Titles

We are a culture that is wrapped up in words, names, and titles. We like them. In school we are taught to memorize definitions. To read a book is in itself an exercise in brilliance, or so it seems. We can read all the books we want, claim all the titles we want, name all the people we know, but does it even mean anything? Hardly. The only thing that really matters is the work. Proof that we’ve actually done something with the knowledge we have.

In the business world, email signatures are wrought with credentials. Little capital letters following a name indicating all the formal education they’ve received. Certifications, degrees, courses. It’s all fine and good. But how much of it really means anything? Yes, some certifications are extremely difficult to attain, but do they actually mean someone can do a job, or did they just know how to write the test?

When I went to see the musical Hades Town I flipped through the program as I usually do, not really caring about it, it was just something to look at prior to opening curtain. I looked through the list of players, keeping an eye open for a name I might recognize—not very likely considering I see about one play a year. As is standard in any playbill, each actors name was followed by notable roles they’d played recently. Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz. Sir Galahad, Monty Python’s Spamalot. Things like that. There was nothing overly special there. Except one of the actors’ credentials was longer than any other. They were massive roles in massive plays. He was a veteran of the circuit, of course, but still, it was quite something to see all those names listed. He listed the many Shakespeare plays he’d been a part of, and finished the list with etc. Etc! That’s a prolific move. And maybe there was a bit of ego there, but all those names, they speak for the work he has actually done. Perhaps the business world could take note of such a thing. If we really wanted to know how good someone was, we wouldn’t look to their education, we would look to the work they have actually completed, the projects they’ve delivered on. That is the real test of someone’s ability.

I had lunch with a commercial realtor when I was fresh out of school and he said, “In this business, you’re only as good as your last deal.” He was mainly talking about commission based work, but he raised a point universal to all occupations. We are all only as good as our last deal. So what if you hit that game winning shot in high school? That was ten years ago, what have you done for me lately? What have you done for yourself lately?

Not every project we take part in will be a home run, but it will be enough to keep us in the game. To see what the ever changing world is throwing these days. Because it’s far better to be out there on the field proving your title than sitting up in the bleachers talking about it.