Let’s be honest, everyone has an angle. We may not think we do, but we do. I am not talking about your best angle for selfies on social media, I am talking about your angle – the reason you do what you do. So, what’s your angle?
If I ask people what their angle is, many become defensive because that statement can be interpreted as an insult, that I am assuming they want something. However, angles do not always have to be bad; they can be good too.
For instance, if someone’s angle is “what’s in it for me?”, we perceive that as bad. Yet at the root of it all, isn’t that everyone’s angle? Say you spend every Saturday volunteering at the local food bank, and I ask you why? You would likely say “I enjoy helping others”, which is perceived as a positive angle to have; helping others makes us feel good, but isn’t that the same angle as “what’s in it for me”? Even altruism has an angle, but if angles benefit all sides in positive ways, isn’t that a good thing? Just goes to show that everyone has an angle; I always hope it is a good one.
Even companies have angles, and it is not always profit. There are companies that do everything they can for the environment, others that make every effort for their customer, and yes, some will do all they are able to for a profit or to increase shareholder value. At J2, our angle is in our tag line, Your Vision Delivered. That is what we do, we work to deliver our customer’s vision. Why? Because it makes us feel good and that is also our angle.
As a team, we work together to maintain J2’s angle and each person brings their unique angle in helping to make our company stronger. My personal angle is simple: enjoy life and experience new things, be happy and laugh a lot, strive to help and not hurt others and do no harm. Sometimes my angle can be a challenge to achieve, but to me, it’s simple. In the end, your angle comes down to your core values.
So, I’ll ask again, and I hope you tell me…what is your angle?
“What you do matters, but why you do it matters so much more.”– Unknown
Have a great weekend.
Vijay