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Coming up, signs that your ideal job doesn't exist and then Uber and Starbucks, CEOs are taking
shifts on the front line. People are applauded in. Like it's a new great idea. We'll talk about it.
Helping you win at work so that you're winning in life and we do that two ways. I want you to
be in the right seat on the right bus. That's professionally so that you are winning financially
and relationally because your work affects so much of your life. So that's what we're going to do.
And I've got to get some really interesting conversational data to share with you to start
today's show because I've been wrestling with this for some time. You know, this is a very common
phrase related to work called a dream job. But the way I view a dream job, the way you view a dream job
can be and many times is very, very different. So I recently interviewed a panel of high school
students in the local area here of Tennessee and it was for a project that we've been telling you
about our foundations and career discovery course. And I wanted real teenagers in there to discuss
work from a variety of angles. And I'm going to show you just a moment, just a brief little moment
of us talking about the concept of phrase a dream job is a dream job defined by reality or is it
fantasy? Watch the conversation. The dream job. You guys are laughing. What does that mean?
Does that is that a fairytale or is it a thing? I want to know what teenagers think.
I feel like almost like this is kind of mean, but like it seems like something that you'd want
to laugh at. Like I still was like, Oh, I'm doing my dream job. It reminds me of them like settling.
I don't know if that makes sense. Really? Like I feel like it has this choice of like,
Oh, I could make money or I could go like that seems the options of making money or like in
doing more like everyone wants me to do or my dream job. Wow. Are you guys shaking your heads?
Because you agree with that? That the dream job, let me make sure I heard you that that's good.
The dream job is something that's really awesome and enjoyable, but I can't make much money. Yeah.
Really? I know when I say it a lot, I know it's not true, but that's fully what I believe.
That's what's been ingrained into our brains. How has that happened? Well, because there's certain
like sort of like majors or certain sort of career paths that people think that are just like a
one and done opportunity that people think that, Oh, like only a few people like if you want to go
into fine arts, if you want to go into art, if you want to go into fashion, people claim those
types of like career paths, career choices that just like hit or miss. So like, like really risky.
Yeah. So like, normally that's why people like, I agree with you, where people view that as like a
like a dream job versus like the original like what you listed before, like either like a lawyer
engineer or teacher, that's like the actual like financial job. What I'm hearing you all say
is that it's been ingrained into you that the phrase dream job really is fantasy.
See that so I hit it. Oh, I'm so sad. I am.
Wow, there it is folks. These are teenagers. They got sat around and talk about dream job and
what it means. And so here I am, this middle aged dude who throws it out at him. And the big takeaway is
twofold. One that the dream job is something that feels good, but doesn't pay good.
It's something that you can't live off of. It's fantastical in nature.
That's wrong, but that is a, that is one part of the narrative on what the phrase, the words dream
job mean, I think to most people.
Enjoyable, not feasible. Great, but doesn't pay me well.
And in the second way that a lot of people look at it was very clear is that it's this idea that
is actually impossible. Zero percent chance. I give you an example. If I look at my life,
so if I were to take myself back to the age of those young people in that living room set there,
my dream job would have been to play point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers.
But folks, just as it was true then, it is true now. There is zero point zero to infinity and
beyond chance of the playing point guard for the Lakers. Like no chance. Thank you, Nathan.
Nathan is shaking his head vociferously. He knows there's no chance. Like, like when I say this,
like, you guys get it. I'm having fun at my expense. Nathan gets it. Like, no shot.
Like zeros to infinity ever happening. Well, that is a fantasy.
A fantasy is unbelievable, but a dream is achievable. And that's the difference.
A dream is not this fantasy that I've allowed myself to kind of float into. A dream is I can see it.
I know it's possible and I dream about it. I don't fantasize. I think about it. It's in my mind.
It's in my subconscious. That's the difference. But what are discouraging
and demotivating way to look at that phrase? So I'm not going to try to redefine it here on the show.
But I do want us to see that the things we think about and long for, not in a moment of just crazy
fantasy, but I keep returning to these thoughts. And I know deep in my heart, it might be very,
very hard, but it is also very possible.
So the fantasy, how do we know if it's fantasy when you know there's zero shot, the Lakers
can be an employee card or Lakers, zero shot. Why? I don't have the talent.
Done. End of story. I'm five foot nine. Can't jump over a piece of paper. It wasn't ever
really a great shooter. There's no chance. So how do we know then that the dream is possible?
Do I have the talent? I got the core talent through education and experience. I can hone it into a
sharpened skill. Do I care deeply about it? So why use the word passion? Do I love the work
deeply? I'm willing to suffer rejection, suffer patience, suffer failure. Come on. That's passion.
And then third, do I care deeply about the results of the work? It's not just the enjoyment of the
work. It is the satisfaction, the conviction of the results. That is when we know it is in fact a dream
and it is achievable. So when you begin to dismiss the dream job as a mere childhood fantasy,
come back to those three elements that I teach you must have to know that it is on purpose and
thus it is possible because you were produced by the creator, the universe produced, created to do it.
Get to get clear assessment. It'll walk you through talent, passion, and mission and hold your
idea up to it. And then you know that you know that you know that you know the dream is worth pursuing.
All right folks, welcome back to the Ken Coleman show. I am a man of the people because all I care
about on this show is helping you do what you were born to do. And that means you're going to make
really good money and you're going to feel even better, tremendous meaning and purpose. And I'm
here to help. If you're enjoying the show and you're listening via podcast, would you follow us?
And would you give us a five star review? If you are watching on YouTube, will you like the video
and subscribe and maybe give a nice comment and a share, share, share all the way down the board.
I would appreciate that. Hey parents, I launched my very first curriculum for students. Our school
system does not train kids to discover who they are uniquely built to be. They don't. They teach
them all the other stuff. All you get your stem, you got all your other stuff. They are uniquely
and wonderfully made. And as a result, they should be able to make a much more educated decision about
what their future is as it relates to education and training. And I don't want your kids being
put on the assembly line that leads them straight to a school. They cannot afford
and a degree they cannot use. That's why I launched Foundations in Career Discovery.
This is a curriculum that is a home study that you can follow along with and help your young
person do. And it is only $49.99 for one student. You can add an additional student for $30.
You get a year's worth of access to this. Do it as you go. It includes a free teacher account for
you, the parent to be able to get all the additional teacher resources and teacher we're using is
very loosely. You don't have to sit up and teach them. They can go through it. I'm teaching in
the curriculum on video. Each student gets access to my get clear assessment for students. This
assessment again reveals what you do best, what you love to do and results that motivate you. That
is vital information for self-awareness and clarity to move forward. All the details at Kencoma.com
slash student. Kencoma.com slash student. All right. So there's a new trend in corporate America.
And this makes me laugh that this is a new trend and people are like, this is amazing. I love it.
Oh, this is so good. Experts are quoted in this article and I'm not going to quote the experts
because they're acting like this is now needed more than ever. And the fact is this should have
been going on since the beginning of business. What is the trend? Well, this is a fortune article here.
The CEOs of Uber and Starbucks are picking up frontline chefs. And so, you know, you could show
up at a certain Starbucks and you roll up to the window or maybe you walk up to the counter.
And if you didn't know any better or somebody didn't tell you, the CEO could be in there apron
on giving you your drink or you could order an Uber and the CEO of Uber is picking you up.
So this is now according to this article picking up steam as CEOs are looking to deal with the lack
of engagement and also get an intimate understanding of their staff and the customer.
Now, I don't understand why this is an article. This is mind-numbingly stupid to me
that all of a sudden this is a new trend. And I'm only speaking on my, my, this is my perspective.
I see if I'm running a company that large, I'm going to be out there with the customer
on a regular basis. I want to be talking with my team. I want to know what the 16 year old
at the point of sale is experiencing. I don't want to know what the 66 year old who's helping
deliver the drink is doing. I mean, that's just to me, it's just a no brainer.
53% of workers, according to this article, believe that their employees are out of touch.
I can't believe it's that low with what employees want from company culture, according to a survey
from HR publishing platform e-learning industries.
Not surprising given to this piece of data. CEOs spend only 6% of their time with rank and file
employees on average, according to a study tracking the time allocation of 27 CEOs this done by Harvard
Business School. 6% of their time. And we wonder why the great resignation happened
and continues to happen with four plus million people quitting their jobs every month.
You got to come out of the tower.
You got to walk through the streets, leaders and can we just say this? This is not just me.
Challenging CEOs. Anybody who's listening to me and watching me right now, who is in a leadership
position, you need to be outside of your office sitting in the cubes, walking the hallways,
listening to your team as they interact with each other, as they interact with the customer, as they
interact with vendors. You need to be in the trenches.
Some of you may not have seen Saving Private Ryan,
but I'll use this as an example, any war movie where the leader of that battalion
was in the trenches taking fire. This is a battlefield scene. I'm not taking you to a scene where they're
in camp and the leader's got his tent set up and his right hand is there with him. I'm talking
battle scene. You just think of your favorite military movie, war movie, battle scene, the leader
is taking fire. They are in the trenches with their men. That's the metaphor.
You cannot lead effectively from a tower.
You say, well, Ken, there's a chain of command that works in military all the time. I get it.
But chain of command is the phrase.
The general is miles from battle,
getting reports through the chain of command. Each time that the communication of the situation
moves through the chain of command,
it loses its relevance. Is the information largely the same? Sure.
But the general's got to make a decision through all of that communication
and they're not on the ground.
How can you make the best decision if you're not truly understanding what is happening
on the ground? I applaud these CEOs for doing this. I just think it's silly that in this article,
again, I'm not going to name these experts because I don't want to. I'm not trying to poke
fun at anybody. I'm just saying they're acting like this is just some amazing, like, it's now,
it's needed now more than ever. No, it's always been needed. It will always be needed.
It is in my mind a no-brainer. Now, here's the question that I have.
And I think you leaders out there, if you see your leaders doing this and you followers out
there, if you see your leaders doing this, I think you got to pay attention to this.
Here's the question I have for the Starbucks CEO, for the Uber CEO, these other CEOs who are
supposedly doing this now more than ever. This is to me because this should always be being done.
It's not a reflection of the lack of engagement that we have coming out of the pandemic as if it's
sort of sort of this unique time in history. And so I've got to do things a little differently.
No, this is a no-brainer. But the question I have is, is it authentic or is it about performance?
I mean, are they doing this to lift morale by everybody seeing them and everybody talking about
it? Did you hear? Did you hear our CEO came in today and made Ken Coleman a white chocolate mocha?
Wow, so cool. Had to apron on and everything. Wow, talk to me. That's me. How long I've been there.
Oh, so cool. Is it a PR stunt publicly and internally or is it authentic? Are they learning?
Are they listening? Are they seeing? Are they leading differently? Because they're on the front lines.
I'll tell you, if you know, it's authentic if they keep doing it and never stop.
You are created to fill a unique role in this world through your work. That means you are needed
and it means you must do it. And yet that is so incredibly difficult for us to figure out on our
own. That's why I created an assessment that essentially interviews you as though you were
sitting with me at the kitchen table. And I was asking you about what you do best, your talents.
I was asking about the kind of work that lights your heart up. You love the work. That's passion.
And I was asking you what results do you want to put into the world? That's mission.
You take those top results, you put it in a purpose statement so that you can look at it
and see a high level job description that will keep you clear, keep you confident and keep you
courageous. The assessment is to get clear assessment is only $30 at Ken Coleman.com slash
assessment. It's digital. Keep your results a deep dive report plus that purpose statement,
which gives you so much confidence. Ken Coleman dot com slash assessment. Check it out. Let's
stay right here in Nashville in our backyard. Evan is on the line. Evan, you're on the Ken Coleman
show. Thank you. And thanks for taking my call. You bet. What's up? So over the last couple of
years, I've taken a little bit of a beating at work, but I finally settled into a company that
treats me good, but kind of underpays me. And I'm kind of getting disillusioned with the work
I've been doing for the last six or seven years. Now, my current job would allow me to go to school
and get a degree in education, which is something that I would love to do specifically what
it would be either high school or be teaching high school history or middle school history.
Yeah. All right. But you said, but one of my friends is an IT director for another company.
And he has told me they're looking to bring somebody in to do my job and it would double my income.
Okay. So what's the much? I'm kind of in this weird point because I'm kind of getting
disillusioned with working in technology. I'm not really feeling fulfilled. And is that because
is that because of the pay or is that because of the position? I think it's a little bit because
I've had some really bad work for some really bad companies very recently.
That have just treated me really poorly and also have not invested in their infrastructure
in the way they should. Right. And then, yeah. So my thing is here is I'm not 100% sure
that it's about the position. It's been about the places. And so the question I have is,
is this IT position that your friend told you about? Did you ask him to describe the day to day?
Do you have a pretty good grasp of what you would be doing?
My dad was very specialized. So it's more of the same.
Yes. Okay. Do you like that work?
Forget about the environment. I'm talking to you like the work. Does it challenge you?
Yes, it does. Do you enjoy it? If I strip out all the nonsense that you'd have to deal with,
do you enjoy the work itself? Yes.
Makes you feel good. You get lost in it. Yes.
Producers results that you care deeply about. Yes or no?
Absolutely. All right then. So you've been treated like crap. And so when you get treated
like crap, you feel like crap. And when you feel like crap, you just want to stop doing what you're
doing. But in all reality, I'm not convinced that education is the play for you. But I will
ask you this. Why are you so intrigued by education? Let's assume that I could just give you your
teacher's degree right now, your education degree, and you could go teach high school history.
What is exciting about that to you? As challenging and fulfilling as some of the work that I've done,
the most exciting and fulfilling portions of it have been when I have led training courses.
Right. So that's all I needed to know. The question now becomes
if this new job is a healthy environment where you are not treated poorly.
And you get to do the work that you already said you really enjoy in it, in the results
motivates you. And it leads to you leading some people through training.
Meaning you get the opportunity to not just do the work, but instruct and train and guide,
because that's the teacher in you. Would you take that or would you take the history position?
I don't think that you could stop me fast enough from taking that position.
Which position history or IT? The IT. I know. So the question that comes in this interview process,
you've got to do your homework with your friend. How good of a friend is this?
I've known him for about 20 years. Yeah. This is where I wish we could call the friend right now.
This what's missing from this show, by the way, on phone calls. I can want to tap into this guy,
and I want to ask him point blank. I want to say, tell me about the culture. This is what I want
you to do. I want you to say, do shoot me straight. I want you to tell him what you've experienced
over the last several years. I want you to say, does that kind of stuff happen on a regular basis?
Shoot me straight, man. What kind of culture? You know what? In fact, don't tell you. Does he know
about all the crap you've dealt with? He's kind of mental of me into my current position.
So he knows you've dealt with a lot of junk. Absolutely.
All right, then. Ask him, dude, shoot me straight. What's the culture like? That's the first and foremost.
Because you already know what the position is as it relates to doing the work you're already doing,
and then the third question, so the first question is, and we got the answer to the second. The first
one is, what kind of culture is the second question? Is this truly allowing me to do what I've already
been doing? We know the answer is yes. The third question is, will it have a component in the future
where I can train and instruct and guide? If I move up the ladder, will it move into where I can
train? Because you want to train and guide and instruct. Those are the three questions.
And in the interview process, when he's not involved, you got to you got to express that.
Say, hey, I love the work. I'm good at the work. I want to do the work.
But I want you to know that I have a heart of a teacher.
And to the extent that I can add value to this organization through this position or through
growth from this position, where I can lead, guide, train, I want to do that. I would make
that very clear in the interview process and see how they respond to that. I don't think going to
college to get a degree in education to make less than what you're making now in a public school
system that is increasingly difficult for teachers to thrive in is the right move for you,
based on what we've talked about today.
That has been my biggest hold up is I know how teachers are treated. And I wasn't sure if I'm
going to jump into that. I don't want you to jump into that. I talk to teachers all the time.
And it's not that you listen, I try to encourage teachers and some can, some just can't do it
anymore. And I don't judge them. Some somehow figure out how to do it. But it's not about that
it's difficult for teachers because it is. It's that you don't have a deep abiding passion to teach
history. I don't hear that. I hear you have a deep abiding passion to instruct, to train,
to guide, to dispense knowledge that you find valuable.
That's what I'm hearing about. Good. So my point is let's do it in the best environment possible
for the best pay possible. You got it? Absolutely. And I don't think the public school system
is the best environment or the best pay. In fact, I know it's not. And so I think you
I think you pursue this thing. Eyes wide open, ask the right questions, but pay attention to the
existing culture. Because here's the deal. You know why you have the advantage in this?
Because you know what an unhealthy culture looks like. Sounds like smells like. Am I right?
I can see it from the postings. Well, all right. So my point is how do you feel about this other
place where your buddy's been working? I trust that he's built a team that's going to work well
and effectively with everybody. And he has he has no problem punching upward to get money to get
things done. Great. So you feel good about it? Yeah. You feel good about him? What about the overall
culture? I haven't worked. I haven't worked with him. I know the company. My point is you just
told me you can smell it. You can see it from the postings. Do your homework. Don't just rely on
your buddy, but I like this direction. I don't think you need to be a history teacher. Thanks for the
call, brother. This is the Ken Coleman Show. Thanks for listening to the Ken Coleman Show.
For more, you can find the show on demand wherever you listen to podcasts and watch the show on
YouTube. You can also find Ken across all social media by following at Ken Coleman.
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