The Secrets of Those Who Love Their Work:
How people are thriving and finding the right work
despite the challenges of the new workplace

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Keeping your eye on the ball
Finally, I would suggest that a key skill or attitude is the ability to keep one's eye on the ball-and having and sharing a common vision with your colleagues. Are we here to make history? Are we here to satisfy customers? Is the endgame nothing but filling up a lonely and empty life? What are we really doing here and why are we doing it? If you don't know the answer to that, stop and begin to reflect on your work. There has to be something bigger than just "it's my job" or "it's a living". If that something isn't bigger than just personal gain, the likelihood of success diminishes even further. Know what the endgame is and then take things in stride. Nothing is the end of the world, certainly not something at work.

Behaviors, attitudes and skills that seem to hurt career satisfaction and success

Denial
Denial is not just a problem for personal issues. It is one for business or career success and satisfaction too. If one is angry, upset, out of control, sad or otherwise off balance personally, this will definitely hurt one's career and career satisfaction. Some folks just cannot see that they are in a job to prove something to their parents, or to get back at a perceived hurt.

We see this type of denial on a large scale with organizations like Napster. These were adults who could not see that stealing music could be wrong. And, we see it on a personal level. Ralph Nader did not understand how he might be perceived as a spoiler in the election. These may be extreme examples, but to the point. Denial is not a good strategy if one wants to be fully engaged and satisfied professionally.

The most recent case of widespread denial was in some new companies who were wildly "successful" one moment and closed the next. There were many that were abused and hurt in this process and denial was often the culprit. The owners or investors did not want to see that their plans were not going to work out. These people often withheld vital information from others like their own employees. There were companies assuring employees that "everything was fine," while the company was days from closing.

Overly organized and too rational
Being overly organized, rational or abstract is a sure way to wind up disillusioned and frustrated at work. Of course it is important to be organized. It is also smart to look at things objectively. But when one is obsessed by these things two things result: first, the big picture gets obscured, and secondly, one becomes continually frustrated because the truth of life's messiness and lack of logic keeps hitting against the over reliance on "just the facts." Things never were simple or black and white. To make things boil down to just the rational facts and expect things to work that way is a recipe for disaster. People, events, life, the market are not purely logical, safe, organized and systematized. Long-term Capital Management in Greenwich, CT. discovered that although having brilliant theories may work in the abstract, they don't always work in the real world. Stay anchored to reality and the entire gray area that goes with life and you will be more likely to achieve greater success and maintain an even keel.

Taking things too personally
Taking things too personally especially in a fast paced and often cool workplace can be another hindrance to satisfaction and success. People say and do insensitive things all the time. And, they do them at work constantly. The pressure to perform and maintain the satisfaction of clients can keep people juggling too many balls. Joe did not forget to call you because you are not worthy-you just didn't make Joe's radar screen today and it's as simple as that. Mary doesn't think your ideas are without merit, she just is too busy fighting fires in her department to give you any thought what so ever. More than likely people are not only NOT out to get you, they don't even remember you. Taking all this too personally will make you crazy. Realize everyone is running at full tilt and take NONE of it personally. It's easy to say and hard to do, but trust me this is true. It is your responsibility to get the attention you need and deserve. But realize that you are going to have to be constantly pitching because the demands on people's time and attention are increasing all the time. No, you are not alone in thinking no one cares. No one cares except when they have to. Very likely you are not responding as much as you should to others either. Have mercy on your colleagues and then let them off the hook about ignoring you. But keep pitching and trying to get the attention you may need.

Missing the point of work
Don't miss the point. And the point is the goal of any business, which is to meet customer needs and to get paid for it. Yes, that is it. Businesses have to do things that people want to pay for. And, your work is just part of the overall picture to make sure that happens. As the CEO or the bathroom attendant, your role is essentially the same. You have to do things all day long that help make the business run smoother and more efficiently so that customers can buy your organization's services or products and pay for them. And, you have to help keep costs down and contribute to raising customer satisfaction. Never, never lose site of this truth about work. Your raise is not the point. Your career is not the point. Your chance to work in Chicago is not the point. These are personal goals important to only you. Show people that if you achieve these things, the company will run better and the customers will pay more--then you are in business. Miss the point and you may not achieve what you are after and you may find yourself out of work too. Keeping your eye on the ball creates satisfaction because it leads to opportunities. If you lose site of the ball things will not go well for you or the organization you work for.

Resisting change
Resisting change is another unproductive behavior. Not that you have to embrace every crazy new approach that comes up, but being resistant to basic changes in your field or industry can create doom. You don't need all of the electronic gadgets out there, but it is more than likely time to start using the Internet for more than email. You don't need to jump on every leadership bandwagon, but if the last book you read on leadership was when Jimmy Carter was President it's time to move along. If you can't say you have read anything new or significant since you left college or grad school watch out. And if you find yourself saying, "there is just too much change" be prepared for a gentle push in a direction you may not want to go in.

Technology for technology sake
Technology for the sake of technology is always a dooming strategy. No organization needs all the latest anything. It simply does not make sense. Balance what is new with what is really needed for your organization. Beware of being someone's experiment.

Confusing who you are with what you do
Finally, never confuse who you are with what you do. Yes, you are a change agent or a super programmer or tester deluxe. But, you are more, much more than that. Always be able to step away and know that you could be fine doing something else if need be. It is the same with a marriage or a friendship. It is good to feel you have made the right choice of partner or friend, but it is not good to feel you would die if you did not have a given relationship. Do not ever believe that there could never be another work opportunity. There are CEOs and CIOs too numerous to mention whom mistakenly believed they were indispensable.

Work must have meaning for each individual: Strategies for Success

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams," said Eleanor Roosevelt. And for those that seek satisfaction and happiness at work, this is especially true. Having a vision of what success looks like, and feeling drawn to accomplish something is the surest way to be happy and satisfied with what you are doing. We can all think of people who were driven to succeed despite tremendous odds. These are the lucky people who just feel a passion so deep for the work that they do that nothing can stop them. For most of us the call is not quite as strong, but it is still powerful. If there is no dream at all satisfaction will be a rare occurrence.

However, in considering people who have been happy and satisfied with their work and comparing those people to others who do not seem to be, there appears to be several ways that work for different types of people. Each of these strategies stems from the self-knowledge mentioned earlier as an important component of success.

The four most common strategies for success are:

	Show me the money
	Personal Fulfillment
	One step at a time
	This, that and something else again.

My work experience has shown me that each of these can work depending on the person and what they really want. Objectives are the core issue. My experience has taught me that many people have never really come to grips with this issue. They say they want money and what they really want is power. Or, they say they want fulfillment and are upset when someone else makes a great deal of money. If there is any question worth reflecting upon it is the one that focuses on what one truly wants to achieve. Here are four common career strategies and some thoughts about achieving happiness and satisfaction with them. These four strategies cover most people. I did not include strategies such as power because they are not mainstream strategies that tend to bring personal satisfaction and happiness.

Strategies for success

Show me the money

Clearly making a great deal of money is important for some people. My guess is that many more people would be better off with this strategy. Rather than doing something to make a great deal of money, people just wish they made more money doing what they want to do. This is both childish and silly. If you want to lead an exciting life don't move to a small town with one restaurant and no theaters, stores, museums or attractions. If you want to lose weight, don't fill the refrigerator with cookies and ice cream. This is all pretty basic. Wishing that teaching in a ghetto school, which is what you want to do, should pay $100,000.00 a year is a good thought, but it is unlikely. If you want the money then you'll have to switch gears. But again, keep asking yourself what you want. You may really not feel better making $100,000 if it means compromising some of your values or leaving some things behind. But then again, you might be. Only you can really know this and know this you should.