Humans Define Companies

I was intrigued by a pearl of wisdom shared by one of my LinkedIn connections, Paul Carpenter. He commented on one of my posts awhile back, and said, “companies don’t define humans. Humans define companies.”

That stuck with me, and I’ve been reflecting on that for some time now. Like many of you, I like to think about the ways in which we view business, how we pursue it and how we treat each other in the process, and this one really hit home. You’ve heard the terms, “cog in the wheel,” “rat race,” and other things that paint a picture of being overworked, underappreciated and working tirelessly, spinning endlessly and getting nowhere. This makes it seem as if it’s our only job to exhaust ourselves for others. When, really, we are the ones changing the landscape of business. WE are making companies better through our creativity, innovation and hard work. We are helping the companies we represent succeed. We are showing up to make things better – not the other way around. Yes, the work we do can definitely change who we are and make us better. We can learn and grow. We may even (hopefully) love what we do and love the people with whom we do it. But make no mistake: we are helping to make things better. We are not defined by our work: we define our work. I thank Paul for giving me more to reflect on. This could not be more true. We are valuable! We have something to offer. Remember this when you’re too scared to speak up in a meeting or negotiate for a pay raise you know you deserve. YOU define your company.