October 11, 2013

Are You ALL IN or Just Surviving?

In poker, there is a term called ‘all in’ where the poker player puts all their remaining chips on the table in order to win the pot. In business ‘all in’ means commitment to making a business decision, or business situation better/faster/stronger.

My question is, as a member of a team (whether you are the top or the bottom of the team, whether you are an internal member or an external consultant)…

Are you ‘all in’ or are you ‘just surviving?

 
More and more I see both internal and external team members taking the passive ‘just surviving’ approach to their work lives.

How do you know which side you are on?


All In
Just Surviving
I will be committed to success
I am working for a paycheck
I will communicate my concerns, issues, and comments to make the company stronger
I don't want to make waves.  My boss doesn't listen anyway
I will make the company better
I just work here
I will search to do more, ask how I can help, look to improve my company 'coinage'
I will wait for someone to hand me responsibility and shy away from a challenge
I am fearless
I am fearful/timid/reluctant
I am here for the long haul
I am hanging around here waiting for my next job
I will stretch and grow and learn from my mistakes.
I want things to be safe, and I expect someone to tell me what to do.

If some of this makes you feel uneasy, that is a sure sign of just surviving, just floating; hoping that someone else will take charge and make things better. 

The interesting part about ‘just surviving’ is that we won’t need to take ownership of what happens at the company. We get to say we feel unfulfilled and we are still ‘deciding what you want to be when you grow up’. If only someone would show us the path to our ‘career.’

The path to job security, and a rewarding career is to be ‘all in’ – is there a chance we will lose the poker hand by putting all your chips on the table? Yes, but we learn from those events and become better and stronger. 
 


David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 


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This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]…