Be a Fan of Laborers - Today and Every Day

Many people think of a “good job” as a salaried, Monday through Friday, white collar professional position behind a desk. In today’s economic environment, those positions may be hard to find and not as secure as they once were. We forget that there are many, many important jobs in our country filled by people who work very hard and provide us with highly valuable services that we sometimes take for granted.

Labor Day is a good day to remember to be grateful to those people who do “real work”. I know that corporate jobs can be require long hours and be very stressful. But if you spend your day mostly sitting behind a desk or at a conference table, typing on your computer in a climate-controlled environment, thank your lucky stars for these types of professional, skilled, hard-working contributors to our society:

• The medical aide who takes care of your sick relatives and friends in hospitals and clinics.
• The guy at the automotive repair shop who gets his hands dirty to keep your car road-ready.
• The line cook who prepares your fancy expense account meal.
• The farmer who nurtures the crops that make their way to your kitchen.
• The construction worker that resurfaces the roads you drive on.
• The servers who are on their feet all evening, responding to your signals for a refill.
• The guy who comes out in the middle of the night when your sewer backs up.
• The electrician who finds the wiring problem that keeps your house from burning down.
• The landscaper that cuts your grass and rakes your leaves.
• The room attendant who cleans your hotel room and changes your bedding.

Treat your fellow laborers with the respect they have earned. Happy Labor Day!

This blog was inspired by a CBS Sunday Morning interview with Mike Rowe.  For more:
Sept 4 Interview - Mike Rowe

Respectful Coexistence

The terrible events in Tucson this past weekend have made many of us think about our desire for peaceful coexistence. We wish that our differences could be expressed and debated in a civil manner, without vituperative spewing, threats, and other extreme and violent behavior. Let’s let tolerance and respect for other people and their views drive our behavior and interactions. Overcome polarization with open-mindedness, thought, and an eye on important goals. I’d like to see us apply some values, intellect and effort to minimize conflict over differences and find common ground that allows us to move forward constructively.

Our challenges are broad, in our personal lives, in business, in our communities, and politics. But we have choices we can make in all of those arenas. We control our own behavior and are responsible for our actions. We choose to participate in our communities and shape them into places we can be proud to live. We elect our politicians, and are entitled hold them accountable to represent us conscientiously.

The business world is reflective of many of the issues exhibited in our world today. In a well-run corporation, ethical leadership, effective management, clear goals, policies and procedures, the application of laws, and human resources programs help govern the chaos. Individuals mostly “behave”, at least in part because they don’t want to harm their careers, lose a paycheck, or be humiliated in front of their peers.

Each of us can make a difference at some level. Be caring in your personal relationships, respectful and constructive in your work environment, cooperative with community efforts, and active to make your voice heard in politics. Let’s all lead by example, and make clear what we expect from our fellow civilians and our governments. We’re smart enough and good enough to make some changes.