Remember sitting in your bosses office wearing your Ann Taylor suit with your nude-color panty-hose or if you’re a guy you may have been sporting a double-breasted suit, power tie and maybe even suspenders ala Gordon Gekko (Youngipedia: Gordon Gekko played by Michael Douglas) while you sat in your bosses office staring at the gold-framed inspirational poster with the image of a man climbing in silhouette with the big bold words “CHALLENGE”, “DEDICATION” or “BELIEVE” and your eyesight was actually good enough to read the smaller font below stating such powerful messages including but not limited to, “Teamwork is the ability to work together which determines…”. What happened as a result of seeing that poster? No really? What happened? I typically went outside with the rest of the pantyhose and suspenders to take my hourly cigarette break.
Sometimes I read posts on social media and they remind me of these posters that were meant to inspire or motivate me to do, think and feel something different and although I can appreciate the writing, writers, and message, I often think most of the content falls into two categories:
- Stop and smell the roses
- Be kind to people at work
Since I haven’t smoked for decades, most of the time, before hitting “Like”, I take my “DUH” break or I ponder the following questions:
- If people can remember to change from their pajamas to their work clothes before actually going to work, why can’t they remember to be nice to people there? (Yes, I know you sleep naked but you still remember to put your clothes for work cuz that’s just what you do)
- Just because you are telling people to stop, notice and be present do you think just by you telling them to do it, they will have an immediate a-ha moment and “do”, “be”, “always”, “never”, “teamwork”, “challenge”, “believe”… ?
As an entrepreneur, I have been tasked with thinking through “What is it, what it does and why it matters. Many of you know, this is not always an easy task. When reading content on social media do you:
- Notice a lot of “nice” stuff (If you’re my age think, “Up with People”)
- Do you ever take a “Duh” break?
- Do you find the message to be thought-provoking?
- Does it inspire or motivate you to do something different?
- Do you feel like someone is telling you what to do and you’re like “Who are you anyway”?
- Do you want your message to be liked or are you hoping to inspire someone to take action, explore hiring you, share your brilliance or think about what you wrote?
- Are you looking for affirmation that you are a wise, intelligent person with a high EQ? (Circle of Kumbaya)
So who would care about smelling the roses and who would care about being nice at work and why should they?
The point is, I’m glad I don’t smoke or wear pantyhose anymore…
Guess I should go back to thinking about my “Why it matters” and write some content for my business.
