Those are the three things work is truly about. We claim often that it’s about productivity and innovation and entrepreneurial mindsets and teams and relationships and trust and trust falls and all that, but to most people, the goal is the three things in the headline. They want to be seen as relevant, even if they’re making widgets. I have a guy around the corner from me who makes Spray-On Bed Linen (no shit), and he’s currently fixing his deck. It’s gotta be $12,000+ worth of work. He’s chasing some relevance with those spray-on linens, no? They want control, which is the whole reason why the “work from home forever!” mindset lasted about eight months. And they want status, which can mean titles and money, but often means being able to tell someone else they have to do something.
You ever get an email from a boss with one small change to a project or document, and they are basically waiting for you to make it, even though they easily could? I’ve gotten 419 of these emails in my life. It’s all about relevance, control, and status. Ultimately, that’s what work is about to so many, and especially many who come to be front-line managers, VPs, and executives.
Remember this lesson above all.
