NeoDialectic
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I was reading this thread on quiet quitting and felt like the people in favor of it were missing the point. Winning their dynamic with their boss was more important than winning in life. They were missing the forest for the trees.
The point
Meet Bob. Bob is 30 years old, has a wife with two kids, and works for GE on the factory floor.
Bob has realized that he is not happy with his lot in life and has 4 choices.
1. Bob, the disgruntled worker
Bob feels like he is not being appreciated at work. He decides that since he is not being appreciated at work and is not being paid his value, he will start quiet quitting. This means that he will no longer work for a minute after 5 pm or pick up any extra duties which are not mandatory. He will do the bare minimum not to be fired. Every promotion he is passed up on and every raise that he is shortchanged on becomes further proof that Bob chose wisely not to do good work for this unappreciative employer. Such is life in late-stage capitalism. Bob works like this until he is fired. Then he goes on Twitter to complain about how horrible America is. The rest of his career is a repeat of this disaster until he retires.
2. Bob, the quiet quitter with FTE moment
3. Bob, the reasonable
Bob thinks that even though his employer may be compensating him for the value he provides the company, he could be making a lot more doing something else. He decides that even the best positions in this company limit the appreciation ($$$) he could receive, so he needs to find a way to provide more value. So, Bob starts to build his SAAS business that will enable him to provide immense value to others and unlock the appreciation ($$$) that he believes he deserves.Since Bob needs to continue supporting his family, he decides to remain at his job until he can afford to quit.
Bob continues providing the value at work that he was hired to provide, but he will no longer go the extra mile. That means he will not work after 5 pm or pick up any additional duties that are not mandatory. Not out of spite. It's just that he only has so much time and energy in a day and anything extra spent at work could mean stealing from his family and growing business. He needs to go right home at 5 pm so he could start working on his business. When Bob gets passed up for promotions or receives a smaller raise than others, he acknowledges this is the price he pays for choosing this job is of lower value than other things in his life. Even if Bob gets laid off, he can empathize with the employer.
4. Bob the Ideal
After six months of hard work with his employer and his SAAS business on the side, the business is finally ready for its first customer. During a company meeting, Bob finds out that, as luck would have it, his boss's brother is precisely the type of customer that needs his SAAS solution. So, with a good word from Bob's boss, he just landed his first customer!
There is a crucial lesson between every Bob #1 - #4
The goal should be #4, but at minimum, you should be at #3. It may be ok if you tried to do #4, but the output looked more like #3. We don't always live up to our ideals.
Everyone knows there are bad bosses out there. *yawn*. The test of your mindset is what your response is to the bad boss. It's not that your actions while at your work necessarily hinder your long-term business prospects directly. It's that the mindset that leads you to those actions will hamper your long-term business prospects directly.
The point
Meet Bob. Bob is 30 years old, has a wife with two kids, and works for GE on the factory floor.
Bob has realized that he is not happy with his lot in life and has 4 choices.
1. Bob, the disgruntled worker
Bob feels like he is not being appreciated at work. He decides that since he is not being appreciated at work and is not being paid his value, he will start quiet quitting. This means that he will no longer work for a minute after 5 pm or pick up any extra duties which are not mandatory. He will do the bare minimum not to be fired. Every promotion he is passed up on and every raise that he is shortchanged on becomes further proof that Bob chose wisely not to do good work for this unappreciative employer. Such is life in late-stage capitalism. Bob works like this until he is fired. Then he goes on Twitter to complain about how horrible America is. The rest of his career is a repeat of this disaster until he retires.
2. Bob, the quiet quitter with FTE moment
In the meantime, he will work on his SAAS idea, which he thinks will finally prove his worth. He no longer wants to work for selfish bosses.Bob feels like he is not being appreciated at work. He decides that since he is not being appreciated at work and is not being paid his value, he will start quiet quitting. This means that he will no longer work for a minute after 5pm or pick up any extra duties which are not mandatory. Every promotion he is passed up on and every raise that he is shortchanged on becomes further proof that Bob chose wisely not to do good work for this unappreciative employer.
3. Bob, the reasonable
Bob thinks that even though his employer may be compensating him for the value he provides the company, he could be making a lot more doing something else. He decides that even the best positions in this company limit the appreciation ($$$) he could receive, so he needs to find a way to provide more value. So, Bob starts to build his SAAS business that will enable him to provide immense value to others and unlock the appreciation ($$$) that he believes he deserves.Since Bob needs to continue supporting his family, he decides to remain at his job until he can afford to quit.
Bob continues providing the value at work that he was hired to provide, but he will no longer go the extra mile. That means he will not work after 5 pm or pick up any additional duties that are not mandatory. Not out of spite. It's just that he only has so much time and energy in a day and anything extra spent at work could mean stealing from his family and growing business. He needs to go right home at 5 pm so he could start working on his business. When Bob gets passed up for promotions or receives a smaller raise than others, he acknowledges this is the price he pays for choosing this job is of lower value than other things in his life. Even if Bob gets laid off, he can empathize with the employer.
4. Bob the Ideal
Bob recognizes that his name is on the line every time he shows up. He sees his friends slack off, but he continues working as hard as ever. He isn't working hard because he thinks there is a carrot at the end, but rather because Bob's identity is being a hard worker. Bob is someone you can expect to get things done.Bob thinks that even though his employer may be compensating him for the value he provides the company, he could be making a lot more doing something else. He decides that even the best positions in this company limit the appreciation ($$$) he could receive, so he needs to find a way to provide more value. So, Bob starts to build his SAAS business that will enable him to provide immense value to others and unlock the appreciation ($$$) that he believes he deserves. Since Bob needs to continue supporting his family, he decides to remain at his job until he can afford to quit.
After six months of hard work with his employer and his SAAS business on the side, the business is finally ready for its first customer. During a company meeting, Bob finds out that, as luck would have it, his boss's brother is precisely the type of customer that needs his SAAS solution. So, with a good word from Bob's boss, he just landed his first customer!
There is a crucial lesson between every Bob #1 - #4
- Bob #1 is the typical disgruntled worker.
- Bob #2 is the bare minimum expected of you when you join this forum. If you have read the books, you should have realized that you need to take some action that provides value to improve your life. If, after spending time on these forums, you end at this level, you have quiet quit your entrepreneurial journey!
- Bob #3 is a giant leap in mindset as his Locus of Control is not internal. He isn't just a neutral observer as the world is happening to him. Things that happen to him may not always be his fault, but they are always his responsibility. He also recognizes that his actions have consequences and accepts them as costs.
- Bob #4 is the Übermensch. He recognizes everything the previous Bobs do but also recognizes that his actions define him as a person. Other people's actions do not change who Bob is. Their actions determine who they are, and that's it. People respect those that have a code and live by it. Respected hard workers are highly valued in society. Opportunity and luck seem to always find them.
The goal should be #4, but at minimum, you should be at #3. It may be ok if you tried to do #4, but the output looked more like #3. We don't always live up to our ideals.
Everyone knows there are bad bosses out there. *yawn*. The test of your mindset is what your response is to the bad boss. It's not that your actions while at your work necessarily hinder your long-term business prospects directly. It's that the mindset that leads you to those actions will hamper your long-term business prospects directly.
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