The Company You Keep
Professional Identity & Osmosis - Filtering What's What
Working under a brand or business there’s by association an expectation that in your role you’ll be an expression of that company and what they represent or value. That doesn’t mean your personality or unique/weirdness can’t show up and be of value. But it’s sorta like a framework agreement to agreeing to “this is how we do things.”
Forget where it was, and want to think it was either Seth Godin or Scott Galloway, but something along the lines of “when you join a company you are more likely to become like the people there and its culture, than they are likely to become more like you.”
I feel this would be a helpful anecdote to have learned earlier in life but that’s how it goes. Not because of anything bad about where I have worked or for which brands I was representing - in fact, many are highly regarded in their respective industries.
Having this sentiment that Galloway shares I feel frees us up to be ourselves instead of over thinking how we act. There’s a healthy detachment about it in the realm of identity, boundaries and satisfaction in your work.
And it offers added awareness of how you may change and develop as a professional/person, but also what changes (or compromises) you need to make to create more ease than friction in a new environment.
This came to me the other week while working on something.
There was no other brand or expectations or a culture of doing things a certain way I had to adhere to, express or compromise with.
It was just me and it felt liberating.
Contrasting Reality
I’m back in Stockholm and caught up with a friend who started a new job in the fall. We talked about the differences between the environments they worked in.
The former was very loose and ambiguous on strategy but the work was varied and more creative, including a healthy dose of regular uncertainty. And the current, was as clear as could be strategically, and created comfort in knowing what to do, but lacked the variability which they also get energized by.
I think it’s fantastic life and career development to gain exposure to the many ways of doing business.
It Takes Two to Tango
Working with a pair of co-founders at the moment and very impressed with the lifting they are doing on the project. Will write more on this one once it wraps as it’s a compelling case I feel for a blend of advisory, consulting and training in one.
At one moment I flashed this up on the screen and asked them, how do they make the time for the business on top of running the business.
One said “joy” and the other quickly added “obligation!”
Consideration of the Week
I’ve been over indexing on upsides/downsides lately. Just dawned on me that perhaps rationalizing everything through this isn’t always helpful. I’ve made many decisions around work and where I live lately, and I am often asked about them. I go into a story of the downsides being such and such, but it’s important to remember the upsides to justify your decision.
Anyway, when asked I am going to focus just on the upsides, why am I doing it. Not, what’s to be managed or considered or be risk mitigated.
Just foot on the gas celebration of what’s good.
Is there a word you can think of that’s helpful right now?
Ps. For those following the journey the past while, my website and offering is currently released at Version 3.1. I find it important to keep iterating and evolving.