YearUpJune 2016

James Parks

SURVIVING CORPORATE

AMERICA AND KEEPING YOUR SOUL

INTACT

1. Understand why you’re here2. Focus on your brand3. Always manage up4. Serve with humility5. Play politics by not playing

politics6. Don’t play a rigged game7. Become a Scattergories

champion8. Resonate9. Have your cake and eat it too10.Adapt, don’t dwell11.Never give up on people, but

manage your investments in them

IF I COULD LEAVE YOU WITH 11 THINGS…

1. UNDERSTAND WHY YOU’RE HERE

What are you good at?What do you like to do / passionate

about?What are your values?

…and let it guide your career path rather than define it

HAVE A MISSION

Gain strength from pain and weakness

Accept yourself

Understand how your past effects your personal story and mission

UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT YOURSELF

“The Well of Grief” by David Whyte

Those who wi l l not s l ip beneath        the s t i l l sur face on the we l l o f g r i e f

turn ing downward through i ts b lack wate r        to the p lace we cannot breathe

wi l l never know the source f rom which we dr ink ,        the secret wate r , co ld and c lear ,

nor find in the darkness g l immer ing        the smal l round co ins                  th rown by those who wi shed for someth ing e l se .

You are responsible and accountable for everything that happens to you.

OWN IT

Don’t align yourself to a job,

Find a job that aligns to you.

…If you’re temporarily stuck, find another outlet

FIND A COMPATIBLE CULTURE

2. FOCUS ON YOUR BRAND

Find your niche

Never stop learning & adapting

Don’t settle for what is

DIFFERENTIATE THOUGHTFULLY

“The Road Not Taken” by Robert FrostTwo roads d ive rged in a ye l low wood,

And sorry I cou ld not t rave l bothAnd be one t rave ler , l ong I s tood

And looked down one as far as I cou ldTo where i t bent in the undergrowth ;

Then took the other , as just as fa i r ,And hav ing perhaps the be t te r c l a im,

Because i t was grassy and wanted wear ;Though as for that the pass ing there

Had worn them rea l ly about the same,

And both that morn ing equal l y l ayIn leaves no s tep had t rodden b lack .Oh, I kept the firs t for another day!

Ye t knowing how way l eads on to way,I doubted i f I shou ld ever come back.

I sha l l be te l l ing th i s w i th a s ighSomewhere ages and ages hence :

Two roads d iverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less t rave led by ,

And that has made a l l the d ifference .

YOU ARE YOUR EXPERIENCES

3. ALWAYS MANAGE UP

Your failure is your boss’s failure

…so your success is in his/her best interest

EXPLOIT YOUR BOSS’S CONFLICT OF INTEREST

If at first you don’t succeed,

redefine success.

OWN THE DEFINITION OF YOUR SUCCESS

So make it easy for your boss to focus on his/her boss by making managing you

easy

…by managing expectations

…and minimizing surprises and times when he/she must intervene

YOUR BOSS IS DOING THE SAME

4. SERVE WITH HUMILITY

Aspire to lead, not manage

Serve something bigger than yourself

Contribute

Don’t take yourself too seriously

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

5. PLAY POLITICS BY NOT PLAYING

POLITICS

Don’t fight someone else’s battle

Get to We: win-win always trumps win-lose

Make management communicate

…If all else fails, integrity and transparency is the key to maintaining trust and staying above the fray

DON’T BE A PAWN IN SOMEONE ELSE’S GAME

6. DON’T PLAY A RIGGED GAME

The generation of leaders that came before you had to deal with the generation that preceded them

They didn’t want to pay their dues…but they did

Today’s leaders are incented to erect barriers to protect the spoils they fought so hard for

So don’t play into the ”Millennials” stereotypes

…serve, demonstrate integrity, focus on adding value, stay above the fray, and make your boss successful (but not at your expense)

THE GENERATION _ DILEMMA

7. BECOME A SCATTERGORIES

CHAMPION

Learn to identify and apply patterns

Welcome complexity

Be intellectually curious

SCATTERGORIES?

8. RESONATE

“If you know an object’s natural rate of vibration, you can make it vibrate without touching it. Resonance occurs when an object’s natural vibration frequency responds to an external stimulus of the same frequency.” (“Resonate” by Nancy Duarte)

So understand pain points and motivationsAnd tune your message, work, and product to

resonate

…every conversation, deliverable, and sale wil l be easier and your influence will soar

WHAT IS RESONANCE?

9. HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO

Ben Zander (in “The Art of Possibility”) encourages us to step into a universe of possibility, realizing that “it’s all invented”

How we perceive a problem constrains our ability to perceive potential solutions

RULES ARE WHAT YOU ALLOW THEM TO BE

10. ADAPT, DON’T DWELL

“Every challenge, fear, or loss bears gifts far more valuable than the price of trouble they cause”

- Attributed to some chain letter I received

WHAT DOES DWELLING ON PAIN DO FOR YOU?

11. NEVER GIVE UP ON PEOPLE, BUT

MANAGE YOUR INVESTMENTS IN

THEM

YOU CAN LEAD A HORSE TO WATER….

…a lot of horses could use a drink, so be mindful of how much time you spend with each one