Stick-to-it-ness

Joe,

How much does sheer determination and persistence play in success?

This is apparently a topic that I was supposed to think about because it's shown up in a lot of places for me recently. Just this week, I was having a conversation with one of my new friends, Fran Melmed, about the potential impact this economy will have on Generation Y. For me, one of the questions that has not yet been answered is whether or not Gen Y has the resilience and work ethic to really make a game-changing difference in our workplace. I suspect that this idea got in my head via Kris Dunn in his post about selecting for Grit and probably was reinforced by the fact that I finally finished reading Outliers by Malcolm Glawell.

I've always felt that sheer work ethic and resilience makes up for a lack of talent in a lot of situations (just watch all the classic underdog to champion sports movies based on real-life stories). We have become infatuated with Talent in HR over the past several years, but there's nothing more useless as a leader than an individual with loads of talent but no desire to use it.

So, this led me to think about where this work-ethic comes from. I concluded that in large part it's formed pretty early on as you develop as a child into an adult. I fancy myself a pretty resilient guy with a solid work ethic and I think my track record has proven that out. I give my parents all the credit for that. This made me wonder what else we develop (or don't develop) as children under our parents or guardian's supervision that becomes critical to success later in life? Here's my list of a few from my own experience:

Confidence. Some people are blessed with parents who brainwash them into thinking that anything is possible. Others aren't so fortunate. Just knowing that someone else believes in you can shape how you view taking chances and seizing opportunity.

Integrity. In my house growing up, it was made very clear that there was a zero tolerance policy for lying-we always told the truth. More than that, it was also made clear that if you made a mistake or did something stupid, the best course of action was to come clean immediately and deal with the consequences. If you tried to lie your way out of a problem, it was going to be bad for you, REALLY BAD.

Respect. I knew growing up that calling people names, making fun of others, or generally doing anything that makes someone else feel bad about themselves was a bad thing and was not acceptable. I most certainly didn't take to this lesson immediately, but I got it eventually. This caused me to be very aware of how I interacted with others and the impact my words could have on others.

Turns out, these are all important traits that I look for in a great employee these days. And, they are each things that are really tough to teach to someone as an adult if they don't already have some sort of foundation built.

So, what do you think about the importance of resilience and work-ethic to success?

Jason

Big Brother Time

Joe,

Today is an exciting day for me because today is when my favorite reality TV show, Big Brother, returns to the air on CBS for it's 11th season. I love this show and I think that anyone who is a student of human behavior would love it as well. I think the show is brilliantly designed and I'd love to work behind the scenes in this show. But I digress.

In case you haven't watched the show, here's how it works. A bunch of over-zealous, money-hungry fame seekers are put together inside the Big Brother house. They cannot leave the house once they are in (until they are kicked out). The house isn't anything fancy, it consists of several bedrooms which the contestants must share, large living and kitchen spaces, a private "head of household" bedroom and an outdoor enclosed Courtyard with a pool and hot tub. Each week, the contestants compete to become the "head of household" or HOH. Besides having his/her own private bedroom for the week, the HOH also gets special privileges like certain foods, pictures of friends and family from home, AND the power to nominate 2 other contestants (or "houseguests") for eviction from the house that week. Each week, once the HOH nominates 2 houseguests for eviction, there is a "veto" competition where a nominated houseguest (or one of the others) can win the ability to veto their nomination for eviction. Each week then culminates with the eviction of one contestant and then the cycle repeats until there is just one left standing.

The game is one of strategy, deception, and skill. Big Brother introduces other interesting twists throughout the game including food competitions where the houseguests can earn certain foods for the week. If they fail, they are "on slop" for the week (which is apparently some kind of nasty looking and tasting grits-type substance) which makes people both hungry and irritable. The whole show is designed to create interesting interactions and frictions between the people in the house and it's wildly entertaining.

So, if you aren't convinced to watch yet, here's a list of seven reasons why you should watch Big Brother:

1. These contestants knew what they were signing up for so that makes it okay to delight in their agony and torture. Just kick back and enjoy the ride.
2. The contests are brilliant in their design. Each contest brings some new twist that tests mental ability or physical endurance. They are designed to break people. Some of the contests last hours. It's interesting to watch how different people respond to each challenge.
3. The game relies heavily on political and social skill. If you pay attention, you can learn a lot about how to be successful with people in high-stakes situations. On the flip side, you can learn more about how people with no integrity approach the same types of situations. (People at work often behave the same way).
4. Big Brother represents what HR is trying not to be, so pay close attention. All of the rules of the house are essentially "Big Brother" policies. They create and hurl these policies on the houseguests. In this case, the policies are designed to wreak havoc, but the way in which these policies are enforced probably feels to the houseguests like many of our employees feel at times. On the show, these "policies" are introduced randomly and without explanation. When they are rolled out, they create chaos and unsettle the house. Hmmm, does that sound familiar?
5. Summer television sucks. There's nothing to watch. Big Brother is on 3 nights a week. Problem solved.
6. Attractive people (if you are into that sort of thing). These houseguests were not selected by accident.
7. Integrity and trust always end up being an interesting part of the game. The houseguests make secret alliances and deals with one another from week to week. It's very common for a houseguest to play two groups or people against one another. It's always intriguing to see if the players who play with integrity come out on top (warning: the good guys don't always win.). I think you can learn about how individuals (and specifically leaders) in our companies make similar types of moves to advance their careers.

I hope you will check it out.

What's your favorite reality TV show and why?

Jason