Make Me Rich or Die Trying!

Accountability Productivity Well-being

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Key Point: “9 to 5 is for the weak.” That is the slogan on a popular t-shirt. And my recent three-week vacation gave me a little white space to reflect on how people, including me, use their precious 24 daily hours. It’s duly noted that some people like “Crush It” guru, Gary Vaynerchuk, tells his disciples of hustle; that if they want the “bling,’ they should work 18-hours a day, continuously. And of course Silicon Valley and every other startup/venture driven “valley” anywhere, inspires much of that thinking and behavior; sometimes to a ridiculous degree. Uber competitor, Lyft, posted a blog bragging how one of their drivers went into labor and kept picking up rides on the way to the hospital. After considerable criticism, Lyft pulled down the post. Hustle and good judgment are not necessarily related. 

Chinese start-ups are now becoming notorious for outworking start-ups in other cultures. It’s about working all-in, every day, including weekends for most new Chinese ventures. This start-up reality is even impacting national strategies. The new French president, Emmanuel Macron, has vowed to take on the country’s infamous labor code (the 3324 page, Code du Travail), in order to spark more globally competitive ventures in France. And much of their work force is pushing back.

On the other hand, counter to this obsessive “grind it up” thinking, are successful companies like Basecamp, where workweeks are capped at 40 hours and reduced to 32 in the summer. The founders are publishing a second book celebrating their company culture, entitled the “Calm Company.” And there is much research that questions real productivity gains after 50 to 60 hours of weekly work. So what does this all mean?

My genuine belief is that there is no wrong or right answer to this debate. 9-to-5 is irrelevant to being weak or strong. If “bling,” or some other purpose/outcome turns you on, then be prepared to out grind and outhustle; and recognize that giving up vacations, sleep, relationships is a conscious decision. Choices are made. No complaints or whining with the consequences. Contrary to most pop culture B.S., one usually can’t have it all at the same time. Also, if you want a more integrated work/non-work experience, then that’s cool too (and also possible in both start-up and more traditional environments). Of course, at different stages of life, sometimes fate matches us up for the pace and focus that works for us at that very time. It’s recommended not to judge others through our unique filters.

Character Moves:

  1. Think about how much you are living and working the way you want to right now. Is your pace and focus right for you? Or are you just in a pattern and let the rapids take you along? Consciously choose your 24 precious hours.
  2. One way or another, do not do what you’re doing to essentially/exclusively make someone else rich (or whatever) at your personal expense. I believe that is when we really lose our way; giving up everything we truly value, without getting the mental and financial equity we deserve. 

Just working in The Triangle,

Lorne 

One Millennial View: I too do not believe there’s a right or wrong answer for this, and it’s also a reason why this blog talks a lot more about putting in value than specific amounts of time. We know long hours certainly don’t guarantee you major financial success (just ask a nurse or fireman). I guess all we can do is produce the best work we can, and pay far more attention to our quality of contribution versus eyeing a clock.

– Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

We’re Back!!

Abundance Transformation

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Hi Readers,

Key Point: Garrett and I have really missed sharing our collective voice with you. We took a little break and at the same time recognized it was necessary to refresh the “old” Lornerubis.com website. We had to take the site down, which made our time away a little longer than we planned. So, what’s new with Lornerubis.com?

The legacy site was six years old and outdated in content and functionality. It needed to be modernized in many ways. While we’re still working some minor bugs out, we encourage you to visit the new site and hope you find this route valuable. The site’s searchability has improved significantly, and there is a lot more informative content in addition to the blogs. At the same time, all the blogs we’ve written every week for the past six years are archived for your reference. Our Culture Cast podcasts are there too, (stay tuned for Season 2 starting in late October). Speaking of our podcasts, thank you for responding to our survey and the unanimous support for more. We asked and listened to your suggestions so we will be doing additional topics on leadership, innovation and culture with more real world insights that translate into action. We will be continuously adding new resource content to Lornerubis.com as the site and your interests evolve. And those of you who have subscribed will automatically get the blog emailed Tuesday and Friday mornings (Pacific Time) per usual.

The new theme of the refreshed website is Personal Leadership. It is based on the premise that the gateway to effectively leading others always starts with each of us first. While the Character Triangle consisting of the values of Self-Accountability, Respect and Abundance will always be foundational, the scope of the website content will focus on the full range of material driving transformative leadership and cultural advancement. We hope to challenge, inspire, provoke, enrich, and meaningfully contribute to your personal leadership journey. Like we often state, “You’re worth it!”

Thanks for being part of our community and helping us to continue improving our voice.

Lorne

P.S. Special thanks to the great web team at ATB who took this web re-design on as an extra project. This was WAY beyond and added to an already very heavy work load for all of them. You can see their professional work in the design. I cannot express my appreciation adequately.

One Millennial View: I’m absolutely thrilled to be back in the saddle for the new installment of Lornerubis.com. The update looks amazing, and I too would like to thank the efforts of the ATB team that designed the awesome new site. I know we’re both pumped that it’s making a big comeback, especially at a point where Personal Leadership is a topic that’s very important for me to focus on. I look forward to continuing to share a Millennial View with all of our great readers! Thanks for sticking around!

– Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Alberta Public Service Commission: Leading Forward Conference

Events

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September 25, 2017

Lorne will be joined by ATB’s CEO Dave Mowat on addressing the crowd with the keynote address, “Power, Influence and Getting Things Done: Some Hard Truths About Leading”. The first ever Alberta Public Service Assistant Deputy Minister conference will focus on the conference theme of ‘Leading Forward’ and will have over 100 Assistant Deputy Ministers for the Government of Alberta come together to explore and discuss leadership, ethics and diversity and inclusion. Lorne and Dave will be speaking from 11:30 am – 12:15 pm.

The Great Place to Work Executive Forum 2017

Events

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October 25 – 27, 2017

Organizations today face many challenges and threats on the horizon and need to ready their people and organizations to be prepared for an array of these disruptions – digital and other. For many of us this means preparing our entire culture and requires deep changes to the “fabric of who we are”. In this opening session, we will tap into what we, as senior HR leaders, see as our top two challenges and/or opportunities for our own organizations during these roundtable self-introductions. This will be an extraordinary opportunity for participants to act as a touchpoint as the discussions continue throughout the Forum, with the goal of finding a path to solutions through shared experiences. Lorne will be opening the session at 8:30 am with a discussion on “Disruptions or Opportunities”.

Register

Canadian Employee Relocation Council 2017: The Power of Partnerships

Events

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September 10-12, 2017

An engaged workforce is a competitive advantage, and according to Gallop, companies with top quartile engagement rates average 22 per cent higher profitability! These companies also enjoy lower employee attrition, absenteeism and fewer safety incidents. While mobility can accelerate engagement, it is often difficult to sustain high levels of engagement among transferees, given the unique stressors and changes they experience. In this case study I will break down the award winning people culture at ATB Financial and investigate how mobility is used to stimulate employee engagement. I will be presenting with Ellie Sullivan, Senior VP Advisory Services at Weichert Mobility Workforce on September 12, 10:45 am – 12:00 pm.

Register or read more

Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce: Opportunity South Conference & Business Expo

Events

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October 3-4, 2017

Opportunity South Conference & Business Expo is back for 2017 with a can’t-miss lineup of internationally acclaimed speakers including futurist Richard Worzel, marketing master Ron Buist, teambuilding wizard Lorne Rubis and a keynote address by our 22nd Prime Minister Stephen Harper focusing in on international trade.

Register