Cheetah Newsletter May 2023
Creating More Value, Faster
This recent article from NPR talks about how Productivity is at an all-time low. It’s not surprising as quiet quitting has become the norm. Quiet quitting means the employee puts in the minimal effort required and even less enthusiasm for the job while continuing to collect a paycheck.
This makes sense as many are increasingly disillusioned with the idea of being let go suddenly and with no warning. Others are forced to accept less pay while high-level executives reap large bonuses regardless of the tough economic conditions or the company’s performance. In addition, there is often a lack of meaningful career development opportunities and work that fails to provide an inspiring challenge for people. Its clear why so many opt out by quiet quitting and productivity is in the tank.
Who would willingly stay in this situation unless they didn’t feel like they had other options? When you’ve checked out, it’s time to create an exit strategy. While quiet quitting might be justified, it can tarnish a personal brand and impact the ability to network with people from this time. Plus think about the person (sometimes a friend) in the difficult situation of having to terminate employment because performance of the quiet quitter is no longer cutting muster. There is a better reality than dreading your job.
The question is “move on” to what?
First, think about your passions. What gets you excited to get out of bed in the morning? What do you dream about doing someday? A friend went to college with the plan to go on to law school. In her senior year, she was no longer interested in a career in law. But what was she going to do?
At this time in her life, she was going to a yoga class every morning at 5:30 – talk about commitment and passion for a senior in college. She didn’t think she could make a career in yoga, but became a yoga teacher to test it out. She went on to make 50 short 8-minute yoga videos for her own mobile app. She became Agile Certified and took a 3-month intensive program to learn how to program mobile apps, to help her yoga business. She sold the yoga mobile app and parlayed her experience into a senior engineering management position for a large media enterprise.
You don’t have to stay in a job where quiet quitting is the end game. I have experienced this myself. The signs are often clear when it’s time to move on – even when the decision is difficult. An untenable employment scene was what motivated me to start Cheetah Learning. The path to self-employment is certainly not easy. I prefer the challenges and rewards of uncertainty. It keeps me on my toes, and I’m far more productive, invigorated, engaged, and enthusiastic.
The person you need to create more value, faster for, is first and foremost – YOURSELF!
This makes sense as many are increasingly disillusioned with the idea of being let go suddenly and with no warning. Others are forced to accept less pay while high-level executives reap large bonuses regardless of the tough economic conditions or the company’s performance. In addition, there is often a lack of meaningful career development opportunities and work that fails to provide an inspiring challenge for people. Its clear why so many opt out by quiet quitting and productivity is in the tank.
Who would willingly stay in this situation unless they didn’t feel like they had other options? When you’ve checked out, it’s time to create an exit strategy. While quiet quitting might be justified, it can tarnish a personal brand and impact the ability to network with people from this time. Plus think about the person (sometimes a friend) in the difficult situation of having to terminate employment because performance of the quiet quitter is no longer cutting muster. There is a better reality than dreading your job.
The question is “move on” to what?
First, think about your passions. What gets you excited to get out of bed in the morning? What do you dream about doing someday? A friend went to college with the plan to go on to law school. In her senior year, she was no longer interested in a career in law. But what was she going to do?
At this time in her life, she was going to a yoga class every morning at 5:30 – talk about commitment and passion for a senior in college. She didn’t think she could make a career in yoga, but became a yoga teacher to test it out. She went on to make 50 short 8-minute yoga videos for her own mobile app. She became Agile Certified and took a 3-month intensive program to learn how to program mobile apps, to help her yoga business. She sold the yoga mobile app and parlayed her experience into a senior engineering management position for a large media enterprise.
You don’t have to stay in a job where quiet quitting is the end game. I have experienced this myself. The signs are often clear when it’s time to move on – even when the decision is difficult. An untenable employment scene was what motivated me to start Cheetah Learning. The path to self-employment is certainly not easy. I prefer the challenges and rewards of uncertainty. It keeps me on my toes, and I’m far more productive, invigorated, engaged, and enthusiastic.
The person you need to create more value, faster for, is first and foremost – YOURSELF!
From a Cheetah Agile Certified Student – “Being part of your beta group for the Cheetah Agile Certified program back in September 2021 gave me a hunch that improving my project-completion speed would benefit my career. But I was surprised to find out that it was also an immense help in my private life. As part of the class demonstration project, I took on a personally meaningful task – preparing an estate sale – something I had been putting off. Thanks to my diligence during the course, we discovered an additional $450,000 worth of assets in the estate!”
John W, PMP, CAC
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“The first thing my boss said when I told him I was interested in getting my PMP certification was that if I was going to do it, he’d heard Cheetah Learning was the best.”