Finding happiness in the rat race

By Steve Lackmeyer, Business Writer Comments 0
Published: November 14, 2008
Modified: November 15, 2008 at 7:58 am

Timothy Lloyd and Bob Funk are at different ends of a career span – but both men believe they’ve discovered the secret to finding happiness in the rat race.

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Lloyd, owner of Echelawn Complete Lawn and Landscape, has turned a summer job into a career following his graduation in May from the University of Oklahoma.

Lloyd initially waited tables at restaurants, and didn’t like having no control over his job or his future.

“With waiting tables, it’s unpredictable,” Lloyd said. “You can make zero tips because there’s no business, or you can make 200 to 300 in three to four hours.”

Lloyd decided that if he was going to be in the rat race, he wanted to be in charge of his own fate. He found ways to sign up customers for winter landscaping maintenance and added yet another service for his off-season - outdoor holiday decorations.

“It’s something I started doing on the side, but I got to enjoying it,” Lloyd said. “It’s security to get a job working for someone else, but I can distribute my risk. If you have 100 clients and you lose ten, you still have work.”

As a young man Funk initially entertained a job in the ministry – one of the few choices one might consider free of the rat race – and attended Seminary school in Europe. But Funk, who enjoyed athletic competition in school, changed course and began climbing his way up through the employment services industry.

Funk, chief executive officer at Express Personal Professionals, now presides over a company with nearly $2 billion in sales in 2007 and 600 offices in the United States, Canada, South Africa and Australia.

Funk says a good work ethic is key. He said he typically worked 7-7 while his peers worked 9-5.

“Whether you’re working for someone else or yourself, if you set goals ahead of you that you want to achieve, then everyday you have the privilege of trying to accomplish those goals. It’s not unlike athletics where you want to be No. 1.”

Funk says his happiness stems from always having a goal – something that keeps his competitive juices flowing.

Lloyd admits his career choice comes with uncertainty and added responsibility – he’s his company’s marketing arm, accountant and CEO.

“You have to be willing to answer that call at eight’o’clock,” Lloyd said. “If not, it’s a highly competitive industry. It’s not hard to find someone else. So you have to do something special and be better than the rest. People have to like you, take a genuine interest in you and trust you.”

Funk agrees, and adds that those who think they can win the rat race by cheating, lying or taking credit for others’ work will usually fail. He also cautions against assuming the brightest will always win the rate race.

“The relationship you have with your associates and customers makes all the difference,” Funk said. “There are some companies that may not hire the most skilled people but hire the people who have the better people skills. The ones that hire the ones with better people skills are usually the more successful.”

James Farris is widely regarded as Oklahoma City’s leading human relations consultant and corporate recruiters. With the economy in a tailspin the past several weeks, Farris has consulted with workers hit by lay-offs and those looking for a change in the rat race.

His advice:

- Too many people end up with working for companies where they jumped at a job because they heard it was available and they applied. Such workers can often end up frustrated in the rat race and should step back and imagine what would be their ideal job. The next step then is to find a way to make that dream a reality.

- Successful workers in the rat race are those who strategize and find ways to constantly improve their competitiveness in the marketplace. Farris warns that even those who choose not to make any decisions on their future are still making a choice about what’s ahead.

- Some rat races aren’t worth racing. If one is stuck in a workplace where being unethical is an advantage, Farris advises finding a new career where one can best compete and honesty and hard work are rewarded.