We can hear you remarking to yourself.

Recreation: how is recreation supposed to be a crucial work skill?

We break the word up a bit into two parts.

Re, which means to do again or repeat.

Creation which means to begin or start.

Flip it, and you have to start again.

Why should you care about starting again when it comes to yourself?

Because the process of working and pursuing a profit can be quite banal.

Schumpeter’s law of creative destruction posits that the buyer will always look for it faster or cheaper and that a new supplier will meet this demand by providing a similar product or service for less or in a shorter period.

The worker and the employer have been at similar odds for centuries. As capital-light enterprises have proliferated, more workers have now understood the employer's feelings as they start companies and then stress over the cost of an employee.

How quickly the perspective changes when it is your asset you are protecting?

Regardless of your position, it is vital to be able to put down the shovel or plow and, like Fred Flintstone of old, yell Yabba Dabba Do as you beat the street to some time off.

We do not have any strong thoughts about your chosen recreation. We have met thrill seekers who believe that it isn't worth it if they are not a bit scared, and we know others who think sitting at a poker tournament in Las Vegas with sunglasses on for hours is the bomb.

Wherever you fall on the spectrum, the key is to take yourself mentally and physically into a new state. Over the years, we have witnessed that at some point in the recreative period, other things your brain has put on hold will present themselves in a new light. Here are a few you might identify with.
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• Getting away from your team will allow you to reflect on how they are aligned with your goals and each other.
• The mountain of a work conflict costing you sleep when placed against the backdrop of a river’s edge in Yosemite might pale in comparison and you will know how to proceed.
• How your customer base is changing could be revealed when listening to another friend talk about what they are going through while sitting on a beach or after a hike.
• Is it time to set higher goals, take more risks with your capital, or sit tight and let a few things play out?

Regular exercise, weekends, and vacations are key components for any executive. No one will prioritize your time with as much understanding of your needs as you.

We encourage you to take the leap, put down your laptop and phone, put your bare feet on some grass, and engage in a little re-creation of your mind, body, and soul.

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Click here for our full Crucial Work Skills document.

Our fifth installment in the Crucial Work Skills white paper focuses on Community Involvement. A give-back component in your life is vital to a well-rounded adult experience. It also has some unique benefits that are often overlooked or poorly described. We will attempt to outline how to identify the right causes that matter to you and maximize your contribution.
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Identifying

We have outlined the process of self-discovery called Interests, Strengths, and Style previously with an eye towards your vocation and suggested you never lose sight of how the needs for your strengths may change as the tools valued in the marketplace may change.

When it comes to helping others, the process is similar. What are your current interests? List a few areas, and as you do this, consider getting out of your core comfort zone. We have found that in giving back your time and talents, there is less of a concern that you are great at something. It can be as important that you want to show up and help.  In addition, unlike a job, you are not making a full-time commitment, so this is an area in which you can dabble a bit to find the right fit.

Dabbling with different causes will allow you to expand the network of people you meet as you volunteer, which is an important byproduct of volunteering that we will address later.

What is your second strength?

In the working world, very few people can worry about a second strength; we need to maximize our contribution with our greatest strength as the market is so indifferent to our presence that we need every ounce of ability to drive revenue to create economic safety for ourselves and our families.

An unintended consequence is that we seldom get a chance to round out our skills, and this is one of the secrets of giving back: you can flex into an additional area and get better. No one is teaching you marketing if you are great at sales; they just want you to close deals. Yet, over the last 30 years, the relationship between sales and marketing has changed. It behooves a good salesperson to understand marketing and vice versa.

When you show up to help a non-profit, and they assign people to committees, it is okay to identify some of the other areas of running an entity that you may not be strong in and offer to be a grunt on that committee. The committee leader could end up being a great mentor, and you will get to cross-train, all while helping the target demographic you care about.

Common interests for the common good can create uncommonly wonderful friendships.

Not only is helping people good for the recipient, but it can also help you build new skills and have meaningful shared experiences with your fellow volunteers.

In 2004, I volunteered at the Guardsmen Christmas Tree Lot, which is one of the largest indoor Christmas Tree lots in the United States. A crew of 25 new guys had put in a solid 10-hour shift on a Saturday setting up the lot, and it was early the next day, so we had another 10 hours ahead of us. I found the local greasy spoon to get some chow, and sure enough, several of the guys I had just gotten to know were of a similar mind; it was a good place to fuel up for the day.

That Christmas season, I started making friendships that last to this day, and I am certain that even if our paths had crossed, the trust would never have been established at such a level without that year of service we all volunteered together.

In 2010, we wrote a book called The Next Gen Almanac, which outlined the potential benefits of a strong and meaningful shared experience.

We called the magic formula: SE = C = T = Opportunity

SE = meaningful shared experience (like working at a tree lot together)

C = window into the other person's character (with character being highly portable and long-lasting)

T = trust with the size of trust correlating to the meaningfulness of the shared experience.

Opportunity = Now that you trust each other, the opportunities you can create together are limitless.

Thinking back to Peter Drucker’s key questions, he suggested three main questions to ask yourself all your life: How can I maximize my contribution while I am alive? Once I have figured out what I want to contribute to, how am I allocating my time and capital? Finally, what is my next most important task?

We hope we have made the case that as you allocate your time, helping others is one of the greatest force multipliers available to everyone.

What cause that is greater than yourself are you helping?
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Click here for our full Crucial Work Skills document.