The Asia Pacific Headhunter

Thinking About Zen, Careers and Spiritual Work

As an Executive Search Consultant I'm constantly talking with people about their careers. The funny thing is that most people don't think about it that much. Certainly not as much as I thought they would considering the amount of time and effort they are putting into it. Studies show that most people spend more time at work than they do with their family. For such a huge investment of their time it's still quite rare for me to talk with a candidate who's extensively mapped out the career path they seek, or even a candidate who has put a lot of effort into understanding what makes them happy at work.

However, I can undeniably say that the candidates who are the greatest pleasure to work with are those who've taken the time to know themselves well. And more often than not those who have tend to get a great deal of satisfaction from what they do, not just their title, remuneration or the quality of company they work for. One of the best books I've read on the concept of getting satisfaction from the work you do is "Finding Flow". The concept involves searching for those moments when you feel most productive, when you are really into your work and trying to create them more regularly.

I'm currently reading another book, "Zen at Work" by Les Kaye. Kaye is interviewed online here where he gives a peek into his experience of studying Zen and why it helped him in the workplace (Kaye worked for IBM in Silicon Valley). Although he goes to great pains to say it didn't necessarily help his career, it's interesting that he obviously believes that in can be very beneficial for anyone to consider work as a spiritual practice:

Through continued Zen meditation practice, one comes to recognize that work is a spiritual activity, not just a way to earn a living. As this recognition subtly grows and takes shape, the individual very naturally approaches work with a more giving, selfless attitude. Work becomes less stressful, more joyful and creative, more collaborative as the individual becomes more reflective and less reactive in responding to work situations.

I'm most interested in whether Kaye's ideas on work being a spiritual activity can help people find more enjoyment at work. Not necessarily for any type of spiritual benefit, but mostly in the search for happiness. As Kaye says in the interview, the world of work has become more and more difficult. There are more things trying to take our time than ever before and less security as well. So if work is such a huge part of life, it would seem to be excruciatingly painful for that time to be without joy. Yet it's my experience that this is certainly the case for many people.

What's the next step? I'm just not sure, I think that the concept is wonderful, but is difficult to grasp and just the idea of "spiritual" is likely to turn a lot of people off immediately. However, I truly believe that if you are going to find happiness in your career, or even just in your everyday work then considering a search for deeper meaning than just pay and benefits could be the answer. Although it mightn't necessarily be Zen or "Flow", I do believe the search would be beneficial. And if you've found another way, then feel free to share in the comments.

 

Are you part of a MicroTrend?

We're always looking out for new upcoming trends. Magazines publish Top Ten lists of trends of the past and upcoming year, the decade, the millenium. I'd go so far as to say trendspotting is a trend -- take a look at Forbes which has a whole section on Trendsurfing.

We love numbers too. They validate why we do things, why we should do things or which course of action to take. And so armed with numbers, Mark J. Penn's Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Today's Big Changes identifies some pretty interesting and diverse "microtrends" -- groups that are emerging in all areas of life. Heard of "Extreme Commuters" (people clocking in more than 90 min. each way - even one who does 372-miles round-trip every day!!!), "New Luddites" (young, urban & employed who refuse to use computers, cellphones, etc.), "Neglected Dads", "Archery Moms" (rise in interest and participation in niche sports and decline in the big sports: baseball, basketball, hockey) and "Cougars" (older women dating/marrying men at least a decade younger)?

A polling analyst and strategist for over 30 years, Penn's been consulting with politicians and corporations, specializing in discovering and targeting niche groups (think "Soccer Moms" during the Bill Clinton era). In MicroTrends, he identifies 75 groups who, although relatively small in number (say 1% of a population), will have a large impact on society as a whole (when you consider the US population to be 300 million, that 1% is pretty big). A common trait these groups share is that they are under the radar at the moment and are being under-served in terms of policies, services or products. And while they're mostly in the U.S., there are lots of microtrends emerging in other countries such as Vietnamese entrepreneurs, Chinese artists and the rise of Indian women in politics and business.

These microtrends are somewhat similar to  Chris Anderson's The Long Tail, where there are all these niche market segments of people who have interests that may seem bizarre or so completely off the beaten track. We should all take note of these important untapped markets, especially entrepreneurs, corporate managers, and policy makers.

It's an interesting read - a neat insight into how things will change and kind of a "heads up" for those in the position to take the opportunity to serve these niche groups.

And as many people do at the beginning of the new year, they take stock of where they are in their career and gauge how far they've progressed towards their goals or whether they want to change their direction. By keeping an open mind to opportunities opened up by these microtrends, you could find yourself in a new and exciting position, company, or career that you hadn't planned on.

Career Success Resources

I'd like to put together some pages and/or blog posts to review and list career success resources. I get a lot of questions on career management and career success and while I have some strong opinions and ideas myself I'd be really interested in any readers thoughts on books, blogs, podcasts, speeches, guide books or anything else you've read or seen that you felt made a difference for you in your career. So please leave a comment with the resource, and if possible a couple of reasons why you like it and I'll let you know once I've put together the final list. I think in particular if you have resources that you feel are more relevant to motivated employees in the Asia Pacific I'd really be keen to hear about them.

Getting Real From 37 Signals

Yesterday I downloaded the PDF book Getting Real from 37 Signals. I have been using their web application Backpack for a year and while it hasn't been the most useful tool for me, I do love the idea and philosophy behind the software and the company. The idea of less is more is one that hasn't occurred to most software companies. But 37 Signals has made it their mantra with some great success.

So I was expecting their first book to be interesting but not necessarily groundbreaking. However, there are some fantastic ideas in this book and it is such a quick and exciting read that it was well worth the investment. I highly recommend it for anyone, although it would probably help to have an interest in the software industry. Without that some parts will be a little bland.

BTW, I can tell you the exact part in their pitch of the book that sold me on buying it:

"37signals used the Getting Real process to launch five successful web-based applications (Basecamp,  Campfire, Backpack, Writeboard, Ta-da List), and Ruby on Rails, an open-source web application framework, in just two years with no outside funding, no debt, and only 7 people (distributed across 7 time zones). Over 400,000 people around the world use these applications to get things done."

I love the idea that a small company can work across time zones and achieve so much with their major resource being creativity. And that is really the theme throughout the book itself. Using size restraints to actually achieve more. Staying small and using that to your advantage rather than considering it a negative. I do a lot of recruiting for the software industry. Often software companies will say that their only barrier to growth is the number of good developers they can hire. Getting Real throws that claim right into the trash with some really interesting arguments.

Jack Welch Interview

Great video interview with Jack Welch available here on his business philosophy and new book, "Winning". I read his last book "Jack: Straight From the Gut" and there is a lot in there that makes sense for careers and recruiting. In fact if you watch the video interview you will see how passionate Jack is about Human Resources and how much of a difference he feels they make in business.

One of the reasons I recommend reading Jack's business philosophy is that for many people who aren't in management roles  in their careers the ideas of "big business" seem to be pretty far from where your own life maybe, but in Jack Welch's case this is not true. The ideas he gives can be applied directly to your work and business in a day to day fashion as the world is right now.

In my mind the most influential of Jack's words for those of you in business and trying to develop your career in these extremely trying times is to FACE REALITY. And he really means reality. In his opinion if people aren't performing in their positions then they should be fired and given a chance to go perform somewhere else.  Furthermore he also believes there is no place in business for people who don't want to win. Satisfied paying customers are the only people capable of providing you with job security in his opinion.

My take on this is that Jack is not only right he is also extremely kind in sharing this knowledge. There are too many groups for whom it is easy not to share the reality of the global workplace where no government intervention is truly capable of stopping the reality of outsourcing and competitive abilities of other countries.  Without facing this reality I truly think career setbacks can be extremely painful for many people. However, armed with this reality check it isn't hard to go into work tomorrow and work out whether or not you have any true job security.

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Blink - Malcolm Gladwell

If you would like to listen in on Malcolm Gladwell talking about his new book - Blink - then head over here to IT Conversations. Some really fascinating insights for Recruiters, especially in his example about recruiting for symphony orchestras. Just a very interesting topic and his first book - The Tipping Point is great as well although I am sure a lot of you have already read it.