JOB SATISFACTION?

It’s the pre-dawn hour in the Ohio Centro office. A man in a blue Snuggie is hunched over his laptop, contemplating what it means to be part of a company in Q4′09. Yes, this actually happens. It’s like Sex in the City (minus any fashion sense, sex appeal, or The City part).

How do you measure your job satisfaction on a given day, in a given quarter, in a given year?  Working in a dynamic, creative, and altruistic company should increase those feelings of satisfaction, but measuring the quality of our Work Life can only be done by each of us as individuals. We each have our own definitions of success, satisfaction, and what a challenge is. At a very basic level, I believe we are here to sift through challenges in the pursuit of our goals and dreams.  Arriving at a goal with no problems along the way would be a good sign that you’re working way below your potential. That would be like becoming a UFC contender by fighting toddlers, or the band Maroon 5. However, arriving at a goal despite the economy, objections or rejections, or after numerous opportunities to enhance your skills through trial and error will leave you feeling like a gleaming champion.

Too many people operate on the limiting assumption that our collective reality is all the same, that we can only see things as they “truly are.” This serves us well if our goal is comfort, or maintaining the status quo. It will actually drag you toward the negative over time, because those beliefs can’t keep up with the speed of change, innovation or evolution. On the other side, people who commit to the pursuit of success see reality how they want it to be, how they know it will be someday: if they just do the right things, take care of themselves and others, and have fun along the way. This is the aspect of Centro I have a hard time putting into words. It’s one thing to say “Merely eight years ago it was just Shawn, The Manifesto, his gigantic mid-90’s cell phone, starched Z-Cavaricci’s, and a dream.” But it’s another thing to look around and really contemplate how we’ve grown, how the dream has evolved, how the technology and revenue have exploded, and how this collective of remarkable, happy people has manifested.

Did that happen by seeing things the way they are? We each have a powerful choice moment to moment, to navigate toward the vision you have for ourselves, or away from it. We can keep our heads buried in The Matrix of our laptops, grinding out emails, or we can soak in the success that is actually happening all around us. We’re delivering on complex media plans over 98%+, across any and all sites on the internet, through our leading-edge technology. We also tend have a pretty freaking sweet time doing it. Is there something I’m missing here? Oh yes: it’s not supposed to be easy. It’s Local Media Made Easy (by people who didn’t come here follow the path of least resistance). On our best days our service is delivered with a smile, but also with the knowing that we’re creating value, that we’re making our clients’ lives easier by taking it on ourselves.

The economy tested our resolve as a company, and the welcome return of some of our largest clients (GM, AT&T, etc) is certainly a positive sign that budgets are bouncing back. Personally, I’m more interested in measuring what’s going on inside each of us: the potential of achieving staggering success despite the challenge.