How Can a Gunman Help You Figure Out If You"re in the Right Job?
How do you know if you are in the 'right job'? Enter the Gunman Exercise.
It's fun.
And a little bit scary...
Step 1: Look at what's in your basket On a dark and stormy night you leave the office.
You're walking towards your transport.
You feel a little shiver go down your spine and turn around to see if anyone is following you.
You look down and see that you are carrying a basket.
Where did that come from? Inside the basket are 16 glass balls.
They're round and shiny, and different colours.
You look closer, and see that they've got writing on them.
You pick each one up and read what's on it.
Ball 1: Achievement This provides you with the opportunity to accomplish goals Ball 2: Challenge The ability to work on stretching tasks which are developing and growing Ball 3: Enjoyment Having fun doing your job.
Liking your work and working conditions Ball 4: Excellence Being proficient and effective at your job Ball 5: Family Having time to spend with your family as a result ofyour job Ball 6: Friendship Working with people you like and trust, and being liked and trusted by them Ball 7: Independence Having control over your work and career Ball 8: Leadership Motivating and influencing others to move forward towards a vision, goals and objectives Ball 9: Location Living and working in a specific area, town or city that suits you Ball 10: Loyalty Commitment to the organization, department orteam Ball 11: Power Having formal control over resources and decisions Ball 12: Recognition Being seen and acknowledged by others as being successful Ball 13: Security Having a stable job and employment in the future Ball 14: Service Contributing to the satisfaction and well-being of others, internally or externally Ball 15: Trust Being trusted by team members and beyond Ball 16: Wealth Having money and a high standard of living "Wow!" you think.
"That's amazing!" you think.
If I have all those features or work values in my job, I must be in the right job.
The balls in your basket represent the 16 features or work values that most of us would like to experience at work.
Fabulous! It's beyond the right job, it's an almost perfect job.
But life isn't quite so simple...
(You may want to print or write these 16 out, before you continue...
) Step 2: Face-off with the first gunman We pick up our story again.
So now you know what's in your basket.
Pretty valuable stuff.
You feel really fortunate to have the job of your dreams where all 16 of these features are very well met.
You enter a dim alley way with a sense of unease.
There is no-one around.
It's getting darker and darker.
As you begin your hasty walk through the alley, you hear a sound.
Suddenly, you are confronted by a masked gunman who holds a gun to the right side of your head.
Aggressively, he demands,"You give me 6 of your job features now, or I'll shoot you dead!" You need to decide which 6 of the 16 values you will give away.
Difficult decision.
But to save your life you would do it.
Of course you would.
Consider the list again and identify which 6 are least important to you.
Mark all 6 these with the sign X1.
And give them away.
Take a bit of time.
Not too much.
Gunmen aren't that patient.
Right?Done?Phew, that was close.
The gunman hurtles off with the 6 values you eliminated.
Down the alley he flees, and disappears into the shadows of the night.
A bit shaken, but relieved to have saved your life, you move quickly down the alley towards your transport which you can see in the distance.
But...
Step 3: Face-off with the second gunman Unfortunately for you a second gunman was watching how relatively easily you gave those 6 values away.
He steps out of the shadows on your left hand side, holds his gun to the other side of your head and snarls,"I saw you give those 6 away.
Now I want 5.
" This is terrible.
You've just given away 6, and now another 5?Yes, to save your life you would.
So go through the remaining 10 features and decide which of these are of less importance to you and mark these X2.
This gunman is jumpy and wants you to hurry.
Gunmen generally don't hang around - they aim for quick action and hasty escapes.
Not too much hemming and hawing about your decision.
Give 5 away.
To save your life?It's worth it.
Done?Good.
Off he goes with the bundle of 5 that you felt were less important.
What a hair-raising encounter.
But well done for not getting 'done in'.
You pick up the pace and finally arrive, much relieved, at your transport - able to leave the scene of the crimewith your 5 most critical, non-negotiable work values.
In the right job these are, for you, of paramount importance.
Under extreme pressure you refused to give these away.
Step 4: Look at what's left - the real gems The next step is to write these five down, in order of priority.
Number 1 will be the most important value to you, through to number 5.
What you have arrived at is the important analysis of the values that are most important to you, through to those that are moderately important (marked x2) and those that are of least importance to you in the right job.
Step 5: Reality check - the right job for you? How does this match your current job?How aligned are your personal work values with those of the job?How much scope are you given to exercise and enjoy what is of most value to you?Who should know this about you?What are you going to do next? If the top 5 are being well met - you certainly are in the right job.
If not - you need to do something about that.
It's fun.
And a little bit scary...
Step 1: Look at what's in your basket On a dark and stormy night you leave the office.
You're walking towards your transport.
You feel a little shiver go down your spine and turn around to see if anyone is following you.
You look down and see that you are carrying a basket.
Where did that come from? Inside the basket are 16 glass balls.
They're round and shiny, and different colours.
You look closer, and see that they've got writing on them.
You pick each one up and read what's on it.
Ball 1: Achievement This provides you with the opportunity to accomplish goals Ball 2: Challenge The ability to work on stretching tasks which are developing and growing Ball 3: Enjoyment Having fun doing your job.
Liking your work and working conditions Ball 4: Excellence Being proficient and effective at your job Ball 5: Family Having time to spend with your family as a result ofyour job Ball 6: Friendship Working with people you like and trust, and being liked and trusted by them Ball 7: Independence Having control over your work and career Ball 8: Leadership Motivating and influencing others to move forward towards a vision, goals and objectives Ball 9: Location Living and working in a specific area, town or city that suits you Ball 10: Loyalty Commitment to the organization, department orteam Ball 11: Power Having formal control over resources and decisions Ball 12: Recognition Being seen and acknowledged by others as being successful Ball 13: Security Having a stable job and employment in the future Ball 14: Service Contributing to the satisfaction and well-being of others, internally or externally Ball 15: Trust Being trusted by team members and beyond Ball 16: Wealth Having money and a high standard of living "Wow!" you think.
"That's amazing!" you think.
If I have all those features or work values in my job, I must be in the right job.
The balls in your basket represent the 16 features or work values that most of us would like to experience at work.
Fabulous! It's beyond the right job, it's an almost perfect job.
But life isn't quite so simple...
(You may want to print or write these 16 out, before you continue...
) Step 2: Face-off with the first gunman We pick up our story again.
So now you know what's in your basket.
Pretty valuable stuff.
You feel really fortunate to have the job of your dreams where all 16 of these features are very well met.
You enter a dim alley way with a sense of unease.
There is no-one around.
It's getting darker and darker.
As you begin your hasty walk through the alley, you hear a sound.
Suddenly, you are confronted by a masked gunman who holds a gun to the right side of your head.
Aggressively, he demands,"You give me 6 of your job features now, or I'll shoot you dead!" You need to decide which 6 of the 16 values you will give away.
Difficult decision.
But to save your life you would do it.
Of course you would.
Consider the list again and identify which 6 are least important to you.
Mark all 6 these with the sign X1.
And give them away.
Take a bit of time.
Not too much.
Gunmen aren't that patient.
Right?Done?Phew, that was close.
The gunman hurtles off with the 6 values you eliminated.
Down the alley he flees, and disappears into the shadows of the night.
A bit shaken, but relieved to have saved your life, you move quickly down the alley towards your transport which you can see in the distance.
But...
Step 3: Face-off with the second gunman Unfortunately for you a second gunman was watching how relatively easily you gave those 6 values away.
He steps out of the shadows on your left hand side, holds his gun to the other side of your head and snarls,"I saw you give those 6 away.
Now I want 5.
" This is terrible.
You've just given away 6, and now another 5?Yes, to save your life you would.
So go through the remaining 10 features and decide which of these are of less importance to you and mark these X2.
This gunman is jumpy and wants you to hurry.
Gunmen generally don't hang around - they aim for quick action and hasty escapes.
Not too much hemming and hawing about your decision.
Give 5 away.
To save your life?It's worth it.
Done?Good.
Off he goes with the bundle of 5 that you felt were less important.
What a hair-raising encounter.
But well done for not getting 'done in'.
You pick up the pace and finally arrive, much relieved, at your transport - able to leave the scene of the crimewith your 5 most critical, non-negotiable work values.
In the right job these are, for you, of paramount importance.
Under extreme pressure you refused to give these away.
Step 4: Look at what's left - the real gems The next step is to write these five down, in order of priority.
Number 1 will be the most important value to you, through to number 5.
What you have arrived at is the important analysis of the values that are most important to you, through to those that are moderately important (marked x2) and those that are of least importance to you in the right job.
Step 5: Reality check - the right job for you? How does this match your current job?How aligned are your personal work values with those of the job?How much scope are you given to exercise and enjoy what is of most value to you?Who should know this about you?What are you going to do next? If the top 5 are being well met - you certainly are in the right job.
If not - you need to do something about that.