Working The Dream

That Isn’t Fair

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Eric Kelly (Host)

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Series Code: WTD

Program Code: WTD000001A


00:31 Hi, my name is Eric Kelly.
00:35 Welcome to "Working the Dream"
00:37 I've been blessed to work in corporate America
00:40 for over 35 years.
00:42 I've held positions of director, senior director,
00:45 and even vice president in some multibillion dollar
00:48 corporations ranging from logistics and transportation
00:52 firms to oil services companies...
00:54 And today, along with executive coaching, I work with
00:57 executives of various publicly traded companies
01:00 with issues of organizational and employee development.
01:04 Now executives tell me the qualities that they value
01:07 in their employees.
01:08 They share what they believe is important for career growth,
01:13 and, by the way, they are making the choices.
01:15 Interestingly, the things they share are not taught in school.
01:20 Years ago, I was blessed with an incredible mentor
01:23 from Atlanta and he said, "Eric, the rules of career growth
01:28 in an organization are unwritten." Unwritten?
01:32 However, most successful people know them.
01:37 Now that threw me a bit because I wanted to be
01:40 successful, but I was pretty sure I didn't know anything
01:44 about the unwritten rules until he said they existed.
01:46 Now, many years later, I can assure you he was 100% correct.
01:52 During our time together on this program,
01:55 we're going to share these unwritten rules with you
01:58 and if you follow them, I can assure you
02:01 that they'll work.
02:03 Now before we get started, I want you to understand
02:05 some very important things about the workplace...
02:09 First, delete this phrase from your vocabulary...ready for it?
02:13 "That's not fair."
02:16 It may not be fair, however, it is what it is.
02:19 It's not fair that I had a huge Afro at one time
02:23 because it's all gone.
02:24 It's not fair that I was a basketball player
02:27 and now I just play the radio.
02:30 And, it's not fair that I ran track because now
02:33 I run my bathwater.
02:35 It's not fair, but that's the way it is.
02:39 Reality, it is what it is.
02:42 Now the second point I want to make is...
02:52 Nobody can achieve success by themselves,
02:56 I don't care what you see on television.
02:59 Your level of success will be in direct proportion
03:03 of how effectively you deal with people.
03:07 The last point is and may be the most important...
03:19 You can think of some people at work right now and maybe
03:24 guess who is being led by what.
03:27 I had a hard time translating sermons to my everyday
03:32 work life - the balance of spirituality and reality
03:35 of what I heard in church and practical application
03:39 to my life was hard.
03:41 In fact, I remember one week I went to church and
03:44 the minister preached a sermon on "David and Goliath."
03:48 Man, that was the greatest sermon because here's David,
03:51 he's a little guy and he's going up against a big guy which
03:55 sometimes that's how you feel at work, and in the name of
03:59 the Lord, he approached Goliath and I like the part
04:02 where he stopped and picked up five smooth stones because
04:07 I don't know if he was planning on missing four times or what...
04:10 BUT at the end of the story Goliath is out
04:14 and David is the hero. That's a great story!
04:18 Then Monday, I had to go to work and I realized
04:20 that my Goliath's name was "Darla,"
04:24 and they didn't have five smooth stones in the parking structure.
04:29 So, how do we take God to work?
04:33 How do we balance spirituality in our work life?
04:36 Or, should our work life be enveloped by our spirituality?
04:41 Let's check out of friend, Shala...
04:43 Now let me tell you a little bit about her.
04:45 She completed her college education about 4 years ago.
04:49 She is a hard worker, she's always on time,
04:54 doesn't take time off.
04:55 She rarely takes sick time off even during the rainy, cold
04:59 and flu season and the boss she had in her previous
05:02 department has praised her almost from her first
05:06 day for having impeccable work ethic. Hm!
05:09 Now for the last nine months, she has been working for a
05:13 different boss - let's see how things are going...
05:29 Good morning Shala. Good morning.
05:33 It's just baffling to me how far behind we are
05:36 in producing these reports and the quality.
05:39 Don't get me started on that.
05:42 What is the deal with you?
05:44 Why are you so slow and I mean mentally...
05:47 The numbers, you're not even accurate.
05:51 You know how stupid I look when I'm going
05:53 into an executive meeting with reports like this?
05:57 You need to get it together.
06:00 But Cynthia, the...
06:02 Shhh, Ms. Green today. Okay
06:06 Ms. Green, you know we've been having issues with
06:10 the data loads, I.T. has been really slow in fixing them.
06:13 And your point is? You can't blame anybody
06:17 else for your incompetence.
06:19 Is that all?
06:21 Okay, I have good news and I have challenging news.
06:26 The good news is - Ron has been promoted to
06:28 senior analyst position.
06:30 The challenging news is that you're going to have to
06:32 take over his responsibilities until we decide
06:35 whether or not we're going to fill his position.
06:38 What? You can't handle it?
06:41 Seriously? I already have a full load and essentially
06:46 you're asking me to do the work of two people.
06:48 Can't we split up his work among the rest of the group?
06:51 I thought about that, but it's really just easier
06:53 if you do it - because you know all the ins and outs of
06:56 of the tasks - besides, it will be helping you.
06:59 Helping me?
07:01 Yes, helping you - you want to get promoted don't you?
07:07 Huh, you know what? Think about it.
07:20 This is ridiculous! Loud sigh...
07:26 I hate this job!
07:29 I always get work piled on me and the systems barely work,
07:33 and then I get blamed for that too!
07:36 Oh and that woman over there, "Ron is getting promoted,"
07:41 so what!
07:43 Loud sigh...
07:45 You know what? They can have this, I'm done!
07:50 Telephone rings 3 times.
07:55 This is Shala. Who is this?
08:04 Office floor G23? Okay! Okay. Bye.
08:26 Well... Have you ever had one of those Shala days?
08:31 One where you were ready to pick up your toys
08:34 and go home... forever?
08:37 Well I think most of us have, so let's look at the
08:39 typical day that we have.
08:41 We wake up and know we spend time with God in the word
08:45 and praying and asking for that divine guidance and then
08:48 we get in our cars and we hit rush hour traffic.
08:52 I have no idea why they call it "rush hour" because
08:55 nobody is rushing anywhere.
08:56 In fact, just a little car that cuts you off,
08:59 that little sports car, and then there's a pickup truck
09:03 that almost sideswipes you at an off-ramp or an on-ramp,
09:06 and you're struggling all the way in to the office.
09:09 And then when you get to the parking structure at work,
09:13 your assigned parking space has somebody else's car in it.
09:17 How can that be?
09:19 The parking space is assigned to you!
09:21 So you tool around the parking lot looking for
09:24 anything that's empty, almost making you late.
09:26 Oh no! Then as you struggle
09:29 through the door to get to your work station on time,
09:32 there's a pile of work waiting on you. Yeah!
09:37 And just about that time, an irritating
09:40 boss or co-worker comes by and says,
09:43 "Nice of you to join us today."
09:46 Tell me how your spiritual life is right about then.
09:49 You see, some of us are moving so fast on the work treadmill
09:53 that we don't have time to plant our growth and development.
09:58 However, the difference between most people and those whose
10:02 careers are growing and thriving,
10:04 is that each one of the successful people
10:07 stops to take a measure of where
10:09 they are and does something about it.
10:11 Even if you are perfectly happy and fulfilled where you are,
10:16 there are still things that you can do to make your
10:20 work life even more powerful.
10:24 Thankfully, there's a mentor
10:27 that's about to help our friend, Shala, and her career.
10:34 Knocking at the door... Come in Shala.
10:42 How did you...? Who are you?
10:45 Well I'm certainly not your fairy godfather, Cinderella.
10:49 Okay, that's a bit corny... they call me "The Prophet."
10:52 Been around a lot, seen a lot, done a lot,
10:54 and I know a lot, so I can help you a lot!
10:57 Have a seat. Okay.
11:02 Okay let's get to it... You hate your job.
11:04 Yeah - very much.
11:06 Can you fill me in - why?
11:08 Hmm, the workload is out-of-control.
11:12 I keep getting blamed for things I have no control over.
11:15 My boss apparently hates me because she's always
11:18 riding on me and, honestly, I can't stand her.
11:21 She's rude, condescending and her voice annoys me.
11:23 Okay, I see...
11:26 Well, it doesn't make sense to keep piling work onto
11:29 one person when there are clearly other capable people.
11:32 Okay, I see...
11:34 I see? That's all you have?
11:37 Well is there anything at all that you like about your job?
11:44 I don't know, it's close to my house.
11:48 Close to your house, okay, that's a start.
11:52 Anything else? Nothing.
11:56 Nothing?
11:58 Do you get a paycheck every two weeks?
12:01 Yes.
12:03 Do you like that paycheck every two weeks? Of course.
12:06 Okay, and I suspect with that is medical, vacations,
12:12 yearly bonus - do you like that stuff?
12:15 Yeah I do.
12:18 I think we're finding out, you're just not feeling
12:20 fulfilled in your job.
12:22 I used to love it.
12:24 But what changed?
12:27 My boss was diagnosed "bipolar."
12:30 Bipolar? Yeah.
12:34 Really?
12:35 Well no, but it sure seems like it sometimes.
12:39 You should hear some of the stuff that comes out of her
12:41 mouth and how she acts.
12:42 Okay, so your boss has changed.
12:46 Yeah, and sometimes the work is just absolutely boring.
12:50 I'm not being mentally challenged anymore.
12:52 Ahhh, now we're getting to the meat of the matter.
12:56 So your boss may not have changed that much,
12:58 your job may not have changed, but YOU'VE changed.
13:02 Okay - that's not a bad thing, it's a good thing.
13:08 It sounds like you've outgrown your job.
13:12 You know, Ms. Green knew that when she gave you
13:15 Ron's extra work day.
13:16 Wait, how did you know it was Ron's work?
13:19 They call me "The Prophet," and I know a lot.
13:24 We need to look at your skills.
13:26 We need to look at what you do best and where you can
13:30 use it best - whether it's inside the company
13:32 in positions that are available there or in another
13:34 position outside of the company, does that make sense?
13:37 Yes. Okay.
13:38 Here's what I want to ask you to do...
13:40 Make a list of all your skills, all the things you do best,
13:46 and then look at all of the needs for your company,
13:49 and see if any of those skills match up with company needs.
13:52 Logical so far?
13:53 Yes, so far - so good.
13:55 Okay, the last thing I want you to do is make a list
13:58 of opportunities that are right there in those positions.
14:02 Like what?
14:04 Training. Training opportunities.
14:07 Special committees where you get a chance to work with
14:09 folks from other departments, special projects,
14:13 high visibility - people at the top look at those things.
14:17 And really what we want to do is find out who you are
14:20 professionally.
14:23 I think from there, we're going to be able
14:24 to build a program that gets you where you want to go
14:27 and definitely makes you feel better about
14:30 going to work every day.
14:31 Is that a process you think you can buy into?
14:34 Yeah, sounds good.
14:36 All right, well get started on that and we'll chat later. Okay
14:40 All right, all the best.
14:42 Thanks.
14:46 That still doesn't help me with the ridiculous workload.
14:50 Workload - would it hurt you to handle the workload
14:57 for 30 days and kinda prove what you can do?
15:01 Hmm, all right, I'll give it a try.
15:04 Okay, take care.
15:10 Just curious, does anybody else know about you,
15:14 that you have an office down here?
15:16 Uh huh, payroll. Goodbye.
15:29 Now in Shala's case, she goes to see a mentor.
15:33 Now there's nothing mysterious about a mentor.
15:36 A mentor is simply someone who has gone over the highway
15:40 ahead of you and knows where the potholes are.
15:43 So our mentor, "The Prophet," shares the insights
15:46 that he has on bosses in general.
15:49 Now even though it's a challenging day for her,
15:52 he seems to suggest that everything may not
15:55 be as it seems.
15:58 Now, I remember on my first corporate job...
16:01 I worked in a large office and my supervisor
16:05 had nominated me for the "Leadership Fast Track Program."
16:09 Now this program was supposed to create a pool of upwardly
16:13 mobile employees that could be groomed for management
16:16 positions.
16:18 I'd like to impress you and tell you how special I was,
16:22 but I must honestly disclose that there were, in fact,
16:26 quite a few up and coming employees on that list,
16:29 and the competition was fierce once a supervisory
16:33 position was available.
16:35 Now, some of my peers were just as nuts as I was,
16:40 so every morning we would hang out at one another's
16:43 desk and share humorous stories and anecdotes from the
16:47 night before and slowly slide in to something that loosely
16:52 resembled work after using a few minutes of our
16:56 employer's time for our own personal enjoyment.
16:59 Now right about that time one morning,
17:01 we were laughing uncontrollably about some story,
17:04 my supervisor strode into the office - always purposefully,
17:08 there was a group of about eight of us standing around
17:11 a co-worker's desk... my supervisor an actual
17:14 ex-sergeant in the army, ignored the other seven people
17:18 and said, "Eric sit down."
17:21 As I looked around, I became livid.
17:23 I immediately wanted to know why my supervisor
17:27 singled me out from the rest of my peers.
17:31 Seething with anger, I sat down.
17:34 Later in the morning, I could contain myself
17:36 no longer, so I walked up to the supervisor's desk and said,
17:40 "May I see you in the outside training rooms, please."
17:43 She looked up and said, "Sure,"
17:46 and followed me down the hall to one of the training rooms.
17:49 As soon as the door closed, I unloaded...
17:51 "What was that you did to me earlier today?"
17:54 "That was totally unfair, I'm standing with a group
17:57 of people and you single ME out to embarrass ME,
18:00 and make ME look small in front of everybody."
18:03 My supervisor simply stood there with a rather bemused
18:06 look on her face.
18:07 She said, "Eric, let me bring you up to speed
18:10 on what happened this morning"...
18:11 "When I was walking into the room, Mr. Perry, our division
18:16 manager, was 4 or 5 steps behind me...
18:19 I didn't have time to tell you about how you were viewed
18:22 as capable, but a jokester who may not really be serious
18:26 about advancement.
18:28 Now since this criticism can slow and even end your career,
18:32 in a place here where everybody is so competitive,
18:36 I only had enough time to give you the cliff notes version,
18:39 Eric, sit down.
18:41 Luckily you sat down, with an attitude,
18:44 but you sat down.
18:45 When Mr. Perry walked in the office, he saw other people
18:49 talking and laughing, but you had your head down
18:52 working at your desk... anything else?"
18:54 Uh, uh, no ma'am, I replied sheepishly.
18:59 She turned and marched purposefully out of the office
19:03 much like I believe she had done during her entire
19:07 service in the military.
19:08 Funny, she had a slight smile on her face all day long.
19:14 As humans living in a negative world,
19:16 we often see the down before we see the up.
19:19 I have learned that not everything is what it seems.
19:24 The option I have... Trust the hand of God.
19:28 God's ultimate goal is to elevate you to a place
19:32 where all can see His hand on you.
19:35 Now He cannot elevate you if you're going to
19:40 floss and show off and be prideful.
19:43 Let me give you an example...
19:45 I have two children - I give one of them an ice cream cone.
19:51 They are enjoying the ice cream, it is tasty, it's a warm day,
19:55 it's a beautiful thing.
19:57 As a parent, I am happy to give that child some ice cream.
20:02 However, my second child walks up and my first child
20:06 looks at my second child and says, "I have some ice cream,
20:10 you don't have any," and begins to taunt
20:14 the second child.
20:15 Immediately as a parent, you know what I would do?
20:19 And probably many of you parents that are watching this...
20:21 You're going to take the ice cream away from the child
20:25 that had it - because there's no way you're going to give
20:28 a gift to one of your children so they can taunt
20:32 the rest of your children.
20:34 There's no way that God is going to bless you
20:37 so that you can look at any of the other of His kids
20:40 as less than and not being as important and as valued
20:46 as you are.
20:47 He knows things about your situation that only He
20:52 can know because He hears every meeting discussion.
20:57 Now, if there's a meeting in another room that you're
21:01 not there, God hears it.
21:03 If they're discussing your career in a management meeting,
21:08 God hears it.
21:09 Whatever is going on that's going to affect your work life,
21:13 God already knows it.
21:15 He knows them and He knows you.
21:19 Trust Him to keep you even when things look bleak.
21:24 Now, what is God's purpose for allowing you to work
21:28 where you work?
21:30 Do you think that He gave you a job just so that you could
21:33 buy things?
21:34 Do you think that He gave you a job just so you could
21:36 have more than everybody else around you?
21:39 Or, just to be able to pay your bills?
21:41 Why do you think He put you there?
21:43 Well, here's the answer...
21:45 He wants you to be His hands in that situation.
21:52 He wants you to bless and encourage all of the people
21:56 you work with.
21:57 Christ also wants you to live as He would live.
22:02 Now let's take a look at a couple of situations...
22:06 Do any of these behaviors measure up to
22:09 Christ's expectations?
22:14 We're at work and the printer...
22:18 We have to wait for it a little bit.
22:20 Ehh, not up to standard?
22:26 Ahh, it's a toner problem.
22:31 Let's fix it... ahh, ahh - it's not fixed,
22:39 and we have a bigger toner problem.
22:41 I'm pretty exasperated at this point.
22:45 I just would want a copy of what's on my screen.
22:54 Wowww...
22:57 I'm not sure at this moment if this is exactly
23:00 what Jesus would do.
23:06 Have you ever gone to work and had a co-worker
23:09 that just picked with you, said snide things,
23:13 did things, have you ever been fed up?
23:18 After one more time...
23:28 I'm sure there's a better way of impressing the Gospel.
23:36 Have you ever worked on a program that just
23:38 didn't work and instead of praying for peace and guidance,
23:44 you tried to do it yourself.
23:54 God wants you to be elevated to the highest position
23:58 that He can trust you with.
24:00 He doesn't care what your title is.
24:02 He's not concerned with whether or not you're the CEO
24:06 or the chairman of the board.
24:08 He wants to make you the head and not the tail.
24:14 I remember years ago - in my office at work,
24:18 people came in and they were asking me my story...
24:22 "How did you get here?"
24:24 One young man in particular, said, "Eric, I'm looking at
24:29 where you are - I'm not quite sure where you came from,
24:33 "Can you share your story?"
24:35 So I said, "Sure."
24:36 I said, "I was born not to wealth or privilege,
24:39 but I was born to parents who actually knew who God was
24:44 and loved Jesus Christ and they raised me the right way,
24:49 but I went sideways and a lot of the things that I
24:53 should have done, I didn't... because I wanted
24:57 to do it my way and I had dreams of making it to the top.
25:01 I had dreams of grandeur, being in charge of the whole world."
25:05 You do sometimes when you have no idea
25:07 what reality is going to bring you...
25:09 And during the journey, I lost sight of what
25:13 they had taught me and that was to hold on to the
25:15 hand of Jesus Christ along the way.
25:19 As with all stories that start with "I deviated from the
25:22 path that God wanted me to be on," my story had the
25:26 same amount of pain.
25:28 It had the same amount of challenges in things
25:31 that I could not overcome on my own.
25:34 Let me share this with you, just a tip...
25:36 The things are in front of you, you will not
25:38 be able to do without God.
25:40 So as I thought of all the things God had brought me
25:43 through, the amazing challenges, the problems that were overcome,
25:47 and it definitely was not me, it was by His power.
25:52 In fact, at that moment, as I looked at this young man
25:54 that was asking me how did you get here...
25:57 I thought, "I wonder what he's going through, I wonder
26:01 what things he is experiencing."
26:03 "God, the things that You've allowed me to go through
26:06 and overcome, the miracles that You've done for me,
26:10 can I get these across to him?"
26:12 So at that point, again he repeats, "How did you get here?"
26:17 The only answer I could give him was, "God."
26:22 I didn't give him a book, I didn't give him a Bible study,
26:26 I just wanted him to know my testimony based on
26:29 what God has done for me... here's how you get here.
26:34 Now in your life, I don't know what God has planned for you,
26:37 but it is something big.
26:40 I don't know what your talent is, but God wants to
26:43 use that to His glory and He wants to elevate you
26:47 if He can trust you.
26:48 He wants you to put you in places that when people
26:51 see you - they go, "Woww, I wonder what a relationship
26:56 with Jesus Christ really is.
26:58 You see, you're going to work, but it's not just so that
27:01 you can pay your bills, buy that nice house,
27:04 drive a nice car, wear nice clothes...
27:07 God is putting you where He wants you to be
27:10 so that He can use you to be His hands and fingers
27:15 in that situation.
27:16 Pray every morning as you read your Bible, as you talk to Him
27:22 to be a witness for Him and a power in the workplace.
27:26 Remember, you may be powerless over what they can do to you,
27:32 but never forget they are totally powerless to stop
27:37 what God will do for you.
27:39 Until next time... "Keep Working the Dream!"
27:42 This is Eric Kelly.


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Revised 2017-08-10