Hi, my name is Eric Kelly.
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Welcome to "Working the Dream"
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I've been blessed to
work in corporate America
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for over 35 years.
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I've held positions of
director, senior director,
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and even vice president
in some multibillion dollar
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corporations ranging from
logistics and transportation
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firms to oil
services companies...
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And today, along with
executive coaching, I work with
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executives of various
publicly traded companies
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with issues of organizational
and employee development.
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Now executives tell me
the qualities that they value
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in their employees.
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They share what they believe
is important for career growth,
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and, by the way, they
are making the choices.
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Interestingly, the things they
share are not taught in school.
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Years ago, I was blessed
with an incredible mentor
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from Atlanta and he said, "Eric,
the rules of career growth
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in an organization
are unwritten." Unwritten?
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However, most
successful people know them.
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Now that threw me a
bit because I wanted to be
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successful, but I was pretty
sure I didn't know anything
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about the unwritten rules
until he said they existed.
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Now, many years later, I can
assure you he was 100% correct.
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During our time
together on this program,
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we're going to share
these unwritten rules with you
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and if you follow
them, I can assure you
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that they'll work.
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Now before we get started,
I want you to understand
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some very important
things about the workplace...
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First, delete this phrase from
your vocabulary...ready for it?
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"That's not fair."
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It may not be fair,
however, it is what it is.
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It's not fair that I
had a huge Afro at one time
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because it's all gone.
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It's not fair that I
was a basketball player
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and now I just play the radio.
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And, it's not fair
that I ran track because now
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I run my bathwater.
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It's not fair, but
that's the way it is.
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Reality, it is what it is.
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Now the second
point I want to make is...
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Nobody can achieve
success by themselves,
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I don't care what
you see on television.
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Your level of success
will be in direct proportion
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of how effectively
you deal with people.
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The last point is and
may be the most important...
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You can think of some people
at work right now and maybe
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guess who is being led by what.
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I had a hard time translating
sermons to my everyday
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work life - the balance
of spirituality and reality
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of what I heard in
church and practical application
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to my life was hard.
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In fact, I remember one
week I went to church and
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the minister preached a
sermon on "David and Goliath."
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Man, that was the greatest
sermon because here's David,
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he's a little guy and he's
going up against a big guy which
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sometimes that's how you
feel at work, and in the name of
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the Lord, he approached
Goliath and I like the part
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where he stopped and picked
up five smooth stones because
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I don't know if he was planning
on missing four times or what...
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BUT at the end of
the story Goliath is out
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and David is the
hero. That's a great story!
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Then Monday, I had to
go to work and I realized
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that my
Goliath's name was "Darla,"
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and they didn't have five smooth
stones in the parking structure.
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So, how do we take God to work?
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How do we balance
spirituality in our work life?
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Or, should our work life be
enveloped by our spirituality?
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Let's check out
of friend, Shala...
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Now let me tell you
a little bit about her.
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She completed her college
education about 4 years ago.
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She is a hard
worker, she's always on time,
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doesn't take time off.
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She rarely takes sick time
off even during the rainy, cold
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and flu season and the
boss she had in her previous
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department has praised
her almost from her first
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day for having
impeccable work ethic. Hm!
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Now for the last nine months,
she has been working for a
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different boss - let's
see how things are going...
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Good morning
Shala. Good morning.
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It's just baffling to
me how far behind we are
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in producing these
reports and the quality.
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Don't get me started on that.
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What is the deal with you?
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Why are you so slow
and I mean mentally...
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The numbers,
you're not even accurate.
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You know how stupid
I look when I'm going
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into an executive
meeting with reports like this?
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You need to get it together.
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But Cynthia, the...
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Shhh, Ms. Green today. Okay
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Ms. Green, you know
we've been having issues with
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the data loads, I.T. has
been really slow in fixing them.
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And your point is?
You can't blame anybody
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else for your incompetence.
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Is that all?
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Okay, I have good news
and I have challenging news.
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The good news is -
Ron has been promoted to
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senior analyst position.
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The challenging news is
that you're going to have to
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take over his
responsibilities until we decide
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whether or not we're
going to fill his position.
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What? You can't handle it?
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Seriously? I already have
a full load and essentially
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you're asking me to do
the work of two people.
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Can't we split up his work
among the rest of the group?
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I thought about that,
but it's really just easier
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if you do it - because you
know all the ins and outs of
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of the tasks -
besides, it will be helping you.
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Helping me?
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Yes, helping you - you
want to get promoted don't you?
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Huh, you know
what? Think about it.
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This is ridiculous! Loud sigh...
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I hate this job!
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I always get work piled on
me and the systems barely work,
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and then I get
blamed for that too!
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Oh and that woman over there,
"Ron is getting promoted,"
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so what!
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Loud sigh...
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You know what? They
can have this, I'm done!
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Telephone rings 3 times.
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This is Shala. Who is this?
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Office floor
G23? Okay! Okay. Bye.
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Well... Have you ever
had one of those Shala days?
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One where you were
ready to pick up your toys
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and go home... forever?
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Well I think most of us
have, so let's look at the
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typical day that we have.
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We wake up and know we
spend time with God in the word
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and praying and asking for
that divine guidance and then
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we get in our cars and
we hit rush hour traffic.
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I have no idea why they
call it "rush hour" because
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nobody is rushing anywhere.
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In fact, just a
little car that cuts you off,
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that little sports car,
and then there's a pickup truck
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that almost sideswipes you
at an off-ramp or an on-ramp,
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and you're struggling
all the way in to the office.
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And then when you get to
the parking structure at work,
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your assigned parking space
has somebody else's car in it.
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How can that be?
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The parking space
is assigned to you!
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So you tool around the
parking lot looking for
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anything that's empty,
almost making you late.
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Oh no! Then as you struggle
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through the door to get
to your work station on time,
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there's a pile of
work waiting on you. Yeah!
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And just about
that time, an irritating
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boss or co-worker
comes by and says,
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"Nice of you to join us today."
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Tell me how your spiritual
life is right about then.
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You see, some of us are moving
so fast on the work treadmill
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that we don't have time to plant
our growth and development.
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However, the difference between
most people and those whose
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careers are
growing and thriving,
00:10:02.30\00:10:04.43
is that each one of
the successful people
00:10:04.47\00:10:07.60
stops to take a measure of where
00:10:07.64\00:10:09.57
they are and does
something about it.
00:10:09.60\00:10:11.71
Even if you are perfectly happy
and fulfilled where you are,
00:10:11.74\00:10:16.78
there are still things
that you can do to make your
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work life even more powerful.
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Thankfully, there's a mentor
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that's about to help our
friend, Shala, and her career.
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Knocking at the
door... Come in Shala.
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How did you...? Who are you?
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Well I'm certainly not your
fairy godfather, Cinderella.
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Okay, that's a bit corny...
they call me "The Prophet."
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Been around a lot,
seen a lot, done a lot,
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and I know a lot, so
I can help you a lot!
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Have a seat. Okay.
00:10:57.39\00:11:02.02
Okay let's get to
it... You hate your job.
00:11:02.06\00:11:04.33
Yeah - very much.
00:11:04.36\00:11:06.43
Can you fill me in - why?
00:11:06.46\00:11:08.83
Hmm, the workload
is out-of-control.
00:11:08.86\00:11:12.40
I keep getting blamed for
things I have no control over.
00:11:12.43\00:11:15.67
My boss apparently
hates me because she's always
00:11:15.70\00:11:18.17
riding on me and,
honestly, I can't stand her.
00:11:18.21\00:11:21.04
She's rude, condescending
and her voice annoys me.
00:11:21.08\00:11:23.88
Okay, I see...
00:11:23.91\00:11:26.51
Well, it doesn't make
sense to keep piling work onto
00:11:26.55\00:11:29.25
one person when there are
clearly other capable people.
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Okay, I see...
00:11:32.95\00:11:34.82
I see? That's all you have?
00:11:34.86\00:11:37.36
Well is there anything at all
that you like about your job?
00:11:37.39\00:11:44.03
I don't know,
it's close to my house.
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Close to your house,
okay, that's a start.
00:11:48.70\00:11:52.24
Anything else? Nothing.
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Nothing?
00:11:56.54\00:11:58.88
Do you get a
paycheck every two weeks?
00:11:58.91\00:12:01.62
Yes.
00:12:01.65\00:12:02.98
Do you like that paycheck
every two weeks? Of course.
00:12:03.02\00:12:05.59
Okay, and I suspect with
that is medical, vacations,
00:12:06.65\00:12:12.49
yearly bonus - do
you like that stuff?
00:12:12.53\00:12:15.70
Yeah I do.
00:12:15.73\00:12:18.60
I think we're finding
out, you're just not feeling
00:12:18.63\00:12:20.77
fulfilled in your job.
00:12:20.80\00:12:22.67
I used to love it.
00:12:22.70\00:12:24.87
But what changed?
00:12:24.91\00:12:27.44
My boss was diagnosed "bipolar."
00:12:27.48\00:12:30.91
Bipolar? Yeah.
00:12:30.95\00:12:34.42
Really?
00:12:34.45\00:12:35.78
Well no, but it sure
seems like it sometimes.
00:12:35.82\00:12:39.25
You should hear some of
the stuff that comes out of her
00:12:39.29\00:12:40.99
mouth and how she acts.
00:12:41.02\00:12:42.36
Okay, so your boss has changed.
00:12:42.39\00:12:46.49
Yeah, and sometimes the
work is just absolutely boring.
00:12:46.53\00:12:50.00
I'm not being
mentally challenged anymore.
00:12:50.03\00:12:52.50
Ahhh, now we're getting
to the meat of the matter.
00:12:52.53\00:12:56.47
So your boss may not
have changed that much,
00:12:56.50\00:12:58.57
your job may not have
changed, but YOU'VE changed.
00:12:58.61\00:13:02.81
Okay - that's not a bad
thing, it's a good thing.
00:13:02.84\00:13:07.22
It sounds like
you've outgrown your job.
00:13:08.25\00:13:12.75
You know, Ms. Green
knew that when she gave you
00:13:12.79\00:13:15.09
Ron's extra work day.
00:13:15.12\00:13:16.46
Wait, how did you
know it was Ron's work?
00:13:16.49\00:13:19.59
They call me "The
Prophet," and I know a lot.
00:13:19.63\00:13:24.07
We need to look at your skills.
00:13:24.10\00:13:26.57
We need to look at what
you do best and where you can
00:13:26.60\00:13:30.04
use it best - whether
it's inside the company
00:13:30.07\00:13:31.97
in positions that are
available there or in another
00:13:32.01\00:13:34.68
position outside of the
company, does that make sense?
00:13:34.71\00:13:37.01
Yes. Okay.
00:13:37.05\00:13:38.95
Here's what I want
to ask you to do...
00:13:38.98\00:13:40.65
Make a list of all your skills,
all the things you do best,
00:13:40.68\00:13:46.15
and then look at all of
the needs for your company,
00:13:46.19\00:13:49.02
and see if any of those skills
match up with company needs.
00:13:49.06\00:13:52.29
Logical so far?
00:13:52.33\00:13:53.90
Yes, so far - so good.
00:13:53.93\00:13:55.73
Okay, the last thing I
want you to do is make a list
00:13:55.76\00:13:58.93
of opportunities that are
right there in those positions.
00:13:58.97\00:14:02.90
Like what?
00:14:02.94\00:14:04.27
Training.
Training opportunities.
00:14:04.31\00:14:07.38
Special committees where
you get a chance to work with
00:14:07.41\00:14:09.44
folks from other
departments, special projects,
00:14:09.48\00:14:13.21
high visibility - people at
the top look at those things.
00:14:13.25\00:14:17.49
And really what we want
to do is find out who you are
00:14:17.52\00:14:20.76
professionally.
00:14:20.79\00:14:23.56
I think from there,
we're going to be able
00:14:23.59\00:14:24.93
to build a program that
gets you where you want to go
00:14:24.96\00:14:27.93
and definitely makes
you feel better about
00:14:27.96\00:14:30.20
going to work every day.
00:14:30.23\00:14:31.57
Is that a process you
think you can buy into?
00:14:31.60\00:14:34.47
Yeah, sounds good.
00:14:34.50\00:14:36.74
All right, well get started on
that and we'll chat later. Okay
00:14:36.77\00:14:39.47
All right, all the best.
00:14:40.54\00:14:41.98
Thanks.
00:14:42.01\00:14:45.55
That still doesn't help me
with the ridiculous workload.
00:14:46.58\00:14:50.12
Workload - would it hurt
you to handle the workload
00:14:50.15\00:14:57.13
for 30 days and kinda
prove what you can do?
00:14:57.16\00:15:01.20
Hmm, all right,
I'll give it a try.
00:15:01.23\00:15:04.27
Okay, take care.
00:15:04.30\00:15:08.77
Just curious, does
anybody else know about you,
00:15:10.04\00:15:13.98
that you have an
office down here?
00:15:14.01\00:15:16.11
Uh huh, payroll. Goodbye.
00:15:16.14\00:15:19.88
Now in Shala's case,
she goes to see a mentor.
00:15:29.32\00:15:33.43
Now there's nothing
mysterious about a mentor.
00:15:33.46\00:15:36.43
A mentor is simply someone
who has gone over the highway
00:15:36.46\00:15:40.20
ahead of you and knows
where the potholes are.
00:15:40.24\00:15:43.04
So our mentor, "The
Prophet," shares the insights
00:15:43.07\00:15:46.71
that he has on
bosses in general.
00:15:46.74\00:15:49.28
Now even though it's a
challenging day for her,
00:15:49.31\00:15:52.08
he seems to suggest
that everything may not
00:15:52.11\00:15:55.78
be as it seems.
00:15:55.82\00:15:57.99
Now, I remember on my
first corporate job...
00:15:58.02\00:16:01.36
I worked in a large
office and my supervisor
00:16:01.39\00:16:05.13
had nominated me for the
"Leadership Fast Track Program."
00:16:05.16\00:16:09.63
Now this program was supposed
to create a pool of upwardly
00:16:09.66\00:16:13.74
mobile employees that
could be groomed for management
00:16:13.77\00:16:16.67
positions.
00:16:16.71\00:16:18.94
I'd like to impress you
and tell you how special I was,
00:16:18.97\00:16:22.81
but I must honestly disclose
that there were, in fact,
00:16:22.84\00:16:26.28
quite a few up and
coming employees on that list,
00:16:26.31\00:16:29.88
and the competition was
fierce once a supervisory
00:16:29.92\00:16:33.36
position was available.
00:16:33.39\00:16:35.49
Now, some of my peers
were just as nuts as I was,
00:16:35.52\00:16:40.13
so every morning we
would hang out at one another's
00:16:40.16\00:16:43.16
desk and share humorous
stories and anecdotes from the
00:16:43.20\00:16:47.00
night before and slowly slide
in to something that loosely
00:16:47.04\00:16:52.24
resembled work after
using a few minutes of our
00:16:52.27\00:16:56.14
employer's time for
our own personal enjoyment.
00:16:56.18\00:16:59.25
Now right about
that time one morning,
00:16:59.28\00:17:01.38
we were laughing
uncontrollably about some story,
00:17:01.42\00:17:04.65
my supervisor strode into the
office - always purposefully,
00:17:04.69\00:17:08.49
there was a group of about
eight of us standing around
00:17:08.52\00:17:11.29
a co-worker's desk...
my supervisor an actual
00:17:11.33\00:17:14.80
ex-sergeant in the army,
ignored the other seven people
00:17:14.83\00:17:18.63
and said, "Eric sit down."
00:17:18.67\00:17:21.00
As I looked
around, I became livid.
00:17:21.04\00:17:23.71
I immediately wanted
to know why my supervisor
00:17:23.74\00:17:27.44
singled me out from
the rest of my peers.
00:17:27.48\00:17:31.11
Seething with anger, I sat down.
00:17:31.15\00:17:34.45
Later in the morning,
I could contain myself
00:17:34.48\00:17:36.95
no longer, so I walked up to
the supervisor's desk and said,
00:17:36.99\00:17:40.32
"May I see you in the
outside training rooms, please."
00:17:40.36\00:17:43.93
She looked up and said, "Sure,"
00:17:43.96\00:17:46.09
and followed me down the hall
to one of the training rooms.
00:17:46.13\00:17:49.50
As soon as the door
closed, I unloaded...
00:17:49.53\00:17:51.77
"What was that you
did to me earlier today?"
00:17:51.80\00:17:53.97
"That was totally unfair,
I'm standing with a group
00:17:54.00\00:17:57.37
of people and you
single ME out to embarrass ME,
00:17:57.41\00:18:00.18
and make ME look small
in front of everybody."
00:18:00.21\00:18:03.55
My supervisor simply stood
there with a rather bemused
00:18:03.58\00:18:06.41
look on her face.
00:18:06.45\00:18:07.78
She said, "Eric, let
me bring you up to speed
00:18:07.82\00:18:10.39
on what
happened this morning"...
00:18:10.42\00:18:11.95
"When I was walking into the
room, Mr. Perry, our division
00:18:11.99\00:18:16.12
manager, was 4 or
5 steps behind me...
00:18:16.16\00:18:19.39
I didn't have time to tell
you about how you were viewed
00:18:19.43\00:18:22.63
as capable, but a jokester
who may not really be serious
00:18:22.66\00:18:26.67
about advancement.
00:18:26.70\00:18:28.07
Now since this criticism can
slow and even end your career,
00:18:28.10\00:18:32.27
in a place here where
everybody is so competitive,
00:18:32.31\00:18:36.44
I only had enough time to give
you the cliff notes version,
00:18:36.48\00:18:39.38
Eric, sit down.
00:18:39.41\00:18:41.58
Luckily you sat
down, with an attitude,
00:18:41.62\00:18:44.05
but you sat down.
00:18:44.09\00:18:45.65
When Mr. Perry walked in
the office, he saw other people
00:18:45.69\00:18:49.52
talking and laughing,
but you had your head down
00:18:49.56\00:18:52.36
working at your
desk... anything else?"
00:18:52.39\00:18:54.86
Uh, uh, no ma'am,
I replied sheepishly.
00:18:54.90\00:18:59.83
She turned and marched
purposefully out of the office
00:18:59.87\00:19:03.51
much like I believe she
had done during her entire
00:19:03.54\00:19:07.04
service in the military.
00:19:07.08\00:19:08.88
Funny, she had a slight
smile on her face all day long.
00:19:08.91\00:19:14.15
As humans living
in a negative world,
00:19:14.18\00:19:16.18
we often see the
down before we see the up.
00:19:16.22\00:19:19.95
I have learned that not
everything is what it seems.
00:19:19.99\00:19:24.26
The option I have...
Trust the hand of God.
00:19:24.29\00:19:28.90
God's ultimate goal is
to elevate you to a place
00:19:28.93\00:19:32.43
where all can
see His hand on you.
00:19:32.47\00:19:35.94
Now He cannot elevate
you if you're going to
00:19:35.97\00:19:40.18
floss and show
off and be prideful.
00:19:40.21\00:19:43.28
Let me give you an example...
00:19:43.31\00:19:44.98
I have two children - I give
one of them an ice cream cone.
00:19:45.01\00:19:51.25
They are enjoying the ice cream,
it is tasty, it's a warm day,
00:19:51.29\00:19:55.86
it's a beautiful thing.
00:19:55.89\00:19:57.23
As a parent, I am happy to
give that child some ice cream.
00:19:57.26\00:20:02.16
However, my second child
walks up and my first child
00:20:02.20\00:20:06.53
looks at my second child and
says, "I have some ice cream,
00:20:06.57\00:20:10.14
you don't have
any," and begins to taunt
00:20:10.17\00:20:14.28
the second child.
00:20:14.31\00:20:15.68
Immediately as a parent,
you know what I would do?
00:20:15.71\00:20:19.21
And probably many of you parents
that are watching this...
00:20:19.25\00:20:21.88
You're going to take the
ice cream away from the child
00:20:21.92\00:20:25.59
that had it - because there's
no way you're going to give
00:20:25.62\00:20:28.89
a gift to one of your
children so they can taunt
00:20:28.92\00:20:32.53
the rest of your children.
00:20:32.56\00:20:34.36
There's no way that
God is going to bless you
00:20:34.40\00:20:37.13
so that you can look at
any of the other of His kids
00:20:37.17\00:20:40.80
as less than and not
being as important and as valued
00:20:40.84\00:20:46.14
as you are.
00:20:46.17\00:20:47.78
He knows things about
your situation that only He
00:20:47.81\00:20:52.65
can know because He
hears every meeting discussion.
00:20:52.68\00:20:57.09
Now, if there's a meeting
in another room that you're
00:20:57.12\00:21:01.32
not there, God hears it.
00:21:01.36\00:21:03.83
If they're discussing your
career in a management meeting,
00:21:03.86\00:21:08.26
God hears it.
00:21:08.30\00:21:09.76
Whatever is going on that's
going to affect your work life,
00:21:09.80\00:21:13.70
God already knows it.
00:21:13.74\00:21:15.90
He knows them and He knows you.
00:21:15.94\00:21:19.84
Trust Him to keep you
even when things look bleak.
00:21:19.87\00:21:24.68
Now, what is God's
purpose for allowing you to work
00:21:24.71\00:21:28.65
where you work?
00:21:28.68\00:21:30.39
Do you think that He gave
you a job just so that you could
00:21:30.42\00:21:33.15
buy things?
00:21:33.19\00:21:34.52
Do you think that He gave
you a job just so you could
00:21:34.56\00:21:36.66
have more than
everybody else around you?
00:21:36.69\00:21:39.26
Or, just to be
able to pay your bills?
00:21:39.29\00:21:41.23
Why do you think
He put you there?
00:21:41.26\00:21:43.67
Well, here's the answer...
00:21:43.70\00:21:45.70
He wants you to be His
hands in that situation.
00:21:45.73\00:21:52.21
He wants you to bless and
encourage all of the people
00:21:52.24\00:21:56.54
you work with.
00:21:56.58\00:21:57.91
Christ also wants you
to live as He would live.
00:21:57.95\00:22:02.32
Now let's take a look at
a couple of situations...
00:22:02.35\00:22:06.22
Do any of these
behaviors measure up to
00:22:06.25\00:22:09.59
Christ's expectations?
00:22:09.62\00:22:12.53
We're at work and the printer...
00:22:14.83\00:22:18.07
We have to wait
for it a little bit.
00:22:18.13\00:22:20.20
Ehh, not up to standard?
00:22:20.24\00:22:25.97
Ahh, it's a toner problem.
00:22:26.01\00:22:28.48
Let's fix it... ahh,
ahh - it's not fixed,
00:22:31.28\00:22:38.99
and we have a
bigger toner problem.
00:22:39.02\00:22:41.16
I'm pretty
exasperated at this point.
00:22:41.19\00:22:45.73
I just would want a
copy of what's on my screen.
00:22:45.76\00:22:49.33
Wowww...
00:22:54.24\00:22:57.87
I'm not sure at this
moment if this is exactly
00:22:57.91\00:23:00.68
what Jesus would do.
00:23:00.71\00:23:03.85
Have you ever gone to
work and had a co-worker
00:23:06.25\00:23:09.08
that just picked with
you, said snide things,
00:23:09.12\00:23:13.76
did things, have
you ever been fed up?
00:23:13.79\00:23:18.93
After one more time...
00:23:18.96\00:23:28.47
I'm sure there's a better
way of impressing the Gospel.
00:23:28.50\00:23:34.74
Have you ever worked
on a program that just
00:23:36.21\00:23:38.71
didn't work and instead of
praying for peace and guidance,
00:23:38.75\00:23:44.15
you tried to do it yourself.
00:23:44.19\00:23:50.16
God wants you to be
elevated to the highest position
00:23:54.96\00:23:58.23
that He can trust you with.
00:23:58.27\00:23:59.97
He doesn't care
what your title is.
00:24:00.00\00:24:02.50
He's not concerned with
whether or not you're the CEO
00:24:02.54\00:24:06.74
or the chairman of the board.
00:24:06.78\00:24:08.44
He wants to make you
the head and not the tail.
00:24:08.48\00:24:14.02
I remember years ago
- in my office at work,
00:24:14.05\00:24:18.35
people came in and they
were asking me my story...
00:24:18.39\00:24:22.02
"How did you get here?"
00:24:22.06\00:24:24.36
One young man in particular,
said, "Eric, I'm looking at
00:24:24.39\00:24:29.56
where you are - I'm not
quite sure where you came from,
00:24:29.60\00:24:33.13
"Can you share your story?"
00:24:33.17\00:24:35.20
So I said, "Sure."
00:24:35.24\00:24:36.57
I said, "I was born
not to wealth or privilege,
00:24:36.60\00:24:39.81
but I was born to parents
who actually knew who God was
00:24:39.84\00:24:44.35
and loved Jesus Christ and
they raised me the right way,
00:24:44.38\00:24:49.02
but I went sideways and
a lot of the things that I
00:24:49.05\00:24:53.69
should have done, I
didn't... because I wanted
00:24:53.72\00:24:57.16
to do it my way and I had
dreams of making it to the top.
00:24:57.19\00:25:01.43
I had dreams of grandeur, being
in charge of the whole world."
00:25:01.46\00:25:05.37
You do sometimes
when you have no idea
00:25:05.73\00:25:07.54
what reality is
going to bring you...
00:25:07.57\00:25:09.30
And during the
journey, I lost sight of what
00:25:09.34\00:25:13.04
they had taught me and
that was to hold on to the
00:25:13.07\00:25:15.74
hand of Jesus
Christ along the way.
00:25:15.78\00:25:19.21
As with all stories that
start with "I deviated from the
00:25:19.25\00:25:22.68
path that God wanted me
to be on," my story had the
00:25:22.72\00:25:26.89
same amount of pain.
00:25:26.92\00:25:28.26
It had the same amount
of challenges in things
00:25:28.29\00:25:31.86
that I could not
overcome on my own.
00:25:31.89\00:25:34.10
Let me share this
with you, just a tip...
00:25:34.13\00:25:36.67
The things are in
front of you, you will not
00:25:36.70\00:25:38.83
be able to do without God.
00:25:38.87\00:25:40.54
So as I thought of all
the things God had brought me
00:25:40.57\00:25:43.27
through, the amazing challenges,
the problems that were overcome,
00:25:43.30\00:25:47.88
and it definitely was
not me, it was by His power.
00:25:47.91\00:25:52.01
In fact, at that moment,
as I looked at this young man
00:25:52.05\00:25:54.58
that was asking me
how did you get here...
00:25:54.62\00:25:57.15
I thought, "I wonder what
he's going through, I wonder
00:25:57.19\00:26:01.26
what things he is experiencing."
00:26:01.29\00:26:03.76
"God, the things that
You've allowed me to go through
00:26:03.79\00:26:06.63
and overcome, the miracles
that You've done for me,
00:26:06.66\00:26:10.50
can I get these across to him?"
00:26:10.53\00:26:12.63
So at that point, again he
repeats, "How did you get here?"
00:26:12.67\00:26:17.54
The only answer I
could give him was, "God."
00:26:17.57\00:26:22.54
I didn't give him a book, I
didn't give him a Bible study,
00:26:22.58\00:26:26.01
I just wanted him to
know my testimony based on
00:26:26.05\00:26:29.48
what God has done for
me... here's how you get here.
00:26:29.52\00:26:34.06
Now in your life, I don't know
what God has planned for you,
00:26:34.09\00:26:37.76
but it is something big.
00:26:37.79\00:26:40.30
I don't know what your
talent is, but God wants to
00:26:40.33\00:26:43.53
use that to His glory
and He wants to elevate you
00:26:43.57\00:26:47.24
if He can trust you.
00:26:47.27\00:26:48.60
He wants you to put you
in places that when people
00:26:48.64\00:26:51.51
see you - they go, "Woww,
I wonder what a relationship
00:26:51.54\00:26:56.38
with Jesus Christ really is.
00:26:56.41\00:26:58.51
You see, you're going to
work, but it's not just so that
00:26:58.55\00:27:01.92
you can pay your
bills, buy that nice house,
00:27:01.95\00:27:04.69
drive a nice car,
wear nice clothes...
00:27:04.72\00:27:07.66
God is putting you
where He wants you to be
00:27:07.69\00:27:10.83
so that He can use you
to be His hands and fingers
00:27:10.86\00:27:15.20
in that situation.
00:27:15.23\00:27:16.56
Pray every morning as you read
your Bible, as you talk to Him
00:27:16.60\00:27:22.24
to be a witness for Him
and a power in the workplace.
00:27:22.27\00:27:26.61
Remember, you may be powerless
over what they can do to you,
00:27:26.64\00:27:32.81
but never forget they
are totally powerless to stop
00:27:32.85\00:27:37.35
what God will do for you.
00:27:37.39\00:27:39.25
Until next time...
"Keep Working the Dream!"
00:27:39.29\00:27:42.79
This is Eric Kelly.
00:27:42.82\00:27:45.73