Graduates: Does Your Passion Match Your Aspiration?

As college and university graduations near, I am reminded of an article by Harvard University professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter:  Does Your Passion Match Your Aspiration?

She opens the article by writing, “Leaders who create extraordinary new possibilities are passionate about their mission and tenacious in pursuit of it. Many people have good ideas, but many fewer are willing to put themselves on the line for them. Passion separates good intentions and opportunism from real accomplishments.”

Professor Kanter describes how a colleague and friend Dr. Donald M. Berwick started his career as a pediatrician with a vision to improve health outcomes for patients. Today he is the founder and president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement which reaches thousands of hospitals, hundreds of thousands of practitioners, and millions of patients.

Yet even with his achievements as a professor at Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health and leading the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, his aspirations continue. Now Dr. Berwick has another door that may open. He is nominated by President Obama to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs health programs insuring nearly one-third of all Americans.  

As you graduate with your degree and embark on leaving your footprint in the world, I share with you Dr. Kanter’s 12 questions to guide you in determining if your passion matches your aspiration. Congratulations!

1. Do I feel strongly about the need for this?

2. Does the idea fit my long-held beliefs, values, and convictions?

3. Have I dreamed about something like this for a long time?

4. Do I think that this is vital for the future of people I care about?

5. Do I get excited when I think about it, and convey excitement when I talk about it?

6. Am I convinced that this can be accomplished?

7. Am I willing to put my credibility on the line to promise action on it?

8. Am I willing to spend time to sell it to others who might not understand or support it?

9. Can I make this the major focus of my activities?

10. Am I willing to devote personal time, above and beyond organizational time, to see that this happens?

11. Do I feel strongly enough to ignore negativity and fight for this?

12. Am I committed to seeing this through, over the long haul?

What next?
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