***
mi know dem have work, work in abundant
yet still, dem mek mi redundant
now, at fifty-five mi gettin´ quite ol´
yet still, dem sen´ mi fi goh draw dole ***
Linton Kwesi Johnson Inglan is a Bitch (1981)
LKJ is really a dub poet, but you can’t talk about Hip Hop and ignore influence like this. Gil Scott, Last Poets and LKJ. Besides who wants to ignore this fundamental statement about making sure that workers should not forget that each person (even you CEO) can just be another cog in the machine. Even if you are a big cog or key gear, if the machine is made obsolete or sold, how big are you? You are a team player and loyal, but if the industry is changing and the organization’s interest is to suck you dry. Do you want your future to be that of the cleaned out husk or something more meaningful? Recognize the signs. LKJ sees that there is an abundance of work, yet he is somehow laid off and told that his services are redundant. If your work is drying up but the firm is bubbling along, maybe you need to check your parachute.
You need an exit strategy. You don’t want to be a retiree and finding out that you are standing in the employment line wondering what happened. Savings and investment are essential, but you need to visualize the actual terms on which you will leave. Severance, COBRA, relocations, full life insurance, job placement, allowances, etc.
BPM TAKEAWAY#30
-
YOUR FUTURE MAY NOT BE THE SAME AS THE ORGANIZATION’S
-
GET OUT OF THE GAME ON YOUR TERMS
:
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
About codemizell
The Beats Per Management collective (“The BPM”) is curator for C.O.D.E Mizell and supports the repurposing of hip hop content for professional success. BPM consists of former Hip Hop junkies now living in the corporate world. BPM members carried milk crates of 12” records when “bpm” used to mean beats-per-minute for mixing music, now BPM members focus on Excel spreadsheets, legal briefs, power points, whiteboard-scribbling and business plans.
BPM cannot shake the instant recall of Hip Hop lyrics. The good news is that BPM realized that these lyrics had application to its daily management concerns.
BPM does not claim to have captured the true artist intent in its lyrical analysis, BPM seeks only to celebrate the role that hype-lyrics can play in the daily grind to get business done in the corporate world. This is not a glorification of urban pop-culture or a debate on the poetic merits of rap, we leave that to the literary critics and socio-political commentators.
If you disagree with BPM send us your spin on the lyrics. We have an open mind, and hope you do.
The “BPM Takeaways” dispense reminders for your business day. Hopefully, the next time a referenced-cut is heard on the radio, it will trigger your “Takeaway” and not just flashbacks to the music video.
A quote-a-day will make you a better executive. BPM hopes to keep all advice short and to the point – Executive Summary Style.
Technically the lyrics are “raps” and the culture of the genre is “hip hop” but lets not get overly technical -- substance not form that controls here. The point is you are putting that untapped knowledge to use.
And to think they said that Hip-Hop would get you nowhere…puhhleasse.
-Roscoe Waxx for BPM
C.O.D.E. Mizell [.com] 