The other day as I was driving to Lunch I saw a guy with a Board advertising some rental properties…. A usual scene when you drive through the bay area… most of the time you see people standing with the boards shaped like an arrow pointing to the location of the rental properties… and most times their instructions are to never stand still and always do something to get the notice of the people coming that way…. Typically they listen to music from their MP3 while moving to the beats….

But this young man in his 20s was there and instead of listening the music or having ear plugs he was tossing the board in various acrobatic moves… rotating the board on one hand… rotating it on his head… then on his back and back in his hand when he waves it at the passersby….  breaks for a moment and starts all over again…. I had only the time at the signal to witness this…. but this was the first time I saw someone add some creativity to doing this kind of work…. he must be self empowered… I don’t know the guy’s story but the sight told me how a person can give everything he has to whatever he does… change it and make it work for him….. I waved him as I passed by and he waved back and from my rear view mirror I could see the guy in the car behind also presented him with a smile and a nod…

May be he was hired because he displayed this acrobatic skill… may be he is doing it because he felt if he has to do it why not do it the way he liked and add his bit of creativity into the equation…. either way he had something that tells you that he would go forward in life…. This is such a monotonous job…… In short he was self empowered to do something differently and move on… not many people do that… at least in the tech field that I work… I often hear people complaining about things more than saying ‘wow’ that is a fine role I am in….. I am not saying people don’t give their best….. But many times you don’t hear people say how much they love what they do…. may be they do… but they dont say it….

It is true…. when you work for money and always feel underpaid….. what surfaces is always what you don’t like…. I have seen people come out of meeting saying… that was an interesting session….. but I have heard more people get out of meetings happy that it ended…. When I say people it also includes me..

The fact is many times there is a limit to what the company or work environment or your colleagues can do to make you feel wanted, important and cool…. one should accept it…. we should be self empowered and creative enough to enjoy the work… the challenges and the problems that come with it….. we should find our way through…..

When we feel bored… unwanted…. I guess that is the right time to change… no, not change jobs…. but make a change… question conventions… question the ‘as is’ situation…. say lets try this…. even try it and show it….. But what stops us from is that fear of failure…. but why fear failure when you already feel bad about doing the job…. why fear when you are already bored…. you can always try another boring job… may be slightly more boring and lesser paying…. but the point is you get to change….. if you are not allowed to change… fight for the change….. may be only fighters enjoy the ride……

Categories: Articles, Creativity, Management