Motley says: "Money - that's what I value!"
Summary
Motley: Money is the thing I value most! Is there anything else?
Maven: Determine what your values are that guide your life both at work and outside work, and use that to derive a guiding personal vision statement.
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[Context: Motley and Maven are about to grab lunch on Maven's first day at the office]
Maven: It's noon! Want to grab some lunch?
Motley: Hmmm… let me see. Well, no one else around at the moment so I guess you'll have to do as a lunch partner.
Maven: Your enthusiasm is overwhelming. Want to chat about creating that personal vision statement?
Motley: I guess it beats the enema I had last week - but just barely.
Maven: Great! We talked about the importance of having a vision statement to help guide your decision making. A personal vision statement can be a great guide in your personal life as well. Let's start by figuring out what you value most.
Motley: Money, and um, money. Well, I guess writing code as quickly as possible is something else I value.
Maven: Think deeper! Let me give you an example. Some things that I value are:
- Continuous Improvement: Personal growth is extremely important. Most of the activities I undertake involve self-improvement - bettering myself in some way.
- Relationships: One cannot live alone. Building long-lasting bonds with friends and loved ones is important. Keeping in touch with old friends is paramount.
- Quality: Excellence comes into play in everything I do - both personally and professionally. Quality is particularly important when the entity being constructed is for the benefit of others (like software).
- Fun: All work and no play makes me a dull boy - even at work. Fun appears in everything I do, from building projects to building relationships.
- Productivity: Time is rarely wasted, and when it is, I'm not too happy about it. I try to make the most of every spare moment (including multitasking) to incorporate the other values into my life.
- Helping Others: Helping others achieve their goals is very satisfying. Through charitable giving, teaching others at work, or via some other mechanism, helping others with their problems is important.
Motley: That's deep, dude. Deep. So how am I supposed to figure out my values? I still think Money is top tier.
Maven: Everyone has different values. Just take some time to sit down and think about what governs your life. It need not be complicated. Think about how you live your life on a day-to-day basis and come up with a simple list of words. Give it a quick shot.
Motley: Okay, I'll humor you. How about writing great software, autonomy, being routine yet seizing the opportunity, having fun, leading by example, and being bold.
Maven: That's, errr, a start. We may need to explore that a bit further in the future. For now, think about those values, think about those things you do each and every day - both inside work and outside work - coupled with your personal strengths and weaknesses, and come up with one statement that defines you. We'll use this moving forward to help you make some key decisions in your life.
Motley: This still seems corny, but I'll humor you. How about: "To live each day to the fullest, do whatever I can to create great software by having all the junior developers at the company look up to my supreme example, all while being a funmeister and not taking crap from anyone." How's that?
Maven: Actually, it's a decent start. We'll work on refining as we go. The important part now is that you have a defining statement that characterizes you and acts as your life guide. Let's get back to it a little later. For now, let's eat. Sushi?
Motley: Today is not one of those days I feel like food poisoning. The enema kind of turned me off. Let's get burgers!
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Maven's Pointer: Here is a good exercise to go through when trying to figure out what your values are. Start with the set of words below. Add any you think are missing. Narrow down the list to the 15 values that really catch your eye. Then pare the list to 10 that start to define you, then to between 5 and 7. Those 5-7 values define you. It can be difficult to pare down to 7 or less, but think about how the words are in line with your daily actions. Be sure to write down the final list!
- Achievement, Advancement, Adventure, Autonomy, Beauty, Belonging, Challenge, Communication, Competition, Cooperation, Creativity, Curiosity, Diversity, Duty, Effectiveness, Equality, Excitement, Experience, Family, Fun, Growth, Health, Helping Others, Honesty, Humor, Independence, Innovation, Integrity, Knowledge, Leisure, Mastery, Passion, Power, Prestige, Productivity, Quality, Relationship, Respect, Risk, Security, Self-Realization, Spirituality, Strength, Structure, Teamwork, Tranquility, Trust, Variety, Wealth, Wisdom
Maven's Resources: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey, Free Press, ISBN: 0743269519, 2004.
