Complacency Soufflé
"You can call me Earl, but just don't call me complacent" -C. E. Reid
Adjective: complacent kum'pleysunt
Contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions
- "he had become complacent after years of success"
- self-satisfied, self-complacent
See also: complacently, content, contented
Even those of us that don't cook understand the delicate balance required between mixing the ingredients and environment to prevent a souffle from caving in. The same balance is required in managing our careers. There is a big difference between walking a tight rope and walking on a 4" balance beam. Which one we walk on, is totally in our power to control.Last week, I was at networking event hosted by ETP Network. During the course of mingling with people, I spoke with 3 people who had different backgrounds, but presented a common theme.
Since being laid off due to outsourcing, the 1st person has been looking for a job for 3 years. After leaving a company that went belly up in the dot com shake up, the 2nd person is happy to have a steady paycheck from his current employer. He says everyone is walking around afraid of losing their job. The 3rd person previously lost his job, but now works for a company where he recognizes it might not last.
The common denominator for these and similiar career stories is complacency. Allowing situations to control our career, instead of staying in control of situations, is the result of being complacent.
Recipe for Complacency Soufflé
Ingredients
1/2 lb. of don't rock the boat
201 lbs of accepting the business enviroment "as is"
(your weight can be substituted)
4 tablespoons softened attitude
2 tablespoons finely grated accomplishments
3 tablespoons status quo
1 cup hot tempers about unimportant issues
1/4 teaspoon constant anxiety about job security
Pinch of meeting sidebars during a meeting
1/2 teaspoon of being afraid to suggest new ideas
1/8 teaspoon of manager who doesn't challenge staff
2 or more people who always agree on everything
5 days a week
1 cup of telling the boss what you thing s/he wants to hear, which stymies his/her ability to make informed business decisions which impact the team and organization.
Mixing Directions
Take 5 days a week and mix all ingredients together for a whole year. Makes enough to serve a whole organization. Serve chilled, hot or frozen, depending on the season of the year when stockholders meet with senior management.
What happens next is up to you. A complacency soufflé is not fattening, but could be detrimental to a person's fiscal health.
posted by Unknown @ 9:11 AM
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