This fact would have been no big deal if the original partner wasn’t the one signing my much higher paychecks (although still much lower than real attorneys make). It put me on his radar every other week. There was no way I could ever advance in that company, his company, no matter how much is partner liked my work; I was always going to be grasping at straws to even keep the position I was in, let alone to increase my pay, responsibility, and eventually become a partner. On top of that, this is a man who would seek proof of a person’s loyalty by expecting complete dedication to the job. Somehow, he would get people, like me, to try to meet the challenge. There were times when the entire office, file clerk and all, would be in before 7 a.m. This was a law firm, not a construction site. I could never make up for refusing to play along in the “you don’t care if you are only willing to work 10 hour days.” Right.
You can imagine this wasn’t going to last long for a person who views life in six month increments. And five months later, my fears started coming true. Despite managing three attorneys and the litigation of an entire office, I was offered the most ridiculous re-negotiation at his request.
My current boss saved the day by hiring me then. I spent a month tying up loose ends with the firm, but that was it. I continued traveling to out of state to work on my brokerage, but the lawyering was no more.
I have written before that I always expected to be successful, however that might be defined. To me, it meant talking to interesting people, making deals, knowing which decisions were the best ones, loving work. I knew as much about making that a reality as I knew about building a time machine. But watching my current boss work, two things happened: First, I saw that my definition could be real, and not a fantasy. Second, I learned how a career like that “works,” even though no one is hounding him, no one is requiring him to track his hours, and clients are refusing to pay him appropriately. These are all traits I came to think were required of work after a short legal career.
The way is value. I wrote yesterday that I had learned to focus on delivering, rather than showing up. But this took it a step further, and has completely changed me.
I learned about it in the most common sense, like when he showed me how a small business can be bought at 3 times earnings by a company that trades at 6 times earnings, which creates extra value in an arbitrage-like manner. But I also learned about it in at least two other ways:
First, I learned it in the context of an executive position. My boss explained to me how a former executive on him team would come to work and create a list of tasks that never ended, which meant that he was always too “busy” to get to the real purpose of his work: to create value. How was he supposed to do that? By handing off the work to other people so he had a long, empty stretch of time before him each day to consider things like how to improve different metrics of profitability with small changes (getting more out of what we already have), and working with other executives on initiatives to try new things that complemented our current offerings. Creating value is not something that goes on a checklist, and in fact, it might look like nothing is happening during the process. That was the crux of his work, but maybe that guy, like me, only understood how to show up.
Second, I learned about value in the personal context. If the goal of a company is to satisfy its clients so that they pay for the service or product, it makes sense that providing satisfaction in the most efficient way is the most profitable. That isn’t news. But on top of achieving the main purpose of the company’s existence, it also frees up time and energy for the people in it. Everyone is focused on the best outcome because it benefits themselves as well as the company. I never would have believed it if I didn’t see it myself.
How does this impact my life? For one thing, I have always taken refuge in a to-do list. For my current boss, though, I have focused on the big goal like I never have before. We are at an unrelated standstill at the moment, but I hope to get back to that kind of work soon. The most valuable work gets done because it is the only thing that really matters. And it’s fun. I get to talk to interesting people, be a part of the deal-making process, give my input on decisions, and have fun because no one is too serious. Hey. That’s my definition of success. In other jobs, I think this translates to having autonomy and discretion, rather than being micro-managed. After all, you know your job well enough to know what to do without waiting for direction, but I don’t see allowance for that in a lot of offices.
Second, I have applied the value principle to my personal life. For one thing, I have more time than I used to (even before the slowdown lately). But also, the concept that there is a way to cut through the bs and maximize the time is impossible to ignore. I want to have that same level of success in my relationships, including with myself, as well as my out-of-work pursuits. I think the motivation I feel from work has turned into active engagement in the rest of my life, and I’m really thankful for that. No more of the “my life will start when…” My life is today, and its contents are not on a checklist.
I am a firm believer in this concept of value, and I make an effort to focus on it each day. But that doesn’t mean it is easy. Tomorrow, how I make the most of my unstructured time.
