Skip the Hard Work, Jump Straight to CEO

By TLS

Has anyone else seen this? I was at another social event the other day and an acquaintances 20 year-old son was there. We’ve known this kid for several years so they were naturally part of the overall conversation.

The kid works at a big retail corporation in a very entry-level position. He has a high school diploma, no college or any other education or training. He also just received what could be considered a promotion, a transfer to another department.

This is where I started talking to him about his plans. I asked if he was planning to make this company a career or if it was just a job until something else came along. Now, this could be a very good company to commit to with lots of prospects and potential. But, it would also work well as a stepping stone to many other options.

The kid’s answer was, yes, he wanted to make it a career. We talked about that for a bit, kind of getting a feel for his intentions. He wanted to work his way up the corporate chain. I thought, well ok, good, that’s at least a plan. This company has lots of departments with lots of different stuff going on.

So, since he’s only 20 and has barely worked there for a year or so, I recommended he try to bounce around to as many different departments as possible over the next few years. This would provide him with valuable experience at the foundation of the company. A deeper understanding of how things actually work as well as what the perception is of the employees in the different departments. I explained how this could be extremely valuable information and experience if/when transitioning to management.

He said he already applied to the management program because thats what him mom recommended. Blink…blink…blink, I just responded with, ahhh, ok, well good luck.

Now, here’s my point. Nothing against this 20-year-old, but, he’s 20. Twenty-year-olds don’t know jack, and 20-year-olds with a HS diploma and no other training or experience are a dime a dozen. Hell, they’re a dime for a dozen dozen.

But for some reason, these 20-year-olds want to step out of high school and right into a CEO position (CEO simply meaning unrealistic expectations). Let’s just step right over that 20 years of work, education, and life experience and hand me that high-paying cush gig. Please and thank you!

Of course as the rest of us know, that’s not ever going to happen. Instead what is likely to happen is those twenty-somethings will keep trying to step straight into that CEO position, they will never simply be handed it, and then wonder why they don’t achieve anything.

Yeah, I get it, hard work is hard work. Most people don’t like hard work. That’s why HS diploma 20-year-olds are a dime for a dozen dozen. Most anything worthwhile requires hard work, and typically years of consistent hard work. Unfortunately, it seems that’s not a lesson taught to many these days. Instead the encouragement to all the snowflakes out there seems to be, you are special enough to skip straight to the top, and then fall all the way to the bottom.

If you’ve ever felt the urge to skip the grind and jump straight to the top, stop and think about the leaders you respect most. They didn’t appear out of nowhere. They built credibility through years of effort, failure, and persistence. That path is open to you too, but only if you’re willing to walk it.

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