Choose Your Culture

Where do you spend most of the time in your life? My guess is for most it will be in the workplace. Each week, we have 168 hours to live. If you sleep like most average Americans, you probably don't get much more than six hours of sleep per night. Which means, you would have 126 waking hours to experience. If you approach your work like most of us do then, one way or another, you probably spend somewhere close to 50 hours either in or traveling to your place of work. I would suggest most Americans spend over half of their lives at work.

Here is the point. If you are going to spend over half of your life in a place with people who aren't the people you love most or to whom you have the most commitment, why would you not want to do your part to make it the most positive, productive, and powerful experience of your life? Yet, the culture experience at work being produced by most of us is toxic to say the very least. We live it and then go home completely wasted. Then, we get to take on the hard part of living. Is there any wonder family life in this country has and is being ravaged.

I believe we need to create workplace cultures where we receive energy to live the rest of our lives. Before you think it, I know it is work. I also know work done well in the midst of others who are equally committed to creating a special, if not protected, professional environment in which to work can be an experience that is both healthy and positive.

Here is your reality. You are going to have to choose to create it. You cannot wait for others to produce it. You can encourage others to join you in producing it. You can't wait for management or ownership to produce it. They can't do it for you, and in many cases, they won't. You can, however, manage up and influence them toward the difference it will make in company productivity, morale, and ultimately, profitability.

Start a movement in your workplace. Begin as you travel toward it. Listen to something instructive and positive. Choose to represent the culture you want to experience. Respect others. Recognize the kind of behavior in others, management included, you want to continue to experience. Determine to grow and develop. Learn something even if it does help "the man" make more money. Do it for you. Learn to communicate clearly and with power. Engage conflict and learn to produce through the opportunity it represents. Then, go home. Take home with you the energy you will have created. Do well, my friends!

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