Passion, in the business sense
Passion: I want to talk about passion. What it means and what it accomplishes. Quite a few years back, I was reading materials from the H.R. services dept. at work. I was participating in a hiring/interview team for my former Employer/company. The literature talked of the many aspects of the interviewing process of perspective hires. I want to focus upon one such point or aspect. The literature discussed being wary of interviewees that showed any passion or passionate tendencies, saying that “they” would not be good employees and in fact could be anti-team oriented. As I read this stuff I realized, more and more, that they were describing “me”.
The points being made were logical and I understood what the concerns were. It is true that passionate people tend to not let go of an idea and guard it like a dog with a bone. We tend to push the people around us to be better and more productive. We tend to loath lax attitudes. People do not appreciate someone that assails their individual," comfort zones", and passionate people do just that. They challenge you! The “lead, follow or just get out of the way” attitude. A large mistake, I feel that many companies make in the screening process, is focusing to much on the technical skills of perspective hires and not enough on the emotional stability and personalities of those interviewees. Sometimes to the exclution thereof. Having said that however, I wish to offer the following observations as well:
I want to talk about the positives of passionate people. Rather than dwelling upon the negatives. It seems that in all the negatives that are pointed out about passionate people, we seldom focus upon the positives. I want the reader to take a moment and think about all the great inventions and endeavors that have been accomplished within their lifetime. How many of those would not have been accomplished, as quickly, had it not been for some passionate individual being the driving force behind them?
What does having passion, about anything, do to help you and others around you? First it gives you a boundless supply of energy to tackle the obstacles in your path. It provides you with the courage of conviction and drive necessary to get things done. It allows you to inspire others around you to do better than they would if left to their own volitions. It gives one the ability to see the vision and apply themselves to finding the tools and pathways to implement that vision.
People, sometimes, don’t understand the vision or the pathways to get there. They are all hung up on the methods. I have never seen any great endeavor or accomplishment that wasn’t fueled by or guided by some passionate person/individual, either in the forefront or in the background. It takes someone with a passion for the endeavor to lead or push others toward its goal. Your passion may be cloaked in ego or the desire to succeed or simply altruistic in it’s nature and idea driven, but it must exist.
Had a Henry Ford come to my company he would have been turned away! People like Albert Einstein, Jonus Salk, and George Washington Carver, on and on I could go. None of whom would have been hired. The golden rule about my point is that with, their qualifications not withstanding, these people would have still succeeded in life, because they had that inner passion! They would have spirited themselves on, in spite of the rest of us.
The point that I wish to make here is simply this: If you are a passionate person that tends to throw yourself into whatever you chose to be your life’s work, I suggest that you take a course in business affairs and look into starting your own company. Be assiduously aware of how “others” perceive you and be attentive to that fact in your dealings with them.If you are a business owner that is turning someone down for a job, because they appear to just be too passionate to blend into your corporate view of what a "team structure is", then think about it a bit before saying no. Could this person be just what the doctor ordered? A golden shot in the arm? It is certainly something to think about isn‘t it?
Over the years I have noticed a few reoccurring facts about businesses. Patterns that repeat. I would like to point out, just a couple to you. A successful company has a balanced approach to hiring and promotions from within the company. They seem to have grasp the fact that if they promote strictly from within the company they will never grow with the learned knowledge of others in their respective fields. However, if they don’t promote from within their company base enough they will lose the acquired experience learned along the way through trial and error and discovery. So the very best companies find their balance. They have come to the understanding that promoting from within the company keeps the company fresh and vibrant. They, as well, understand that along with all that acquired knowledge comes systemic issues as well, and so they inject or infuse their hierarchy with people of a more acute and varied understanding of their business environment.
It’s a kind of double-edged sword. That is why it is so imperative to bring in someone from the outside that has not acquired any of the "bad habits" that come with being mired in a closed society for so many years. A fresh influx of understanding and a view from a different angle, if you will, on the subject. This is where one can interject some passion into the company. Passionate people do tend to take risks and have a tendency to boldly go where no one has gone before and yes, because of this, make a few mistakes along the way, as well. How was it put? Nothing ventured nothing gained. I would like to infuse a thought right here: "A mistake made from effort is excusable, but a mistake made from Laxity is in-excusable."
Employees that take on an overabundance of responsibilities and workload, far beyond that of the average employee, as well assume more opportunity for error and mistakes. The increased percentage of workload only naturally increases the opportunity for error. A good Manager understands this and makes his judgments accordingly. A passionate employee just naturally takes on more workload and has a far better attendance record, and therefore cannot be judged in the same manner as the lockstep employee.They do need strong willed advisors around them to guide their passion. To supply the discipline they need to stay on course. Learning to be self-disciplined is, of course, the best scenario.
Lee Iacocca didn’t get where he is today by himself, but without his inner passion he would have been just another sales guy in a vast wasteland of sales guys. Starting with the Ford motor company in 1946 and then going to the Chrysler Corporation in 1978. Now retired he is still sought out when companies need answers to their many woes.
Lee is a prime example of how to use that inner passion to become successful in life. I am reminiscent of the story of how one day he found himself in the office of Henry Ford II (the second). Lee was attempting to win an argument about where the companies future should be headed and Henry Ford II, not feeling his passion at all, simply squelched the vision by looking out the window of his office and pointing to the water tower and saying to Lee “ who’s name is on that water tower Lee?“ Lee Iacocca left Ford motor company soon there after to pursue his passions elsewhere. He had a vision and the passion to pursue that vision and soon landed a job with the Chrysler Corporation. And the rest, as they say, is history.
He was quoted as saying this about managing, “ Management is nothing more than motivating other people. “ Motivating people! How do you do that? With having a confident and passionate vision and selling that vision to the employees. Showing DECISIVENESS! Knowing what needs to be accomplished from each individual to accomplish that goal.
I read a great quote that said, " Don't waste your time and energy trying to make all the right decisions, but rather invest you time in making the decisions that you make RIGHT! ".
The people will come up with the methods and planning. They will dot the I’s and cross the T’s, but without a passionate vision to guide them there is complacency and apathy.
“The two scourges of societies, whether business or cultural.”
If you limit yourself to just one facet of your being you deprive the world of your full value. Passion alone is not enough to see you through! You must have the capacity for self-discipline. The ability to control that passion and to guide it in a focused way toward your goal. What obstacles may you face in this quest? You may be confronted, by fellow employees, with an absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, inattention to detail and varying degrees of sabotage. These attributes, in others, may hinder your progress. This is where your passion shall win the day. It will drive you to overcome these obstacles and push through to success.
The clearheaded thinker does not possess a myopic eye when it comes to his or her company. He/she takes the time to, at the very least, glean an understanding of how each dept. and indeed individual interacts within the company's structure. The key is to learn how “not to interfere” with those connections and interactions, but rather how to use them and streamline and enhance them to the advantage of the company.
I think everyone should read the book “ Absolute Honesty” by Larry Johnson. In it he spells out how to build a company based upon honesty and trust. How to build a company that values straight talk and rewards integrity.Please understand here that I am not saying that passion, for passion’s sake is terrific! It can be, if unguided or foolish, a horrible nightmare for co-workers. What I am saying is, if directed and channeled in a positive way, then it is a powerful force in business and in life. Without it life is just plain dull and time abiding.
How many times have I bore witness to exactly what Mr. Johnson points out in this book. He talks of applying the Six Laws of Absolute Honesty that will build trust and reduce the amount of dysfunctional family dynamics that consume people's energy and time. Short circuiting the "Kumbaya" syndrome so that people will speak their minds openly and honestly without fear of retribution. Using Constructive Confrontation to resolve differences of opinion and fix sticky problems quickly and without damaging relationships. Getting chronic whiners to stop sniveling and do something positive to fix the problems they whine about. Stopping "lipotage," where people give lip service to a decision and then sabotage the decision in discussions around the water cooler.
All of these understandings are accomplished only if one has the inner fortitude, i.e. passion, to attempt them. Disciplined passion is a force that is unstoppable! Find you inner force, your inner passion and use it to its fullest potential!