Nonsense At Work

#557: On setting nonsense goals

Jan 262012

When setting goals, be clear and specific. Obvious, isn’t it? Maybe not. Have you seen that ridiculous sticker on the back of big trucks? You know the one. “Safety is my goal.”

For Pete’s sake, if safety is your goal, then stay home. Goal achieved. Simple.

No, sir, Mister Trucker, your goal is to deliver your cargo. How you do so is another matter.

And how you do things does matter. The more your people understand ‘the way we do things around here’, the less direct supervision they need.

‘The way we do things’ should help people ‘get it’ so that they can get on with it. And in your absence, it should help them deal appropriately with unexpected nonsense.

But make sure that The Way never becomes ‘but we’ve always done it this way’, because then you’ve stopped learning. And once learning stops, safety as a goal begins to make sense.

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#556: Tell yourself where to go

Goals, Leadership No Responses »

Jan 232012

Consider this truism: If you don’t know where you’re going, any path will take you there. Well, our modern reliance on GPS and other internet mapping resources have highlighted something that should be equally obvious. If you don’t know where you are, then it is impossible to map a path to somewhere specific.

Think about it. No on-line map can give you directions unless you know where you are. We understand this, don’t we? Then why do so many of us plan our future and our goals without first being clear on where we are today?

Maybe because we have no easy way to describe where we are. Try this – tell your story.

Here’s why it works. To tell it, you must organize your thoughts. In telling it, you will remember what you have already achieved. Best of all, you will realize that you are still writing it, that you are creating your destination today.

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Listen to the radio version of Tell yourself where to go (10 most recent radio files)

#555: Weave with purpose

Goals, Leadership No Responses »

Jan 192012

Have you ever watched a drunk staggering home?

Well, I once watched something similar – a guy with a metal detector combing an early morning beach. I was standing on a balcony which gave me a bird’s eye view of his progress. As I watched I realized something interesting.

Have you ever watched a guy working a metal detector? And have you watched a drunk working a side-walk? Did you notice something interesting? Correct! Both weave, but one zigzags all over the place, while the other one weaves with purpose.

That’s exactly the strategy you should adopt this year – weave with purpose.

Many organizations are punch drunk, zigzagging and stumbling about. The risk is that they will seek stability by developing rigid plans with inflexible strategies. But things are simply too uncertain for that to work.

Better for you to be clear on the outcome you want . . . and then to weave with purpose.

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Listen to the radio version of Weave with purpose (10 most recent radio files)

#554: Give in now or be exhausted

Goals, Success No Responses »

Jan 162012

We are mid-way through January and I’ve finally figured out my strategy for the year.

You might believe that life is a constant struggle, but I commit to success through the Easy Way. Like a river flowing downhill to the sea.

Have you swum across a river? The inexperienced river-crosser aims at a point directly across and struggles against the current. The experienced swimmer merely aims to get across and flows with the current to the other side.

If you aim at a specific spot, then you must ‘tame’ the river. But if you merely aim to cross over, then you can ride the current across and walk to the desired spot.

About midway across the inexperienced river-crosser will find that his struggle has exhausted him. Now he must choose: a final fight against the current or give in to its flow.

Me? I’m giving in now, going with the flow, so I won’t be exhausted by June.

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Listen to the radio version of Give in now or be exhausted (10 most recent radio files)

#553: Plan to be seduced quickly

Motivation No Responses »

Jan 112012

It’s time to reflect on all the tempting deals that I managed to ignore this shopping season and to learn from those that seduced me.

Here’s what I’ve learned. It is far cheaper to be seduced quickly than to drag it out. As Oscar Wilde explains in The Picture of Dorian Gray, “the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing.”

Exactly! I resisted but could not stop longing. And so I wasted endless hours reading reviews and searching for better deals and bigger discounts. So much for opportunity cost – the opportunity to earn much more money in the time so wasted and the cost of not spending more time with family and friends.

From now on I will not squander precious time to save a few measly bucks. This year I plan to be seduced quickly. Try me.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Listen to the radio version of Plan to be seduced quickly (10 most recent radio files)

#552: Hollow holidays and empty wallets

Uncategorized No Responses »

Jan 092012

Our neighbor disappeared over the holidays. She did not go away because she had nowhere to go. No family came to visit; she no longer has family. And she turned down our invitation to festive lunch. No lights, no movement, no sign.

And then she reappeared the day after Santa left town.

This got me thinking about holidays. I had always assumed that the word came from Holy as in religious or spiritual. Yet, as I grow older and watch every spending season unfold, I begin to think that ‘holy’ has an ‘e’ missing. It should be ‘holey’ as in cavity or gap.

After all, holidays are times of excess for some and emptiness for others, whether through circumstance or by choice.

I was so relieved to see my neighbor again that I forgot my holey wallet, emptied by choice. I now understand how hollow a holiday can be when you have no-one to spend it on.

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Listen to the radio version of Hollow holidays and empty wallets (10 most recent radio files)

#551: Less dream, more resolution

Goals, Success No Responses »

Jan 042012

Welcome to Day 2 of 2012. Broken any resolutions lately? If so, this bumper sticker is for you: May your bad luck last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.

Many of us had bad luck last year and so hopefully this bumper sticker applies to us as well. But then again, some of us had bad luck because we did not stick to our resolutions.

Why do resolutions seldom hang around longer than the hangover created at the same time? I think it is because making the resolution has more significance than the resolution itself. We put too much emphasis on symbolic intention and not enough on serious action.

Day 2 of the New Year holds less ritualistic pressure. So, rework your intentions soberly. Put less dream into your resolutions and more resolution into your actions.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Listen to the radio version of Less dream, more resolution (10 most recent radio files)

#550: Experience is hindsight with bite

Goals, Success No Responses »

Jan 022012

Well, well, well, that was twenty eleven. It was supposed to be so much better than twenty ten. I guess we just did not learn from twenty nine, from history. Once again George Bernard Shaw was right when he said that ‘We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.’

So, play it safe in twenty twelve. Learn from history. Look back, but look back carefully. Looking back is hindsight. Hindsight might be interesting, but is useless at changing history. Yet, it can be used to create a better future.

How? By showing you how your life tends to unfold. If you understand how life happens to you, then hindsight can help you create better future outcomes. But you must act on this understanding, because it is only through doing, through action, that you gain experience.

And what is experience? Experience is hindsight with enough bite to influence the future.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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#549: Float your boat in 2012

Success No Responses »

Dec 302011

We still don’t know what the economic tide will do next year, but we do know that tides turn sooner or later. So let’s talk tides as we prepare for next year.

As you know, a rising tide lifts all ships; it does not discriminate. More water means more room for more ships of all shapes and sizes. But when the tide ebbs, some ships get stuck in the mud.

Similarly, few companies go out of business when the economic tide is rising. But not all know how to stay afloat when the tide turns. Success is more than just growing when a boom boosts everyone. Success includes floating your boat when others are running aground.

The trick to staying afloat lies in knowing what to throw overboard. Yet, it seems that many companies focus only on who to dump quickly, not what should be dumped. Hopefully, we won’t see that mistake repeated in twenty twelve.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Listen to the radio version of Float your boat in 2012 (10 most recent radio files)

#548: The power to decide lunch

Effectiveness, Efficiency, Leadership, Organization, Team Work/Building No Responses »

Dec 272011

Why do people work in groups? Because we humans realized a long time ago that often two can do more than one. This worked pretty well until a management guru decided to make it sound impressive. Now we must explain our team work efforts in terms of productivity benefits and economies of scale.

And so it has become necessary, when two or more people work together, to formally divide the labor, to co-ordinate the activities and to measure the outcomes.

In the modern organization, this does not happen automatically. It is achieved by layering the tasks and responsibilities according to a formal hierarchy of decision-making.

However, to get the big ball rolling, someone must have the power to decide what is worth doing in the first place. In this house, that power rests with me, which is why I hereby decide on a nice holiday lunch.

Kids, get to the kitchen and help your mother!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Listen to the radio version of The power to decide lunch (10 most recent radio files)

Older Entries

#557: On setting nonsense goals

#556: Tell yourself where to go

#555: Weave with purpose

#554: Give in now or be exhausted

#553: Plan to be seduced quickly

#552: Hollow holidays and empty wallets

#551: Less dream, more resolution

#550: Experience is hindsight with bite

#549: Float your boat in 2012

#548: The power to decide lunch

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