As the year winds down we often retreat into reflective mode where we consider the success or perceived failures of our year. It’s almost impossible not to look back and provide a scorecard for yourself.
Did you get that new job? Buy that new house? Lose that old weight? Run that new goal? One of my personal productivity habits is to record three things every day that have gone well. Three. Every day. I would say I have probably missed no more than ten days of acting on this habit in 2016. It’s a powerfully simple tool to stay positive and focused on what you are trying to achieve day in and day out.
What would you write down if I asked you to list three things that went well for you in 2016? What would you write if I narrowed the ask down to three things that went well at work in 2016, would that help? If I narrowed the ask even further by asking you what three work things you are most proud of from 2016, would that be even more helpful? What if I tweaked the question? What if I asked you what three things did you achieve in 2016, at work, that Matter The Most? Would that be even better?
Or would it be harder? Do you need me to define the terms? Are you skeptical of the question? Do you not believe what you do matters? If so, I am here to remind you how much it does. It’s not a message I imagined ever needing to share, but a recent conversation I had hit a nerve with me.
I was talking with an acquaintance whose child is in the business. The child is employed on client-side for a big company that does big sponsorships and big properties. The reply that dad provided to my inquiry as to how the offspring was doing startled me. “Child is doing well,” he said. “But I remind Child often they aren’t critical to the company’s business and that puts Child in a dangerous spot if there were ever layoffs.” Oh man. Do you really think that our business is not important? The very sector your own child is working in?
My immediate reply was emotional. I pounced on the fact that Child was working for a well-respected brand on great properties, with a talented team well admired in the industry. IMHO, Child would be a sought-after asset in our industry if for some reason the powers that be deemed them non-essential to the organization’s success.
My follow up reply was personal. I let Dad know that beyond the lack of appreciation for the skills and experience that Child is acquiring, there he was propagating a bigger falsehood. That what we do doesn’t matter. That a job in the Sponsorship Department is not as vital as the engineers, chemists, salespeople, bankers, traders, researchers, managers, financiers, marketers, promoters, counters, analysts, etc. who populate the many other departments of the organization. Forgive me for my bias, but what we do matters.
It matters to the companies that employ us and it matters to the stakeholders that engage with us. It matters a lot. Because in our world we have one of the few professions in the world where you can sell snow tires and raise money for kids to play sports at the same time. We can open new chequing accounts and put musical instruments in schools. We can sell beer and fund the career of a new fashion designer. We can raise money to cure disease. We can feed the hungry. We can build and uplift a community. We can fund animal protection. We can build new pools. We can clean up waterfronts. We can help a team compete. We can create international champions and champion local heroes.
What we do matters. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. In fact, I would suggest that what we do can matter more on a value basis than many other functions in a company.
Sorry to pick on you, Dad. I know you are Old (actually he’s younger than me chronologically), but I didn’t know you were Old School.
Now it’s time to reflect a little more. I am sure you can now easily share the Three Things You Did This Year That Really Mattered.