I should imagine my career the same way a movie star does, is that what you’re saying Straight Shooter?
That’s a fairly easy thing to do while I’m watching the Academy Awards. All those beautiful people, dressed in their best, living out their fairytale-like lives. I wish I could have even half of what’s in one of those swag bags.
But back to the metaphor, the Oscars’ stage reminds me of how people show up at professional conferences; the presentation-makers seem to become more and more important as they take the stage. The set up is right, their get-ups are perfect, and the introduction that the session manager makes, it elevates the presenter for days to come.
What if everyone walked into their workplaces with such fanfare, would more or less get done? Would your employer feel honored to be in your presence? Would your company push you to be the best you can be? Would your supporting cast members stand by encouraging you to give it your all?
If all this happened would many more of us be what Seth Godin calls remarkable? Is it nature or nurture that produces success in the workplace?
There are companies like Google where the campus, culture and compensation are set up to free workers to focus on their jobs. You don't have to leave to get a massage, a custom meal, or your clothes cleaned. The place is so comfortable that no one wants to (or needs to) leave. It’s a movie set like microcosm that works
But maybe it’s not at all about material externals like “the set” or “the get-ups” or even “the work”, maybe it’s about the people. Take, for example, Oceans Eleven, it’s a movie without much of a plot, yet it does present a great roster of stars who like to work with each other so they show up (for less than normal pay) to make the films again and again. Too bad the end result isn’t magnificent.
In business, I think it’s a little different. People might agree to work for a little less (although unless they have a stake in the endeavor I’m not sure they should) or even free but the end result they seek is something magnificent. My favorite example is of some fellows from the UK who came to New York to bring a new technology to market- they walked up and down Broadway looking up at the skyscrapers and said, “ Those buildings are filled with our soon to be customers- all of them need our products.”
The energy and enthusiasm and even arc of the story were so very Hollywood. These guys were sure they were remarkable and that they had something remarkable to offer. That’s the feeling we should all have when we come to work each day.
Why don’t most of us?




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