Category: Work-Life Decisions

My Brain as a Filing Cabinet

On By ashleyfausIn Work-Life DecisionsLeave a comment

My standard answer to the interview question, “What is your biggest weakness?” is, “Outward organization. I know where everything is, and I tend to keep most things in my head, but my desk is always messy to the outside observer, and if someone else is trying to find something on my desk, it will be very difficult for them.” As mentioned in my post about my design process, I generally like to see everything to be able to work with it. In high school, my mom always tripped over my backpack, and kept telling me to, “put it where it belongs!” The thing is, my backpack was in the same spot on the floor every day! It “belonged” on the floor!

Oddly, though, my brain is the one place where I have some kind of actual organizational system. There are times when I literally imagine placing a piece of information in a folder, and filing it away under “short term memory” in my brain. Then, when I need to retrieve the information, I literally feel like I’m going to the short-term memory file in my brain, opening the drawer, extracting the file, and reading the information on the page. This is quite helpful during exam times, as I just read the notes from the page in my head. I don’t think this is photographic memory, but pretty close it to (or, maybe my years of memorizing scripts has taught me that skill!). Either way, my brain is generally a well-organized filing cabinet.

Except, when it’s not. Sometimes a piece of information is misfiled, or I don’t realized it was filed at all! This is when the fun starts, when your brain randomly goes into the mystery files to pull out some odd piece of trivia that you didn’t know existed. My husband is teaching himself to play piano, and he recently asked me to sit down and play the right-hand notes on a piece, while he played the left-hand notes. I’m not a pianist by any stretch of the imagination (no, seriously, I failed my piano juries during my freshman year of college, and my professor waved my hands off the keyboard because my scales were so disrespectful to the piano!), but somehow, I managed to sit down and sightread that right hand with only a couple of hiccups! Last week, he was complaining about pain in the area that connects the hips to the legs. I told him it was probably his Sciatic nerve… he looked it up, and I was right. Yeah, learned that one from an episode of “Private Practice” MONTHS ago!

All that to say, keep an open mind… you never know what information will seep in and be used one day in the future! I feel very Medici in these moments 🙂

Privacy Thresholds

On By ashleyfausIn Social Media, Work-Life DecisionsLeave a comment

I was tasked with collecting biographies and head shots for our technicians in the shop. The plan is to send the customer an email at each stage of their engine overhaul with a little bit of information about who is doing what to their engine. We deal with many overseas customers, so it’s hard to put a “face” on the company. As a marketer and a millenial, I think this is a great idea. It keeps the customer apprised of the engine progress, assures them that a real person with real experience is doing real work on their engine, and makes all the technicians, customer service reps, and sales reps seem like one big happy family. We’re a unified company, partnering with you, our valued customer!

Interestingly, some people did not want their picture and a summary of their work experience put out into the world. Again, being a marketer and a millenial, this is very odd to me. I realize that my privacy threshold is lower than most people’s, particularly when it comes to professional information. You can put my name into a search engine and find out my entire work history, picture, and phone number in less than a minute. The crazy part is that this was intentional! I WANT people to find me. How else will I advance my blog, my career, and my success? If no one knows I exist, they can’t offer me an opportunity! In my profession, I’d wager that if a potential employer or client can’t easily find me on the web, they’d be suspicious of my qualifications and education.

This is not the case for prior generations, and particularly those in professions that require hard skills or specific licenses to practice. Marketing skills can be difficult to quantify or assess, so the big picture shown by my online presence is pretty crucial to my ability to prove myself. For technicians in an industry that will soon face a shortage of qualified workers, simply showing their A&P license is enough to get them to a probationary period, if not a full-time job. And, since many of these workers didn’t grow up in the age of the internet, the thought of putting their face and identifying history in print is pretty scary.

While I understand their concerns, it’s just so hard for me to relate. I don’t share every detail of my personal and professional life online, but if I can say it in polite conversation to a random stranger in person, why would I hesitate to put it online? I guess I feel that if someone really wants to steal my identity or cause me harm, I’m going to have to significantly disrupt my entire life to prevent them from doing that. I’d have to forgo all credit card use, online and offline (I mean really, we let 16 year old waiters take our credit cards out of our sight for an unspecified amount of time!), never put my address ANYWHERE, and ditch any phone communications! Is it really so bad for someone to know what I look like? Is it really so bad for someone to know that I attended UNT? Is it really that harmful for someone to know I go to boot camp on a regular basis? Sure, I keep my whereabouts off the internet, my schedule off the internet, and my super secret passwords out of publication, but I have a low privacy threshold. I wonder how this debate will change over the next 5-10 years, as millenials ascend to positions of power, and social networking becomes even more normal and pervasive than it already is. How’s your privacy threshold?

Should You Even Go To College?

On By ashleyfausIn MBA Degree, Work-Life Decisions1 Comment

I’ve had some interesting conversations and read some interesting articles recently that made me wonder if you should even go to college at all! Obviously, I value the piece of paper, as I’m currently working on my MBA, so I’ll end up having more college than the average person. And, that’s the point, right? To make myself “above average” so that I can have a higher paycheck, more prestigious title, cooler work environment, and generally more awesome career! But in today’s economy, should you even go to college?

I will say that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that Americans put way to much value on college degrees. Or, at least, all the people I’m surrounded by put a lot of emphasis on it. I admit that I’ve always kind of looked down on people that chose not to attend college, that somehow, they just couldn’t hack it in the real world. This is actually quite false, as several people I know were more than able to hack it, they just opted out. Our generation has been told to “do something we love”, and quite frankly, not everyone loves a desk job. Not everyone gets warm fuzzies from a glowing computer screen. Not everyone wants to exercise only their brain every day. Some people enjoy… gasp… working with their hands! Or exerting their leg muscles! Or being a starving artist in a garret! How dare these people choose to forgo a boring class that lends nothing to their practical daily lives because it is required by a degree plan? How dare they accept hourly wages over salary, muddy boots over patent pumps, and wrenches over a briefcase? Sometimes I look out my office window at the gorgeous 70 degree day, and think that maybe I’m the crazy one. I could be out mowing a lawn in the sunshine to make a living, or taking tourists scuba diving to earn a wage, or heck, staying inside making cards to sell to pay the rent. There are plenty of people that make a living wage doing blue-collar work, and many of them love their jobs. What’s so wrong with taking a job that allows you to feel good about yourself while to make a paycheck?

This is not to say that everyone with a college degree is miserable, while all the non-degreed people live a life of rainbows and roses. In addition to “passion” you do have to be practical and realize that most college-educated professionals earn more over their lifetime. I would also say that there’s a lot of skills you can learn in school that will improve your ability to move up the ranks, which is difficult to do without outsourcing in a blue-collar job. And, since many blue-collar jobs take a higher toll on the body, you might face physical limitations that force you into retirement earlier than a white-collar profession (we’ll save the debate about stress-induced heart attacks when you’re 40 for another blog post!). For example, take landscaping or construction work. Both require significant physical labor, and to move up in the ranks or start your own business, you’ll need management skills, accounting skills, marketing skills, and possibly engineering skills. For many of those, you’ll need a college-educated or licensed professional, so if your aspiration is to move into management, going to college earlier might have been the better choice.

I do think that post-high school education is necessary to ensure that the US (and the world, since it’s a global economy these days) has an effective workforce, but I think we should make a path for technical or vocational education, the way we’ve done for college. For example, the aviation industry is facing the real concern of a shortage of trained, qualified technicians, because all the youth are heading to college, instead of mechanic school. This article details vocational programs in Arizona high schools, and mentions that in addition to training students for immediate work after high school, the vocational programs are actually encouraging students to attend and graduate from 2- or 4-year colleges! It mentions a shortage of welders and auto mechanics, noting that you can make great money in either of these professions. It’s unfortunate that many high schools are unwilling or unable to offer these types of programs to their students, and that many parents are unwilling or unable to allow their children to take advantage of these programs if they are offered. My cousin went to an ag-centric high school, complete with animals and farm land on the school property. She mentioned that some transfer students made rude comments about the smell surrounding the school. Her response? “That’s the smell of money! You smell cow manure and hay… I smell dollars in my pocket!” Note that my cousin went to college for poultry science (you know, the people that engineer a better chicken for power players like Tyson?) on scholarships from her winnings at county fairs and FFA shows!

So, who’s making the better choice? Me, with my MBA, and my sister in her pursuit of a doctorate? Our one-class-shy-of-a-bachelor’s degree friend, that’s currently working 7 days a week as an electrician, making $20 per hour? Or, a family friend whose son skipped college altogether, went to a trade school, and is now working as an auto mechanic? The word is that he loves his job, he’s contributing to society, and he’s paying his own way these days! I’m not saying that college isn’t important, and I definitely have a hard time accepting alternative paths. But, the more I read, and the more people I meet, the more I realize that a fancy piece of paper isn’t the only way to have a fulfilling, well-paid, successful career.

I Kind of Suck at Vacation

On By ashleyfausIn Work-Life Decisions1 Comment

As you know, I just returned from a wonderful 13-day vacation. My husband and I did a road trip around Texas to make our way to a friend’s wedding in El Paso, and we went without cell reception and internet for several days at a time. What an odd sensation, to be unplugged for nearly two weeks! Anyways, back to the fact that I kind of suck at vacation: it took a few days to just quiet my own mind, and about a week and a half into the vacation, I started making up ad campaigns for all the products we were using! Sigh… I can’t even go two weeks without doing business.

I’ve come to realize that in order to truly shut off the distractions, I need about 4 days of vacation. This two-day weekend nonsense is not for relaxation, but rather for chores, errands, and other responsibilities that I put off during the week. Humans need some down time in order to function at optimal capacity, but I never schedule any down time. I tore through 3.5 books on the trip, including a murder mystery by Agatha Christie, an FBI-thriller by James Patterson, a philosophical and psychological rabbit-hole by Aldous Huxley, and great progress through a religious/philosophical challenge by C.S. Lewis. It’s amazing what my mind can contemplate when it’s not weighed down by all the clutter of daily life! You’ll notice, though, that only two of my four books were somewhat “mindless escape”. Even when I’m attempting to turn my brain into mush for a few days, I can only handle so much “blank space” before I start craving some serious mental stimulation.

Then there’s the physical stimulation… I REALLY suck at relaxation! Fortunately, my husband does to, and his inability to relax is actually worse than mine. We backpacked for the first 3 days of our trip, logging about 15 miles of hiking. We did a 14-mile, 2,000 ft. elevation gain hike, and a 6-mile “easy” hike during the last week of our trip. We meandered on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, and danced quite a bit at the wedding. In short, while most people gain 3-5 lbs. during their vacation, we actually lost a pound or two due to our level of physical activity. I think we managed to sit by the river to read for 4 hours one afternoon… and that’s as lazy as we could make ourselves!

And finally, the business of doing business on vacation. My company Blackberry went dead a few days into the trip, and I didn’t bother to charge it. This, however, did not stop me from dreaming about owning a Bed and Breakfast with my husband, starting a photography business, or working for a year at different State or National Parks. Then came the ad campaigns, complete with taglines, artwork, and social media strategies (I’ll be featuring some of my “work” on the blog over the next few weeks!).

My tagline here on the blog is, “When business is your life”, and my vacation really made this concept hit home for me. I love challenging my mind, making money, and being productive. I kind of suck at vacation in the traditional sense, but man, I feel energized, reinvigorated, and ready to take on the world after my random parade of ideas. I think that’s the real point of a vacation, so maybe I don’t suck after all 🙂

Friday Funday!

On By ashleyfausIn Work-Life Decisions1 Comment

Well readers, today’s links are all the same: albums from my recent vacation (fear not, we consolidated it down to 15-20 pictures per album)! What does this have to do with business, you ask? PLENTY, as you’ll see in a few upcoming posts. On a broad note, the concept of sharpening the axe is a perfect segue between my talk of business and my talk of vacation. That, and I know you’re all dying to see what I’ve been up to while I’ve been absent from the blog 🙂 So, without further adieu:

Pedernales Falls State Park: Our first stop was in Pedernales Falls, near Austin, TX. We decided to camp in the back country for 3 nights, so we loaded up our packs and hiked in 2.5 miles to pitch our tent. We went on a decent hike around the park and read books by the river. My husband was insistent on a hair-flinging picture in the river, so that was fun practice using the high-speed continuous mode for me!

Natural Bridge Caverns: We stopped at Natural Bridge Caverns en route to San Antonio. I’d been there when I was really young, but man, I was impressed at the caverns! My husband took some AMAZING pictures underground (fellow photography nerds will understand the difficulty in shooting in low/no light, sans tripod!). Natural Bridge is a living cavern, which means that water is still flowing to create the rock formations in the caves. I highly recommend the Discovery Tour if you’re ever in the area… but avoid the touristy “mining” nonsense that seeks to sell an over-priced bag of dirt in hopes of retrieving some “precious” rocks. It made me cringe, even as a marketer!

San Antonio: We stayed for 2 nights in San Antonio, at a place we found on Air BnB, which I also highly recommend if you haven’t used the site before. We strolled along the Riverwalk, ate fancy steak at Ruth’s Chris, and generally enjoyed some “civilized” fun between our camping adventures.

Seminole Canyon: We stayed for one “layover” night in Seminole Canyon to break up the laborious drive to Big Bend, and it was… interesting! It was really windy when we arrived, and, being a weekday, there was literally one other person in the entire park! It was a flat desert for miles, so I took some cool shots of the sunset and our tent. We went on a tour of the canyon in the morning, and learned about the wall paintings by indigenous people from 5,000 years ago!

Big Bend National Park: This place is HUGE! We stayed in the Chisos Basin area of the park, and we opted to car camp vs. backpack. Big Bend is gorgeous, with mountains and cool cactus plants all over. We saw rabbits, bears, lizards, deer, and a road runner during our trip. Our most epic hike of the trip was up the South Rim Trail, which let us climb about 2,000 ft., and hike 14 miles round-trip. We had a very scenic lunch on top of a mountain 🙂

We haven’t edited and posted the photos from El Paso, where our mutual college friend held her wedding. Her wedding was actually the impetus for the trip, and we shot quite a few photos of the wedding itself. I’ll be posting those separately over the next few weeks (or, you can just check back on the SmugMug site periodically until they post, if you’re just chomping at the bit!).

We had an amazing trip, and we took a TON of pictures with the Canon 60D, Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 ll, and Canon 50mm f/1.8 ll. My husband is a pretty accomplished photographer (remember those insane cave photos above?), and I’m learning, slowly but surely! If you have specific questions about the trip, let me know in the comments or Twitter.

“So, what do you do?”

On By ashleyfausIn Work-Life DecisionsLeave a comment

“I’m a marketer for an aerospace company”. That’s my typical response when someone asks, “So, what do you do?” What’s odd, though, is that my response tends to be the same in every situation. Random person at the gym? I’m a marketer. Old family friend in the church parking lot? I’m doing marketing. Long-lost cousin at the family reunion? I’m a Marketing Coordinator.

As my husband and I consider our future, we’ve talked a lot about what we want to “do”. I think it’s somewhat backwards that my standard response for what I “do” revolves solely around my job. It’s also silly, because as a proportion of my life, I’ve been doing marketing for the least amount of time, relative to a number of other things I “do”. I’ve been doing scrapbooking for more than 10 years. I’ve been doing exercise for my whole life. I’ve been singing and acting since I was 5! But now what do I do? I do marketing. This isn’t totally true, because I STILL do scrapbooking, exercising, and stage work. Why are we so hung up on what we do FOR MONEY?

Sometimes, I even warp the question by answering, “I work in marketing at an aerospace company.” They didn’t ask me where I work, they asked me what I do! And yet, most of the time, they really mean to ask about my job. Why is it that we only “do” a job? If doing = money, then I could realistically say that I’m an actor, since I’ve received money for acting and singing (trust me, not an hourly wage you’d want to work for!).

I’m at a point my life where my focus is on building my career. I’m pursuing the MBA, I’m networking, I’m expanding my reach. But, at the end of the day, I’m not just a marketer. Sometimes I worry that the rest of my layers will get so lost in “being a marketer” that eventually, that’s all I’ll be! I think that would be unfortunate, to truly have only one answer to the question, “So, what do you do?” This is kind of like the time I thought about issuing a challenge to do something stupid, but I couldn’t get past my own scheduling conflicts to actually accept the challenge.  I would love to commit to answering, “Lots of things,” but I fear that will make me seem unfocused, less driven, and less ambitious in my career. My colleagues are always surprised to find out that I do musicals and send hand-made Christmas cards, and most of them have no idea that I blog regularly and I’ve been featured on Forbes.  So, what do you do? Do your friends, family, and colleagues know that you do more than just business?

The Housing Market

On By ashleyfausIn Guest Posts, Work-Life DecisionsLeave a comment

Remember Dusty Baker, the realtor featured in last week’s “My Corporate Life” post? He’s back again with some great insight into the housing market. If you have any questions about real estate, feel free to reach out to Dusty here!

 

The Current Market – Skipping Along the Bottom

Since people often ask me what is going on in the housing market and how it affects the economy, I can only assume that the majority of people reading this are wondering the same thing.  The housing market affects the world economy drastically for a few reasons.  One reason is simply that homes are very expensive compared to anything else we buy.  The Tic-Tac market will never affect the economy because people would have to buy billions of those little mints to have any dollar significance.  Homes, on the other hand, are arguably the most expensive asset in the world.  Another reason is the number of people involved in the housing market.  Not everyone buys and sells $500,000 worth of T-bills, but the majority of people will, at one point in their lifetime, spend $500,000 (or more) on a home.  The third reason is government.  Most publicly starting with Bill Clinton, the government likes to help people buy homes.  Between the Federal Reserve pumping money to banks at laughably low interest rates and government policies which still, to this day, help with sub-prime loans, money is easy to come across to purchase a home.

Where did this take us?

Well, the fairy tale of “wouldn’t it be great if everyone owned a home” led to just that – everyone owning a home.  Except the majority of people were only home-owners for about 6 years, and are now giving their homes back to the bank.  The market is flooded with REO (foreclosed) and short-sale listings; and after a recent $26 billion agreement between Bank of America and the U.S. government, the number of bank owned properties on the market is forecasted to increase 4 fold in the next year.

When Will We Bounce Back?

Right now, at least in southern California, we seem to be bouncing along the bottom.  I personally think we’ve hit rock bottom and are now skimming across, with little 2% jumps up and down.  Other areas of the country, parts of Arizona for example, may certainly continue to drop.  The difference is that in Santa Barbara there is no new construction – nowhere to expand.   We are nestled between a mountain range and the Pacific Ocean.  Our area can only get so cheap, because at a certain point you have to call a spade a spade; and perfect weather and ocean views are one heck of a spade in real estate.  Parts of Arizona, though, were being built out and out, further away from the center of town because 1) real estate was selling like hot cakes so why not build and 2) they were in the middle of nowhere and the sky was the limit to expansion.  How that affects the real estate is simple economics: demand.  If there is no demand to live 45 minutes outside of a city in a half-built community, the property is essentially worthless.  That is why there are many “ghost” towns in Nevada and Arizona (where the housing market took the greatest hit).  In these places, banks are actually allowing people to live in their homes without paying their mortgage, because an occupied home is better than a vacant one (in terms of upkeep of the bank’s asset).

 

Should I Buy?

It’s hard even writing this knowing how biased I am on the matter (being an agent), but I absolutely think now is a great time to buy.  If it gives me any credibility at all, I am currently representing good friends in purchasing a home – and I would never put a commission check over good friends.  It is a buyer’s market: the market is flooded with listings, listings almost always sell for less than asking price, and banks are essentially giving money away at the current rates.  If I had the money, I would buy everything my greedy little hands could get their palms on.

Can I Make Quick Money?

Clients always ask me, “If I buy now, what will this be worth in 3 years?”  Answering that question is essentially asking for a lawsuit in the future.  I have no idea what will happen in 3 years, and I have no intention of taking on that kind of liability.  Having said that, I tell them that I NEVER see real estate as a short term investment.  If you plan on “flipping” a house (quick note: despite the TV shows, more often than not people lose money flipping homes – you have to be very well connected and intelligent to succeed) or buying just for a few years and then selling, you better hope you are timing the market right.  I would personally never purchase a property that I didn’t expect to hold onto for at least 10-15, minimum.  With that kind of mindset you can almost never lose.  I would dare you to find any 15 year segment in the housing market where you would lose money after that long of a time period.

Bias Called Out

On By ashleyfausIn Work and Office, Work-Life DecisionsLeave a comment

I wrote a post on “Perpetuating the In Group”, and a classmate of mine picked up on a particular line that highlighted my bias. I stated in the post that I have more in common with young professionals than I do with stay-at-home-moms, and she noted that she has several SAHM acquaintances with MBAs from fancy schools, or former VPs of Fortune 500 companies. However, these women have left the workforce to care for their kids.

This is interesting, because there’s a lot of articles that talk about the cost of childcare vs. a salary, and women making a choice to stay home. My gut reaction to my classmate’s anecdote is that it’s a perfect example of how perpetuating the in group can cause you to miss out on knowledge, perspective, and connections. Upon further reflection, my reaction was that we don’t have much in common, because I would never leave the workforce. But, peeling back another layer, I can’t say how I would react to having children, since I don’t have any children at the moment. How do I know I would never leave the workforce? How do I know that just because these women left formal, paid positions at large companies, they aren’t keeping their skills sharp by volunteering, freelancing, or working on higher degrees? The answer is, I don’t. I don’t know their motivation for leaving the workforce… maybe that was their plan all along. And if that was their plan, maybe we’re more similar than I thought. I’m a planner, and I’ve taken strategic steps to set my life on a certain path. Just because that path doesn’t lead to the same destination as these women doesn’t mean that we’re all that different in terms of intelligence, ambition, and earning power.

It’s really interesting to dig into what you personally think makes someone “like you”. But, once you realize that you’ve still got a lot of underlying assumptions, you’ve got to figure out a way to overcome the bias. I’d say a few probing questions would be a great first step… you might realize you have more in common than you think!

The Countdown

On By ashleyfausIn MBA Degree, Work-Life DecisionsLeave a comment

Well, readers, it’s that time of year… the end of the semester countdown! Although, I’ll be completing 9 hours of class this summer, so my countdown-to-summer also doubles as my countdown-to-school-starting 🙂 However, I will be taking a vacation on my “summer break”, so my posting schedule will be pretty sporadic through the end of May. I’ve scheduled a few wonderful guest posters, but if you have a topic you’d like to share, send me a note, and we can try to set something up!

I took 9 hours of class this semester, including two OB classes and a finance class. I’ve got a final in my Negotiation and Dispute Resolution class, and a finance final. I started studying for the finance final last night, and it’s going to be a brutal few days of prep work. I just don’t. like. finance. at. all. I’m literally trying to find any excuse to procrastinate on my study time, including cleaning! You know it’s bad when I’d rather clean than study. However, I buckled down and started working my way through practice problems, and I feel confident that I can solidify my B in that class.

Now for the fun part: VACATION! A friend from college is getting married in El Paso at the end of May, so my husband and I decided to turn the drive into a road trip around Texas. We’ll be hiking, camping, and staying in remote hotels for about 10 days. My husband has been itching to go to Big Bend National Park, but the ~14 hour drive has been a huge deterrent. However, we’ll be spending a few days there during this road trip. The plan is to spend a night or two at Pedernales Falls, San Antonio, Big Bend, and Monahans. I’m pretty excited to get away for a while, as I think I’m starting to approach the burn-out point!

So, please pardon the odd posting schedule while I conquer finals and attempt to conquer relaxation (note that I’m not a failure at many things, but relaxation is on the list of perpetual failures!). Get excited for a few new voices through the end of May, and I’ll be back in action regularly in June.

Being and Imposter Syndrome

On By ashleyfausIn Work and Office, Work-Life Decisions2 Comments

 

How does a "real" business person dress? Do I look like a "real" marketer?

Skirt: JC Penney

Tank top: NY & Co.

Cardigan: Target

Heels: Sam & Libby via DSW

Like the outfit? Click here for more details!

 

I talked about motivation in yesterday’s post, and I’ve been thinking about another topic that coincides with motivation, “being” vs. “acting”. Remember when you were little, and you played house, played teenager (don’t lie, you know you pretended to be in high school when you were 6!), or played cops? When I was younger, my CPA father had to work on Saturdays during tax season, and he’d take us to his office sometimes. He’d give us pens and post-it notes, and, no kidding, we’d play business (yes, I was that nerdy). I played business at my grandmother’s house too, with a box of blank payroll checks for a defunct business and her fancy clip-on earrings and purses. My brother and I would take turns owning the business, and I’d stuff a bunch of checks into my Granny’s purse, clip on those earrings like I was ready for the office, and strut down the hall to the back bedroom, where I’d wave my hands around telling everyone to get to work. Man, I was AWESOME at imaginary business!

The funny thing is, I really do business now. I really slip on my high heels, really go to an office, and really approve invoices. And yet, sometimes it still feels like I’m playing business, like everyone will eventually find out that I’m just a little kid in my grandmother’s clip-on earrings, or scribbling on post-it notes on the floor of my dad’s office. There’s a frequently-used name for this phenomenon, imposter syndrome. Essentially, you feel like you’re lying about your skills or intelligence, being the ultimate pretender in your professional abilities, and eventually, the truth will come out that in fact, you have no idea what you’re doing. It’s not just early career people that feel this, it’s high-powered lawyers, doctors, and professors.

This concept of “playing” at something goes back to my initial thoughts of “being” vs. “acting”, and the motivation for actors. Are you ACTING like a business person would act, or are you BEING a business person? Are you imitating what you think business people should do, or are you taking actions that a business person would take because they make strategic sense? What makes it a “real” business look, decision, or action anyways? I have this vision of an actual business person in a black, pinstripe suit, briefcase in hand, clicking along a marble hallway with large glass windows, on their way to an important presentation to the board. Does this mean that I’m not a real business person in the outfit with color? Am I just pretending to be a marketer if I don’t carry a briefcase? What, exactly, indicates that I’m being a business person, and not just acting like a business person? I think it’s the motivation. I don’t want to imitate business behavior simply because I think that’s what business looks like. It’s part of the reason that Silicon Valley start-ups have non-existent dress codes: they believe business is about DOING business, not playing the part of a business person by dressing up in fancy clothes and waving around worthless checks.

Are you playing business, or doing business? Are you acting like a business person, or being a business person? Are you an imposter, or a smart, driven, no-holds-barred force in the business world? Like the outfit? Click here for more details!