Do versus Change

A CEO asked a senior executive candidate in an interview what she changed at her last job? The candidate gave a list of all the things she did. The CEO politely asked again,”No. I didn’t ask what you did. I asked what you changed?” The candidate was not prepared for this question. She did not get the job but years later, when she became a CEO herself, she talked about how that question changed the way she “did” her job.

 Certainly, there are parts of everyone’s job that require you to “do” but the “doing” has to result in a positive change, she now argues. She adopted this approach for herself, her team and her company. It is the first question she asks when she does anyone’s performance review.

This week, think about this question. Look at your calendar and take inventory of your work. How much of it is “do” versus “do and change”? Start to build a repository of all the things that you are changing (making better). You will find that not only will you be able to have a great answer in your reviews/interviews, but you will delightfully enjoy them both and alot more of what you “do”!

Power of Core Values

I will often ask an audience to tell me what their core values are. Some seemed surprised by the question, as it is not one that comes up in most conversations and relationships. Most, however, respond with values like Integrity, Honesty, Respect, and such like. After the first few, people typically throw out many others that are similar but it is obvious to me that they are responding in “brainstorming mode” as opposed to a mode where these values are carefully thought of and selected.  I then ask how they feel when one or more of these values are compromised? Do they feel good? How upset do they get? For how long do they “check out” from that relationship? How many violations of each core value need to occur before giving up on the relationship? The reality is that we all have values but only a few of us have truly processed them, prioritized them, analyzed their roles in our lives, and have prepared ourselves for a response when they are violated.