The Sisyphus Principle of careers

(Editor’s note: James M. Lafferty is the retired CEO of Procter and Gamble Philippines; at present he is the CEO of British American Tobacco Philippines.)

MANILA, Philippines - It’s not a fact I am proud of. But in any competitive business like FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), changes often have to be made. I have had to let go — or fire — hundreds of people.

No matter how much warning, how gently one does it, the most common reaction is something along these lines: “How can this be? I gave this company 20 years of service. I was salesman of the year in 1987! I don’t believe this.”

The minute this sentiment is spoken, one thing becomes clear. And it’s not what a tragedy the situation is. What’s clear is this particular employee, the one about to lose their job, likely lost track of the most important career principle of them all: The Sisyphus Principle.

What’s the Sisyphus Principle?

Sisyphus was the man portrayed in ancient mythology who was sentenced with the eternal task of rolling the same stone up the mountain, each and every day, only to watch it roll back down. The work never was done, the finish line never crossed. Each and every day, he had to come back and perform all over again.

This is the essence of our careers, our jobs. We are each a Sisyphus, with our own stone to roll up the hill. Whether we recognize it or not.

Each day when we walk into our workplace, we start afresh. We do our work and we get paid for it. We go home that night with the scales balanced. We delivered value in the workplace, and we were compensated for it. The ledgers are balanced.

There are no credits. We can’t accumulate good will to use down the road. If we do well, and are “ salesman of the year,” we get a raise or a promotion, or both. Again, the ledgers are balanced.

The mistake many can make is they live off the past. They believe a credit system exists that allows them to slack off and under-deliver for periods of time, as they live off past glories and accomplishments. And they are wrong. The ledgers were balanced ... a long time ago!

Even worse, they often slack off at very high levels, when their pay and cost to their organization is highest. There is never a good time to slack off, but doing it when one is high-priced is a sure means to unemployment.

All one has to do is remember the Sisyphus Principle. Each day when you walk in the door, you start anew and have to re-earn your salary all over again. You have to re-earn your performance rating. And again it starts all over tomorrow.

That’s the Sisyphus Principle.

Keep it in mind, and not only will you dodge the tough discussions, but enjoy an amazing career.