I found this story in a book called Creating a Good Life by James O'Toole, which I found to contain alot of meaning and to be highly insightful. Still half-way reading it as I have been swarmed with school work since the start of the year.
Read this and reflect on it....
A Harvard MBA took a vacation to a sunny clime,
Where he hired a fishing guide named Joe to help him land a Marlin.
Joe was in his forties and lived in a modest house by the seashore, with his wife and two children.
Every day, Joe rose when the sun was warm and took a swim in the ocean with his family.
Three days a week, He escorted clients out to sea in his boat, and they would fish until they hooked the big one.
The four mornings when he chose not to work, Joe would sit in his hammock and read from breakfast until it was time for mid-day lunch with his wife.
Almost every afternoon, He picked up his kids up after school and took them on "an adventure" or to his workshop for handicrafts.
After a long dinner, en famille, Joe and his wife would walk to a nearby cafe where the locals gathered to discuss issues facing their community.
As the vacationing MBA immediately appreciated, Joe's fishing expeditions were first-rate:
Joe was a skilled guide, knowledgable not only about anglers' tackle but also marine biology, oceanography, meteorology, and other subjects about which vacationers were curious.
The MBA saw the potential for a big, profitable enterprise. He explained to Joe that it would be easy to put together a group of venture capitalists to "Build your underperforming business".
Instead of inefficiently taking one client out at a time, Joe could have a fleet of high-tech fishing boats, each accomodating a dozen or more clients. With a little strategic advice, he could branch out into related businesses, perhaps build a high-rise hotel on the beach.
Most important, Joe could go on TV and become the marketing face for his business, creating a brand that could be franchised at other sleepy fishing communities:
"A Guy like you could become a CELEBRITY"
The MBA then delivered the clincher: "When that happens, We have an IPO and you get RICH!"
After listening patiently, Joe asked, "And What Then?"
The MBA quickly answered: "Well, you retire to some nice place on the beach, do a little fishing and reading, and get to spend some time with your wife and kids....."
Great irony yeah....
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Career Anchors
I just did an questionaire exercise that helps to determine what kind of anchors that a person value most in their careers. I found the model to be an accurate depiction of my anchors. It was first proposed by Edgar Schein from MIT. The Anchors are as follows:
Technical/Functional competence
This kind of person likes being good at something and will work to become a guru or expert. They like to be challenged and then use their skill to meet the challenge, doing the job properly and better than almost anyone else.
General Managerial competence
Unlike technical/functional people, these folks want to be managers (and not just to get more money, although this may be used as a metric of success). They like problem-solving and dealing with other people. They thrive on responsibility. To be successful, they also need emotional competence.
Autonomy/Independence
These people have a primary need to work under their own rules and steam. They avoid standards and prefer to work alone.
Security/Stability
Security-focused people seek stability and continuity as a primary factor of their lives. They avoid risks and are generally 'lifers' in their job.
Entrepreneurial Creativity
These folks like to invent things, be creative and, most of all, to run their own businesses. They differ from those who seek autonomy in that they will share the workload. They find ownership very important. They easily get bored. Wealth, for them, is a sign of success.
Service/Dedication to a cause
Service-oriented people are driven by how they can help other people more than using their talents (which may fall in other areas). They may well work in public services or in such as HR.
Pure Challenge
People driven by challenge seek constant stimulation and difficult problems that they can tackle. Such people will change jobs when the current one gets boring and their career can be very varied.
Lifestyle
Those who are focused first on lifestyle look at their whole pattern of living. They not so much balance work and life as integrate it. They may even take long periods off work in which to indulge in passions such as sailing or traveling.
I think I posted about the Lifestyle Anchor previously when talking about people taking career breaks. Typically, people in this category could be misinterpreted
to be frivolous people who do not work hard. On the contrary, they are pretty full of life and wishes to have a holistic and wholesome living which many of us could only dream about. Makes you wonder where most Singaporeans' career anchors are .....
Technical/Functional competence
This kind of person likes being good at something and will work to become a guru or expert. They like to be challenged and then use their skill to meet the challenge, doing the job properly and better than almost anyone else.
General Managerial competence
Unlike technical/functional people, these folks want to be managers (and not just to get more money, although this may be used as a metric of success). They like problem-solving and dealing with other people. They thrive on responsibility. To be successful, they also need emotional competence.
Autonomy/Independence
These people have a primary need to work under their own rules and steam. They avoid standards and prefer to work alone.
Security/Stability
Security-focused people seek stability and continuity as a primary factor of their lives. They avoid risks and are generally 'lifers' in their job.
Entrepreneurial Creativity
These folks like to invent things, be creative and, most of all, to run their own businesses. They differ from those who seek autonomy in that they will share the workload. They find ownership very important. They easily get bored. Wealth, for them, is a sign of success.
Service/Dedication to a cause
Service-oriented people are driven by how they can help other people more than using their talents (which may fall in other areas). They may well work in public services or in such as HR.
Pure Challenge
People driven by challenge seek constant stimulation and difficult problems that they can tackle. Such people will change jobs when the current one gets boring and their career can be very varied.
Lifestyle
Those who are focused first on lifestyle look at their whole pattern of living. They not so much balance work and life as integrate it. They may even take long periods off work in which to indulge in passions such as sailing or traveling.
I think I posted about the Lifestyle Anchor previously when talking about people taking career breaks. Typically, people in this category could be misinterpreted
to be frivolous people who do not work hard. On the contrary, they are pretty full of life and wishes to have a holistic and wholesome living which many of us could only dream about. Makes you wonder where most Singaporeans' career anchors are .....
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