Four Keys to Success in your Career

Background:

In June of 2010 I experienced a career defining moment.  In that month a large project of mine failed and for the next two months I went to work in a haze of confusion.  Void of passion, I went through the motions of work, while internally I searched for meaning in my career.  In August of that year, I was praying and the Lord laid on my heart a profound truth which caused me to fear:  I work for the Lord and not an earthly company.  Even though going through the motions at work was acceptable to the company, the holding back of my talent and effort was cheating God, my true boss. 

Since then I have devoted myself to technical study, and continual development.  I have met with a number of well respected and successful people within Lexmark, other Lexington companies, and academia, with the intent of understanding what traits and what course of direction a successful man takes.  Now a year later I have compiled 4 simple rules that are required for me to be successful.  I don’t pretend that these rules will work for everyone, but rather they were formulated in the image of the man I would like to be.  When I am at the end of my career if a young man asks me my secret to success I will tell him the following:

Be Humble

Be Helpful

Deliver

Be Excellent

Be Humble.

We all know that humility is a virtue to be strived for, but few truly realize the requisite nature of humility to be successful at work.  Consider the following:

Without humility, there is no teamwork.

Without humility, communication becomes one way.

Without humility objective reasoning becomes fatally flawed with subjectivity.

Without humility there is no path for God, the fount of creativity.

Be Helpful

The following statement is packed with truth:  It is better to be valued than important.  An important person has experience, a valuable person uses that experience to help others.  An important person demands respect, a helpful person commands respect.  An important person is feared and avoided, but a helpful person is sought out and valued.  Regardless of ones list of deliverables, no job is more important than how we treat those around us; therefore be truly helpful to all who ask.

Deliver

Always be delivering. If you design something, deliver that design in a well organized way.  If you fix something, deliver an FA so the overall design will improve.  If you have a meeting deliver meeting notes.  If you find your job turning into a constant critique of others – STOP – you are doing it wrong. Always be delivering.

Be Excellent

This is the last for a reason: it is the least important of the four points.  If excellence stands in the way of humility, helpfulness, or delivery, then chose the greater.  Processes improve.  Designs improve. People improve.  Always strive for excellence.  Learn from mistakes, and actively find ways to prevent them from reoccurring.  Be Excellent.  This comes naturally to those who are being sanctified; although I am not excellent now I am striving toward it!