Categories: Articles

Job Snobbery

Does the title on your business card define you?

Alain De Botton is probably as close as we’ll get in today’s society to a true modern philosopher. I was first turned on to his thinking when Julien Smith (Trust Agents and The Flinch) left me a copy of his seminal book, The Pleasures And Sorrows Of Work. As someone who has always pursued that which was of interest to me, I am constantly bewildered by people who are miserable at work, or feel like they deserve something more (without doing much about it for themselves). At a young age, I realized that work – for the vast major of the population – is soul crushing. Thankfully, I learned this lesson long before I entered the workforce and set myself up so that I would not be in that position (as much as possible).

First world problems.

Realizing that these are first word problems, in this Big Think video clip (and, by the way, if you don’t subscribe to the Big Think video channel, you really should), De Botton looks at the true value of what we, as individuals, are worth. Both in terms of how we perceive ourselves and how we see others. It’s amazing how enlightening this short two-minute clip is. How often do you find yourself being asked, "so, what do you do for a living?" It happens often enough and, as much as I try to rehearse and be prepared for that exact moment, I always feel like whatever I say has – in a small or big way – diminished what I’m truly all about. Don’t you always feel judged by your answer or what it says on your business card?

We shouldn’t, but we do. Sadly. Watch this…

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.