Good People

I am heartbroken today.  Three of our co-workers have resigned and are literally moving on to bigger and better things.  I am heartbroken because they will be very difficult to replace.  When the so called recession started I heard many people in charge say, "They should be happy to have a job."  My reply is that good people don't have to worry--they will find a job because good people are hard to find.  What qualities make them "good people" you ask?  Well time for my bullet points:

1.  They work hard.  By working hard, I don't mean 45 hours a week.  I'm sure that the people that are moving up in their career have put in 80-90 hours a week.  Not because it was a mandate from their manager or to win a contest.  They put in crazy hours because they are passionate about what they they are doing.  I am in radio and the people that are leaving are on the on-air side and I am in sales.  I see so many entry level sales people that come in to the radio station at 8a and leave exactly at 5pm then wonder why they can't accomplish the things that the veterans do.  When I first started in sales I worked many 70 hour weeks and I made very little money but I never gave up.  I worked hard to beat the top biller or to win the contest and to prove that I could do this.  People seriously come in to this business expecting to be bestowed.  All good things in life are earned--trust, respect, love, success.  Conversely, it's very easy for an on-air personality to come in do their shift and leave but they tend not to survive in "this economy".

2.  They have passion and love what they do.  Let's face it, everyone can't find their dream job but if you take a job only for the money, you will have difficulty being successful.  When you love what you do you barely notice when you work insane hours.  You look forward to going back in and you feel a general sense of pride when your group succeeds.

3.  They are the people that you would trust in any situation.  When it comes to my clients, I am very protective and territorial but I know that if I had to ask them to take care of something for me, it would be done and my clients would rave about my co-workers.

4.  They make working with them fun and enjoyable.

I am sure that there are more bullet points but I must say that I've never worked with a better group of people than the ones I work with now.  Everyone performs to the best of their abilities and most will do whatever it takes to  win and honestly who can ask for more than that?

I know that there are good people looking for opportunities and it's frustrating however, I am astounded at what people say in interviews, what they wear and the lack of follow through.   There are good opportunities out there if you are willing to be molded, to work hard to bring some passion to your daily duties.  Many years ago I worked for Larry Wilson and he always said that the people made his company great.  I'm sure the people who run companies don't read my blog, but if you have good people who work hard, who are willing to do whatever it takes and who contribute to your success--hold on tight they are rare gems and are harder to find than you might think.  I remember thinking that we had the next sales superstar wto ended up being a falling star.  They had a few big closes in the beginning but quickly fizzled out. 

My friends who are departing Citadel Colorado Springs-I will miss you and congratulations!