Opportunities where you work.... olden days and today
Discussion
Do you think that there were more opportunities a few decades ago than today or less? or the same but the opportunities are just different today?
I say this because I recalled a meeting I had with the company president for the company I was working for as a graduate. All the grads were invited to breakfast with the UK President. Sounds grand, but what it turned out to be was a sit around the table, with a ropey bacon butty, listening to this man tell us how great he is and how he got where he was today.
Now he's obviously a very smart and capable man because he wouldnt be where he was today if he wasnt, but alot of his circumstances just seemed to be a bit ordinary. That he was capable, as many of us are and in the right place at the right time. The deciding factor was the action that got his foot up on the ladder to begin with. An extraordinary opportunity afforded to him by his boss when he was an apprentice.
Now where he worked, they bought new machines... cant remember if they were presses or machines that populate circuit boards, but either way the machine could do a weeks work in 2-3 days. It sat idle for the remainder. He went to his boss with the idea of renting the idle time out to 3rd parties to generate a new stream of income. Great idea.
Instead of the boss man telling him to get back to work though, he told him basically "great idea, you set it up, implement it and be in charge of it". Apprenticship to manager in one step! haha
Its a great story and it gave this man a taste for business and a great opportunity to flourish.
What I am asking is do opportunities like that still exist today? Some how I get the impression that I'd be told "Great idea son, now go back to your desk". followed a few months later by my idea being launched and higher ups taking all the credit.
That or it would have to trawled through umpteen layers of middle managemnt and twisted out of all recognition by numerous commitee meetings before it was either dropped or handed off as something new to someone else.
I say this because I recalled a meeting I had with the company president for the company I was working for as a graduate. All the grads were invited to breakfast with the UK President. Sounds grand, but what it turned out to be was a sit around the table, with a ropey bacon butty, listening to this man tell us how great he is and how he got where he was today.
Now he's obviously a very smart and capable man because he wouldnt be where he was today if he wasnt, but alot of his circumstances just seemed to be a bit ordinary. That he was capable, as many of us are and in the right place at the right time. The deciding factor was the action that got his foot up on the ladder to begin with. An extraordinary opportunity afforded to him by his boss when he was an apprentice.
Now where he worked, they bought new machines... cant remember if they were presses or machines that populate circuit boards, but either way the machine could do a weeks work in 2-3 days. It sat idle for the remainder. He went to his boss with the idea of renting the idle time out to 3rd parties to generate a new stream of income. Great idea.
Instead of the boss man telling him to get back to work though, he told him basically "great idea, you set it up, implement it and be in charge of it". Apprenticship to manager in one step! haha
Its a great story and it gave this man a taste for business and a great opportunity to flourish.
What I am asking is do opportunities like that still exist today? Some how I get the impression that I'd be told "Great idea son, now go back to your desk". followed a few months later by my idea being launched and higher ups taking all the credit.
That or it would have to trawled through umpteen layers of middle managemnt and twisted out of all recognition by numerous commitee meetings before it was either dropped or handed off as something new to someone else.
IMO things are different these days. Employers (and employees to be fair) don't really reward loyalty. Sometimes it's even frowned upon! The vast majority of staff I've worked with could only get promoted by changing companies. It's the whole "don't be indispensable or you'll never get promoted" thing.
It sounds like he had a very good manager! Unfortunately good managers seem to be the minority. Possibly they would see the apprentice as a threat to their own position.
I read 'The rules of work' by Richard Templar and although I am not currently in a position to try his 'rules', I do think they would have worked when I worked at a larger company. I recognised some of his rules as my own personal traits and I did alright in temrs of positions of seniority.
I read 'The rules of work' by Richard Templar and although I am not currently in a position to try his 'rules', I do think they would have worked when I worked at a larger company. I recognised some of his rules as my own personal traits and I did alright in temrs of positions of seniority.
I've been very lucky in my current role that my manager has been very accessible and open to ideas - it benefits us staff and the business as well. However, I do kick myself that, had I gone into this line of work when I first saw an ad (about 4 years earlier), I'd probably be a manager already. In terms of progression it's very much a "dead man's shoes" situation unless you move elsewhere (I'm about to do so for a small increase in seniority/salary).
rog007 said:
If no other factors involved, then rule of thumb is only move for a minimum increase in salary of 20%.
It's a 10% increase I'm afraid, and with additional commuting and childcare costs. (But there are other factors - I'm facing a pay freeze, possibly reduced hours and the next restructure due to be announced this autumn could see the current role go altoghether. Plus I get get to move sideways into another specialisation in the new role, and they're offering over what they'd said was the ceiling.)I would say that the OP's story is one that would still happen at the company I work for right now (multi national IT).
Although at our place this would be a bit more involved than just going and having a word with the MD, you'd probably need to go armed with a a half decent business case with the buy in of several key influencers and sponsors to get a look in.
What it does show is that a strong entrepreneurial spirit will get you places, even in a big bureaucratic company. And what I've found that in the big businesses I'm involved with, that there are are some very talented and successful people who you would say are entrpreneurs through and through. They might not be good at certain details, but they can take a vision, engage people and use energy to deliver it even despite the red tape.
I've also found that people who moan about dead man's shoes are those who do not demonstrate those behaviours, however good they might be at their job.
Although at our place this would be a bit more involved than just going and having a word with the MD, you'd probably need to go armed with a a half decent business case with the buy in of several key influencers and sponsors to get a look in.
What it does show is that a strong entrepreneurial spirit will get you places, even in a big bureaucratic company. And what I've found that in the big businesses I'm involved with, that there are are some very talented and successful people who you would say are entrpreneurs through and through. They might not be good at certain details, but they can take a vision, engage people and use energy to deliver it even despite the red tape.
I've also found that people who moan about dead man's shoes are those who do not demonstrate those behaviours, however good they might be at their job.
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