This book re-inspired me and reignited my passion for what I do. I tell people I love my job but after reading this and going through the exercises I have come to realize that I really do LOVE my job. I have my dream job working and plus I work best people in the world. Well of course you do, you might say. You work at FranklinCovey where the people are highly effective, right?

Well I’ll be totally transparent here; we don’t always walk the talk. We try but we don’t always succeed. While reading this book I have come to realize now that we don’t walk the talk because of me. If I had lived by my Contribution Statement (which I have now created by examining my talents, passions, and skills) and if I were a trim tab, I could change the corporate culture. Really, I could make a difference.  I could be the singular irreplaceable one uniquely qualified to make that kind of difference. And even if others didn’t see or feel the shift, I would and I would know and my paradigms are my reality.

The book is divided into 3 parts: Conscience, Cause and Building a Village, each section includes exercises.

The Conscience exercise was a difficult pill to for me to swallow. They ask the question:  What is your real responsibility to your organization, to your customers and co-workers?

Well…

To my organization I applied a revenue number.

To my customers I applied the responsibility of creating and offering quality products and services that would help them further their mission by improving their lives.

And to my co-workers, my responsibility is to cheer them on, to offer solutions, to give my creative energies.

Wow! This was an eye opening moment for me. My moral compass and conscience told me that I had been a cynic, set up some roadblocks, and withheld my best ideas because of a scarcity mentality.

In this exercise I created a Contribution Statement for myself that applies my talents and passions to course correcting my attitude.  My goal is to be a trim tab.

So take a minute and share, what is your real responsibility to your organization, to your customers and co-workers?

We would love to hear from you.

Click here to join me for my next post, where I will discuss the more about my experince reading Great Work, Great Career.

 Author:  Annie Oswald