On the verge of getting fired...
Greetings!
One of my favorite professors in college was Rich Flanagan. He didn't have much use for text books. He'd toss them aside and teach from experience. Students loved him. He taught, and we learned.
But Mr. Flanagan was known more for his quotable quotes. Some were useful, some were questionable, and still others landed somewhere in between.
One of his more useful quotes was "If you can't write your idea on the back of a business card, you don't have a clear idea." Yep, that one's been helpful.
But what do you do with this one?... "It's not what you know that matters, it's what they think you know." Huh?! (Somewhere the Aflac duck is once again left dumbfounded.)
But my favorite Flanaganism was "If you're not on the verge of getting fired, you're not trying hard enough!" Amen!!
Mr. Flanagan was passionate about wanting his students to push themselves toward their potential...that's when our real education would begin.
He knew that whatever we learned (crammed!) from a book would be forgotten soon after the next test. He cared more about impressing on us ideals that we could build on and grow from for a lifetime.
By challenging his students to try hard at getting fired, he was simply encouraging us to push ourselves to reach our professional potential. And along the way, with every success and failure, big and small, we would be granted the opportunity to learn and grow.
IT organizations and businesses become stagnant when their people become stagnant...or worse...when they are suppressed.
When individuals are given the freedom to learn and grow, even at the risk of mistakes and failures, they will not only push themselves toward their potential, but they will pull the business forward to its potential right along with them.
So are you on the verge of getting fired? Come on...what's the worst that could happen?
