Ikigai : Raison D'Etre

I speak a few languages. Japanese is not one of them, yet, but I love the term ikigai almost as I love the Japanese term muda, which means waste. I do speak French, and their "raison d'etre," (which means ”reason for being”) is more familiar to most Americans.

I've been reflecting on purpose and ikigai as I look for my next opportunity. Between interviews, I serve my life's purpose through Candi-Data, helping us all make better use of our time.

Matching talent to work is no small feat.

In Good to Great, Jim Collins mentions the Stockdale Paradox: helpful for job seekers and hiring managers, alike.?

“You must retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties…AND at the same time… You must confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be…”

Our lives are made of advanced multivariate calculus: weighing countless factors in infinite, dynamic decisions to manage daily, yearly, and lifelong challenges. Work is its own category of calculus, both for job seekers and hiring managers. We need to find people with whom we can work as effectively, efficiently, and pleasantly as possible - no small feat.

To make matters worse:?

• We’re bad at making logical decisions and are prone to bias.?
• Emotions influence our choices, often counter to favorable courses of action.?
• Self-serving external forces, unethically and at our expense, spew disinformation.

I’ve enjoyed being a trusted advisor in Sales and Account Management roles, helping stakeholders inform their choices, reminding them that they will prevail while keeping weekly and monthly challenges in-focus and performance on key metrics steady. I enjoy helping customers understand risks, seize opportunities, learn from data-based insights, and create value, often making lemonade out of lemons. I enjoy the entrepreneurial process of making work lemonade with colleagues.

The book The Obstacle Is The Way helped me reframe challenges as opportunities (lemonade from lemons). That’s my morning vibe. This mindset hack drives outsized impact on the consistent feedback I get about my positive energy in meetings. It hasn't landed me any offers recently, but feeling seen is a consolation prize.

I’m passionate about putting my diverse, transferable skills and to work improving humanity’s outlook through business. The levers I’ve pulled to drive business value and make the world a better place have been in SaaS, Tech, and Professional Services, growing recurring revenue and building relationships.

I agree with Marc Benioff and Yvon Chouinard; business is a double-edged sword. However you feel about it, business is arguably the biggest lever for social and environmental impact…for better and for worse.?

I’m here to contribute: to make work more joyful and productive. I’m here to create, to innovate, and to solve problems. What fills my cup is the "triple bottom line": people, planet, and profit.

I’m looking to meet hiring managers seeking a pragmatic, people person who gets stuff done, who wrote this article without the help of ChatGPT or other AI. As crazy as it may sound, helping you solve your business challenge puts a smile on my face -- it's my jam. Do you know someone who could benefit from meeting me and having me on their team?

If so, I’d appreciate an introduction; it would be a welcome ray of sunshine this week. ??