The blog for all things Apochromatik.
Farther, Faster…
The Cross-Generational Challenge: How Teams Can Unlock Their Hidden Potential in a Five Generation Workplace
“If they want their job, they better get themselves back in the office. The office is where work gets done and if they aren’t here, they aren’t getting work done.” These were the first words from an octogenarian senior law firm partner in response to our recent question, “How do you feel your firm will respond to the desire for a hybrid work model?” Ironically, the conversation eventually moved to the current difficulty in hiring.
The Power of Grit in Your Search for Fulfillment
According to psychologist Angela Duckworth, if you want to succeed, you are going to need grit. Her book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, details the results of her research into the factors that predict achievement. The book is packed with thought-provoking material for those hoping to take their career to the next level. Here are my top three takeaways:
What if you're in a cocoon? Career lessons from butterflies.
“Are you sure she’s ready?”
“Open the lid, Amy.”
“But what if she’s not ready?”
“She’s ready. Open. The. Lid.”
A few months ago, I found myself having this exchange at a butterfly park. As family members stood waiting, the tour guide kept nudging me to open the lid of what appeared to be a takeout soup container. Inside the container, a rare butterfly had emerged from the cocoon she had made on the underside of the lid. As she sat there, I kept wondering – what if she isn’t ready? And what I would see if I had a microscope? To my untrained and unenhanced eyes, this butterfly looked less like a runner at starting blocks, ready to launch, and more like a creature clutching the remnants of her old life.
Shift Your Mindset
For today’s post, we wanted to dig a bit deeper into ways you can look forward rather than feeling as though you’re stuck where you are.
You are More than a Worm
Have you ever heard the Howard Moskowitz quote, “to a worm in horseradish, the world is horseradish”?
If you haven’t, it may take a minute to process. (My first reaction was “why would a worm be in horseradish? Is it like having a worm in tequila?”) Another way to think about it is that when you’re in the thick of a situation—whether temporary or long-term—it can be impossible to see more than what is immediately in front of you. That can be a reasonable perspective; if a bear is charging you, it’s a huge asset to be able to focus on getting out of the way without being distracted by thoughts of a long-term crisis. But putting your head down and focusing on the things right around you it is not a good long-term strategy.
Start planning those days off!
The Wall Street Journal recently published articles with titles warning "No, Really, Your Boss Wants You to Take Vacation—Now” and "Companies Fret as Vacation Days Go Unused.” While the articles go into all the reasons stored up days are a problem for employers, the reality is that using vacation days can be helpful for you, and your career.
It's not too late!
Today is Day 1 of the Career Rebound Challenge. Participants from a variety of professions are taking one week to lay the foundation for a Career Rebound. We’ll be back with a content-rich blog post next week, but for today, it’s not too late to join the Challenge. Go to www.careerreboundbootcamp.com/challenge to join and get access to the Day 1 video. Day 2 is Tuesday, August 25…so you still have time to join.
Career Lessons from [Virtual] Adult Summer Camp
Recently I got to attend Heather Hubbard’s Summer Camp, a one-of-a-kind, three day virtual event that fulfilled Heather’s promise for attendees to leave “inspired, replenished, and refreshed.” (I was honored to also get to lead a workshop on career resiliency and career planning when circumstances are out of your control.) The event included several career lessons worth repeating, and these four may be especially helpful as you look forward to the rest of 2020.
What if 2020 is a cocoon? Career lessons from butterflies.
“Are you sure she’s ready?”
“Open the lid, Amy.”
“But what if she’s not ready?”
“She’s ready. Open. The. Lid.”
A few months ago, I found myself having this exchange at a butterfly park. As family members stood waiting, the tour guide kept nudging me to open the lid of what appeared to be a takeout soup container. Inside the container, a rare butterfly had emerged from the cocoon she had made on the underside of the lid. As she sat there, I kept wondering – what if she isn’t ready? And what I would see if I had a microscope? To my untrained and unenhanced eyes, this butterfly looked less like a runner at starting blocks, ready to launch, and more like a creature clutching the remnants of her old life.
A message from Apochromatik
Below is a modified version of the email that went out to our list yesterday. In it, we share some of our thinking about one small thing we’re doing to ensure our own promotions don’t take up space this week that should be occupied by other voices. Please know this isn’t the polished, thoughtful statement we’d like to make, but we’ve been focused on helping our clients during this time rather than on making perfect statements, and on saying something today rather than something better down the road. Because we know that waiting to speak hasn’t helped.
Shift Your Mindset
I talked about my favorite word (“yet”) in Tuesday’s ApochroMinute and was blown away by the response. (If you missed this week’s video, you can check it out here.)
People who have overcome enormous physical, mental, financial, and other challenges let me know that they appreciated my comments, that they’d seen for themselves what a different “yet” can make, or just that they were going to give it a try. First of all, thank you. In these days when all of our interactions are online, a message means even more.