Do you GIVE A DAMN at Work?
To give a damn, character means working with an attitude of altruism. It means honoring your commitments, putting in more than you’re getting paid for, doing tasks that aren’t always covered by the scope of your job description, practicing positivity in negative situations, working hard towards meeting team goals, and celebrating success. This might sound like a lot to accomplish and implement, yet when everyone on a team gives a damn, you become true champions. And success follows every single time.
Unfortunately, people just don’t always understand or truly believe in this philosophy. Of course, we can’t all land a job that seems purposeful and enjoyable on a daily basis. But there’s good news! Even if you are in a job that you truly don’t like, if you practice the Give a Damn attitude, you will like it better. Yes, I know this can be difficult but the more we care about something, the more interesting it becomes. It takes time. Some do this well, others do not.
Mark's passion is to help make the world a better place to live in. Based on his life, coaching and entrepreneurial experiences he wrote the book, Give a Damn for 4 reasons: 1) To help make each individual a happier person, 2) To help happy people make other people happy, 3) To help make the world a much better place to live in and most importantly, 4) To help find a cure for Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS)! NOLA SHRM REPRESENTATIVE
One phrase that I truly abhor is, “That’s not my job.” You work for a company and respond to a request for help from a colleague by saying, “That’s not my job?” This is the ultimate message that reveals to me your attitude. It tells me who you really are and how you think. This is what a self-centered person would say. They don’t give a damn about helping anyone unless it serves their best interest. If they can personally benefit, then they will help you. The reason why some serve others poorly is that they don’t give a damn; they work only because they must to survive, and when everything is internally driven it becomes toxic to the team.
In the summer of 2016, a road crew was repainting the yellow stripes running down the center of Route 460, which passes through Prince George County, Virginia. On a stretch near the James River, the crew encountered a dead raccoon. Supposedly, because it was not the job of the street painters to remove the dead animal in the middle of the road before painting it, they simply painted over it. Seriously? Locals were shocked to find a dead animal in the road covered with a yellow stripe. You can only shake your head at this one. This is a classic example of a “That’s not my job!” attitude. People with this kind of attitude are generally unhappy because they only think about serving themselves and their basic needs. Nothing outside their boundaries seems to matter. To do the minimum amount possible is their general attitude. They fail to realize that one has to go beyond meeting his or her material needs in order to truly thrive and achieve greater success. And it leads to the success of others as well.
If there is hope for employees to work together as a team and move their businesses toward success, it lies in the promise that the philosophy behind GIVE A DAMN can change people’s perception of work and their lives. Once we can come together with one mission in mind, or working and caring for others the way that we would want to be cared for, we can work collaboratively for the greater common good and achieve great success, and it will happen across ALL levels.
Whether it is staying beyond your required time to get something done, providing extraordinary service to others, or simply doing things that are not technically “your job,” this becomes your chance to make a tangible difference in your life, your work, your community, and America.
If you are ready to create a cultural environment in your workplace that greatly improves the productivity and happiness of your employees and leads to remarkable success, contact me today. As a motivational and keynote speaker, I can provide employees and associations with powerful messages for motivation and success in both personal and business lives. I thoroughly engage all team members with my GIVE A DAMN philosophy that leads to great success, and you will never look back!
An inspiring business mentor, coach, and consultant, Mark S. Lewis has facilitated and moderated CEO Round tables across Louisiana and helped hundreds of CEOs and individuals accelerate their growth, both personally and professionally. He helps executives and entrepreneurs develop business and human development strategies for growth and prosperity. His winning philosophy is based on creating business strategies that engage a positive cultural environment across all functional operations so that everyone will want to join in. It all begins with a GIVE A DAMN attitude.
Mark’s presentations provide powerful motivation for success in both your personal and business life. If you are ready to create a cultural environment that improves the productivity of your employees and leads to remarkable success and happiness contact Mark today. He will engage your team with his give a damn philosophy, and you will never look back.
Click here to contact Mark S. Lewis for further information or speaking inquiries.
