Never met anyone who succeeded simply because they BELIEVED in their dream. No, it always required a tremendous amount of very hard work for many years before they suddenly “became an overnight success.”
As a board-certified expert witness for executive compensation challenges in boardrooms and court disputes (Tax Court, Civil Court, Federal Court, etc.), I’ve probably interviewed and investigated more extremely successful people than most folks not in the media business. These subjects were always multimillionaires paid so much money that the IRS or their shareholders or some other government agency commissioned a research study into the appropriateness of their compensation. Can’t recall one in over many decades of interviews who ever cited raw faith as the key to their achievement. According to them, chanting “I believe,” (as in Peter Pan's Tinker Bell recovery intervention treatment) is not enough.
This really is a compensation issue, because knowledge of the total rewards field requires some understanding of how output results that deserve compensation and reward are generated. Success doesn’t “just happen.” Achievement should not ever be taken for granted and expected as a given or assumed because of the attitude or image of the performer.
While belief in personal ability and self-confidence often may be a necessary precondition for success, it is not adequate by itself without the rest of the total package. You have to make it happen. You must actually deliver on the potential behind that theoretical capability. That little engine puffing a resolute “I think I can” would change its tune to a mournful “I thought I could,” if it lacked the proper power to weight ratio to chug up the mountain. Failure of the railroad to properly maintain the track could also affect the result. Putting the myths of Hollywood aside, wishful thinking doesn’t automatically make dreams come true.
That is the bad news.
The good news is that every person has talents and potentials. Many folks are not self-aware of what those positive attributes are and need external guidance to discover their strengths. People also need opportunities to apply their abilities in real-life situations. This is where the Human Resources profession enters, as the field most directly responsible for identifying, selecting, recruiting, training, developing, protecting, organizing, compensating, retaining and conserving human talent. That, of course, is not a comprehensive list, but I simply got tired of adding commas. Each reader can add another dozen or so gerunds to that string, depending on which job description you have for your piece of the total rewards business.
Perhaps recognizing the roles we play enabling talent to be properly and productively applied can help to reduce the amount of frustration we typically experience trying to do our jobs. Helping people make their dreams come true is an integral part of our profession. Let’s hope we all believe in that.
E. James (Jim) Brennan is Senior Associate of ERI Economic Research Institute, the premier publisher of interactive pay and living-cost surveys. Semi-retired after over 40 years in HR corporate and consulting roles throughout the U.S. and Canada, he’s pretty much been there done that (articles, books, speeches, seminars, radio/TV, advisory posts, in-trial expert witness stuff, etc.), will express his opinion on almost anything.
Image courtesy of theadventuresoflesalina.com
Good article Jim. Indeed, helping someone uncover their potential is very rewarding.
Posted by: Jacque Vilet | 04/24/2012 at 11:58 PM
Jim,
You raise a fascinating point in your opening sentence.
I too have never met anyone who succeeded solely through belief; but I have met many many people who believe that they are the exception, that if they just believe hard enough, they WILL succeed.
Let's leave aside the Hollywood stars who gush at the awards ceremony, "Never give up on your dreams, you can make it too!" Perhaps they just neglected to add the part about hard work.
There are plenty of people who believe that THEY are the EXCEPTION, that if they just ENVISION good stuff, it will happen. These people spend zillions on The Secret. They believe they can will parking places to materialize for them JUST BY BELIEVING. They think if the envision success hard enough, it will come to them. They think if they focus their attention hard enough, they'll win the lottery--worse, if they didn't win the lottery, they are willing to chalk it up to their failure to believe hard enough.
I suspect you know a few of these people too, Jim. The Peter Pan magic belief has made huge inroads in the self-help industry, churning out tons of books, tapes, affirmations, infomercials and quasi-churches.
Beyond the obvious truth that your attitude affects how others react to you, it amounts to a simple belief in magic.
I realize this is not the core part of your excellent blogpost, which is more about helping others see their own strengths. That's great advice. But I think this tangential issue is also a biggie. If you're stuck on believing that your problem is belief, you've got a reality adjustment problem.
Posted by: Charles H. Green | 04/25/2012 at 07:52 AM
Thanks, Jacque; it's nice having an intrinsic incentive with our work.
Charles: Actually, you HAVE identified my main core point that stimulated the article. I intended it as a wake-up call, to "get real." Maybe it will inspire a few folks to become active and take control of their lives rather than remain optimistically but passively hopeful of outside intervention. There was a depreciating phrase ("deus ex machina") used to describe a play so poorly written that it required a god descending from heaven (lowered in a basket from above stage) in the final scene to reconcile the story's loose ends. It's no way to end a drama nor the right way to live a life.
Posted by: E. James (Jim) Brennan | 04/25/2012 at 11:37 AM