The Harder They Fall

Using concepts from the Kramer (2003) article as a baseline, share your insights on dilemmas in society, work, and your life.

The author Roderick Kramer has selected the name "The Harder They Fall" for his article to insinuate the magnitude of damage some hard-working people tolerate in order to reach their achievements. Climbing up the ladder of success demands tremendous sacrifice in terms of time, energy, effort, family, etcetera. The further up one tries to climb the ladder of success, the more competition, hardships, and adversities one faces. Of course, it is in every eager and thriving person's interest to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals; yet, that willingness must meet permissible, compassionate, and ethical criteria in order to generate a positive product. Life, however, is full of surprises and doesn't show us the face we want to see all the time. Therefore, it is vital for those keen and prospering individuals to remain ethical when they encounter adversities, which is challenging but not impossible. Unfortunately, I have witnessed colleagues who tended to surrender values and break their ethical code for career advancement. Perhaps they think that "getting ahead means doing things differently from ordinary people—for instance, finding a back door to success that others have not been smart enough to spot" (Kramer, 2003).

There have been challenges in my personal and work life since it took place in four countries with distinct cultures. However, I feel blessed that I have never been in a situation where I needed to ignore my moral principles in my 17-year career. I genuinely believe my spiritual character, which strictly opposes materialistic principles, has assisted me in cruising through these hardships with pride and dignity. In the past nine years of being in the U.S., I have had three roles as a security supervisor for a private security company, a security manager for a large hotel, and an operations manager for a property management company with hundreds of properties and clients. I worked under a dozen direct or indirect managers supervising souls under my departments; teams included a minimum of fifteen and a maximum of thirty-two individuals.

After reading Kramer's article and reviewing my work history, I derived a relative conclusion that I share in this blog. I have concluded that everything progress has a cost. I am not discussing the energy required for that progression. I refer to the most precious and irreplaceable element of our lives; time. When I arrived in the United States, I was in my early thirties. I had big goals and wanted to achieve them as soon as possible. Therefore, I dedicated myself to work and study; day and night. I failed to spend enough time with my family; my wife and my two sons. I reasoned that I had to try harder to compensate for my lost time because I came to the country too late. I worked hard—two jobs; one part-time and one full. I enrolled in college, pursued a degree, and simultaneously began my flight training. After four hectic years, my hard work was paid off. I had two job promotions offering a huge bump in my income; I obtained a bachelor's degree and acquired my Commercial Pilot License. Many people called it a "hella achievement."

Although I cannot disagree, I sacrificed something that I will never be able to bring back. I neglected to enjoy my life, spend time with my kids, and see them grow and all those sweet moments. Today, I regret it. After reading Kramer's article, I felt the pain of that hard fall even more. I could have taken my time to achieve what I achieved and instead balanced my time between my eagerness and family. As Kramer (2003) referenced a woman who abandoned her family to take an improvement opportunity and later said: "It was one of the most painful things I've ever done, but I just was not willing at that time to let all of this Ozzie and Harriet stuff slow me down or hold me back" (Kramer, 2003).

Kramer, R. M. (2003). THE HARDER THEY FALL. (cover story). Harvard Business Review, 81(10), 58-66.