Chocolates, supermarkets and world domination

If you go into any supermarket you'll notice 2 things:

1. Everything is in a thick package. Maybe even with an extra wrapper for rain protection.

2. The packaging doesn't necessarily tell you exactly what's inside the package.

For example, let's take a box of chocolates. The packaging is beautiful and looks delicious, but it doesn't necessarily tell you exactly what the filling is of the chocolates or what it will really taste like. It also doesn't mention that you can get very fat eating all the chocolates, and that too much sugar is bad for your health. It's only if you actually buy the package, open it and taste one, that you discover that you really do like it. You also may discover that it's addictive and fattening and gives you cavities in your teeth. But in any case, it was worth the investment it because it tastes so good.

Life experiences are like this. They are packaged up inside ourselves, and hidden away on a shelf somewhere. And these life experiences don't come with a health warning, so we feel a bit vulnerable walking around with this big pack of chocolates, wondering if they will give us cavities and if they are addictive if we dare to try one. So we don't dare open the package and taste one, such as that big bon bon of secret ambition to take over the company one day, or that truffle of longing to do something totally different, unconventional even, or that dark bitter one with the peppery filling that would require you to switch careers, or to pursue a wild dream, or to live in a way that people around you may not approve of but which you secretly think would feel so much better to you, you might just discover you like it. If only you could.

And so the box of chocolates stays wrapped up, looking good but never really being used for what it's for .... which is, of course, to be tasted and enjoyed.

What's this got to do with world domination, you might ask? Well let's see.

Last week, I did coached about a dozen different professionals, ranging from young 20-something managers, to seasoned 50-something directors. In each session, the question about what they wished to achieve in their careers came up. And I noticed, that for every one of these professionals, there was a box of chocolates hidden away under the nice dark blue suit. A desire to pursue some pretty radical life experiences, to change some major things in their lives.

However, rather than just getting in there and chowing down on the chocs, they said, "Ah, what I want deep down is nice but it's not realistic or healthy, I can't just change everything now, it's too risky, better just to keep myself 'in line' and 'stay on course' with what I doing now in the corporation."

Now since I'm a big fan of chocolate, I asked them how long they have felt they had to keep their chocolates, their special and potential life experiences, wrapped up inside. I heard that for the majority, they'd packed their experiences away when they started their first job, or even back in university or high school. No way were they going to start getting addicted to chocolate now. They'd done so well keeping the wrapping on all those years.

And you know, it's easy to see why we keep the packaging on. Many large organizations seem to be run like a supermarket, where you present yourself with all the right packaging on at the interview, and if they like it you are selected and then seem to be expected to fit into a functional category and work in a certain rank, with a certain price tag and the assumption that you stay in the correct aisle and on the right shelf, so people can find you and buy what you are offering without any hassles. 

But there is a limit to the value of this kind of packaging, labeling and shelving.
Chris Guillebeau wrote an amusing manifesto how to achieve "World domination", and the ways in which so many of us remain "unremarkably average" and in the box. These include:
1. Accept what people tell you at face value
2. Don’t question authority
3. Go to college because you’re supposed to, not because you want to learn something
4. Don’t try to learn another language; everyone else will eventually learn English

5. Think about starting your own business, but never do it 

6. Sit at a desk 40-60 hours a week for an average of 10-15 hours of truly inspired or even just productive work 

7. Don’t stand out or draw attention to yourself

8. Jump through hoops. Check off boxes. 

Are you being unremarkably average? Where's the box of chocs?

The problem is, you can't tell, when you first meet someone, what is really underneath the packaging. And that's a pity. An HR manager interviewing you may be impressed by the beautiful presentation of whatever it is that you wish to show the company, in order to get your first position there. But then, as time goes on, both you and the company could benefit much more -- your good and bad experiences, your hard and soft qualities, your potentially rich world of ideas and skills. Your box of chocolates.

And this is, believe it or not, what HR, and your boss, or at least the boss at the top, or the Boards of the best companies in the world, are looking for. They are looking for young talent and a high potentials who are NOT trying their best to stay on the shelf, keep the packaging on, and to remain the same until their due-by-date has passed. What companies are looking for are people who dare to rip through the cellophane and change, to be remarkably above average, who know that life is, well, a box of chocolates.

So despite the fact that a company may look like it's organized as a supermarket, that is just to keep the unremarkably average people in line. And it's actually your job, as a top talent, to see beyond this and to show people what you are really made of, no matter what category you happen to be in right now. 

Otherwise you'll stay on the shelf, and people will can never recognize you or help you move into the areas of work that you most desire to do.

The great poet Rumi said "Don't fear the darkness if you go for the moon. 

Do not shy away from the thorns if you are asking for a rose."

Go for it!

P.S. No one ever said you had to do this alone. That's what leadership training, courses, coaching and self-help blogs and books are for. Enjoy.