Entitlement
Entitlement
Meet Your Host, Alan Weiss
Alan Weiss is one of those rare people who can say he is a consultant, speaker, and author and mean it.
His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, State Street Corporation, Times Mirror Group, The Federal Reserve, The New York Times Corporation, Toyota, and over 500 other leading organizations. He has served on several boards of directors in various capacities.
His prolific publishing includes over 500 articles and 60 books, including his best-seller, Million Dollar Consulting (from McGraw-Hill) now in its 30th year and sixth edition. His newest is Your Legacy is Now: Life is not about a search for meaning but the creation of meaning (Routledge, 2021). His books have been on the curricula at Villanova, Temple University, and the Wharton School of Business, and have been translated into 15 languages.
Get to know AlanShow Notes
Do we have toxic workplaces or toxic employees who make workplaces harmful and unhealthy?
Are we terminally entitled?
I found that there was no safety net for me, being born and raised in a poor family. I mean damaged furniture, stained rugs, bill collectors on the phone.
When I was being beaten up by the neighborhood tough guy, my father, leaning out the window, told me to fight my way out of it. Many years later a therapist told me that was my father's bad, not mine. Whatever.
So I learned to be smart to stay out of fights, to get along with teachers right through grad school. They looked kindly on me as not being a troublemaker and gave me the benefit of the doubt when I was. I was never looking for a safety net below, I was looking for another handhold above. I free-climbed the El Capitan of life.
When I was fired, I got angry, not distraught, and determined to be my own boss and to own, not be employed. I realized that my life was my responsibility. I was happy later to support both my kids (no college debt) and our parents (no rent, medical bills taken care of, assisted living provided). I was the safety net, and happy to be one.
Let's stop bitching and moaning and demanding that everyone else change because our every little requirement is not being met. Life IS unfair, so deal with it. We're entitled to an equal starting line and level playing field, but not to an equal finish. That's determined by talent and discipline and accountability.
Even if you successfully blame someone else, you haven't improved your condition. And you're probably not going to receive the help you need. If I've found one thing to be true in 40 years of consulting and coaching, it's that you can't help anyone who doesn't want to be truly helped, as opposed to just receiving a handout.
If you're not willing to help yourself, why should anyone else try to help you?
Alan Weiss's The Uncomfortable Truth® is a weekly broadcast from “The Rock Star of Consulting,” Alan Weiss, who holds forth with his best (and often most contrarian) ideas about society, culture, business, and personal growth. His 60+ books in 12 languages, and his travels to, and work in, 50 countries contribute to a fascinating and often belief-challenging 20 minutes that might just change your next 20 years.
Introduction to the show recorded by Connie Dieken
