Make It Interesting

People often ask me if I like what I do.  I do, I love it. But I did not always feel this way.  I had to find a way to make my job into a career and to make it interesting.  How did this happen?
To give you a bit of background, I am the CEO of I.Buss & Allan Uniform Company, a business that has been in my family for over one hundred years.  And yes, I said uniforms and interesting two sentences apart.
So here goes…
Firstly, I found a way to make my work creative.  I have always been a creative person, so this aspect was important to me.  Previously, I found myself constantly fulfilling my creative desires outside of work, which left me with less of a desire to be creative at work. Then it dawned on me, I could channel this energy into my work.  I brought my flair for and love of fashion into uniforms.  Over time, my company became known not simply as manufacturers but respected as designers as well.  I focused largely on creating distinct “looks” for my clients’ staffs and using uniforms as a way to extend their company’s brand.
Secondly, I committed.  I had wavered in my commitment to my business for about the first seven years.  Once I cemented my dedication, I was able to implement real change.  But I didn’t just commit to my company; I committed to a vision of where I want it to be someday.  Now, this has not been an easy path.  Firing a large part of your existing staff, implementing new computer and other systems, making mistakes at times left me quite disliked by almost everyone around me.  But since I have dug in, I have not wavered in my vision and thankfully the profits have been greater than the losses thus far.  The company culture has become much more positive over time as I think the newer team sees the value of all the change.
Lastly, I have kept my career path very diversified.  When I first began to learn the business, I worked in stock and sorting. Later, I got into sales and had some traction, which translated to design and sales.  About twelve years ago, I saw the importance of creating a website and handled getting that done.   I became involved in the operations and management over time.  There has been quite a bit of HR in the mix of all the management issues, which I have really come to like. The hiring and firing is like sculpting your company to be what you want.  Finally, about two years back, I took over the business as CEO.   Though our staff has tripled in size in the last ten years, we are still a mid to small company, so it is natural to wear a number of hats but  a lot of these positions never existed in my company before. Many challenges have come with growth. Some are quite costly but it is interesting and engaging.
A friend of mine said to me recently, ”What more can you ask for but an interesting ride?” and I have to say, it has been INTERESTING.
I still have a ways to go before we, as a company, are even close to where I want us to be, but we are constantly evolving.
So how to make it interesting?  I believe many things are right in front of us, and we just have to have the ability to see them, and the will to make them happen.