I'm Outta Here.
I was reading a column the other day about 10 things executives need to know about blogging before they commit to it. One of the red flags was being able to spend enough time.
Bingo.
It takes a lot of time doing a weekly blog—and a hell of a lot more time running a company, which is what they pay me to do. So, I’m going to spend more time doing that and less time talking about it, effective today. Thank you dear reader, for delivering 13,000 “reads” to this blog the past ten months.
So…what are you working for?
The investigation by the FBI and IRS of one of our magazine competitors, and the inevitable layoffs that will follow, reminded me why we’re in business. I was again reminded when the current credit crisis forced the termination of tens of thousands of jobs, people with families to support and bills to pay.
People just like you and me.
Our company lost a big account recently. Looking back, we knew it didn’t feel right the past 12 months but we didn’t see the inevitability of the end. Some of the people on the inside who should have stepped up, didn’t. I wondered: Did they understand what they were really putting at risk? Sure the business, but did they think about their fellow employees?
We’re in business to make money. And yes, we’re in business to create products that consumers want to buy. But it’s the outcome of those considerable accomplishments that matter, i.e., they allow fellow employees a chance to earn a living.
Employees just like you and me.
What are we working for? Survey says…to support family. To further the career. If we’re lucky, we work to satisfy a passion or purpose.
But at the end of the day we work…for one another.
Before you think I’ve gone mushy, think about it. It’s been demonstrated in spades who we cannot count on. We cannot count on über-wealthy-investment-banking executives. We can’t count on politicians or government. We can’t count on employers who mismanage their businesses. We can’t count on managers who live and die by the bottom line.
We can only count on each other. We all have a shared stake in our collective success. Tom Joad in the Grapes of Wrath had it right. He spoke for “everyman,” not because his was a soppy, bleeding heart. His worldview provided the only protection in a threatening world. Community. Remember that the next time you have the chance to improve a system, avoid a client catastrophe, contribute an idea, or put out a fire. If you do it for others, you do it for you.
See you down the road. And, thanks.


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