Will Grier's Top 3 Traits

Career Development Tips for IT Consulting Professionals

Before you start on me, this post is NOT about the New England Patriots or football. However, I do like to "compare and contrast" career development strategies in management consulting at Public Consulting Group with the tips/traps of professional athletes over the years, including: Julia Brown , Ronda Rousey , Danica Patrick , Steph Curry, Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods ... pretty much whoever was trending at the time of the articles that get posted.

Big WIND UP: Why you should give two hoots about Will Grier's professional development a 5 year veteran in the NFL?

I've known about Will Grier since he played football at Davidson Day School in the same town where my kids were raised. Our kids were big into sports at Cannon School and @HoughHigh, so if I wanted to read the box scores in the The Charlotte Observer , then I had to flip by the endless articles about Will.

So, you get the point, Will Grier was an exceptional student athlete at Davidson Day School , then went on to 美国佛罗里达大学 , West Virginia University . After a fantastic college career, Grier has been employed by Carolina Panthers , Dallas Cowboys , Cincinnati Bengals , and now the New England Patriots .

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING THE PAST 5-10 YEARS TO ADVANCE YOUR CAREER? No Kidding. Think about it.

Let's go to work.

If you are reading this LinkedIn article, I assume it's because you care about your career in healthcare, human services, or education industries. You probably know a good bit about finance, public policy, compliance, HR, and/or IT. You most likely have dedicated a huge amount of time and energy to your career while attempting to manage "work/life balance." Your significant other thinks (knows) you work too much.

I'm writing this post with THREE major inputs:

1. Tobi Russell is pushing really hard on CAREER PATHING for all PCG folks. We know that career pathing is vital for employee engagement. Joshua Romaneo and Brian Riley are locked on this goal, and their expectations are sky high!
2. ESPN has a 30 for 30 about "The Tuck Rule " It's a fantastic reminder that "opportunity" and "crisis" are the same word in Mandarin. Tom Brady took advantage of a unique opportunity in crisis to take the first major step is his epic NFL career. Same rules apply to you and your career development.

3. Ed Forth and Richard Talaber are holding PCG's Annual Corporate Technology Planning Meeting with the best and brightest IT professionals at the Firm. It's amazing to hear of the commitment to excellence and ambition for supporting our Practice Areas.

TOP THREE WILL GRIER TRAITS

If you are still reading, it's time to reveal the top three traits that I've observed of Will Grier for the past 10+ years that will result in him being the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots. Charlie Baker and Jason Grier you heard it hear first.

#1. KNOW THE GAME - As a kid, Will ate/slept football. At college, it was his full time job for 4 years. BUT much more importantly, for most of his professional career Grier has been the "practice QB" for the opposing team. This means that he had to not only know the offense of his team, but he also had to learn the offense of every opponent! Will knows the game ... deeply and he's still studying and learning. It's an endless and impossible task to complete: YOU MUST KNOW THE GAME. You don't know enough ... I don't care who you are. What you know is becoming outdated. The ocean of innovation is bottomless, and you won't possible know it all. So, keep grinding ... never stop being a GREAT and passionate student/life-learner!

#2. TEAMWORK MATTERS - Will might be and probably is the smartest quarterback on the Patriots team. He's been doing it longer and thinking harder, and I believe he's a seasoned subject matter expert. BUT - if he can't build and maintain the confidence of his teammates, the he can be replaced by ChatGPT . Grier is a likeable guy, smart, funny, and folks believe he is a natural born leader with the only god-given "it" factor. YOU MUST BE A TEAM PLAYER. Stay up all day/night and work yourself to death, but you can't do it all. Figure out how to depend on folks and how to give people the confidence to depend on you.

#3. FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME - If you are motivated by money, when you make enough or go broke, it's over. If you work for others approval, I promise you that "they" will not care about you at some point in time. HOWEVER, if your career growth comes by your heart felt love of the game, it's my belief that you will have a beautiful and worthy career. LOVE HELPING OTHERS (your teammates, your clients, fans, sponsors, friends ... yep ... everyone.)

These are the big 3 traits that Will Grier and many of the best PCG staff and clients I have worked with during my career. Luck seems to follow the individuals who are great students/life learners, individuals who enjoy working on a team, and individuals who just LOVE being of service to their clients and co-workers.

That's my two cents. No instructions. No mandates. Have fun. Make good choices. Appreciate you.

Feel free to comment below and share with your Mom and Dad.

Gratitude,

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