According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of fear (http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fear) is "the emotion experienced in the presence or threat of danger". But what is also interesting are the following words that are associated with fear:
Synonyms alarm, anxiety, apprehension, consternation, dread, fearfulness, fright, horror, panic, terror, trepidation
Related Words phobia; creeps, jitters, nervousness, willies; pang, qualm, twinge; agitation, discomposure, disquiet, perturbation; concern, dismay, worry; cowardice, faintheartedness, timidity, timorousness
Near Antonyms aplomb, assurance, boldness, confidence, self-assurance, self-confidence; courage, dauntlessness, fearlessness, fortitude
So what does this have to do with your Career? You might be comfortable in your current job and meeting all your performance goals. You might be a job-seeker who is just going about your career search without much thought or effort. But you know what? You should be slightly afraid. Not the type of paralyzing fear that keeps you from functioning. But the type of fear that motivates you to do better than the average. You see, fear, can be a great enabler! When you think of fear, it's easy to think of the negative connotations of fear. But if you study business, you'll find that the most successful companies use fear to propel them ahead of their competition!
To illustrate this point, allow me to slightly modify those famous words from the ficticious Gordon Gekko in the classic movie, Wallstreet - "The point is, ladies and gentleman, that fear -- for lack of a better word -- is good. Fear is right. Fear works. Fear clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Fear, in all of its forms -- fear for life, for money, for love, knowledge -- has marked the upward surge of mankind." See the original quote at http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2008/09/quote-of-day-gordon-gekko-greed-is-good.html.
Are you beginning to follow where I'm going? If not, allow me to take you back to the words of a real iconic businessman, Andy Grove of Intel. "Sooner or later, something fundamental in your business world will change. I'm often credited with the motto, "Only the paranoid survive." I have no idea when I first said this, but the fact remains that, when it comes to business, I believe in the value of paranoia. Business success contains the seeds of its own destruction. The more successful you are, the more people want a chunk of your business and then another chunk and then another until there is nothing left. I believe that the prime responsibility of a manager is to guard constantly against other people's attacks and to inculcate this guardian attitude in the people under his or her management." You can read his entire preface at http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/bios/grove/paranoid.htm.
Now let's tie this in to your career. You should be thinking as the most successful businesses think if you really want to be a value-added employee. If the top business managers operate from a philosophy of strategic fear, then shouldn't you when it comes to your career? Otherwise, you'll just be the average employee who does average work. And companies who are just average don't survive too long. Look at the example of how Amazon.com was able to create an entire online empire right under the nose of Barnes & Noble. B&N should have had managers and leaders who monitored such threats in order to take swift action to either buy them out or pre-empt them. But they didn't. And now Wal-Mart is trying to do to the online world what they have done to the offline world. Interesting times indeed!
As you can see, even the successful companies from Wal-Mart to Microsoft are constantly trying to reinvent themselves and develop new products that adapt to the ever-changing technologies and demands of consumers. So shouldn't you take a cue from these businesses and do the same with your career? Fear of going out of business or losing market share keeps these companies at the top of their game. Fear can be a great enabler if you use it right. Use it to motivate you to look for new ways to improve your career skills that will add value to yourself and employer. So, could your career mentality use a healthy dose of fear?
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