Last week, in the days leading up to ‘Super Bowl Sunday’ I saw an article that definitely caught my attention.  It was written by former professional basketball player, Walter Bond.  As he enthusiastically anticipated the game last weekend and the decision as to which super bowl invitation to accept, he wrestled with making a decision that was ‘politically correct’ i.e. the boss invites you or … going to the place where, in its’ purest form, he could enjoy the game the best … where he could be himself!

And then he says this: “The workplace is no different. You should look at your company like a party planner looks at a Super Bowl gathering.”  Huh?  Really now?  Come on … work is serious!

So if we give him the benefit of the doubt and just get curious, Bond’s questions are thought provoking regardless of our position or where we work.  To the extent we consider ourselves to be professionals, intent on furthering our careers and our success, the decision about where we work will have a significant impact on us and others who are an important part of our lives..

Let’s presume that, without a doubt, you possess the technical qualifications to handle the job.  How does the atmosphere (or the “culture”) within a company add to or detract from your success?  How does it allow “you” to really be “YOU”?  Drawing upon some of Bond’s points, here are some valuable determinations you can make:

• Is the corporate culture one that is actually enjoyable?  Do those who work there enjoy coming to work every day?  As you observe your own interactions and those of others what do you notice?  Pleasant … respectful … even fun?  Or, just something blah and neutral … or worse, filled with tension?
• Do you know that you and others enjoy coming to work? If yes, there is no resistance to coming in early or staying late. If no, there’s a tendency to arrive late and leave early and not fully engage in the work needing to be done, much less the overall mission of the  company.
• Honestly, do you really enjoy digging in and getting  the job done in the best possible way?  Do you see this in others around you?  Or … are you aware of the pain … people just getting through the day on the way to their next pay check?
• What’s your sense of how employees are respected?  Is there an atmosphere where ideas are encouraged – where creativity is rewarded?  Or is it pretty much a “top-down-do-what-I-say-and-don’t-ask-questions” kind of place?
• Does your company do things to encourage interaction on a ‘social level’ to help further the sense of belonging and team … or not?

Because you are determined to climb the success ladder, it would be wise to take stock of where you work.  In doing this you can ascertain that the importance you place on making the right choice for your own success is just as important to the organization in terms of what atmosphere they foster.  If we’re going to work hard at the game, why not play someplace where we WILL enjoy it at its best?  So maybe Bond’s point has merit.  As he concludes, if you see others leaving or are inclined to do so yourself, perhaps the organization hasn’t yet learned how or know the value of throwing a good party.  Making money, while it involves hard work, should be fun!  Think you can influence changes to let the party begin?  The effort might have a BIG payoff!
Mike Dorman

Several months ago our blog post “Whose Job Is It Anyway” received a number of interesting comments from readers.  Among them were several that took the message to heart.  Readers reported looking at their jobs in terms of what the impact on their growth and success might be if they were to rely on themselves alone to bring about their own gains in both rewards and satisfaction.

In recent months we have had the opportunity to work with several clients who many of us would see in enviable position.  Why?  Because they  make a lot of money.  As a result they have the means of pursuing just about any whim that strikes them.  And yet, their love of the game is the driver that has them continue to take it higher and thus reap the added rewards.

I would imagine that to many this sounds quite unrealistic.  We play games outside of work for that’s where they belong.  A sport, TV’s game shows, board games or made-up games provides us with relaxation, challenge and just plain fun.  Work is different.  It’s serious and definitely NOT a place for games.  Are you sure?  What happens if we simply get curious?  The question then becomes what might happen if we were to apply the idea of a ‘game’ to our work?

• How would we play harder?
• What would we do to become more skillful in the various aspects of what we do?
• Who would we identify to mentor us in our drive to the next level?
• With whom will we share our desire to win at a higher level?
•  What is the single most valued benefit to us of taking our game higher and higher?
• How does continuing to change the work game in terms of our goals and our approach help us to maintain our interest in what we are doing … something that accounts for the majority of our waking hours each week?
• How does this ‘win’ impact our lives and our happiness?

Of course I can’t promise anything.  What I can promise is that applying the concept of making our work like competing in a game just might provide us with the added element that will make our pursuit of winning at the game of work the very thing that rewards us in any form we desire.   We’re already doing the hard part of doing our jobs.  Even games are hard so why not?  After all, whose job is it anyway?

Mike Dorman

Several months ago our blog post “Whose Job Is It Anyway” received a number of interesting comments from readers.  Among them were several that took the message to heart.  Readers reported looking at their jobs in terms of what the impact on their growth and success might be if they were to rely on themselves alone to bring about their own gains in both rewards and satisfaction. In recent months we have had the opportunity to work with several clients who many of us would see in enviable position.  Why?  Because they  make a lot of money.  As a result they have the means of pursuing just about any whim that strikes them.  And yet, their love of the game is the driver that has them continue to take it higher and thus reap the added rewards. I would imagine that to many this sounds quite unrealistic.  We play games outside of work for that’s where they belong.  A sport, TV’s game shows, board games or made-up games provides us with relaxation, challenge and just plain fun.  Work is different.  It’s serious and definitely NOT a place for games.  Are you sure?  What happens if we simply get curious?  The question then becomes what might happen if we were to apply the idea of a ‘game’ to our work?

• How would we play harder?
• What would we do to become more skillful in the various aspects of what we do?
• Who would we identify to mentor us in our drive to the next level?
• With whom will we share our desire to win at a higher level?
•  What is the single most valued benefit to us of taking our game higher and higher?
• How does continuing to change the work game in terms of our goals and our approach help us to maintain our interest in what we are doing … something that accounts for the majority of our waking hours each week?
• How does this ‘win’ impact our lives and our happiness?

Of course I can’t guarantee anything.  What I can promise is that applying the concept of making our work like competing in a game just might provide us with the added element that will make our pursuit of winning at the game of work the very thing that rewards us in any form we desire.   We’re already doing the hard part of doing our jobs.  Even games are hard so why not?  After all, whose job is it anyway?
Mike Dorman

Earlier this month I wrote about creating a New Year’s Resolution list and why it just doesn’t work for me.  It doesn’t provide me with the staying power that it needs to be meaningful.  However … just because that’s not the chosen path which I travel … there is absolutely no reason I can’t pass along The Third Zone’s wish list for YOU.

In 2014 … we wish that you will dare to be successful at…

• Evaluating where you are in your career and where you intend to be at year end 2014
• Identifying what moving up in your work or your company would look like … thinking in terms of an advancement that would be either a …
  • Slam Dunk …. A sure thing without any major new effort
  • Stretch … would take some new effort to learn and/or to demonstrate the skills needed to take you there
  • GULP! … taking you way beyond your current proficiency with tremendous rewards for what you will have acquired and achieved.
• Exploring the opportunities you have to take advantage of and achieve your dream
• Conversing with others both inside and outside the organization who can help you identify the path that will lead you to where you want to be at year end
• Demonstrating the willingness to dream and the strength to pursue that dream … because you can

There is something extremely powerful in recognizing that we, individually, are capable of both charting and pursuing our own course to getting where we are determined to go.  It’s SO-O-O much better that counting on someone else to make our success their priority.  In this situation, we stand in their line.  In seeing this as our job, it’s a short line of one.  Maybe you resolve to simply be the one in ‘14?   We hope you’ll think about it.  We hope you move yourself into the ‘zone’ … you know . .  the one that bridges the gap between the dream of achievement & the reality of performance  . . . The Third Zone!

 Happy Holidays from all of us to you!

Mike Dorman

I don’t know about you however, I can and will admit that I have never been one very enthusiastic about making real New Year’s resolutions.  Oh … I tried a couple of times.  I actually put considerable effort into identifying things I was going to do come January 1^st.  Whether it was eat better … or eat less … or stick to a strict regimen of workouts … or grow my business … or, or, or … these commitments lasted from hours to days to weeks.  What I failed to do was to create MY plan for what would be required of me to achieve these goals.  In saying ‘yes’ to any of them, what did I have to say ‘no’ to in order to avoid working against my own success.

  Here we are into the last month of 2013 and it does make sense that we all be thinking of what  we’d like to accomplish over the next 12 months in all of the various compartments’ of our lives?  As coaches, we of  The Third Zone see our role in working with a client as helping them move from where they are to where they want to be going forward.  And in order to do that it’s necessary that our ‘client’ get a clear vision of that destination for without that, we all tend to just float along without purpose or direction.

Several months ago I wrote a blog entitled “Whose job is it anyway”.  It was about hoping that the bosses would make an effort to teach us what we needed to know because of course they knew that we wanted to advance  … or … taking the responsibility for the learning we had to do on our own in order to potentially create the movement we sought.  So in this vein and if you look at your current job or department or business, what is it that you would like to achieve by the end of 2014?  Here are some questions to ponder in helping you create your own plan of achievement.

1. Based on where you are today, what is at the end of your path … say in 3 years from now?
2. What would you see as the next step for you in terms of job and responsibilities that will plant you solidly on that path?
3. What do you believe you need to learn and/or demonstrate in order for you to be considered as qualified for your next step?
4. With whom do you believe you need to speak … both to let them know of your growth desires and to get their input as to what would make you qualified for that position?
5. With an understanding of what a move upward would require of you, what are the ways you can acquire the necessary learning … independent of waiting for the ‘boss’ to provide it?
6. What are the various things that can/will get in your way of moving forward on your plan?
7. What will getting around such obstacles require on your part and prevent you from being ‘stuck’?

Here’s what I can assure you.  If you take several minutes to focus on and answer these questions you will have taken a BIG step in creating the foundation of YOUR plan that can make next year one of positive movement .. for you personally, for the department in which you work and/or for the company that you lead.  You will also have moved from a too often meaningless New Year’s resolution to a personal resolve to achieve.

How about it?  Are you willing and ready to chart your own course?  After all, whose job is it anyway?

Mike Dorman