Leadership: Passion as a Force Multiplier

The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club.

You know why that’s cool? Because it has a built-in energy. You WANT in. You want to get involved with this, and it’s so neato-tastic that you have to remind people not to talk about it. I’ve found the same is true with getting people to help with your big passions.

The first rule about Fight Club is that you do not talk about Fight Club.

I’m building a lab system at work. What this lab really does is it gives lots of people a chance to touch all my company’s applications and mess with them. The building of the box is a little tricky, as I haven’t done hardware in a while. So, know what I did? I Huck Finned it. I told someone I’m going to build a server, and asked them if they wanted to do something cool like build a server with me.

You can do this with whatever you’re passionate about. Want to get more motivated to run more regularly? Tell someone already open to the idea that you’re going to run every ___ , and that you’re starting a little club. Get the person involved, and then see if you want to add a person or two.

Spin this another way. If you want to get more involved with someone, or with a group of people, or an organization or something, get them to talk about whatever they’re passionate about. It’s AMAZING what happens when you engage people about whatever it is that blows their skirt up. I find that after a while of listening to someone’s big thing, they are *very* receptive to hear what you’re interested in doing. And then… And THEN… you can do something. Whatever. The BIG thing.

I love this. I have this working full force with my folks right now. We’re all doing crazy things to try and learn new technologies, and then we’re going to get even MORE people passionate about it, and get THEM to help us do what we want to do.

Want to *really* top it off big? Buy ‘em a hat. Get a hat or a tee shirt or a mug or something with a custom-made logo (you can do this easy with services like Zazzle). By the way, I have to confess: I am not opposed to spending my own money if the company’s not necessarily going to back a move like this. Why? Because I see it as an investment that will have rewards later. Besides, I see it as a way to get folks to pony up. You show your commitment. Money talks. Right?

Show people that you’re passionate about something and they’ll get jazzed up too.

Whatever you are, be a good one. — Abraham Lincoln.

But then, what if you’re not passionate about anything? I know lots of folks who feel a little “out of love” with what they’re doing for a living. Know anyone like that?

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