Theo Epstein recently sat down with David Axelrod and gave some great insight as to how he rose in the ranks of baseball so quickly. If you recall, Epstein was the youngest GM in the history of baseball when he took the reigns of the Boston Red Sox in 2002. He then promptly ended the Red Sox 86-year championship drought two years later and the rest as they say, is history.
The fact that Epstein was leading a Major League ball club at an age where most of us were stuck in shitty jobs that we hate is pretty interesting to think about. What did he do different? How did he rise so quickly? Did he actually sell his soul to the Devil for a World Series championship ring?
Ok, the last one may have been an exaggeration but you get my point.
Epstein shared the secret to his success on Axelrod's podcast and it's still a philosophy that he stands by today.
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Look, we all have had a job (or currently have a job) that we cannot stand. We have to fight the urge to punch co-workers, yell at customers, and resist the temptation to power bomb our bosses but Epstein has a theory that will help you not necessarily like your job, but will help you move up in your respective company.
He calls it the 20% rule.
"Whoever your boss is, or your bosses are, they have 20 percent of their job that they just don't like. So if you can ask them or figure out what that 20 percent is, and figure out a way to do it for them, you'll make them really happy, improve their quality of life and their work experience."While I wouldn't necessarily disagree with Theo on this one, to me it just sounds like you need to kiss your boss' ass to move up in ranks. However, Theo has won three World Series Championships and I'm currently writing this while watching re-runs of Full House so let's keep it in perspective here. The 20% rule is contingent upon the idea that once you figure out what your boss hates to do, you're not only willing to do that for them but you also must do it well. Granted, everyone in your office will probably hate you and label you as the office ass kisser but as long as you're moving up, who cares? Once your boss sees you doing the shit that they don't want to do, Epstein says they will trust you and will eventually give you more and more responsibility. And just like that, your rise within the company has begun. If you're going to try this 20% theory, PLEASE make sure you know exactly what your boss hates to do during the work day. It wouldn't be a good idea to try and do your boss' job for them so be cautious once you think you've figured out what your boss' 20% is. I'll be honest, if Theo needs someone to figure out what his 20% is, I have plenty of free time on my hands. I can go down to Wrigley and make some coffee, file some papers, or run to the dry cleaners for Theo and trust me when I say this, I can do all of those things very efficiently. Call me Theo.
