What could a flat battery possibly have to do with your career?

This week my car had a flat battery.

Frustrating as it was at the time, if it's only going to happen to me every three years, then it's something I can certainly live with. And it also reinforced the value of being covered for roadside assistance.

It was dark and my car was parked in a quiet side street. When I called for assistance I was told that the wait would be around 90 minutes.

Perhaps patience is something I have been getting better at since turning 40!

The battery technician arrived and had flicked the switch on his head torch before I could even explain what I thought was wrong.

"Yep she sure is dead, mate", he said. "We can either re-charge or we can replace. The choice is yours".

As it turned out, the "re-charge" option would help me get home, but as soon as I switched off the car engine I wouldn't be able to get any further without replacing the battery anyway. So really it was a no brainer.

"Let's just replace it now, please".

With his voltage counter in one hand, his cables in the other, he asked "So what do you do for a crust, mate?"

When I told him what I did, I could hear him laughing with his head still buried under the bonnet of my car.

I didn't really find it all that funny.

Then he stood up with a massive grin on his face and said, "So you probably ask your clients the same question I have to ask all my customers ... 're-charge or replace'!"

We talked for a few minutes and it was clear that Terry was on to something.

When you're feeling flat (as in the case of my car battery) in your job or in your career, perhaps it really is a simple case of either re-charge or replace. Will taking a break from work (perhaps a long overdue holiday) help you re-charge your levels of enthusiasm? Perhaps a change of scenery (working in another department or in another office) will also help you re-charge your energy and passion for what you do.

But if not, and like Terry explained, re-charging will only take you on final short spurt before you shut down again completely, then it's definitely time to replace your job with a new one. And just like the new battery, even if you find yourself totally charged for another three years before you go flat again, then this new role or career move could help you achieve some great things.

So if you feel like you're at a bit of a cross roads, ask yourself if you just need to be re-energised and go ahead and take some annual leave. But if when you get back nothing's changed, then you need to come up with a job replacement strategy ... which will take a bit more than just calling Terry and his head torch!

Perhaps I should come up with a new tag line for my own business ... 

Just like roadside assistance for your career!

Image courtesy of: amcgore