Here's one being tossed around a lot these days: "The ends justify the means."
It's being used in all manner of contexts but mostly by our elected leaders at the federal, state and local level. Think about how many times you have heard someone justify themselves saying the final result was worth the difficult or unpopular decisions that were made to get there. In most cases, we nod in agreement because at least in this country, we still admire those who are self-made or reach what we believe is a level of success in spite of it all. We support the entrepreneur who is boot-strapping, the student who is matriculating, the quarterback who plays injured and on and on.
Recently, I was listening to a sermon delivered by a rabbi on how reaching for a goal is just as important as the goal itself. He spoke in the context of Judaism but it works equally well in the context of finding work and growing your career. The rabbi looked at the process of goal-setting and said that if the means you use to reach a specified goal are not "just," your end result will not be just either.
During the Career Summit at the ONA 2011 conference, I advised our panelists to think of our sessions around the means and the end. I told our collection of experts to "offer advice for those who want to build a career, not solely find a job." I tweeted that to my followers as well as those who followed the conference organizers on Twitter. We asked for a show of hands as to who is looking for work (nearly all hands raised) and those who are currently working (nearly all hands raised). It was good to see a full room of already employed people who were looking to keep growing professionally. There was no desperation, no panic, no stories of horrible working conditions or crazy supervisors. There were good questions, calm and logical about steps that help and not hurt.
It's this approach to career building where the end and the means can support each other....justly.
*Chantal de la Rionda edits this blog
