Career Mission's Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, as he talked about the importance of harmonizing with your environment and adapting and fitting into the world around you to achieve career success.

Harrison draws deeply upon personal experiences as he illustrates how our society demands from us that we harmonize with our environment. He speaks about how religious orders require their followers to blend in; strongly discouraging non-followers. Harrison recounts how once, he took along his Jewish girlfriend to celebrate a traditional Christmas at his relatives’ place in Ohio. To his disappointment, he discovered that his family was not very happy about his girlfriend being Jewish and they were very vocal about conveying this to him as well. In a reversal of sorts, something similar happened with him, albeit unintentionally, when his girlfriend took him to attend a sacred Jewish ceremony. The host of the evening made it known to Harrison that he was not happy about a non-Jew attending. Pretty soon notices were put up to the effect that non-Jews would not be welcome in future gatherings.

Not conforming to rules, or choosing not to blend in with your environment is a personal decision. However, there is a thin line separating those who rebel from those who refuse to conform. When you rebel, you are making it public that you will not accept certain rules and standards already set. In contrast, those who refuse to conform, may do so very privately. They may decide to live separate lives, carefully cultivating an identity that blends in with societal requirements.

Harrison goes on to show how people who choose not to rebel actually go on to have successful lives, even professionally. This is particularly true for job seekers and professionals who want to succeed in the careers of their choice. What you are as an individual, need not affect your workplace. You can choose to focus on what your employer requires of you; as a professional, you can choose to blend in with your environment and deliver what is required of you.