Bacon or Eggs?
Posted in February 6th, 2008 by Cecilia GomesIf your professional life were a plate of bacon and eggs, would you be the chicken or the pig? In other words, are you really committed to your professional success or merely involved in it?
The chicken is only involved in the production process: waking up every day, eating whatever is offered, laying eggs with complete serenity and then sleeping at night. The chicken knows that in the following day there will be a new portion of food and everything will be the same so that it can continuously contribute for one to eat their bacon and eggs.
What about the pig? Unfortunately, to have bacon one cannot ask the pig to be merely involved in the process. It needs to be committed to it, for its life hangs in the balance. Therefore, while the chicken is only involved in the process, the pig is thoroughly committed to it. This is the main difference between being involved and being committed: how much are you willing to invest in what you are currently doing?
In your professional life, you are never asked to literally sacrifice your life. This is history now! Nevertheless, you can be sure that the market wants and needs professionals who are indeed willing to commit to their work and professional development. The market increasingly looks for highly productive individuals who have good knowledge of the industry and are aware of the real value of their contribution for the success of the company for which they will be working.
Every day is a good day to make yourself more committed to your goals, whether in your personal or professional life. If you are already committed to these goals, be sure that it has been noted and appreciated. Otherwise, try to think of things that will call the attention to you and make them part of your everyday life as a professional. Here are some ideas:
1. Focus on your job as much as you can. If you need to produce a lot in little time, try to get escape from all sources of distraction. If you focus on what you are doing, you will definitely do it faster and better, giving you more time to dedicate to other things.
2. Have a critical view. It is extremely important that you learn how to ‘see’ instead of just ‘looking’ at things. Try to understand what is going on and always be suspicious of anything that is not exactly as you would like it to be.
3. Mind the detail. Always! But do not become obsessed with it. A detail-oriented attitude can play a major role in having your work noticed.
4. Be responsible and serious about your work.
5. Always think about how much you are contributing for the company’s development. This doesn’t mean just carrying out your tasks, but thinking beyond. Do more and better whenever possible.
6. Make good use of every opportunity to learn something new or to experiment different situations. Speeches, workgroups, networking — the sky is the limit. Always think that these activities can make a difference between your being chosen or not.
7. If the company is doing well, great! Keep on giving everything you can and grow along with it. If not, work harder. With everyone’s help, it’s much easier to reverse the situation. And you can be sure that it is in difficult times that you will find the best solutions.
Anything else that could make a difference? You can add anything to this list. But don’t forget to add it to your own list; this is the most important of all.
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