Go Break Some Rules

First, some upcoming news: I am going to be co-hosting a podcast called “Pursuing Your Calling” which should be released on Monday April 18th 2011.

Last weekend my friend made an interesting statement. He pointed out that our grandparents generation was all about innovation. They made all the rule books and set up systems to follow while they were developing the world. Next our parents generation was about following the rules. The rules and plans that their parents put into place. Now our generation is about collaboration. We want to effectively work together to come up with the best solution.

Taking that thought a step further, our generation does not like following the rules if there are better ways to do things. You will realize this in any discussion on generational differences. Our parents generation claims our generation is lazy. I admit that some of us are lazy but I take offense if anyone even remotely calls me lazy.

Here is an example. We are expected to be at work at least 8 hours a day (or more). What if complete my job in 4 hours where I meet or exceed the quality of the of the people which take 8 hours? If I leave I am called lazy.

In one of my previous jobs I was in charge of a pretty big project. There were many days I would leave a little early. In my exit interview my manager told me the only thing he had fault with was that I would leave too early sometimes. In the next sentence he told me he originally hired me and would hire me again because of my ability to get things done. It sounds like leaving early was not too important but it was something he had to cover for the sake of perception.

Don’t think I was screwing the company out of money. I was putting in my required time but since I would stay late on some days I would leave early on others. I just worked my butt off efficiently, focusing on results and not time.

To sum it up, my generation has a point. The point is: don’t blindly follow industrial economy rules in a thought based economy. Some rules have a point but be willing to question them for the sake of doing things better.