Dispassionate

"A Passion for Excellence."  "A Passion for Innovation." "A Passion for Performance." "A Passion for"—I kid you not—"the Business of Accounting."

There's a passion surplus out there in corporate America, and it's not a healthy sign. I write about the overused P-word in a new guest post at Duets Blog. Just for fun, I've included a 15-question passion-slogan quiz. If you get more than two correct answers, I'd love to hear about it.

A bit of good news: It's beginning to look as though I'm not alone in my antipathy to the P-word. Here's Alina Tugend in Saturday's New York Times business section:

If there is one word I’m rapidly growing tired of, it’s passion. Not the sex and love type, but the workplace kind. Lately, it seems, I keep hearing career counselors advising the unemployed to identify and develop their passion. Then they need to turn that passion into paid work and presto! They’re now in a career they love.

I know I’m being somewhat flippant, but I do wonder if passion is being oversold. Are we falling into a trap of believing that our work, and indeed, our lives, should always be fascinating and all-consuming? Are we somehow lacking if we’re bored at times or buried under routine tasks or failing to challenge ourselves at every turn?

I can see it now: "A Moderate Enthusiasm for Scrap Metal."

(If you're new around here, you may want to read my original passion post, "Our Passion Is Your Problem," which I wrote back in 2006.)

Comments

[Duchesse]

When I teach management seminars, I advise managers not to use "passion" unless the endeavour involves black lace and candlelight.

[Jill C]

You may be losing the P-word battle, Nancy. Through LinkedIn, I came across someone who is a Certified Passion Test Facilitator. Honest! http://www.thepassiontest.com/TPT/Home/index.cfm