So, a few days ago Mike Bloomberg made the news about his graduation speech at CUNY Staten Island. The jist of his speech was basically, work long hours, never take sick days, and you will succeed. Brian Reid, Rebeldad, and frequent contributor to the Washington Post’s On Balance blog, discusses it in his post today. Here is my two cents, for what it is worth. I think there is a lot of merit to what Bloomberg says. Extreme? Perhaps. However, I think that a lot of people assume they can get ahead by sliding by, a somewhat new phenonmenon that has been occuring recently. Whatever happened to working hard? And yes, getting in early never killed anyone. And neither did staying late. I think Bloomberg’s view is a bit extreme, but I think it’s not a bad place to start.
Disclaimer: my family does ALWAYS come first. I just don’t think that working hard is jeopardized by that. I think that both can be accomplished, and frankly should.
Good thoughts– I think the question becomes what are standards for “working hard”? Different generations think differently. Can managers read in between the lines to help employees do their best at “working hard”, and more importantly, will any guidance or tips suggested by management be welcomed openly for consideration, or rebuffed and rubuked leading way to the need for a type C manager as A & B’s seem to be the way of the past. Working hard isn’t just a set of tasks needed to be completed–it is a mindset– how does one rule on that?
Comment by Ann — July 9, 2007 @ 12:49 pm |