The Project: The New Job
I’ve been having a lot of interesting conversations lately about the world of work; however, the conversations have shifted a bit. They used to be all about a “job.”
The common question is, “What do you do for a living?” when you first meet someone, at least here in the states. That’s not necessarily true in other countries. In fact, some find that question borderline offensive. But now – instead of asking about jobs, I’m noticing more people asking about “projects.”
As I noted this, a friend of mine over in France via Facebook noted the same thing. When she meets others there, they ask her about her “latest project.”
This is smart. Why? Because all of us do so much more than just our jobs. Right now, I’ve got a project and talk going on in Washington D.C. next week, I’m starting my project of bar review next week, I’m helping to promote a women’s conference coming to Indianapolis, and I’m working on my next book. These are all–what I consider to be–projects. Furthermore, they don’t necessarily have a direct bearing on my day job per se. They are interesting, some are even cool (the bar review won’t be included in the ‘cool’ part), but they aren’t directly related to my “job.”
So, what is your current project? Is it even related to your day job? If not/so is really irrelevant. It’s more about what you’re currently passionate about, and I love that, because unearthing passions is a far more awesome thing to learn about someone else than learning their job titles…
