*Spoiler alert* It changed my life.
This will be only the 2nd book review that I can recall posting to My Electric Vehicle Journey. I decided to write about this book because, when telling a customer about how it affected my life, I saw her eyes fill with tears. This is something I have to share. To do this, we’ll go back a few years, in my career…
I started out in manufacturing (oilfield manufacturing, believe it or not) and from there ended up working for computer-aided design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software companies, as the technical person on a software sales team. I didn’t have to do any “salesy” stuff, just demonstrate the software for potential clients, answer questions, teach classes, consult. These were almost full-time customer-facing roles and I really enjoyed it.
People were always telling me back then, “You should be in sales.” I didn’t want to hear it. I hated the idea of cold-calling people, setting appointments, schmoozing, etc… I also loved being the expert in the room. The salespeople I worked with deferred almost all technical questions to me and I love(d) being the center of attention, when there were tens of thousands (and sometimes hundreds of thousands) of dollars hanging in the balance.
After 9/11, my job (and many others like it) evaporated. Air travel restrictions forced companies to look at other methods of presenting their products than traveling to the customer’s location. Using the Internet to perform live demonstrations or have libraries of videos available 24 hours a day, meant they no longer needed us. I ended up being laid off and then hired by a client of mine. I eventually ran four departments in his factory. I worked long hours alone, stretching my technical skills immensely and successfully, but miserable in my career.
I came across the book, in a library, while looking for career advice. The premise was straight-forward: The Gallup Organization had performed studies to better evaluate potential hires for companies. In studying the issue, they determined that people have 34 strengths or themes. They also determined that the old adage, “Work on your weaknesses to strengthen them.” is unprofitable. The book states that, if you really work at it, you can improve a weakness’ performance by only about 10%. However, if you work on your strengths, you can become a super-star!
At the end of the book (which is a quick read) there is a sealed envelope. In the envelope is a code that allows you to take a test online and learn your top five strengths/themes. Based on your strengths, you will be told what environment in which you’d best be suited.
I took the test and was informed my top five strengths or themes are:
- Achiever: (hard worker)
- Input: (craving to learn, collector of information)
- Learner: (enjoys the process of learning, wants to know more)
- Woo: (enjoys meeting new people and winning them over)
- Maximizer: (not afraid to push yourself to new levels)
Based on this, it was recommended I look for a career where I’m:
- acquiring new information every day
- using that information to take action
- in a career that employs constantly changing technology
- sharing the information I’ve learned with others
- interacting with many people, during a day
- networking continuously with others to achieve goals
- free to work as hard or as long as I want.
Okay…
Maybe I should take a look at sales. I went to work for Apple. In fact the book Strengths Finder 2.0 was a big topic of conversation in Apple HR and management circles. People were always comparing strengths with one another. I was hired to work in an Apple Store as the “Business Partner,” later “Business Manager,” leading the effort of the store to sell to businesses. It was a perfect sales job to start with, because I didn’t have to cold call anyone. Customers came into the store and were often surprised that Apple had programs set up to help businesses. Many of my Apple Clients are friends to this day.
After I acquired our first Chevy Volt, I wanted to do more to promote electric vehicles, so I started this blog. I also suggested to my dealership that they invite all their Volt owners back for National Plug-in Day (now National Drive Electric Week). They hated that idea, but invited me to speak to the entire sales team about why I thought the Volt was so important to General Motors as well as our country and planet.
Three days later I had a new sales job.
They even let me select my title, so I’m the EVangelist at Classic Chevrolet.
Now back to telling my customer about this book: We were actually discussing careers and they noticed I seem to really like what I do. I told them how I almost always have a smile on my face as I drive to work, even though this isn’t the highest-paying job I’ve ever had. I told them how part of my enjoyment and satisfaction comes from helping people: helping them find that perfect vehicle, helping them get out from under a bad vehicle, helping them cut through the BS and get to a win-win with the dealership. I told them how the second customer to whom I sold a car was a divorcee in a bad financial situation with a terrible car that wasn’t going to last much longer. I worked hard to find a new car that would fit her budget, while meeting her minimal requirements. She was so happy as she drove off, in her new car, that it made my day and solidified the realization that I was in the right career (at the age of 56). On the drive home that night, I realized I was grinning foolishly, so I called my mom, in Houston, and started our conversation with, “Hi mom. Guess what I did today!”
Bottom line:
I’ve had jobs where I made lots of money and was miserable. Sometimes this was due to management, coworkers, working conditions, etc., but now I believe, most of the time, it was because I was in an environment where I couldn’t use my strengths. Yes, I am making somewhat less money, than I did at the peak of my earning power, but my income is steadily increasing and will be near (if not exceeding) my peak, within two more years.
But better yet: I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my career and the world is a teeny-tiny bit better because of that.
- READ THE BOOK
- TAKE THE TEST
- FIND WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT
- FOLLOW THE SUGGESTIONS OR THE REPORT
- ENJOY A BETTER CAREER AND LIFE.
It really is that easy.
