Culture » Nonsense At Work

#561: The ring tone of success

Communication, Culture, Power No Responses »

Feb 082012

Years ago, before caller ID and cell phones, I met with a manager when his office telephone rang. He ignored it. Being polite, I suggested that he answer it. “No”, he said, “You took the trouble to come to me. This caller can wait or also make the effort to come to me.”

Recently I attended a meeting as an outside adviser. A cell phone rang. The meeting faltered as almost everyone grabbed at a cell phone. I looked at the CEO. He shrugged.

These anecdotes highlight the meaning of ‘important’. The manager in the first story knew that if the call was important, the caller would find a way through. The participants in the second story knew that the CEO was not important. No wonder their company was already in trouble.

So, the next time you tolerate cell phone interruptions in your meeting, acknowledge what it reveals about your importance, your power and your future success.

Listen on the CNO’s website to the radio version of The ring tone of success (10 most recent radio files)

#557: On setting nonsense goals

Business, Culture, Goals No Responses »

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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Listen to the radio version of On setting nonsense goals (10 most recent radio files)

#538: Entitled to give thanks

Culture, Motivation No Responses »

Nov 212011

Here we go again, the time of year that highlights entitlement. Thanksgiving is simply too close to Giveme, that other celebrated family holiday.

The one reminds me of Human Rights, the other of Human Obligations.

Human rights are things we have come to expect simply because we are human. However, because this idea of “rights I can expect” has been so beneficial in some parts of the world, it has expanded into “what I am entitled to”. This happened because we conveniently ignore the fact that rights are based on obligations. You cannot demand rights from society if you have not first met your obligations to society. Otherwise you encourage entitlement.

Entitlement is a feeling that you deserve something for nothing. For example, you deserve a bonus without extra effort, a promotion without being competent, time off without working overtime, a gift from Santa without being good.

Oh, wait! Scrub the last one.

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Listen to the radio version of Entitled to give thanks (10 most recent radio files)

#509: Washing your hands of quality

Culture, Management No Responses »

Jul 262011

Would you outsource quality control? Yes, if quality did not matter to you. I recently heard of a multinational company which delegates quality control to an outsider. Quality obviously does not matter much to them. Wait, you say, an outsider can be more objective in measure quality.

Well, as a consultant to executives and as a consumer of their products, I know that an organization which relies on quality control is not serious about quality. Quality control happens after the fact. It is too late.

Quality assurance, however, aims to avoid quality issues in the first place. Quality assurance is a mind-set that happens before the act, as it were.

The difference between quality control and quality assurance is that the one is like a pregnancy test (measurement) and the other is like a contraceptive (prevention).

And outsourcing quality control? Well, it is like washing your hands of the naughty behavior your teenagers get up to.

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Listen to the radio version of Washing your hands of quality (10 most recent radio files)

#507: From obligation to rights

Culture No Responses »

Jul 182011

On the fourteenth of July, every year, the French and many others celebrate the storming of the Bastille, the famous fortress-prison. Is it still worth celebrating?

Yes, because it ultimately gave us ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’, which is more than just the motto of France.

Basically, liberty is permission to do anything as long as it does not harm others. If we all obey this human right, we will all be safe. And if this right is ignored, then equality kicks in. Equality means that justice has not favorites. Another human right.

Now we get to the problem one – fraternity or brotherhood. This is an obligation, not a right. You cannot demand it; you must give it. The ‘love’ in love your neighbor is a verb.

Maybe the original order (liberty, equality, fraternity) is wrong. It should be ‘love your neighbor as your equal so that you will not be harmed.’ From obligation to rights.

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Listen to the radio version of From obligation to rights (10 most recent radio files)

#506: When fun is hard work

Culture, Work No Responses »

Jul 132011

Here is something that I don’t find at all funny. Companies who want, no, who insist that you have fun at work.

Actually, I do find it funny. Funny peculiar, not funny ha-ha. How can fun be fun if it is mandated!

Fun is defined as light-hearted pleasure; amusement; playfulness. Play tends to be fun when it is spontaneous. When fun is compulsory, then play becomes hard work. Thus, by implication, work cannot be play.

Nor should it. The business bottom line matters not to make someone rich, but because so many families depend on it for their livelihood. Viewed this way, work is serious, because it has serious consequences. When it is trivialized into formalized fun, then funny peculiar things tend to happen. Things go wrong.

Why? When workers are told to have fun doing what isn’t inherently funny, they tend to look for the ‘ha-ha’ in their bosses.

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Listen to the radio version of When fun is hard work (10 most recent radio files)

#479: The citizenship tax test

Culture No Responses »

Apr 042011

Am I’m qualified to be a US citizen? This month I face my first real test.

To date, the bulk of my taxes have been paid in a so-called developing country, one step up from a third-world one. Let me tell you, based on that experience, I pay my US taxes with a smile and a ‘thank you’. I know what it’s like to pay taxes without receiving much in return. Here I get many benefits – libraries, schools, roads and, amazingly, actual law enforcement.

However, every year I stay in the USA changes my perceptions, because every year another memory of third-world taxation is lost to the non-stop public griping about US taxes.

This year I unexpectedly owe a chunk of change to the IRS. So this is the real test, the citizenship one: Will I hand it over graciously? Or have I become Americanized enough that I will only do so grudgingly?

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Listen to the radio version of The citizenship tax test (10 most recent radio files)

#416: The root of all evil

Culture, Trust No Responses »

Aug 232010

Every day there are more and more people without enough money to get through the day.

Surely, this is good news! Money is, after all, the root of all evil. Every time someone loses a job, defaults on a loan or becomes homeless, it helps us to build a better society. Rejoice!

No? Of course not! George Bernard Shaw was right. He said “the lack of money is the root of all evil.”

Actually, he was almost right. I think the lack of love is the root of all evil.

Not enough love triggers the need for ‘feel good’ substitutes which leads to a spending bubble. And when it pops, the lack of love becomes very visible – in the lack of empathy that kills jobs; the lack of sharing that cuts benefits; the lack of caring that destroys healthcare; the lack of heart that divides a nation.

It’s time to love your neighbor. You might soon need some love in return.

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork dot com

Listen to the radio version of The root of all evil (10 most recent radio files)

James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday – 7:19am and Saturday – 8:19am
88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VA

409: If this were a plane, would you fly it?

Culture No Responses »

Jul 282010

I am worried about my health. I seem to be developing a case of nostalgia. When I consider how things seem to be falling apart – products, services, infrastructure, you name it – I find myself thinking, ‘now when I was younger . . . . ’

Hey, I’m not being sentimentally forgetful. I don’t selectively believe that back then things were better; just that attitudes were better.

Why do I feel this way? Well, for a short period in my early career I wrote computer software. This was eons ago, before the PC was born. In those ancient days we had a simple quality test for our software: if this were a plane, would I fly it?

Oh, how I wish that more people would apply this simple test.

Don’t get me wrong. I know we can’t afford everything to be of such high quality. But I’m talking about the attitude that goes into a product or service. Surely that’s still free.

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork dot com

Listen to the radio version of If this were a plane, would you fly it? (10 most recent radio files)

James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday – 7:19am and Saturday – 8:19am
88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VA

#69: ‘Good’ or a ‘bad’ culture?

Culture No Responses »

Jan 292007

Would you say that your organization has a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ culture? Don’t bother. It makes no sense to evaluate a culture as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’. What matters is whether it is effective at producing the outcome you want.

Organizational culture is effective if employees can do their work without worrying about the support of colleagues. This is called horizontal effectiveness. You have it when different individuals can blindly co-ordinate their activities and save on communication costs.

Vertical effectiveness happens when followers can guess what to do without having to wait for instructions. When this happens, you save on the costs associated with delegating and monitoring.

Always remember that culture is simply the way we do things here. If you are not clear about the outcome you want, then the way you do things here might instead result in a lot of bad things happening around here.

I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com

James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday – 7:19am and Saturday – 8:19am

#561: The ring tone of success

#557: On setting nonsense goals

#538: Entitled to give thanks

#509: Washing your hands of quality

#507: From obligation to rights

#506: When fun is hard work

#479: The citizenship tax test

#416: The root of all evil

409: If this were a plane, would you fly it?

#69: ‘Good’ or a ‘bad’ culture?

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