Passion vs. Suffering

At your own risk.

Greetings,

From the Trenches. I constantly hear people using the word passion and wanted to share some insights with you about the word itself.

Passion vs. Suffering 

Have you ever heard someone say "I'm so passionate about…. this or that"? Well what does passion really mean? I think the word passion has been misused. It's become a conversational piece and needs to be revisited. Historically speaking the word passion comes from the Latin verb patere or passiō, meaning to suffer. Today we apply it as a term to describe a very strong feeling about a person or thing. It's a bit of both I think, because if you really have that strong feeling about a person or thing then you're willing to suffer. When it comes to your chosen field of endeavor have you ever been told "find your passion and you'll be happy"? Well knowing what we know now about the origins of the word, another way to phrase that could be, What are you willing to suffer for until you're happy? Whatever that is, is where you'll find your REAL passion. I think passion is really an action not a noun. It's a demonstration not a conversation piece. Real passion will hurt and feel great, sometimes at the same time. Real passion will require fight, tenacity, resilience and the ability to endure long periods of suffering over long periods of time. Doesn't sound as sexy now, does it? For the select few who are willing to really BE passion, not just TALK passion, will find on the other side of the suffering awaits enormous amounts of victory, wealth, and joy. However very few will ever realize it because the alternatives that exist are too easy. Giving up, quitting, jumping ship, switching teams..etc., have all become acceptable actions today. So here's the question, is passion dead? I believe passion is alive, I believe passion is life and life my friends ain't easy, so neither am I. What about you, are you ready to suffer? Are you ready to BE passion? 

If so then remember it's about action. Now let's get back to building our empires. Talk to you soon!

How to attract talent

The Great Divide: How to attract today's workforce.

From the trenches:

Greetings from the trenches. I wanted to share some insights with my community this week about what I refer to as the "Great Divide". As school is back in session and I have a little one just starting school, it reminded me of the growing population of the new workforce. New ones in means old ones are moving out into the world, into businesses like yours and mine. Hiring in today's environment is very different then it was 3, 5, or 10 years ago, isn't it? Which brings up the question, what's your strategy for attracting, training, and sustaining talent. The average age of the workforce is in a steep decline as more and more baby boomers are retiring and the next generation, the millenials are becoming the majority. Here are a few tips to assist you in the process:

1. Learn the language. Today's workforce communicates with a different language. You need to communicate in that language if you're ever going to reach them. Be where they are, places like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. In my company we use tools like these to communicate our initiatives, our marketing programs, team updates, and other company info. You can create private groups, and pages for communication. The days of bulletin boards and push pins are out- get more digital.

2. Fall in love with process. Let me dispel the myth that today's workforce is ADD, they are not. (Wait a minute, what was I saying...) Just kidding! However they are great at following processes. Whether "hard systems" or "soft systems" you can increase productivity up to 100% if you have them in place. No matter how big or small everything can be systemized. Think Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. they've been training this workforce for decades on how to reach an end result following a process. Without it you'll lose their attention and eventually lose them.

One of the great story tellers.

3. What's your story? Have a well crafted story about your company. Make sure you can articulate the vision, mission and values of your company. The workforce of today wants to know your company has a future and needs a glimpse of what that looks like. We are living in a noisy world where brands are constantly sharing their stories. Be compelling, the most interesting story wins. 

Hope these tips help. Now let's get back to building our empires. Talk to you soon!