Do the hustle

From 1995 until 2002 I worked at BlueCross Blue Shield of Illinois.

First, I ran a machine that printed ID cards for their 6 million members. Then, in 1997 at the age of 21, I was put in charge of managing 15 or so machine operators who ran the machines.

My Real Job

I ran the proverbial mailroom for the company. Got a nephew in trouble and needs a pathway to a good job? How about a brother who just got out of jail? Or a brother-in-law whose a dead beat dad on your sister? Or a sister who had never worked, but just left an abusive husband and had to move her 3 kids in with mom?

Set them up with Adam. If he has room he’ll give them an opportunity. And if they prove themselves… maybe something will open up?

I couldn’t offer them a permanent job. But I could offer them 1000 hours at $7 an hour to start, prove yourself and you’ll got to $9/hour. The best moved up to $11 or $12.

Not enough to get rich on, but enough to pay the rent. An a legitimate opportunity to get a good paying permanent job in the company.

You’ll Have to Hustle

The first day was always the hardest. For the most part, the team I was given to hire had never had a real job before. Most had worked fast food. Or maybe their only job was selling drugs. Most had never worked, just bummed money their whole lives or lived off of welfare or sponged off their parents.

Most had only ever sold B.S. their entire lives. They were experts at B.S.– All talk, no show, and nothing to show for it.

I didn’t make it easy.

Work started at 4:15 AM. Tuesday through Saturday. You had to be there on time. If you were late I’d need to know why. You had to call me and tell me why before you were late. And if you were late/didn’t show more than 3 times without calling you’d be fired.

I didn’t put up with excuses. (But I’d work with you if you were honest with me about what was going on.) The job wasn’t hard. Showing up ready to work was just about enough. But if you showed initiative, were timely, and inquisitive– I’d teach you more and give you more opportunities and pay you more.

The pathway to getting a permanent job was the individual. They had to want it. All I was giving them was a chance to prove themselves. Do that and I’m a recommendation machine. I’ll get you a interview in the print shop or as a clerk in the marketing department or help you find a job in the call center. Don’t do that… and I’ll let you work here until your hours are up.

“I get paid the same whether you succeed or fail. But I’m here to help you succeed.”

You Have to Prove it To You

For most of the people I worked with I was the first person to ever give them a clear pathway to opportunity.

Frankly, I wasn’t offering them much. To my boss they were cheap labor. They helped us reach our fiscal goals. They helped us get our bonus. (As the years went by, this changed both me and my boss as we started to see our job was helping people, she became my greatest ally.) They were a means to our end. Sure, we wanted them to succeed. But we were a company, not the Salvation Army.

But it was an opportunity. And when life has been harsh to you, sometimes an opportunity is all you need.

For most, it was an opportunity they’d dreamed of.

About a month in, if they stuck it out, you’d see it begin sink in. They’d go from proving to me that they could hang to proving something to themselves.

That was a trigger. When they started to work, not just to provide for themselves, but because they had something to prove to themselves… their entire life began to change. It was as if their leg had been asleep so long that they couldn’t feel it anymore. The first few weeks were awkward and painful time when the pins and needles ran through their nerves. But then it all goes away and they started to feel normal. It was something they felt. But I could see that they were feeling it. 

Do the Hustle

Week 3 was always the worst. They’d get their first paycheck. It was more than $500.

I’d never see about 20% of them again. It was a lot of money and it brought a lot of temptation.

Week 3 is when we’d sit down and have a talk. “$500 is a lot of money. But there’s a lot more of that to come if you keep working hard. The first few weeks were a gift, now you’ll have to earn your keep. Making this money every two weeks is going to make things more complicated for you. You’re going to have to learn to do the hustle.” (A lot of them had hustled, just to make money for someone else. This was hustling for themselves.)

Work hard. Handle your responsibilities at home. Stay away from old habits. Put your money in the bank. Stay focused and good things will happen.

These were the lessons they were learning. They’d have to reshape their lives to these things to succeed.

Out Hustle Your Peers

As this 1,000 job worked itself out, most people realized something. “I don’t have to be the best, but I can get ahead by outworking everybody else.”

That was usually the realization I needed to see in order to begin helping them find a permanent job in the company. They’d established a work ethic. They’ve learned how to be a valuable member of the team. And now they see that hard work really does pay off, that no one was going to give them anything, that they’d have to earn it? They were now an ideal candidate for an entry-level permanent job at the company.

They’d taught themselves self-respect. And self-respect interviews well.

The Hustle Pays Off. All day. Every day.

In the end, about a third of my new hires eventually landed a full-time job at BlueCross. They got jobs that paid them well, had great benefits, and included paid vacations. They said thank you, but they were the ones they had to thank as they’d done it themselves. (Another first for most!)

It was fun seeing this process work itself out. It was totally messy. But a steady, regular paycheck changed everything.

I’d like to think I did something really cool. But in the end, all I did was give them an opportunity. Their hustle did the rest.

Still Hustling

I was reminded of this last night because I’m out hustling right now. In the past 48 hours I drove 400 miles to speak at a church. And I’ve got a few more of these coming up, lots of miles and hotel rooms.

It’s a new hustle for me, it feels awkward and somewhat like it’s not fully worth it. But I know it is. If nothing else, I’m out here hustling.

I’m convincing myself that this is time well spent. It’s all part of the hustle to get where I’m trying to go. I may not be the best, I may not come from the right stock, I may not get that many opportunities… but I will out hustle some folks.

That’s what my teammates at BlueCross taught me. If you hustle, if you do the right things, you’ll win all day and everyday.