The Mayans predicted that the World would end on December 21, 2012. They were wrong. The world as I know it has already ended. It ended on March 28, 2012--not in some apocalyptic cataclysm--but quietly, reflectively, by accident.
The Beginning of the End occurred with my reading of Drive, by Daniel Pink. I don't ever recall reading a non-fiction book that made me feel as though I could actually feel my brain thinking as I turned the pages, but that's what happened with this book. It was like my brain was on fire with new revelations and understanding. I kept thinking, "Yes! This is exactly why I've worked the way I have for the past 25 years!"
To be fair, my state of mind had already been framed by a couple of other books: Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose, and Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy Called "Don't Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A". Both books had begun to reshape my thoughts about work and why I was either happy or unhappy about the state my company on any given day.
I'm not a CEO, CTO, or any other three-letter acronym; just a typical working stiff like most of the rest of the working world. Most days I liked my job, some days... not so much. The thing I began really trying to focus on and understand was: what exactly is it that gets in the way of every day being a day that I like my job. As I continued to read Drive, it was as though I was winding my way up a steep canyon path not really knowing where it was going to lead me. As I turned the final pages I found myself (metaphorically) standing atop a cliff, a battered wooden sign proclaiming "Edge of the World" beside me, as I stared down at ocean waves crashing against the jagged rocks below.
The End of the World came when I read Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It: The Results-Only Revolution, by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson. That's when everything clicked. It was the perfect storm. I took a leap of faith and stepped off the edge.
This blog is about fixing your job. It's about feeling good (again) about the work you do. Work doesn't have to suck; in fact, it shouldn't! If you don't like your job, you should seriously consider finding another one. As for me, I plan to use this blog to document my efforts as "just another working stiff" to implement a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) within my company. I'm a mid-level manager with a small staff (more than an handful; less than a dozen) and I'm going to change the world, at least my little corner of it.
The world of work as I have known it for the past quarter-century has ended. It's time time usher in the future. This is the 21st century, after all.
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