Capitalist slaves must have also been frustrated a few times when the office printer broke down right when they needed to urgently print quotes, contracts, inspection reports, or sneakily print a CV to rush off to interview for another job, right?
Before getting back to the printer, recent social media discussions have all revolved around old issues that never end: do interns get paid; bosses "squeeze" AI so they lay off employees; employees use AI to do assignments for their boss and bosses use AI to give feedback to employees; after 5 rounds of interviews you get an offer only 1 🍠 higher than your old company; how to get into a global agency instead of a local one; join a startup with high pay or accept a big corp offer with lower salary but more benefits and stability.
It seems people prefer confrontation over finding ways to coexist with capital, so let me go back to that printer story that my boss first told me 13 years ago, during my interview for an Account Intern position.
My boss asked: "Who do you want to be when you work?"
A question too philosophical for a 3rd-year student like me. And of course my boss didn't wait for my answer but continued with a story.
"In a company, there are usually 4 types of people, shown by how they handle it when they see the printer is broken." My boss's punchline started getting my attention, curious whether this was another Dale Carnegie story or not.
"The first type of person: they just ignore it and don't even bother telling anyone the printer is broken.
The second type of person: they tell others that the printer is broken.
The third type of person: they notify others that the printer is broken and also suggest ways to fix it.
The fourth type of person: they notify, suggest solutions, and proactively take responsibility for fixing it themselves."
Now set the scene: a campaign is running into a communication crisis because a social media post backfired due to being posted at the wrong time. And the "printer breaks" around 7:30 PM when everyone has gone home.
Planner was the first to see negative comments while scrolling Threads over dinner. But "my planning work is done, it's not my job", so they don't tell anyone; thinking someone else will handle it anyway.
Copywriter also discovered it and immediately messaged the company group chat: "Everyone, we have a problem". The boss hasn't seen the message yet, but others have started checking and panicking along.
Account Executive immediately asks their friends at the cafe if they can leave to handle work. They don't message but call their Account Manager boss right away to report the situation. Thirty minutes later they're discussing and proposing solutions with the boss.
Account Manager then calls the Account Director and Managing Director right away to report the situation, presents a solution direction (after discussing with the Account Executive) and proactively handles the issue directly, then reports results immediately after finishing.
(Note: the titles in this example are just for illustration, with no intention to offend anyone.)
The first type of person (Planner in the example) usually has transactional thinking, or is overly pragmatic; calculating precisely like "if the salary is X million, I only work until Y o'clock", otherwise unconcerned with the team or company's overall results. Won't report problems either. Honestly, there's nothing much to say about this type.
The second type of person (Creative in the example) at least cares about overall results by proactively reporting when there's a problem, but doesn't proactively propose solutions. This type is only suitable for stable jobs with slow advancement, or working alone independently.
The third type of person (Account Executive in the example) has problem-solving mindset, not just problem-reporting. They proactively suggest solutions even if unsure it's the best direction, but at least they take responsibility for overall results and aren't afraid to contribute.
The fourth type of person (Account Manager in the example) is the third type + the ability to stand up and bear responsibility: step up and solve the problem directly.
So reading to here, what type of person do you want to be when the printer breaks in your boss's company?
And my boss said: "I want you, and everyone here, to start being the third type of person."
Beyond fancy induction talks about company values or countless self-help knowledge, I only held onto one conviction: "I am the third type of person" (not just a person number three). This broken printer story shaped who I was and my reputation whether as Planner, Founder or Coach/Instructor, which then elevated me to become the fourth type.
Once you've committed to, and want to advance sustainably with capital (regardless of which company you work for), what you need to do is build your reputation. And that reputation usually starts when you're remembered as "the third type of person".
And trust me, once you're the third type of person, many more opportunities will open up for you than you think.
P/s: I don't know if my colleagues from back then still remember this story from the same boss; and do the employees/candidates I've interviewed remember this story I told them? 😂
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