Today was one of my best days at my new company thus far. The reason why is because I'm allowed to be pro-active at my company. I had a very good product idea and found a great opportune moment to make the suggestion. The result? I got great feedback and encouragement to go build it (I can't tell you what it is, but when it gets done, it'll be awesome!)
My company understands the meaning of the word "pro-active." However, a lot of companies "misinterpret" that word or worse yet, pervert it into other demonized biztalk. In the worst form, "pro-active" is simply a euphemism for getting suckers to do more work that other people don't want to do. It's kinda like volunteering to mop up vomit with that pink saw dust stuff, which I'm certain many people enjoy.
One of my tragic previous companies enjoyed throwing around the word "pro-active," but it was definitely the latter case. They wanted to use peer-pressure to ensonce you into being "pro-active." Well, that's really being pro-active. That's peer pressure. Call a spade a spade, not a pile of shit a wedding cake.
Being pro-active for me means stepping up to the plate where no one wants to take charge and running with the ball you're given. However, you'll encounter situations where companies will cut you off at your feet to ensure that your little activity never makes headlines. You have to sneak around the lines of bureaucracy and offending middle men to get noticed or get something done. Heck, this is partly how things like Shadow IT programs start, since IT is either too swamped, out of budget or lazy to handle the problem in the first place.
But it is good to see that there are places that exist where you can be pro-active in a positive sense. And it's even better that I'm working at one (finally!)
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"They wanted to use peer-pressure to ensonce you into being "pro-active." Well, that's really being pro-active. That's peer pressure." Grammatically makes no sense!