StatCounter

Monday, February 23, 2015

Boy Scout Badges and Corner Offices



Like many Baby Boomer boys I joined Boy Scouts when I became of age. For me it was all about doing fun things with my friends. Camping trips were my favorite. One of the many good things that boy scouts does is teach useful, practical skills.

Learning skills was fun: fire making, knot tying, swimming -and all those other skills that one could earn badges for. I was very eager to learn things that interested me, but I was terrible when it came down to earning badges for their own sake. Let's just say I never made Eagle Scout.

Some people are really motivated by those badges. I'm not criticizing them. It's just something that never worked for me. Scouts who did pursue those goals usually did quite well in life. A young man who can fulfill the Eagle Scout requirements is capable of achieving many other things. He can set goals for himself, figure out what's needed to succeed and then make it happen.

If I was going to hire someone I'd hire someone who was an Eagle Scout. He'd keep his word and get the job done. When I was on jury duty one of my fellow jurors was an Eagle Scout. We made him Jury Foreman and he rose to the challenge. It's no wonder that so many Eagle Scouts do well in the business world and end up in the corner office.

Then there are folks who are more internally driven. The only “badges” we need are the ones we award ourselves. Nobody can see those. Perks like rank, money and the corner office are poor motivators. That's not to say some of us don't achieve those things, but they are not what motivated us to succeed. When our internal compass swings to another direction, the badges of rank and status are easily left behind.

-Sixbears



8 comments:

  1. I ended up assistant Senior Patrol Leader, and went to Philmont my 5th year as a Scout. I was First Class with two merit badges. Rowing and Canoeing. Seriously, all I wanted to really do, was go fishing. Our troop went every month, no matter what, and in Western Oregon, that meant we were wet most of the time. After that, everything was easy.
    Now I'm an unemployed marine biologist on daily radiation treatments for awhile.
    No worries. It stops raining once in awhile, and the fish start biting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good luck with the treatments. Hope they don't get in the way of the fishing too much.

      Delete
  2. Haha, I was never an Eagle Scout but I did have a corner office once. All it meant was more people could see what I was doing...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've successfully made your escape from that office. Like you, I'd rather have a view of the beach. :)

      Delete
  3. My corner office was in my own home. Not a good location if you want to get away from the office and go home. . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pretty sweet commute, though. Any job you can get to wearing your slippers can't be that bad.

      Delete
  4. It takes both kinds to make the world go 'round (and a lot of other kinds, too)!

    ReplyDelete