What compels you?

Since January of 2006, I have been involved on a volunteer basis with a loosely formed group of individuals from four different faith communities in my town to help bring relief to the victims of the Katrina Gulf Coast hurricane.  We concentrated our efforts on Biloxi Mississippi.  From January through October, our group, self named Bridge to Biloxi, has facilitated work teams of more than 150 youth and adults to work with the victims of the hurricane:  removing debris, demolding houses, serving the hungry, and facilitating recovery wherever we can.

In October, our group committed to work directly with our Biloxi partner, Hands On Network Gulf Coast, to rebuild the home of one single family. The response has been overwhelming for everyone involved in our Bridge to Biloxi effort, as well as those individuals with whom we've worked in Biloxi. In short order, this disparate group of people has been able to communicate the compelling message about this family's need for a home, and we have received volunteers from across the country.  It has been a breeze to raise the funds necessary to rebuild this modest home.  Now, with a very successful effort nearly behind us, we are beginning to contemplate our next iteration.  It looks like we have the makings of a brand-new nonprofit, one whose genesis spans religious faith, ages, and any other demographic category you can choose.  The progress is palpable. The rewards are tremendous. The new relationships are deep and strong.

I have watched myself carve out time that I don't have to work on this rewarding project.  I have watched others dig into their pockets to get themselves down to Biloxi, and return wide-eyed with stories of spiritual nourishment and new friendship. 

And yet, in my dealings with my clients and business associates, I am struck by this refrain: mundane accomplishments, enacted routinely, with little or no sense of positive purpose.  No, no, I'm not saying that our marketing jobs are worthless or meaningless or terrible.  But in some of my posts to come in the next few days, you will hear about the lack of professional passion with which many of us go about accomplishing our marketing duties.

I would wager that many of those internal clients with whom we work -- the accountants, lawyers, architects, consultants, etc. -- probably feel a similar sense of the mundane.  With such a lack of motivation, and a lack of a compelling purpose to pursue, no wonder it's a challenge for marketers and their key stakeholders to achieve significant marketplace gains.

Is there something we can do about this?  As professional service marketers, I think we are in a unique position to help our colleagues remember what gets them up in the morning; to help them imagine new and more compelling ways to use their expertise to bring about positive changes. 

Maybe I'm naïve, but there must be some way we can tie our work back to meaningful pursuits and accomplishments that stimulate our professional passion and bring a palpable sense of reward as we collect a paycheck or build equity in firms.  And I can only imagine being the clients who might be the recipients of such professional passion!

Comments

[cehwiedel]

This post will be included in today's edition of the "Carnival of Hurricane Relief." I would also like to bring your attention to the CoHR special Christmas shopping edition. We are currently beating the bushes for indiviuals, small businesses and non-profits to list (no charge). Please see the website at http://www.cehwiedel.com/cohr/Xmas/2006/

[Barbara Price]

Suzanne,

Great work with "Bridge to Biloxi." As a resident of the South and a first hand witness to the devastation wrought by both Katrina and Rita, your help is very much needed and very much appreciated.

Regarding your comments about applying a similar passion to our marketing jobs, I believe what creates the disconnect is not simple. For some, it's because while they may be good at what they do, it's not their passion. That lies elsewhere. For others, it's a failure to see how we actually do help people. And, some people just don't like their work to begin with.

I know I'm passionate about helping others see what they're good at and building upon those strengths so that they can discover their own passions and excel at what they are passionate about. That fits perfectly with my role as a marketing director of a PSF because I work with each of our professionals (and the whole firm) in a way to build each of them up. I love finding what they are good at and helping them realize their talents and use them.

It took me a while to come to that realization. I'm not here just to get the next marketing campaign off the ground. I'm here to help our people help themselves, and in turn, our clients.

Hope you are recovering well from surgery! I'll keep you in my prayers.

I look forward to future posts on the subject of passion.

-- Barbara Walters Price