You Be the Final Arbiter of the Value of Your Work - Bob Sherman - MediaBizBloggers

We39re all subject to a greater or lesser degree to the affirmation of others as to our value Be honest with yourself as to how strong your need for this affirmation is the next time you consider a job change The nature of the product or service and its quality ought to be the first prism through which the opportunity is evaluatedThat39s because your perception of the meaningfulness of the offering you will be bringing to people will heavily weigh into how you feel about yourself and the way you will be spending your time The environment culture of the company you join is the next critical factor because you will either find it neutral supportive or debilitating at least to the degree you are otherrewardedFinally who will you be working for and what is their management style Ask If the answer is quotI am strictly a numbers guy Bring in the orders everyday and you are my man Don39t and I will barely be able to look at youquot you may want to think about how much you will enjoy and find meaning in the work on a bad dayAnd why all this emphasis on the importance of your take on a job39s quotmeaningfulnessquot Dan Ariely Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University in his book quotThe Upside of Irrationalityquot makes a great case that the need to find meaning in our work is so powerful that we often manufacture with the aid of irrational thinking signs of meaning or value to what we do The tougher the company culture or the boss makes that effort the less happy and productive we tend to beRecently after a few decades I caught up with an excolleague for whom I had great respect and affection In bringing me up to speed about his experiences since we worked together he told me of the time he got a broker39s license and went to work for one of the major financial houses In a sales meeting shortly after he joined a senior sales executive took the floor to give his view on their industry quotLook I39m in this to get rich And if I get rich the company does well If my clients get rich that39s a plus but if they don39t and I do that39s ok tooquot My friend looked over to the smilinginapproval sales manager and resigned right after the meeting That wasn39t a description of an industry or firm that would harness the meaning he needed from his workIf you find a field you love and a product or service that you believe truly makes life better for those to whom you introduce it and your mom or dad had unqualified love for you in the first year of your life at least you probably can thrive and find meaning in that work even if the company culture andor manager you represent is imperfect because you are the final arbiter of your valueGreat SellingBob Sherman has 40 years experience managing relationships between media companies and advertisers in old and new media from radio cable and TV to the Internet and from sales executive to chief executive and from the biggest media corporations to his own entrepreneurial companies He is currently in partnership with Pilot Group LLC Bob can be reached at rshermanpilotgroupbizRead all Bob39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Great Sellers Go To Heaven MediaBizBloggersCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBlogger

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You Be the Final Arbiter of the Value of Your Work - Bob Sherman - MediaBizBloggers

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