3- 4 Career Lessons from Grandpa’s Christmas Train
Happy National Train Day!
This photo, “A train set for Christmas,” is copyright Kent Kanouse and used under a Creative Commons License.
As a child, I looked forward to playing with my grandfather’s Lionel model train set every year at Christmas. Most years there was a new piece of track to expand the railroad territory- centered on the Christmas tree. However, my excitement for the new track was typically short-lived. I found it a challenge to connect the tracks properly. The circuit was not complete unless the pieces were put together – exactly – to allow electricity to run through the track. So I would spend a few excited minutes slapping the track into an elaborate layout, only to be disappointed to hear only the hum of electricity instead of the chug of the engine. My grandfather would sit with me and lay out the track again, carefully checking each connection and patiently testing the fit before moving on to the next section.
Although I didn’t understand the complexities of electricity as a five-year old, I soon learned that if I rushed putting it together, it just wouldn’t work. But I think it was the long anticipation through the set-up that made the end result so memorable!
When the track was finally assembled, I was able to enjoy the highlight of the set – the engine! The engine car was shiny and heavy, and it just felt special when I picked it up. The car housed the electric motor. When the transformer was turned on, it picked up electricity from the metal track ran forward pulling the other cars along. Although occasionally I would get excited and run the train too fast, which would derail it, most of the time it ran smooth and provided hours of entertainment.
After Christmas, the set was carefully packed up and I would look forward to the following year- crossing my finger that grandpa would get a new piece to expand the track.
Your career may have more in common with trains and model train sets than you may think.
Below are 4 career-building tips you can learn from playing with a model train set.
1- Be patient and put the set together the right way. Just like the tracks of a model train set, if you hastily put your work together your career is not likely to run smooth. Have you worked on a project where you completed a task without fully thinking it through because you knew the expected result? Did you miss any details? Perhaps you used a design spreadsheet without checking the formulas by hand. Maybe you went on a sales call without adequate preparation and didn’t really understand the client’s needs? Most of the time, these oversights are not conscious actions, but are the result of wanting to take out the shiny engine and run the train too quickly.
Before you take on a task, be sure you understand the scope. Patience and careful set-up are critical to keep the train running smoothly. Once you understand it, perform the task thoroughly and without taking shortcuts. This is first step towards putting your career on the right track. Having excellent planning skills will build heaps of confidence and establish trust with coworkers and helps you lay the tracks for your career.
2- Know when to throttle the power. As an ambitious young professional, it can be very easy to move “full speed ahead,” and put out as much electricity as the transformer will let you. Here’s a common scenario: you love your job and you were assigned a new proposal for an account that would be a huge win for the company. You jump into it and you find yourself consistently skipping the gym because you are just too busy at work. You soon become over-tired, out of balance, and frustrated with the lack of support or lack of appreciation you feel around the office. All of the sudden, it’s all a tedious chore, and your dream job is coming off the tracks.
If this sounds like you, it might be time to throttle back. Certainly, there is a time and place for hard work, and there will be many times in your career that you need to “up the power.” However, if you stay at full speed too long, you run the risk of derailing. Love your work, but don’t forget to take a break, take a walk, talk to a friend, and throttle the power. You’ll find that being rested and refreshed with help you solve complex problems and be a allow you fully contribute to the team.
3- Evaluate your track set up and don’t be afraid to add new pieces. What are you the best at? Maybe you are already an expert at writing reports, running certain types of projects, or performing specific calculations? Maybe you’re great at client interactions and you’re already the go-to person when your firm needs to manage a good client? Once you get your track laid out and your engine running smoothly, it is easy to sit back and continue what you are doing. After all, you worked hard to get where you are, shouldn’t you at least enjoy it? The answer is YES – you should enjoy it, but don’t allow yourself to stagnate. Don’t be content to circle the same tracks or you’ll never see anything new.
One of the most important things you can do, as a new professional, is embrace new challenges and seek out opportunities to grow and learn something new. Be sure that once you get your track set up, you keep looking for new add-ons to expand your territory. Grandpa’s train set would have soon become boring without the new tracks, cars, and town buildings he added every year. Similarly, your career will benefit from adding new tracks and expanding your intellectual territory.
4- When you fall of the track, get back on. We’ve all been there. Something doesn’t go as planned, the result is not what you hoped or planned it would be, and you are ready to give up. How do you deal with it when your train derails? Do you take the train apart and put it back in the box? Do you walk away and hope someone else will put the train on the track, or do you take the time to straighten the rail, recheck the connections, and get the train running again? The answer to this question will make the difference between staying in a cubicle and moving to the corner office. Everyone makes mistakes. The best usually make the most mistakes. It’s what you do afterwards that makes you successful.
By carefully laying out the tracks and considering these steps throughout your career, you’ll be able to expand to new territory and stand out as a new professional.
What career lessons have you learned from childhood hobbies?
