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April 16, 2006

Growth and maturity

As we all get older, we have experiences in life that mold and shape us. These lessons are what help us mature into productive and knowledgeable members of society. When I was younger, I was told by many people that I would grow and mature with age, especially in the workplace. As I've climbed the business ladder over the past 7-8 years, I can look back and see the things that I've handled poorly and how my arrogance caused me a lot of problems along the way.

It's safe to say that I've pissed off many people on my journey. Some to the point where they wanted to kick my ass so bad that my boss had to hold them back. But looking back on these scenarios, I can honestly say that I've learned my lesson time and time again. Even though I've made mistakes, I'm proud to say that I've worked hard to correct them and make amends. I've worked hard to prove myself and have made friends with the persons that I've pissed off so bad.

Now that I'm a bit older, I've begun reflecting on my past experiences and I hope that I may help others in the similar positions that I was once in. I'm not saying that I know everything. As a matter of fact, the one thing that I do know is that I'm blistfully ignorant of many things in this life. I also know that I still have much to learn. But I do believe that the knowledge that I've aquired through the past 7-8 years may help others, and I hope that I can pass that information along like those who've helped me in the past.

With that said, I've been watching someone who is starting off in the world of business and is very green regarding interaction between others. I'm watching this person make the same mistakes that I did so many years ago, and I cringe when I see this person do it. I only hope that I can help this person in the way that others have helped me in the past. I'm not sage by any means, but I can honestly see this person *really* pissing off people much like I did, if not worse.

Here are some of the biggest problems that young people bring with them into the business environment:

1. Arrogance.
The person is young and believes that they're on top of the world and know everything. I think that may young people are like this and need to be broken down to have a level of humility about them so that they can be a productive part of a team. While it is important to believe in yourself, believing that you're the best and that you're above everyone else is another thing entirely.

2. Lack of common sense.
The person is too smart for their own good. The intelligence that this person has is only from learning by reading books or from instruction. There's no real world experience to pull from. As a result, decisions made by people like this often fall outside of the realm of common sense.

3. Lack of patience.
The person wants to know it all, and wants it known yesterday. Taking the time to research a problem isn't good enough. Lack of patience often causes people to rush into situations and can cause significant problems for many people. This lack of patience can also keep others from learning as well. Instead of showing people how something is done, people like this just run through it fast and leave others behind.

4. Unwilling to share information.
The person wants to be the top dog, and to do this will keep information that may be beneficial for others a secret. Some people tend to think of this as job security. This is incorrect. I've been in jobs where I've worked with people who thought that their job was secure because of their knowledge. These people are fired just as easy as someone who shares information. Ultimately, even though someone might have all of the information, it doesn't mean that the same information can't be found again.

5. Won't listen to superiors.
The person doesn't follow instructions very well. When an order is given by a superior, it is ignored so that it can be done the way that this person believes is the correct way. This issue really falls into several problems that have already been mentioned: arrogance, lack of common sense and lack of patience. While we all may think that our bosses may be ignorant from time to time, to question or flat out refuse to listen to a superior can be (and often is considered) insuborndiantion and grounds for dismissal.

It's pretty obvious that many younger people start off with some or all of the problems that I've listed above. At one time or another, I've done one or all of these things when I was getting into the business world. The sad thing is that other young people will continue to behave like this long after I'm dead and buried.

I can only hope that some of the information that I pass along will be accepted and understood and maybe even passed along to someone else. Maybe by doing so, I can help prevent some of the same hardships that I've faced in the past.

Here's to hoping.

~out...

Posted by ed at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)