Killer work ethics

One day I had a conversation with my youngest daughter Rachel. Right after graduating Multimedia Arts, I told her to work for me temporarily while she looks for a job. Today, she recalls that the key operative word was “temporary.” She has been working for me now for four years and if I were to be technical about things, I am now working for her.

Let me explain. As I usually share in my talks I would introduce Rachel and share with the audience an intimate conversation we had two years ago. You probably know the type – a serious heartto-heart talk between father and daughter.

I said, “Sweetheart, you have been working so hard I have decided to increase your salary. She looked at me and said, “Dad, what are you talking about? You are my father and I am your daughter, you don’t have to do that?” How’s that for heart-warming emotions? But, with her regular charm and disarming smile, she adds: “Dad, I want profit sharing.”

It may have come out as funny because that was what she intended it to be. But what she did not know was that I took it to heart, evaluated the situation, and in a few months time, elevated her to the position of COO – not just “Child of the Owner” but as Chief Operating Officer of my consultancy company.

Today, she has gone another step up as Chief Executive Officer; hired and formed her own team, and is running my business a lot better than how or what I would have done.

Here is the key. Rachel is like a sponge. She absorbs the things I teach and internalize it. To her this was not just a job; it was an opportunity to learn, to develop herself, and to meet people. She travels with me all over the country, and outside it our lives are inexorably tied together because of the hectic schedule I maintain.

We do have family vacations, but there is something unusual that happens when we are idle and there is not much work to be done. Some speakers lose their voice after a day of lecture, but I go the opposite way. I lose my voice after three days of non-speaking. And this is such a weird feeling like I am not well, and sleep seems to elude me in the evening. Rachel thought about this because she seems to experience the same thing. This is when she says, “Dad, you know why we feel weird when we do not have scheduled talks and trainings? Because our bodies have gotten used to the pace of work and not-working disrupts our system.”

In the many years I have existed, I have been hardwired in such a way that my human biological clock will alert me; awaken me to start hustling the moment I wake up. I know I need the rest and to rest I do, but this brings me to a topic I want to share with you.

It seems that every successful person, whether in business, career, or profession I have met, are all restless persons. How would all these achievers accomplish so much when we are allotted the same 24-hours in a day? What is the secret sauce to their success?

So let’s pretend you and I are TV reporters or talk show hosts and we would like to know what makes them tick? Ask them this question: “What is the secret to your success?” You will almost find that quizzical look on their faces. After listening to their replies, you and I would most probably be disappointed because there is no secret sauce.

They can talk about timing. Some even attribute it to luck. But every single serial achiever displays the same thing: They rise, they grind and they all have killer-work-ethics. They understand that there is no shortcut to success.

Killer work ethics means you wake up in the morning and you cannot wait to go to work. You work because your work is not a job; a job is what you are paid to do, but work is the expenditure of energy in creating something good and of value that may make a positive difference to others. This is why some people may not have a job, but all of us are expected to work. A mother does not get paid doing her work, but she does work.

Killer work ethics also means you give it all you’ve got. You grow, learn, and network. You are adding value. And when you go home and put your head on your pillow, there is a smile on your face as you tell yourself, “Today has been a good day!”

Rachel then explained to me, “Dad, we have gotten used to being so productive the whole day such that when we get home we may be physically tired but spiritually fulfilled and sleep comes sweet and easy as we rest for another day.”

You and I will never be happy unless we are productive. Today she has expanded my business not because she is more talented compared to the many who worked with me before, but simply because she absorbs things, learns much, and has a killer work ethic, too. Not bad for someone who was asked to work for me on a temporary basis.

(Attend and experience two inspiring days of leadership training with Francis Kong in his highly acclaimed Level Up Leadership seminar-workshop this April 18-19 at Seda Hotel, BGC. For registration or inquiries contact April at +63928559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)