Challenge #1... Find a title for my blog. I tried pairing all kinds of words with the word "work." After a couple dozen attempts, Work Zebra popped into my head. So here we are.
I have thought about starting this blog for a long time. Going forward, this blog will outline my experiences and challenges at work as well as what I did and what I should have done. I am 47 and have made a LOT of mistakes at work over the years. I had a boss who labeled me a "loose cannon," which is not good. The only he kept me on was because I did a really good job.
My objective is to get down my experiences so that, should anyone else stumble onto this blog, well, maybe they won't end up in the career ditch like I did.
See, I do not have a mentor. I have read countless articles and listened to hundreds of podcast episodes on leadership. I did some sniffing around online and there were not a whole lot of resources out there for regular worker bees. The vast majority of workplace blogs and podcasts focus on management and leaders. Those which do focus on "normal" people like you and me, are curated by Ivy League scholars or HR professionals. I'm neither. I'm just a guy who slogs through the day looking for meaning and trying to figure out how to get through the day. As I said, I do not have a mentor. I find them difficult to come by. So, I want to share my experiences and maybe provide some virtual mentorship.
The title of the blog is growing on me the more that I think about it. I tend to view the world in black and white, though I like to think that I can drop color when I want and needed. On the other hand, it's very rare that anything at work is black and white, it's all shades of gray. We'll look at this ridiculous title somewhere down the line. Whether I like it or not, I'm stuck with it. 👍
If you have questions, let me know and I will try to address them in a future post.
Let's do this.
Adam
