http://businessmodelyou.com/
Business Model You: The One-Page Method for Reinventing Your Career is a book that will be on the Motivate recommended reading list when it launches later this month (Note: You can learn more about Motivate at Motivate.MightyPurpose.Me).
Even though it's a fairly new book, Tim Clark's Business Model You has quickly earned its spot among my favorites and is a worthy part of our adventure. Much of what this tome contains is illuminating, broadly applicable, and useful in a practical way, all at the same time. Let me share one example.
Even though it's a fairly new book, Tim Clark's Business Model You has quickly earned its spot among my favorites and is a worthy part of our adventure. Much of what this tome contains is illuminating, broadly applicable, and useful in a practical way, all at the same time. Let me share one example.
When exploring the question "What does work mean to you?" Clark and his co-creators found four meanings:
• Work as Job: This means working for the sake of a paycheck, without much personal involvement or satisfaction. This is work as a means to something else...hopefully.
• Work as Career: This means working for the sake of success, achievement, status, proving, etc.
• Work as Calling: This means working out of a sense of obligation, duty or destiny. That pressure or force could come from something external to the person or internal to the person.
• Work as Fulfillment: This means working from a passion or at least a deep interest, and it inspires you or lends you strength.
In one way or another, I've been a career coach for years and I thought I had heard it all when it came to describing how different people find different meanings in their individual work. But, this is honestly the clearest description of this idea I have encountered. It has even given me new language to frame a few things I was struggling with.
Not that long ago I was trying to support a mentee as she navigated the fact that she felt compelled to not pursue work outside of the home while at the same time she needed a way to have success in the world outside her household. In hindsight this was a Calling vs. Career issue. The good news is that we found a way for her to have both.
My wife and I have a conflict of values when it comes to employment and outside project. For me work has traditionally been in the Calling and Career range, but almost never Job (Mighty Purpose is a Fulfillment project). For example, not that long ago I had the choice of being appointed the Executive Director of the non-profit Madison Area Down Syndrome Society, or become a general manager for a for-profit retail operation and get paid boatloads more money. I chose the non-profit (Career/Calling vs. Job).
In contrast, work for my wife Susan is more in the range of Job and Career (Job/Career vs. Calling/Fulfillment). You can probably guess which one of us gets home late from work all the time (hint: it's not my beautiful wife) and why the different meanings we each give to work can bring a challenge or two to our household.
Another way to think about this is that when a person says something like, "I want to have a job that is meaningful" they are not talking about something that only a fortunate few find. What they are really saying is that they are looking for a specific kind of meaning in their employment that they probably lack somewhere else in their life.
Here is the neat part. A job can be a source of any of these meanings, and employment is probably a very important source. But, employment is just one possible source of meaning in our lives. It's not like I lack Job meaning in my life (I haven't starved yet and I have enough resources to maintain Mighty Purpose), and my wife does not lack Calling and Fulfillment in hers (I have never seen my wife more "lit up" when she describes her recent adventures in Yosemite National Park).
I believe the four meanings together point to wellbeing in life, not just a purpose for work. In fact, to have a rich life, full of that wellbeing, you need a consistent source of all four meanings somewhere in your life.
How do you know if you have the sources you need? I propose the following test to get you started.
The Wellbeing Test
Take a break for a moment and grab your preferred tool to write down important stuff. Jot down your answers to the following questions. You may find overlap, that's OK. Just be honest and don't over think it.
1. What are your sources for sustenance and Survival for you and, if you have them, your spouse/partner and children/dependents? Are these sufficient to meet your basic needs (food, clothing, shelter)? Are these sufficient to allow saving for the future and thrive? Is there anything that threatens these sources, like debt, unhealthy behaviors, etc.?
2. What arenas are available to you to strive for Success, recognition and a challenge? Are you bored? Are you being challenged? Are you being overwhelmed? Are you actually engaging in the right arenas where it's possible for you to have real success?
3. In what ways do you Sacrifice and whom do you sacrifice for? Where do you give until it hurts? Are you sharing your real gifts at all? Are you giving the right way for the right people?
4. What are your sources of Strength? When you feel the strongest or the most energized, what are you doing at those moments? Is there anything that you do that leaves you feeling weak?
If you're not too shy, feel free to share with the community your answers to these questions and your thoughts about what you should do about them.
• Work as Job: This means working for the sake of a paycheck, without much personal involvement or satisfaction. This is work as a means to something else...hopefully.
• Work as Career: This means working for the sake of success, achievement, status, proving, etc.
• Work as Calling: This means working out of a sense of obligation, duty or destiny. That pressure or force could come from something external to the person or internal to the person.
• Work as Fulfillment: This means working from a passion or at least a deep interest, and it inspires you or lends you strength.
In one way or another, I've been a career coach for years and I thought I had heard it all when it came to describing how different people find different meanings in their individual work. But, this is honestly the clearest description of this idea I have encountered. It has even given me new language to frame a few things I was struggling with.
Not that long ago I was trying to support a mentee as she navigated the fact that she felt compelled to not pursue work outside of the home while at the same time she needed a way to have success in the world outside her household. In hindsight this was a Calling vs. Career issue. The good news is that we found a way for her to have both.
My wife and I have a conflict of values when it comes to employment and outside project. For me work has traditionally been in the Calling and Career range, but almost never Job (Mighty Purpose is a Fulfillment project). For example, not that long ago I had the choice of being appointed the Executive Director of the non-profit Madison Area Down Syndrome Society, or become a general manager for a for-profit retail operation and get paid boatloads more money. I chose the non-profit (Career/Calling vs. Job).
In contrast, work for my wife Susan is more in the range of Job and Career (Job/Career vs. Calling/Fulfillment). You can probably guess which one of us gets home late from work all the time (hint: it's not my beautiful wife) and why the different meanings we each give to work can bring a challenge or two to our household.
Another way to think about this is that when a person says something like, "I want to have a job that is meaningful" they are not talking about something that only a fortunate few find. What they are really saying is that they are looking for a specific kind of meaning in their employment that they probably lack somewhere else in their life.
Here is the neat part. A job can be a source of any of these meanings, and employment is probably a very important source. But, employment is just one possible source of meaning in our lives. It's not like I lack Job meaning in my life (I haven't starved yet and I have enough resources to maintain Mighty Purpose), and my wife does not lack Calling and Fulfillment in hers (I have never seen my wife more "lit up" when she describes her recent adventures in Yosemite National Park).
I believe the four meanings together point to wellbeing in life, not just a purpose for work. In fact, to have a rich life, full of that wellbeing, you need a consistent source of all four meanings somewhere in your life.
How do you know if you have the sources you need? I propose the following test to get you started.
The Wellbeing Test
Take a break for a moment and grab your preferred tool to write down important stuff. Jot down your answers to the following questions. You may find overlap, that's OK. Just be honest and don't over think it.
1. What are your sources for sustenance and Survival for you and, if you have them, your spouse/partner and children/dependents? Are these sufficient to meet your basic needs (food, clothing, shelter)? Are these sufficient to allow saving for the future and thrive? Is there anything that threatens these sources, like debt, unhealthy behaviors, etc.?
2. What arenas are available to you to strive for Success, recognition and a challenge? Are you bored? Are you being challenged? Are you being overwhelmed? Are you actually engaging in the right arenas where it's possible for you to have real success?
3. In what ways do you Sacrifice and whom do you sacrifice for? Where do you give until it hurts? Are you sharing your real gifts at all? Are you giving the right way for the right people?
4. What are your sources of Strength? When you feel the strongest or the most energized, what are you doing at those moments? Is there anything that you do that leaves you feeling weak?
If you're not too shy, feel free to share with the community your answers to these questions and your thoughts about what you should do about them.