Manchester United, Tony Benn, Honesty, Integrity and The New World of Work
Guest Rambler Trevor Gay
I am delighted and honoured that David asked me to pen some thoughts on ‘Random Ramblings’ and I was asked by him not to mention either my beloved Manchester United or my great political hero Tony Benn.
Having already broken my word as a gentleman and a scholar I will carry on.
As you can see honesty and integrity have always been two of my greatest principles but as Groucho Marx once said; ‘Those are my principles … and if you don’t like them …. I have some more.’
David and I agree on some things about management and leadership and we disagree on others – that is normal and confirms the rich variety of thoughts and opinions that exist about the world of work.
One thing David and I share a passion for is the ‘new world’ of work.
I thought I would therefore use ‘Random Ramblings’ to reflect briefly about the changes I see in my ‘new world of work’ as a self employed, freelance and independent consultant versus my ‘old world of work’ in a traditional management structure in the National Health Service where I spent working from age 16 to 52.
I have been working in my ‘new world of work for almost 3 years.
Then – I had a boss
Now – I am my own boss
Then – Had set duties whether or not I liked them
Now – Only do work I enjoy
Then – Had set hours
Now – Work whenever I like
Then – Judged by bosses
Now – Judged by customers
Then – De-motivated, bored, tired and stale
Now – Enthusiastic, passionate keen to make a difference
Then – Uncertain about my future
Now – Looking forward to being 110 years old
Then - Unhappy in my work
Now – Totally content in my work
Another huge issue is that I used to receive a healthy monthly salary that was guaranteed for me for another 12 years in the NHS if I had stayed.
Now I have no guarantee whatsoever of income each month and yet I love my new world of work much more than my old world of work.
Since I left the NHS I have received income from work every month and I have no regrets about leaving an 'apparent comfort blanket' of secure employment.
That 'blanket' was not comfortable at all I assure you.
If you are fed up and wondering whether to jump from corporate life I would never be as arrogant as to ‘tell’ anyone to go for it. It must of course be your decision.
I would only say that it worked for me and the reality was far less threatening than my fears about it before I made the jump.
My biggest single learning point - Have OPTIMISM, ENTHUSIASM and most of all have FAITH in your own ability – you will be ok.
Trevor Gay
1 comment:
Oh dear, the secret is out – I associate with someone with questionable judgement on political and sporting issues! That’s my reputation for good judgement destroyed! Clearly I should have employed the same approach that one would with a child – never ask them not to do something as this is a guarantee that they will!
There is a bit of child in most of us - the best way to communicate is to tell someone something in confidence. You can then be pretty sure that it will get passed on ‘in confidence’! Recently I read of a marketing campaign where, by accident, letters being sent to a number of companies had the correct name but the address of a rival business on the envelope. Although this caused some embarrassment to the sender, apparently the response rate was higher than normal. It seemed that the recipients couldn’t resist opening the envelope in anticipation that they might find out about their competitor’s business!
I agree with Trevor that self-employment won’t suit everyone and I totally agree that optimism, enthusiasm and faith in your own ability are essential survival tools. However, I’m not sure that they necessarily guarantee success. Having the right product and business strategy is crucial. One sees so many shops open up in High Streets around the country that disappear within a year or two. I assume that the owners’ had optimism and enthusiasm and faith in their business idea. Probably what was lacking was a thoroughly objective review of the business idea.
Anyway, it’s good to know that Trevor is enjoying the freedom and challenges of his new world of work and that he is making a success of it. My thanks to him for being the first guest Rambler. Hopefully over the coming months I can persuade one or two others to Randomly Ramble.
Post a Comment