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Back in the Enron heyday, I worked with them in a couple of different capacities. I had contractors out there for a few projects and I worked with a lot of the Enron folks who were looking for a new job.

Enron had a character problem. That might not be surprising to hear, but it isn’t the character problem that most people associate with Enron.

The upper management absolutely had a problem with lying, greed, and an unhealthy level of competition.

But upper management doesn’t really set the character of any company after it gets to be a certain size. The employees set the character.

That was the case at Enron and it is the case at your company, too.

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Once upon a time many, many years ago, I had interviewed extensively for a combination sales and technical position. The man who did most of the interviewing was actually the boss 2 levels up (because the manager position was currently open) and we got along very well.

They made an offer and I accepted. Upon reporting to my first day of work, I met the new manager who was actually a longtime salesperson at the company. Usually, that would be good news as salespeople understand other salespeople.

Usually…

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When I was a salesman for a number of different technology service organizations, it was always interesting to hear about my clients’ impression of the company I worked for.

Usually, they would describe my company as concerned with their needs, responsive to their questions / problems / issues, and able to tackle just about anything. So, in short, “helpful”.

However that was not the company that I knew. The company that I knew, on several occasions, acted more like the several-times-the-legal-limit drunk-last-night-and-now-seriously-hung-over parent of a two-year-old who just wants the noise to stop, the room to stop spinning, and to have a few moments of peace.

The difference in the impressions came from the fact that I was the most common face of my company that they saw. So, in the end, I was the company as far as the client was concerned.

Everybody is representing somebody every day of their lives. So, the big question becomes who are you representing today?

Read on to try to figure this out…

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There are an increasing number of churches these days (including some of the largest in the country) that have given up talking about “negative things” and are teaching a “health and wealth” doctrine.

That is, if you have enough faith, God will grant you all of the good things here on Earth that you could ever desire. You’ll be rich, healthy, and without any real problems in your life.

This is a very popular teaching, particularly with us Americans, because it only makes (human) sense that if we make God happy, He’ll give us stuff. Sort of like a heavenly genie.

With this in mind, a lot of people start wondering what it means when they get laid off, can’t find a job, or are just plain unhappy in their jobs. Is God mad at them? Have they done something wrong? Do they not have enough faith?

Luckily, none of those things are (probably) true. Read on to find out why not.

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In Houston, our beloved City Hall has enacted a “Safe Tow” program. What this means is that a certain towing company gets a contract for a certain section of highway (that’s “freeway” for those of you from up North…)

If anyone breaks down on that section of highway, a tow truck is automatically dispatched (at city - read: taxpayer - expense) to help the motorist on his way. The idea is that it helps people get going faster and also reduces clogs (and additional accidents) on the highways due to rubberneckers.

Oh - it also has one other side effect. People no longer stop to help other people who are broken down on the shoulder. “Well, I’m involuntarily paying for ‘Safe Clear’, anyway. They’ll help those people,” most folks think.

Unfortunately, as Christians, I think we sometimes do the same thing in our work lives.

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I can only imagine what it’s like to be a doctor out socializing. When I - a recruiter - get out in public, everyone either runs from me (which may or may not be related to me being a recruiter) or starts asking about getting a job, me looking at their resume, or - best of all - something like, “My nephew is coming to live in Houston. Can you get him a job? I’m pretty sure he does something with computers…”

But every now and again, I run into someone who has been having a tough time looking for a job. I remember one woman from my church who kept getting lowballed on salary. It was really frustrating to her to not be seen for her worth.

“What do they say when you counteroffer?” I asked. “Well, I don’t really feel comfortable doing that. Shouldn’t they offer me what they think I’m worth?”

This begins to get into my why women are paid less than men article, but I’m not going there today.

Today, I’m going to provide a little encouragement for any of you who - like this woman - are trying to rely on God, but having some self-worth questions during your job search.

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I know that there are a lot of people who will give the quick, obvious answer to this one, but I ask to to stop and think a little with me first.

Then, feel free to tell me I’m an idiot and don’t know what I’m talking about…

In America, we’re taught that anyone could grow up to be President (or anything else that they wanted to be), and I suppose that’s technically true. But I think it’s beside the point.

Recently I’ve been thinking about if God will allow you to be successful in some career / line of work / job that you’re not built for.

Don’t believe that you’re build for a specific type of work? Well, today I’m going to try to convince you otherwise.

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We could talk about easy, vague stuff today like, “You should be a good person”, and, “Be more loving”. But what would the fun in that be?

No, today I want to talk about a difficult situation for most people. Something that entrepreneurs or people who want to be entrepreneurs need to be thinking about before they jump into this mass of unpredictable, swirling water.

It’s not about raising money or business plans or “how to sell for non-salespeople”. No, it’s about if becoming an entrepreneur will have you denying the faith.

Doesn’t that sound like fun?

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When I was all young and idealistic (obviously before I became a recruiter), I figured the people that I worked with would work hard, tell the truth, and do whatever was necessary to earn the money that they were paid for their jobs.

The intervening years have disabused me of that notion.

One thing that I haven’t lost is the idealism of “How a Christian Should Act”. While I now realize that we’re all going to screw up and act in a way unbecoming our Father from time to time, that doesn’t change the general standard for “How To Act”, whether in the workplace or not.


HOW DO WE ACT AT WORK?

For instance, I’ve been surprised when it’s come up that some of my co-workers in the past are Christians. These are some of the same people who did their work (intentionally) half-fast, played politics with other peoples’ careers, and stolen from the company in various ways.

I was shocked. And then I hoped that both I didn’t act that way and people didn’t see my true character that way. But I knew that they did.


HOW DO WE ACT WHEN WE’RE OUT OF WORK?

While all of these things revealed the character of a person, nothing really cuts through the masks that we all put on like being out of work. That’s when we know what our true character really is.

Think back to the last time you were without a job (that may be right now). Did you do things that you wouldn’t “normally” do? Things that you aren’t very proud of and would rather “leave in the past”, never to see them again?

I’ve got some bad news learned from personal experience: First, what you saw when you were laid off was your true character with all of the niceties pulled away. Second, that character is going to continue to show itself (though more subtly) until you deal with it. You probably have “slipped” and showed that character at work, haven’t you?

I know I have.

No big preachiness here today - just some advice to go to God and work with Him to get your character right. He’s the only one that can do it.


Enjoy the Search

-Dan


Photo by: The Plunkmaster

[Just a note, on Monday, I might sound preachy and you might experience burning and itching. If so, just come back tomorrow and it’ll be all better.]

Frequently, when I talk to candidates, I’ll hear the phrase, “I’m never gonna get rich doing this!”

Obviously, many of them are just joking, but I always ask, “Is that why you’re working?”

More importantly, is the goal of working to be rich? And, since I can’t resist creating trouble, is that what God has planned for you? Or me?

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