‘Passionate Professional’, An Oxymoron?

There are words that seemingly don’t go together. Consider:

Jumbo shrimp
benign neglect
passionate professional

We have funnyman George Carlin to thank for his hilarious parody on jumbo shrimp. It’s perhaps Carlin’s most famous oxymoron. At least for our purposes, let’s call it a oxymoron.

Passionate professional (for many) is another oxymoron. Traditionally professionals are expected to be reserved (even stoic), conservative (in thought), 100% objective (evidence based) , cautious (in decisions/actions), buttoned-down appearance, etc. A more extensive list could be generated…..but you get the idea.

The irony is that for professionals (founders especially) passion is a requirement in living up to professional ideals. After all, the professional 1) creates more value than they extract and 2) subscribe to a higher order of thinking. For founders with a professional’s mind-set, their company has a purpose beyond making money. Simply put, everything starts with purpose—purpose that makes a difference.

Here’s a great clip (only three and a half minutes) that features Ruth Zukerman (founder of New York City-based Flywheel Sports):

The clip is entitled ‘There is No Substitute For Passion’. Check it out.

Does the founding professional need to have passion (and instill that passion in those within the organization)? Should those serving clients have passion for what they do? Do you want passion in your product developers? The answer—in each instance—is yes!

Thanks Ruth for the reminder. Passion…professionals shouldn’t hide it under a bush!