest in computers and without skipping a beat, he told me how I would have difficulty in that market. He proceeded to recount a story about another graduate student that went into that field and had a lot of challenges. Hmm, interesting. I won't bother to comment further.
The herd mentality might involve following a typical path, like an executive management program in your company. Or if you're a business owner, it might look like marketing your business the same way as others in your field. Going against the grain is often discouraged.
What would happen if you tried doing one thing differently from the rest of the herd? Every breakthrough or invention happened because someone decided to try something different. This is true in the sciences and every other field.
I've found that not following the herd brings new opportunities. If I had let that graduate student advisor convince me not to follow my interests, I wouldn't be sitting here blogging today. It's been an interesting journey with some challenges, but nowhere near as complicated as he tried to lead me to believe. I changed lanes and feel better for it.
Review of Undercover Boss
On Friday I watched the first episode of the new show Undercover Boss. For those that haven't seen it, it's about high-level executives anonymously taking on the role of the worker bee within their company. Friday's show followed the COO of Waste Management, Larry O'Donnell. One employee's story was particularly moving.
In this episode, Larry's first task was to pick up trash on a windy hillside. The employee that was helping him told him that he should be able to fill three bags in 10 minutes. Larry had difficulty filling up even one bag and realized how hard the task was.
During lunch, Larry had a chance to talk with the employee about his life. He found out that he had a medical condition that should have made it difficult for him to be as productive picking up trash. Larry asked how he was able to work so hard. He responded with (and I'm paraphrasing here):
It's my body that has that condition. I don't let my body tell me what to do. Instead, I listen to my Spirit.
What a great (and unexpected) message. We all have challenges in our personal and professional lives. It was nice to see someone doing a self-proclaimed "not-rocket-science" job that understood his current role in life. He took his job seriously and did the best that he could, in spite of his condition.
What adversity have you had to overcome in your professional life in order to succeed?
Note: I'll update this with the employee's name and other details soon. For some reason, the CBS site won't load the video. 