One of the best pieces of advice that one of my old colleagues/dear friends gave me: “Stop thinking so much about how things should be. Start learning to work with how they are.”
Can I just keep to myself in the workplace? I can accept how things are if I can just keep to myself and not involve myself with other people and focus on doing a better job. I want to be able to get a promotion based on my work performance. I can accept things the way they are if I can just focus on doing my job better. I don't want to play games
@@TshepoKotelo There is no way to evaluate the performace - here we go do better work get the same rate. But you know yourself that you are get better and better.
@@niti2539 You can evaluate performance relative to other employees in terms of output using a KPI called revenue per employee. If you bring in the most revenue for the business, then you're the best employee at the business. I'm not necessarily saying that you will be promoted because of that but I don't care about being promoted because if I have the highest revenue per employee then I can use that as a selling point to obtain customers for my side business. That would be very credible to them
My work life has changed. I feel calmer. I still do quality and timely work but my heart is not exploding in my chest and no lives have been lost since I found your channel. It’s magic. I’m Eternally grateful. ❤
This is how all companies fail. Idiots climb up in management, the people gaming the system thrive, the best contributers get shafted for having dissenting opinions.
@@joedoe8558 I think that doesn't even spotlight the real issue. Most people moving up were never that good to begin with. They've just learned how to move further up the human centipede chain. So typically it's the most brown nosing, deceitful, and those that have the luckiest run of riding the coat tails of increased profit runs that they undeservedly get credit for.
@@seinfan9 Peter principle exists because networking skills gets you promoted instead of competence and after a while it gets too obvious. How is this different from what you said?
It can work if the company promotes based on merit OR seniority. If they value seniority people will stay to get that seniority, they won't go above and beyond, but at least you can keep bodies in the building. If you value merit and have a third party that knows no one in the company evaluate each employee, then you will get productivity. Most companies value neither merit or seniority. No one that is paying attention stays because they know it is a career dead end unless you know someone that can pull you up.
The best career advice I've received especially as a highly driven technical person is to solve my leaders problems not the problems I think are problems. If I can make my bosses life easier it's way more likely to be recognized and appreciated than solving technical issues that I believe are issues but are not noticed by leadership.
You have to do more than agree with the boss. You need to lick boot, suck up, know them outside of work, and if they are receptive to your attempts to get their favor, you might receive favoritism and the promotion that follows, else you will go nowhere.
This dude gets it. Be present, be great, but don't overdo it, don't be too passionate in a negative way or complain. I'm talking big companies, like 50,000 - 100,000+ employees.
A) realize you efforts aren’t really appreciated. Might even downplay them as unnecessary. B) realize that despite being more productive than peers, at the end of the day youre making the same (if not less) than your peers with no clear indication of it changing. Just go with the flow and stay with the pack. You don’t want to stand out in either end top or bottom. Leave the company if it too unbearable but 9/10 the next job has similar issues…maybe worse. If you can’t beat them. Join them.
Sure is. I’m tired of new managers who join the team thinking they can make everyone work twice as fast and set impossible targets. They convince their managers that our work is easy and our work can be performed faster. Damn annoying. These managers don’t do the work, but push push push until people break down or leave. They are numbers people.
Sucks for me. It's literally in my job description to go against the "flow". I'm a QC inspector at a truck manufacturer. Production thinks I'm an a-hole, which is fair to a point, lol. But at the end of the day my name is on each unit and if there's a quality issue guess who's getting yelled at by corporate. Not the guys who built it, it's all on me. I have all the standards on my side, but for some reason when everyone digs their heels in I seem to have no support from the leaders in quality. Basically every day I feel like the Spartan at the front of the line in 300. Except the other 299 cut and run as soon as the fight starts.
Very true, just go with the flow, and if you don't like the flow of the company... move to another. We tend to think the grass is greener until we switch companies just to see that the new company also has their own flow.
Mate this message was what I just needed, I was always pushing through on my own pace with intense and getting everything done ASAP. It was just how my old work culture worked. The new company I am working with has a much slower flow in their work pace, I started following their "flow" and realised that it's also because they are trying to create a culture to not crank their employees to the max all the time. Longevity and retaining employees in this unstable market. It also made me realised that I can't push my way up to a promotion with the current projects we have. Thanks for this video, guess I will just have to lay back for a bit and "go with the flow".
I don’t give AF, when the company is low on staff…. NOT MY PROBLEM. I’ll still arrive late, leave early and do minimal work. Not burning myself out again unless the pay rise is huge.
I wonder how people with your attitude react when they're on the other side of this table. I do YOU feel when you need help from a company employee who gives you the absolute minimum effort or less?
@@philmarsh7723 we are talking about large corps, not tiny startups. There is no good reason “we don’t have enough resources so you have to do extra work” should be used. They are already lying to you, why commit your life to them? The reality is this: “we slacked off, mismanaged the project, and lied to our higher ups about our incompetence so you have to now work more to save our ass” get outta here
This is so true, and something I try to teach new people. And it's not just the company, but different departments, even individual people. Pay attention and learn the flow and use it, never fight it. You can ride waves in, and coast currents out. When stuck, go sideways to catch another current that's going more the direction you want. When things stall, use that time to rest and recover. You may think the flow is wrong, but the company knows way more than you do. There's a LOT more going on at so many levels than you know about, inside and outside the company. For example, you may be fighting to get this one vendor to respond, so ask other people how long does that vendor usually actually take to respond. If it's a long time, go work on something else while you wait. At the end of the week, you got that other thing done AND got your response from the vendor without pissing them off.
Your videos are absolutely what I need to hear. My Stress levels reduced and I don't feel that I should be doing more or extra. Pls make a video on navigation g a PDR (yearly review)
This is the truth. Align with your manager early, delivery early results, got with the flow..I made a mistake for several years not doing this and always went behind
I found myself responsible for a small piece of equipment that needed to be easily exchanged twice a year. It was of critical use to another department. It had NO use in my department. I told them, and my manager, they would need to absorb this responsibility. It would require very little effort on their part. They all were speechless and tried to stop it. I held my ground. As I said, this was critical to their daily functioning. Six months later someone from that department came asking about it and I reiterated what I said months prior. You’d think I’d kicked a hornets nest! Fortunately, I’ve got myself in a position that’s too important on my side to hurt me so they finally took over. I still find it hard to believe how an organization can seem like everyone’s walking in molasses.
“How we live is so different from how we ought to live that he who studies what ought to be done rather than what is done will learn the way to his downfall rather than to his preservation.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
I learned something valuable years ago from a coworker. His lesson, "it pays to be thick". For example, if the boss gives you instructions, don't suggest a better way of doing things. And to show the boss that you don't think you're smarter than him, once in a while ask your boss his opinion on something. If you're a programmer, write down a general algorithm, and tell your boss, "I've got this algorithm..I think it's going to work pretty well, what do you think?" Of course you've got to know your boss, whether or not to expect some snide remark. Personally, I might answer such negativity with, "Oh, I get what you're saying -- you think my algorithm is great. Thanks man" and walk away. But hopefully you craft things in such a way that you make your boss feel that he's worthy. And it doesn't hurt to butter up your coworkers by making them think that they have valuable input even when they don't. Coworker jealousy exists in every profession, at all levels. The best you can do is try to blend in. Ok, I usually fail in this, lol, but I'm trying.
Another great video on dynamics encountered in corporate. I have observed it in my experience and would call it in my mind” you either on the train or you are not”. The way you laid it out is 100% spot on. I have seen in my experience people getting fired due to going against the grain as well as hear from other co-workers so-so was pushed out of the firm because of being disruptive by not “getting on the train” or how I like you describe it , “the flow”. Please keep these videos coming. They have been Insightful. I have observed many of the things but was not able to characterize it in the way you have clearly laid it out and hearing them from you really resonated with me.
You are so correct. I tried to impose a different flow at a couple of churches, though with good intentions … it didn’t go well. It was a difficult lesson.
Could you make a video about leverage in a position? Like is it important to show up? Is it important to have skills no one else does? What is it that keeps you employed? @@RichGilbert love the content!
Brilliant video. You should never go against the "flow" unless you have a very, very good reason to do so. I had to do this within my organization; I fought incredibly hard to get opportunities that align with the field I am passionate in. I finally got what I wanted, but it took me almost 8 years (plus a bit of luck). Now recovering after the struggle.
It's difficult observing mediocrity as a warehouse manager. I'm my only employee however I observe the dysfunction and keep my mouth shut. Do my job so my department is accurate, get paid, n go home 🏡 😤
So glad I stumbled on your video few days ago. Had been a victim of this phenomenon that you explained really well, tbt, it never ends well. I had to learn my lessons and seek the companies whose values and goals align with mine. Thanks man.
You are a godsend. Thank you for this content. I've been extremely frustrated,and your videos help me contextualize it and focus it. Those who over produce (even if well intentioned) are cancerous. That really resonated with me.
I didnt expect to experience that deep insight from Mr. Rich Gilbert, but I am glad to find this video. I can confirm. Working many years in highly corporate structure in luxury hotel business where big titles, job bands and nepotism was the currency. If you drown in the flow, you're out immidiately without honor.
My role and all the roles similar to mine were moved to a back office division. There was a consultation process and I tried to rally a group against the decision. Didn’t work and others who were against it just made the right noises and went with it anyway. I moved role in the company but I learnt that trying to fight against a decision already made by senior leadership is not advisable
wish this video was included in every onboarding session by HR 😂... could've saved me from having stress dealing with the "flow", took me 2 years to learn the "flow".
This advice is actually useful. Unfortunately I learned that in the hard way when I was a bit younger. You have to be aware of the boundaries of the "lane" you are working in. This doesn't mean you shouldn't think "outside the box" at work every now and then... Just be conscious about your surroundings, that's all.
Thank you so much! I feel like you are the dad i never had that tells me all about career advice. I swear I will pass this to my kids when the time comes 😁 Not to say that you’re old but you know!
Just BRILLIANT video ! I realized this the hard way during the last few years. I went through an un-wanted company change due to a massive (multi-billion$) M&A. Everything changed, from the ownership to country, culture, structure etc. I came from a job & culture that I loved (fast paced, empowered business role) to one that I absolutely hate (slow & bureaucratic nightmare). I wanted to be the one that "drives the change" until i got exhausted and close to burnout ...and of course I didn't change shit. I eventually decided to "go with the flow" untill i find another suitable role.
Another vid where you hit the nail on the head!!! I experienced this at my current company. Just doing my usual thing that I’ve done at all my other companies and I start getting push back and certain people thinking I’m rude and disrespectful to them, eventually frustrations bubbling over and voices getting raised, and management getting involved. All over seemingly minor things. I didn’t realise it until later that I was fighting the company processes, the company flow. I was unknowingly stepping on peoples toes, which made my input feel like criticisms to them. Once I realised the processes and systems in place, everything turned around instantaneously. I wasn’t actually disrespectful or rude, I was just going against the flow of the company, and it bit back! So if you find your self in a situation where seemingly reasonable things are getting a bad reaction, take a step back and consider whether you are fighting the flow of the company. It’s also a good way to find out what the boundaries are and finding the right paths to move forward. Tactful antagonisms can be useful to find out no-go paths.
This is such great advice!! I've started jobs in the past where things were a mess and the systems were inefficient. I tried to be helpful by fixing things and making suggestions. The results were: 1) I was resented or 2) given more work and taken for granted, or 3) both 1 and 2. Lol! Things are kind of a mess at my current job. But the firm is about 100 years old and they are fine with the way they do things. Who am I to change it? And beware of getting hired to come in and "help with the new changes being implemented." Sometimes the person trying to make the changes wants to use you as their minion and scapegoat. When things go wrong, they'll hang you out to dry. Just go with the flow! I only make changes that help ME in my job. If anyone wants to adopt what I do, that's on them.
The is precisely why AI will improve productivity on the personal level but can’t at the org level. That is until they fire people and replace them with robots…
When the company is headed towards a cliff, sometimes we should fight against the flow. Self-actualization is important. I never get involved in office politics.
True, I was in a company where i used to finish a task in 3 hours and now in the new place when I do the same thing they think I am taking shortcuts.. now I started doing it their way.. take 1 week for it..
The worst is when you have a legitimate gripe about a policy or procedure and voice your opinion, hahaha this the worst thing to do then they just put a target on your back. It’s far better just to be fake like everyone else.
I work at ups and not giving 2poops is the best things I have done. They embrace mediocrity and working harder is a complete waste coupled with incompetent management.
That definitely helps! I was recently "promoted," and your videos have helped me start to understand the company's inner workings. Thank you, and hello from Kyiv! 🤝
I usually avoid career advice channels, and I really tried to avoid yours but by god you are so right in every video. Well deserved sub, I'll recommend you to my friends
I was so blinded by how I thought things should be. And truly how things should not be when clients suffered due to policies. It caused me to become negative, bitter, irritated, stressed. Exhausted. Now I bite my tongue and go with the flow and things have changed for the better. You can’t change an entire company, you can’t change polices, all you can do is fit in or fuck off.
The flow of a company is the inertia built up over the life of the company where people and decisions are weighed over a period of years to cut channels in the process flow, like currents in a river. Often this is good, but sometimes companies bring in new management to clear the sandbars that have accumulated. I have done best in smaller companies, including my own business, where the owners wanted me to make the decisions because they didn't have time to think of anything other than bringing in the business. In corporations, there is often a stodgy manager who sits on top of you to make sure nothing happens too fast. This is a form of risk management, because most big companies prefer order to chaos. Smaller companies like a bit of chaos to inject energy into the enterprise, because the only way than compete with large companies is to be more nimble.
NIMBLE - strongly relate to that word. Was lucky enough to get a little whiff early on during my undergraduate days of these 'flow cultures' in large organisations. Made me realise from the get go that my temperament is too direct and fast-paced for rigid hierarchies, red tape and bureaucracy. I care about the output not the decorum. This has naturally directed me towards working with small companies and businesses. Small, smart, dynamic management teams are my happy place. How Rich describes sponsors pulling in folks who they think fit the bill in terms of integrity and competence, 100% describes how I've gotten most of my jobs. Almost exclusively by invitation or recommendation of a boss/ manager who wanted me on their team / project. I've never thought about it in terms of having a sponsor. But it's true, every single boss I had effectively sponsored me. To this day I've not had a single negative relationship with a boss or a bad boss. And I'm proud of it. Part of it may be luck, the other part was an early intuitive and with growing experience ever more conscious decision, that I won't put myself in toxic work environments for money or status alone. People make and break a place. I don't look at the company, job or even salary first, I always learn the people, the team, the mission, the most important relationship(s). Will I be able to work, collaborate and disagree well with this individual in charge. Everything else I can learn and adjust to, but you can't change the established culture of the people you work with.
@@SpiceScholar I have exactly the same temperament as you. Now in my 60s, I've made an effort to keep in contact every few years with my bosses at small companies I started working for, starting in 1979. Some are still there, after more than 40 years. I liked most of them, and vice versa, because they knew I was giving them my best, and they were fair with me. I had only one godawful new hire boss at a corporation who caused me and others to leave, for the reasons Rich Gilbert mentioned. I returned to the company a few years later as a supplier and they had fired that new hire clown and the boss who brought him in. I went to work for a small business with sales of about $10 million (in 1987 $) and automated the bejeezus out that company, such that they were shipping orders in minutes that used to take days, and had zero-variance inventory. I did so well there, every other company in that industry circle wanted me, so I started my own company to sell them software. Whereas at the large company, the idiot boss told me, "You're working for the detriment of the company," because he didn't like how well the software I programmed worked. Perhaps this was because it made him look like an idiot for paying $millions for outside vendor software that didn't work. Small business owners and my customers (when I owned my own company) wanted software that worked. The corporation IT bosses didn't want reliable software that the users liked, because they felt if there were a lot of problems with software, the company would have to keep them employed putting out the fires. Corporation bureaucracies do a lot of that --- implementing stupid ideas to keep themselves employed.
Good point. Experienced staff slow things down as a form of risk management. Because breaking stuff will take longer and more work to fix than slowing down a little and THINKING first.
Damn your videos are so on point i watched 2 of your content and subscribed. I got so drained on work quality and how the people work here on my current company. Your advice helped me alot
I'm entering my 4th year at my organization and realized there is a lack of desire to change. Croynism is in your face and outsiders are marginalized. Can't fight the flow.
So true! After pushing against the flow (the flow in my company is celebrating mediocrity) for a while (too long), I now just sit quietly and make no effort to try and improve things. It ruined me to try and strive for excellence at this company, so now I just sit back and do nothing. This compromises my core values - therefore I am in the process of an exit plan.......
This is soooooooo damn true!!! I did same thing staying until 3am working on project.. 100% better once I stopped..its sad but soon damn true, I'll never get that time back but I have learned..😊
@@jujjuj7676 Exactly. I have a natural sense of urgency. When you are surrounded with people who have almost no sense of urgency, you will struggle mightily. I wish I learned this 20 years ago, but am glad to finally see it now.
Part of understanding that flow has to do also with employees thinking that the employer doesn't do things the way they are supposed to be done by the employee's standards ignoring the fact that it's not that they are smarter than their employer but rather that the employer has the higher ground and has the better bigger picture of the inner workings and the flow is the way it is for a reason. Usually the employee finds out their idea is not smart as they thought it was.
Corporate flow stifles company improvement and output. You will note the company ends up getting moped power output of the organisation that should be a V8 by the whole of the individuals. So frustrating for the people type that don’t want to play the corporate game, explained as “flow” in this video.
One of the best pieces of advice that one of my old colleagues/dear friends gave me: “Stop thinking so much about how things should be. Start learning to work with how they are.”
This. Thanks for wisdom.
Can I just keep to myself in the workplace? I can accept how things are if I can just keep to myself and not involve myself with other people and focus on doing a better job. I want to be able to get a promotion based on my work performance. I can accept things the way they are if I can just focus on doing my job better. I don't want to play games
Sad.
@@TshepoKotelo There is no way to evaluate the performace - here we go do better work get the same rate. But you know yourself that you are get better and better.
@@niti2539 You can evaluate performance relative to other employees in terms of output using a KPI called revenue per employee. If you bring in the most revenue for the business, then you're the best employee at the business. I'm not necessarily saying that you will be promoted because of that but I don't care about being promoted because if I have the highest revenue per employee then I can use that as a selling point to obtain customers for my side business. That would be very credible to them
This guy really gets the rotten corporate culture. Earned a sub.
My work life has changed. I feel calmer. I still do quality and timely work but my heart is not exploding in my chest and no lives have been lost since I found your channel. It’s magic. I’m Eternally grateful. ❤
I wish i watched this 7 years ago. I would have saved myself so much headache and ulcers. Also, i would have a much better career and mental health.
Same
This is how all companies fail. Idiots climb up in management, the people gaming the system thrive, the best contributers get shafted for having dissenting opinions.
@@seinfan9 Peter principle
@@joedoe8558 I think that doesn't even spotlight the real issue. Most people moving up were never that good to begin with. They've just learned how to move further up the human centipede chain. So typically it's the most brown nosing, deceitful, and those that have the luckiest run of riding the coat tails of increased profit runs that they undeservedly get credit for.
@@seinfan9 Peter principle exists because networking skills gets you promoted instead of competence and after a while it gets too obvious. How is this different from what you said?
Facts!!
It can work if the company promotes based on merit OR seniority. If they value seniority people will stay to get that seniority, they won't go above and beyond, but at least you can keep bodies in the building. If you value merit and have a third party that knows no one in the company evaluate each employee, then you will get productivity.
Most companies value neither merit or seniority. No one that is paying attention stays because they know it is a career dead end unless you know someone that can pull you up.
The best career advice I've received especially as a highly driven technical person is to solve my leaders problems not the problems I think are problems. If I can make my bosses life easier it's way more likely to be recognized and appreciated than solving technical issues that I believe are issues but are not noticed by leadership.
Due to the "FLOW" of the company I work for, I am actively seeking employment elsewhere.
😂😂😂😂
Corporate culture has become way too feminized. The mid managers and hr treat the employees like elementary school students.
To simply get another flow
Flow on deez NUTZ 🤣🤣🤣🤣
😂😂😂
You’ll get promoted faster if you just agree with the boss.
You have to do more than agree with the boss. You need to lick boot, suck up, know them outside of work, and if they are receptive to your attempts to get their favor, you might receive favoritism and the promotion that follows, else you will go nowhere.
Is a promotion worth it nowadays?
I see co workers above me and cant believe how they ACTUALLY KEEP THEIR JOBS. TOTAL INCOMPETENCE. I STAY IN MY LANE. 👍🏻
These are the types that could possibly become a priminister or a president one day, you might actually learn a lot from them 😂😅😂
@@mariajenkins6039yes how to be an ass kisser 😂
I work for an NGO where the flow is incredibly slow, used to drive me mad. I've learned to accept this and enjoy the downtime to do my own thing..
That is exactly what I am doing now. I am learning trading so I can do it during my downtime 😂..
@gsdlover8967 Good on you, make it profitable, I mainly use the time to go running, gym etc...
This dude gets it. Be present, be great, but don't overdo it, don't be too passionate in a negative way or complain. I'm talking big companies, like 50,000 - 100,000+ employees.
The is video completely changed my life. I now chill out and go with the company flow. My mental health has improved 5x
That's awesome to hear!
I went through this recently and burned out. Going against the flow. Never been so miserable over a job.
Same for me brother
A) realize you efforts aren’t really appreciated. Might even downplay them as unnecessary. B) realize that despite being more productive than peers, at the end of the day youre making the same (if not less) than your peers with no clear indication of it changing. Just go with the flow and stay with the pack. You don’t want to stand out in either end top or bottom. Leave the company if it too unbearable but 9/10 the next job has similar issues…maybe worse. If you can’t beat them. Join them.
Very well put
Thanks for the advice.
It’s refreshing to see a video about what to do in these situations rather than just informing us about how bad the situation is. Thanks.
Sure is. I’m tired of new managers who join the team thinking they can make everyone work twice as fast and set impossible targets. They convince their managers that our work is easy and our work can be performed faster.
Damn annoying. These managers don’t do the work, but push push push until people break down or leave. They are numbers people.
This is why I am glad I am done "working"
I rarely subscribe. But he earned it.
Man I wish I had found your channel years ago. Thank you so much for sharing all this information.
Sucks for me. It's literally in my job description to go against the "flow". I'm a QC inspector at a truck manufacturer. Production thinks I'm an a-hole, which is fair to a point, lol. But at the end of the day my name is on each unit and if there's a quality issue guess who's getting yelled at by corporate. Not the guys who built it, it's all on me. I have all the standards on my side, but for some reason when everyone digs their heels in I seem to have no support from the leaders in quality.
Basically every day I feel like the Spartan at the front of the line in 300. Except the other 299 cut and run as soon as the fight starts.
You're brilliant, Rich. I start my (corporate day job) mornings with a video from you to help me into the right mindset and deal with... everything
lol i should do this.
And with everyone haha
I need to do this lol
Very true, just go with the flow, and if you don't like the flow of the company... move to another. We tend to think the grass is greener until we switch companies just to see that the new company also has their own flow.
Mate this message was what I just needed, I was always pushing through on my own pace with intense and getting everything done ASAP. It was just how my old work culture worked. The new company I am working with has a much slower flow in their work pace, I started following their "flow" and realised that it's also because they are trying to create a culture to not crank their employees to the max all the time. Longevity and retaining employees in this unstable market. It also made me realised that I can't push my way up to a promotion with the current projects we have. Thanks for this video, guess I will just have to lay back for a bit and "go with the flow".
Awesome example and analysis. Hope it helps!
I don’t give AF, when the company is low on staff…. NOT MY PROBLEM.
I’ll still arrive late, leave early and do minimal work.
Not burning myself out again unless the pay rise is huge.
I wonder how people with your attitude react when they're on the other side of this table. I do YOU feel when you need help from a company employee who gives you the absolute minimum effort or less?
@@philmarsh7723 we are talking about large corps, not tiny startups. There is no good reason “we don’t have enough resources so you have to do extra work” should be used. They are already lying to you, why commit your life to them? The reality is this: “we slacked off, mismanaged the project, and lied to our higher ups about our incompetence so you have to now work more to save our ass” get outta here
Your "swimming against the current analogy" is gold!
This is so true, and something I try to teach new people. And it's not just the company, but different departments, even individual people. Pay attention and learn the flow and use it, never fight it. You can ride waves in, and coast currents out. When stuck, go sideways to catch another current that's going more the direction you want. When things stall, use that time to rest and recover. You may think the flow is wrong, but the company knows way more than you do. There's a LOT more going on at so many levels than you know about, inside and outside the company. For example, you may be fighting to get this one vendor to respond, so ask other people how long does that vendor usually actually take to respond. If it's a long time, go work on something else while you wait. At the end of the week, you got that other thing done AND got your response from the vendor without pissing them off.
This is very insightful and wise advice. Thank you for sharing.
This was suggested to me right when I needed it. I can’t help but fight the Flow and of course it works against me
Curb your enthusiasm is the message of this channel, and people need to hear it.
Your videos are absolutely what I need to hear. My Stress levels reduced and I don't feel that I should be doing more or extra. Pls make a video on navigation g a PDR (yearly review)
I like this guy. It's always real talk. Love from Cebu, Philippines.
This is the best career advice Ive ever had.
Thank you.
This is the truth. Align with your manager early, delivery early results, got with the flow..I made a mistake for several years not doing this and always went behind
I found myself responsible for a small piece of equipment that needed to be easily exchanged twice a year. It was of critical use to another department. It had NO use in my department. I told them, and my manager, they would need to absorb this responsibility. It would require very little effort on their part.
They all were speechless and tried to stop it. I held my ground. As I said, this was critical to their daily functioning.
Six months later someone from that department came asking about it and I reiterated what I said months prior. You’d think I’d kicked a hornets nest! Fortunately, I’ve got myself in a position that’s too important on my side to hurt me so they finally took over. I still find it hard to believe how an organization can seem like everyone’s walking in molasses.
Very wise man. I didn't understand all this when i was young. Just thought that there are lots of idiots around.
Both can be true.
“How we live is so different from how we ought to live that he who studies what ought to be done rather than what is done will learn the way to his downfall rather than to his preservation.”
― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
For highly motivated intelligent people this is his best video. You will save yourself alot of headaches and frustration.
I learned something valuable years ago from a coworker. His lesson, "it pays to be thick". For example, if the boss gives you instructions, don't suggest a better way of doing things. And to show the boss that you don't think you're smarter than him, once in a while ask your boss his opinion on something. If you're a programmer, write down a general algorithm, and tell your boss, "I've got this algorithm..I think it's going to work pretty well, what do you think?" Of course you've got to know your boss, whether or not to expect some snide remark. Personally, I might answer such negativity with, "Oh, I get what you're saying -- you think my algorithm is great. Thanks man" and walk away. But hopefully you craft things in such a way that you make your boss feel that he's worthy. And it doesn't hurt to butter up your coworkers by making them think that they have valuable input even when they don't. Coworker jealousy exists in every profession, at all levels. The best you can do is try to blend in. Ok, I usually fail in this, lol, but I'm trying.
Company flow = Mediocracy
Most companies are mediocre. Along as going with flow earns you money, don't fight it.
Your 100% right, if you don't like the flow...make ur own..that's what I'd did..never looked back. 😊
Another great video on dynamics encountered in corporate. I have observed it in my experience and would call it in my mind” you either on the train or you are not”. The way you laid it out is 100% spot on. I have seen in my experience people getting fired due to going against the grain as well as hear from other co-workers so-so was pushed out of the firm because of being disruptive by not “getting on the train” or how I like you describe it , “the flow”.
Please keep these videos coming. They have been Insightful. I have observed many of the things but was not able to characterize it in the way you have clearly laid it out and hearing them from you really resonated with me.
When Rich Gilbert uploads a video, i watch. Absolutely gold.
You are so correct. I tried to impose a different flow at a couple of churches, though with good intentions … it didn’t go well. It was a difficult lesson.
Oh yeah. I’ve tried that as well - before I learned this lesson. Disastrous every time.
This guy is hilarious and he makes sense
Love love love the corporate videos. Really useful stuff
Subbed for more
Awesome, thank you!
Could you make a video about leverage in a position? Like is it important to show up? Is it important to have skills no one else does? What is it that keeps you employed? @@RichGilbert love the content!
Thank you for this content!
It’s so refreshing to hear it like it is! Keep pumping it out!!
Brilliant video. You should never go against the "flow" unless you have a very, very good reason to do so. I had to do this within my organization; I fought incredibly hard to get opportunities that align with the field I am passionate in. I finally got what I wanted, but it took me almost 8 years (plus a bit of luck). Now recovering after the struggle.
Yes you may do it faster or better, but the company already put in buffer for the unexpected inefficiency, therefore there is no point
It's difficult observing mediocrity as a warehouse manager. I'm my only employee however I observe the dysfunction and keep my mouth shut. Do my job so my department is accurate, get paid, n go home 🏡 😤
That is what you should do. Don't try to fix dysfunction.
I wish I knew this earlier! Better late than never though. Thanks a bunch.
So glad I stumbled on your video few days ago. Had been a victim of this phenomenon that you explained really well, tbt, it never ends well. I had to learn my lessons and seek the companies whose values and goals align with mine. Thanks man.
Thank you for this advice, really eyes opening and so obvious but hard to implement when realised.
You are a godsend. Thank you for this content. I've been extremely frustrated,and your videos help me contextualize it and focus it.
Those who over produce (even if well intentioned) are cancerous. That really resonated with me.
Or you're so valuable with that over production that no one wants to move you from that position.
I didnt expect to experience that deep insight from Mr. Rich Gilbert, but I am glad to find this video. I can confirm. Working many years in highly corporate structure in luxury hotel business where big titles, job bands and nepotism was the currency. If you drown in the flow, you're out immidiately without honor.
My role and all the roles similar to mine were moved to a back office division. There was a consultation process and I tried to rally a group against the decision. Didn’t work and others who were against it just made the right noises and went with it anyway. I moved role in the company but I learnt that trying to fight against a decision already made by senior leadership is not advisable
wish this video was included in every onboarding session by HR 😂... could've saved me from having stress dealing with the "flow", took me 2 years to learn the "flow".
This advice is actually useful. Unfortunately I learned that in the hard way when I was a bit younger. You have to be aware of the boundaries of the "lane" you are working in. This doesn't mean you shouldn't think "outside the box" at work every now and then... Just be conscious about your surroundings, that's all.
Thank you so much! I feel like you are the dad i never had that tells me all about career advice. I swear I will pass this to my kids when the time comes 😁 Not to say that you’re old but you know!
Your content is gold 🎉. It checks out with every situation I encountered in corporate world.
Awesome to hear. Thanks!
Just BRILLIANT video ! I realized this the hard way during the last few years. I went through an un-wanted company change due to a massive (multi-billion$) M&A. Everything changed, from the ownership to country, culture, structure etc. I came from a job & culture that I loved (fast paced, empowered business role) to one that I absolutely hate (slow & bureaucratic nightmare). I wanted to be the one that "drives the change" until i got exhausted and close to burnout ...and of course I didn't change shit. I eventually decided to "go with the flow" untill i find another suitable role.
This happens a lot in acquisitions. Glad you’re plotting the next course!
Quietly quitting 👌
Sorta kinda. It’s related. When you’re given a job and a flow, it’s a good strategy to do just that
Another vid where you hit the nail on the head!!! I experienced this at my current company. Just doing my usual thing that I’ve done at all my other companies and I start getting push back and certain people thinking I’m rude and disrespectful to them, eventually frustrations bubbling over and voices getting raised, and management getting involved. All over seemingly minor things. I didn’t realise it until later that I was fighting the company processes, the company flow. I was unknowingly stepping on peoples toes, which made my input feel like criticisms to them. Once I realised the processes and systems in place, everything turned around instantaneously. I wasn’t actually disrespectful or rude, I was just going against the flow of the company, and it bit back!
So if you find your self in a situation where seemingly reasonable things are getting a bad reaction, take a step back and consider whether you are fighting the flow of the company.
It’s also a good way to find out what the boundaries are and finding the right paths to move forward. Tactful antagonisms can be useful to find out no-go paths.
Excellent example of this!
This is such great advice!! I've started jobs in the past where things were a mess and the systems were inefficient. I tried to be helpful by fixing things and making suggestions. The results were: 1) I was resented or 2) given more work and taken for granted, or 3) both 1 and 2. Lol! Things are kind of a mess at my current job. But the firm is about 100 years old and they are fine with the way they do things. Who am I to change it?
And beware of getting hired to come in and "help with the new changes being implemented." Sometimes the person trying to make the changes wants to use you as their minion and scapegoat. When things go wrong, they'll hang you out to dry.
Just go with the flow! I only make changes that help ME in my job. If anyone wants to adopt what I do, that's on them.
The is precisely why AI will improve productivity on the personal level but can’t at the org level. That is until they fire people and replace them with robots…
I stumbled acros this and wish I had seen this 2 years ago, I needed this advice
When the company is headed towards a cliff, sometimes we should fight against the flow. Self-actualization is important. I never get involved in office politics.
just at the right time for me, thanks
I wish they would tell you these things more explicitly when you come out of college. Find a company that's your speed.
Thank you fot your sage advice. In part because of your video I am having a great day. Cheers.
I can’t ask for a more excellent thing than that! Glad it resonates with you!
True, I was in a company where i used to finish a task in 3 hours and now in the new place when I do the same thing they think I am taking shortcuts.. now I started doing it their way.. take 1 week for it..
Lol😃
Hi Rich, your content is very good, keep doing what you doing! Thank you.
This is so validating thankbyou. I want to lower stress levels and anxiety. Hopefully this approach works to bring more peace and enjoyment to work.
These videos are golden advice
So far I agree with all the content you've shared from my own experiences
The worst is when you have a legitimate gripe about a policy or procedure and voice your opinion, hahaha this the worst thing to do then they just put a target on your back. It’s far better just to be fake like everyone else.
I work at ups and not giving 2poops is the best things I have done.
They embrace mediocrity and working harder is a complete waste coupled with incompetent management.
This sounds like the puzzle piece I was missing!
Awesome glad to hear it
Good advice. I had to learn this the hard way in my twenties. I'm fifty two now.
That definitely helps!
I was recently "promoted," and your videos have helped me start to understand the company's inner workings.
Thank you, and hello from Kyiv! 🤝
u stole my line)
Awesome to hear. Sad about the Ukraine war. Happy you’re ok! 👍
I usually avoid career advice channels, and I really tried to avoid yours but by god you are so right in every video. Well deserved sub, I'll recommend you to my friends
Amazing content !
I've identified those "problems" abd have been the guy going against the flow.
I will fix it. Thanks for sharing your knowledge
I was so blinded by how I thought things should be. And truly how things should not be when clients suffered due to policies.
It caused me to become negative, bitter, irritated, stressed. Exhausted.
Now I bite my tongue and go with the flow and things have changed for the better. You can’t change an entire company, you can’t change polices, all you can do is fit in or fuck off.
Shit that was the most useful thing I have ever heard.
The flow of a company is the inertia built up over the life of the company where people and decisions are weighed over a period of years to cut channels in the process flow, like currents in a river. Often this is good, but sometimes companies bring in new management to clear the sandbars that have accumulated. I have done best in smaller companies, including my own business, where the owners wanted me to make the decisions because they didn't have time to think of anything other than bringing in the business. In corporations, there is often a stodgy manager who sits on top of you to make sure nothing happens too fast. This is a form of risk management, because most big companies prefer order to chaos. Smaller companies like a bit of chaos to inject energy into the enterprise, because the only way than compete with large companies is to be more nimble.
NIMBLE - strongly relate to that word. Was lucky enough to get a little whiff early on during my undergraduate days of these 'flow cultures' in large organisations. Made me realise from the get go that my temperament is too direct and fast-paced for rigid hierarchies, red tape and bureaucracy. I care about the output not the decorum. This has naturally directed me towards working with small companies and businesses. Small, smart, dynamic management teams are my happy place. How Rich describes sponsors pulling in folks who they think fit the bill in terms of integrity and competence, 100% describes how I've gotten most of my jobs. Almost exclusively by invitation or recommendation of a boss/ manager who wanted me on their team / project. I've never thought about it in terms of having a sponsor. But it's true, every single boss I had effectively sponsored me. To this day I've not had a single negative relationship with a boss or a bad boss. And I'm proud of it. Part of it may be luck, the other part was an early intuitive and with growing experience ever more conscious decision, that I won't put myself in toxic work environments for money or status alone. People make and break a place. I don't look at the company, job or even salary first, I always learn the people, the team, the mission, the most important relationship(s). Will I be able to work, collaborate and disagree well with this individual in charge. Everything else I can learn and adjust to, but you can't change the established culture of the people you work with.
@@SpiceScholar I have exactly the same temperament as you. Now in my 60s, I've made an effort to keep in contact every few years with my bosses at small companies I started working for, starting in 1979. Some are still there, after more than 40 years. I liked most of them, and vice versa, because they knew I was giving them my best, and they were fair with me. I had only one godawful new hire boss at a corporation who caused me and others to leave, for the reasons Rich Gilbert mentioned. I returned to the company a few years later as a supplier and they had fired that new hire clown and the boss who brought him in. I went to work for a small business with sales of about $10 million (in 1987 $) and automated the bejeezus out that company, such that they were shipping orders in minutes that used to take days, and had zero-variance inventory. I did so well there, every other company in that industry circle wanted me, so I started my own company to sell them software. Whereas at the large company, the idiot boss told me, "You're working for the detriment of the company," because he didn't like how well the software I programmed worked. Perhaps this was because it made him look like an idiot for paying $millions for outside vendor software that didn't work. Small business owners and my customers (when I owned my own company) wanted software that worked. The corporation IT bosses didn't want reliable software that the users liked, because they felt if there were a lot of problems with software, the company would have to keep them employed putting out the fires. Corporation bureaucracies do a lot of that --- implementing stupid ideas to keep themselves employed.
Good point. Experienced staff slow things down as a form of risk management. Because breaking stuff will take longer and more work to fix than slowing down a little and THINKING first.
Damn your videos are so on point i watched 2 of your content and subscribed. I got so drained on work quality and how the people work here on my current company. Your advice helped me alot
Love your videos on the world of corporate 🔥
Awesome to hear
I loved this video. Amazing ideas.
Thanks for another great video. I hope I can be as relexed and happy as you. I get saddened by worked, and sadly emotions cant be controlled.
I'm entering my 4th year at my organization and realized there is a lack of desire to change. Croynism is in your face and outsiders are marginalized. Can't fight the flow.
You should make a video on dealing with unreasonable people.
This is why I enjoy being an independent contractor.
So true! After pushing against the flow (the flow in my company is celebrating mediocrity) for a while (too long), I now just sit quietly and make no effort to try and improve things. It ruined me to try and strive for excellence at this company, so now I just sit back and do nothing. This compromises my core values - therefore I am in the process of an exit plan.......
This is soooooooo damn true!!! I did same thing staying until 3am working on project.. 100% better once I stopped..its sad but soon damn true, I'll never get that time back but I have learned..😊
@@jujjuj7676 Exactly. I have a natural sense of urgency. When you are surrounded with people who have almost no sense of urgency, you will struggle mightily. I wish I learned this 20 years ago, but am glad to finally see it now.
Part of understanding that flow has to do also with employees thinking that the employer doesn't do things the way they are supposed to be done by the employee's standards ignoring the fact that it's not that they are smarter than their employer but rather that the employer has the higher ground and has the better bigger picture of the inner workings and the flow is the way it is for a reason. Usually the employee finds out their idea is not smart as they thought it was.
This is exactly what I'm going through at work. Thanks for this info, very useful!
As long as my wages flow in each month,im happy
Corporate flow stifles company improvement and output. You will note the company ends up getting moped power output of the organisation that should be a V8 by the whole of the individuals. So frustrating for the people type that don’t want to play the corporate game, explained as “flow” in this video.
Wow! Love your stuff!
made me want to cry.
There is something called Skill Matrix, which a Delivery Head has to update every year for each employee
Your videos caused me to give up and start my own company. We’ll see how this goes!
needed this so much sooner
This is depressing and hope inspiring at the same time!
There’s a few engineers at my company that moved up the company fast. One did something very shady.