Take Control of your job and your Success

Laurie Ruettimann (http://www.punkrockhr.com/ ) wrote a great piece today called "Take back HR" where she begs the question can we bring respectability back to the HR profession and ponders why so many of her HR colleagues are out of work or dissatisfied with their situations. It was one of the more intriguing posts I have read in recent weeks and compelled me to respond along with many others. I responded to her post with the following:

" I love what I do and my job too (I head up the HR function for a multinational corporation)…I hate some of the bull I have to deal with and even a few of those creating it, but in general I have a great gig, and it was not always that way…I HAVE BEEN DOWN AND OUT AND CRAWLED MY WAY BACK TO THE TOP (so I am a little short on sympathy for those who have not gotten a little dirty fighting for what they want to achieve). You can make lemonade out of lemons as long as you know how much sugar to add…I think some HR exec’s look for convenient excuses…others have legit situations that force them to leave or look elsewhere…but change is something only you can control…change jobs, or change the approach to dealing with the one you have…excuses change nothing…My Mom taught me at the age of 10 “If there is a will there is a way”- and she was right…So if you want it bad enough you need to be persistent, and creative…I have a career of people telling me I can’t achieve things…my parting advice is listen to yourself and drop the nay sayers…'
I think its less about taking back HR and more about asserting what we can do in the workplace.

I come home many evenings frustrated, under appreciated, and asking why I do what I do. There are also many nights when I come home invigorated knowing I make a difference. Baseball players who bat .300 (that's 3 hits for every 10 turns at bat) are all stars and those who bat under .250 struggle to stay in the line up. The difference between stardom and failure is very small (in baseball it is 5 hits in 100 at bats) in business it can be one or two key decisions or actions that go right or wrong. In the end most performance is within the bell curve and not that distinguishable except for the few at each end of the curve.

As a truly competitive person its not ok for me to be average or indistinguishable. So I personally push the envelope and strive for those extra couple of hits. I believe that we control our destiny and so pushing a little harder, on just a few projects or tasks can make a difference in your eventual fate.
Some may not agree with my perspective or approach. I can only talk from my personal experiences. If you have a point of view on this topic please weigh in...