Passion and Commitment

If you work for a man in heavens name
Work for him
Speak well of him
And stand by the institution he represents
Remember that an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness
If you must growl, condemn, and eternally find fault
Why? Resign your position
And when you are on the outside
Damn it to your hearts content
But as long as you are part of this institution
Do not condemn it!
For if you do so
The first high wind that comes along
Will blow you away
And probably, you will never know why

I bet some of you have heard of this literary work. I actually know this by heart and wrote down the words without skipping a beat. This is one of the few stuff I needed to remember while joining my good 'ol college org. Looking back, these words have shaped my professional career in the realm of employer-employee relationships. I have always had the stand that if you commit yourself to something, you should exert all efforts to make it succeed. I believe a lot of my colleagues can attest to that.

One thing I like about my current employer is the value of Passion and Commitment. Amongst all the corporate values, I find this the most important - and I consistently tell my staff about it. This is the key ingredient to a top performer.

Then again, Passion and Commitment, like everything else... fades.

There comes a point in time when one loses the passion and becomes less committed to the work. This is typically caused by a fork in the road, wherein both the employer and the employee start seeing differences in direction. This is NOT a bad thing. Its just the way things are. You will not always have the same plans and directions as that of your company, boss, stakeholders, and even your staff. You will not always see things eye-to-eye. If it were so, everyone would be working for the same company 'til they die.

What is bad however, is to force oneself in a situation that he is not agreeable with. You cannot walk to the left if you really want to go right. It's just not right (pun intended). It's ok to influence, discuss, and dialogue to come to an agreement... BUT when it becomes clear that plans and directions are different, then its time to go. You will only be doing a disservice to your employer if you decide to stay but not agree. It will only cause strife, both to you and your employer (and even other employees) if this setup is maintained. This results to a lose-lose situation.

It is good to remember that while you may have differences with your employer, there are a lot of like-minded employers out there who have the same vision and direction as you. Its just a matter of meeting them down the road.

Right now, I know a lot of folks have this in mind. Hence I decided to write about it. And I do hope no one gets blown away by the first high wind that comes along.