I thought I would write something, but Dave Chappelle does a good job of laying it out with his comments which have now gone viral, "I let go of the salt." For those of you who don't recognize Dave Chappelle, you should go back and review his comedy as in his prime he was pivotal in setting the stage for this generation of informed comedians. Dave challenged the boundaries of comedy in a time before that was popular. His story reminds us that it is important to remember that as we pursue our personal and professional goals, ask the question, "Am I gaining the world and yet forfeiting my soul?" What I like about both what Dave says and the quote mentioned, there is no one to blame but yourself - are you achieving your goals while keeping your values intact? When asked why he chose to walk away from his successful sketch comedy show in 2005, Dave Chappelle offered "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King a thoughtful analogy about survival, courtesy of a nature show. Dave Chappelle on how success became a trap. Dave's comments have gone viral, "I let go of the salt," as he literally walked away from what was the biggest show of it's time, he set the mic down before he reached the peak of his potential in the market, and yet as he shares it he is the better for it. Dave went from being everywhere to being nowhere and he did that by choice. Slate gave a good summary of the video in their article (read more HERE): Chappelle explained. “I think that that was the irreconcilable moment for me—that I was in this very successful place, but the emotional content of it didn’t feel anything like what I imagined success should feel like. It just didn’t feel right.” He told a story about how Bushmen use salt to trap baboons, who can’t pull their hands out of holes once they’ve grabbed onto lumps and subsequently lead the Bushmen to water—and how financial success can be a similar kind of trap. He, however, was smart enough to let go of the salt. (Slate.com) What are your thoughts on what Mr. Chappelle says? How do you maintain vision and values in your pursuits?
Connect. Collaborate. Conquer.
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If your organization is discussing relevance, odds are you aren’t. BUT, if you are willing to admit that you may be closer than you think to the solution. Relevance has long been a waste bucket that get’s all the blame for why organizations are not connecting with the culture or the market. If we can blame relevance for our lack of market engagement than we don’t have to dig any deeper into our vision, mission, systems or delivery. To be relevant means to be, “Closely connected or appropriate to what is being done.” Being relevant means taking notice of what is happening and connecting to those values and actions that keeps the system in motion. If you recognize that you don’t understand, you can begin your journey to engage by observing what is happening, finding those whom you trust that are active in the movement and then figuring out where your core values, knowledge, experience and skills can contribute to that organism. Confront reality so that you can connect with the culture and collaborate to make a difference. An organization, whether for profit or charitable, is by definition irrelevant when they discuss the culture from the sidelines and lament that their product or service is not being well received. If you are saying, “No one is coming. No one is buying. No one likes us.” Or whatever fancy speak you use in the confines of your secret huddle sessions, the nature of your conversation is holding you back because you are asking the wrong questions. Instead of why is no one coming, ask yourselves – what are they doing? For example, if a church is noticing declining membership and blames it on relevance they might remark, “People are not coming because they aren’t going to church.” This isn’t an answer as it is first shortsighted confirmation bias from a very narrow survey group, it is a redundant reflection where your group has merely reframed the observation from question to statement and the conclusion is not based on digging beneath the surface. They aren’t coming is an effect, what is the cause (see more on effect vs. cause HERE) and like a disease, if you do not chase down the cause you will never reach a solution for the effects. Things are getting done and organizations are making positive impacts around the world, relevance is asking the right questions to connect with the work that is underway. As we dig into causes for the effects that we do not find appealing, we notice that we have to get our hands dirty in the soil of the culture in order to extract answers. As an organization you may need a guide, you may need interpreters and you may need new tools. If you recognize that the culture or market is has (or is starting to) pass you by then you need to understand that you are in unchartered territory, everything around you has changed while you were blaming relevance. Again, admitting that will get you closer to the remedy than refusing to recognize this reality. Please remember, the key to relevance is not discovering how you can get people back to your organization but how your organization can recognize, connect and engage with what is already in motion. The market changes but businesses who want to says, “We’ve always done it this way, the market will come back around when they realize the new methods aren’t that cool,” that organization is dying. What is happening and how can we help. If the culture or the market is not engaging you, maybe you need to confront the reality that you aren’t helping. The economy is still in operation and there are businesses that are growing, relevance is finding where you fit in the puzzle to collaborate to make the world a better place. If you think that I am wrong, you are right. Enjoy your power sessions on relevance. If you are earnest about wanting to be relevant, the first thing you need to do is take that term out of your vocabulary. Start with confronting reality and say it out loud, “I am not relevant. We are not relevant.” If you can do that, especially if you can do it as a team, you are finally on the right path to reaching what you say you want. Ask good questions so that you can discover what is in motion around you. Find a way to connect with stakeholders in the movement that you want to engage in and simply ask, “How can we help.” As you change your mindset, evolve your approach and put your hands to work, you will find that you are closer to being relevant than you ever were in your relevance conferences. Connect. Collaborate. Conquer. When you have four children, Disney movies come with the territory...all of them. Every now and again, a decent one comes along. Every now and now and again one comes along that is done really well. For those of you that don't have kids and would feel creepy going to a movie theater to watch a children's movie, you may have missed Zootopia. The brief backstory, there is a bunny, Judy Hopps, that wants to become a police officer. She is idealistic and ambitious but there has never been a bunny police officer on the Zootopia Police Department, her own parents believe the venture is too dangerous and no one believes that she can do it. As most children's stories go, the hardworking dreamer finds a way to achieve her goal, YAY! End of story, the movie is what we all thought it would be, right? Not quite. Judy Hopps becomes a police officer, there is a big ceremony and this historic first is politically lauded while simultaneously scoffed under the breath of most. Our heroine shows up for duty her first day at the ZPD and while everyone else is assigned to beats that have significance, young Hopps is assigned to lowly parking duty. Her boss, Chief Bogo declares, "Life isn't some cartoon musical where you sing a little song and your insipid dreams magically come true, so let it go." Parking duty it is. I'll try not to ruin the story too much but in short, Judy has a dream that has been laughed at since she was a child and even discouraged by her own parents. Ms. Hopps is able to find a way to achieve her dreams but once she makes it she finds there are still hills to climb if her dream is going to be fully realized. She excels in her original assignment and finds a means to acquire an assignment of significance that also comes with great personal risk. Officer Hopps has some initial success but reaches a point where she is ready to quit until she receives some inspiration and valuable assistance from an unlikely friend. Judy reaches what should be the pinnacle by cracking a case that no one else was able to solve. She is celebrated as a hero she is commemorated by the establishment but also makes a well intentioned blunder. She publicly putts her rabbit foot in her mouth in a big way, which proves to be a mistake that ripples into broad reaching negative impacts. Judy faces new challenges to deepen her understanding of what is important, to restore relationships, to find the resolve to create solutions as well as fight for success in the pursuit of her dreams. The philosophy of life so often promoted is that of get rich or die trying, when the reality is that the quality of life is a richer pursuit than becoming the next mega millionaire. Regardless of the end goal, the journey to any level of success is not one large hill with an epic battle to the top it is a series of hills with many battles, surviving many deaths and continuing momentum when each sequence reveals a new set of challenges. With Zootopia the takeaway isn't as much the often repeated, if you have a dream you can achieve it but a more apt overview of life where you may achieve it but that doesn't mean the battle is over. Keep doing good things. We have awoken to a world and a work place that no longer reflect the environments and relationships of yesteryear. This new world is populated by a new generation of persons who share a new language, a new code and it is difficult to process that a bunch of youngsters will soon be running the world. If you are starting to say phrases like, "Back in my day," or "They just don't understand," or "I don't know how to get through to them," congratulations - you are now old. You have a decision to make - A) you can join the traditions of every generation before you and perpetuate a us (ie the good ol boys) versus them (these dang youngsters) OR B) you can recognize that a single noun (regardless of how popular its use) does not define over two decades of persons who are now emerging in the work force. The functional definition of a Millennial (Generation Y) is someone born in the 80's or 90's, more specific references state 1982 - 1994. This makes an interesting distinction, if you aren't quick with math, if you have an employee who is 21 years of age, as of 2016 that would put their birth date at 1995 which would technically classify them as Generation Z aka iGen (not as popular in our vernacular). As a member of Generation Y, born right on the transition point from Generation X to Y, I am uniquely qualified to assist with whispering into productive relational connection points for those who sincerely want to expand their understanding. Classification Is Not Realistic The first step towards productively engaging Millennials is to understand that the term does not define the individuals. Already there is such a negative connotation around the word Millennial that mentioning it does not help you connect, it creates a barrier. Are you defined by your generational category? When you were coming up the ranks with your first job, your first promotion at a young age, your first assignment of positional importance - how were you treated by the generations before you? Deal with individuals rather than define generations. Connection Isn't That Hard Are you so far removed from your professional journey that you cannot remember the generational obstacles you faced climbing the corporate ladder as a youngster? Do you remember those who opposed you just because of your age or your lack of experience? If you can tap back into that time in your life, you can empathize with your team members who are working to grow as humans and desire to be productive employees. Look past age and follow the effort. Who was the first person that gave you a shot or mentored you through your initial challenges as a young professional - it's now your turn to pay it forward. Mentor through empathy to create real connections. Categorization Is Not Productive Every generation has their lazy slobs but they also have their shinning stars. Like your generation, you respect your peers who have worked hard and made something of their opportunities while you detest that older generations would classify your generation as this or that because of a few degenerates who made a bad name for the whole group. If you interact with hard working Millennials you will find that they are as upset with those of their own generation who are dragging their efforts into question. Millennials can be your greatest asset to understanding, engaging and empowering other Millennials if you can create trust within their core group. Millennial Whisperer - Key # 1 Like most relationships, trust is built one small brick at a time. If you are able to create an open discussion with your team members, you will need to listen closely for the opportunities and make sure that you follow through. Most likely you will be given small openings in the trust circle and you will be watched closely to see if you do what you say you are going to do. If you make a promise, you better make good on it. No one can build or destroy your relationship with Millennials faster than you. With rising divorce rates, declining educational environments and political dissatisfaction, Millennials are used to being disappointed by authority structures. If you are overtly authoritative in your management style, you will not maximize your effectiveness in engaging the potential of your Millennial workforce. Engage the potential by creating an open culture in your organization and empowering all of your team members to input and own the solutions to the challenges your team is facing. Step 1 - Stop using "Millennial" immediately Step 2 - Empathize Step 3 - Engage Step 4 - Follow through. See above - LISTEN CLOSELY. @iz_fnb Discuss creative solutions for employee engagement and development with MIZDOTBIZ |
AuthorThoughts on personal and professional development. Jon Isaacson, The Intentional Restorer, is a contractor, author, and host of The DYOJO Podcast. The goal of The DYOJO is to help growth-minded restoration professionals shorten their DANG learning curve for personal and professional development. You can watch The DYOJO Podcast on YouTube on Thursdays or listen on your favorite podcast platform.
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