2010 May » Nonsense At Work

#392: How is your blow-out protector?

May 312010

If the blow-out protector had worked, there would be no oil spill. And if the circuit breaker on Wall Street had worked, then the Dow would not have dived.

These are only the two most recent examples where a working off-switch or a functioning stop light would have been rather nice.

This got me thinking. Is your blow-out protector working? Is your circuit breaker functioning? Or do you make a habit of losing your cool?

Come on! Don’t be shy. You’re not alone. In this crazy world we all run the risk of blowing our tops and melting our circuits. What matters are the precautions you take – count to ten; bite your tongue; walk away; whatever works for you.

Me? Well, I’m air-cooled. I simply breathe, deeply, slowly.

Remember, it’s really not cool to lose your cool. Not only to you make a mess of things. You also destroy any value you could have added.

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of How is your blow-out protector? (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

#391: Good boss-bad boss vicious cycle

Leadership, Management, Motivation No Responses »

May 262010

I recently suggested that you stop trying so hard to be a nice boss and rather become an effective boss.

Well, soon after I spoke that message I happened to be in a meeting with a president of an organization. He told me that he found it easy to be a good boss on his good days. It’s the other days that seem to disturb his people. I suppose the message in there somewhere is that you should not strive so hard to be a good boss. Rather, you should strive to increase the number of good days at the office.

Now, don’t make the mistake of believing that you will have more good days if you have more good people. You see, you can only have good people if you are a good boss. Good people might join good organizations, but good people stay because of good bosses. In other words, good people don’t leave organizations, they leave bad bosses. Get it?

Oh no, I sense a vicious cycle in there!

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Good boss-bad boss vicious cycle (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

#390: Step outside to think differently

Knowledge/Information, Perception/Reality No Responses »

May 242010

Hey, you! Step outside for a minute.

No. This is not an invitation to fight. It is an invitation to think, to think differently.

If you stay inside all the time then you won’t be able to think from the outside looking in. As you know, things often only make sense if you consider them from a distance. You can only see patterns once you have the perspective of detachment. It’s like suddenly seeing the forest because you’ve stepped back far enough to lose sight of the individual trees.

“Step outside what?” you may well ask. Outside your normal environment, your habitual way of thinking, seeing and believing. Specifically, outside what you so readily take for granted.

Remember this: we don’t know who discovered water, but we do know that it wasn’t a fish. For the same reason you won’t really see something that you think is obvious, until you step away from it.

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Step outside to think differently (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

#389: Don’t be a nice boss

Leadership, Management, Power No Responses »

May 192010

Why do so many people want a nice boss? I don’t get it. Can a nice boss really make a difference? Will it boost your confidence, your performance, your commitment? I don’t think so. It might boost your self-esteem for a moment, but doing good work is more about being pushed to your limit. Nice bosses don’t push that hard.

If you are too nice as a boss, if you are too free and easy with your little positive messages, and if you make your feedback general rather than specific, you will soon be seen as insincere. It will seem as if you hand out shiny trophies to people for simply showing up. Most people know that showing up is the first step to keeping a job.

Don’t be a patronizing boss; be an effective boss, one who knows what outcomes matter and how to achieve them. That will make all of us feel nice.

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Don’t be a nice boss (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

#388: Know your default setting

Change, Motivation No Responses »

May 172010

What is your default setting? Don’t look so offended. We all start out with a default setting. What matters is whether you have changed yours or not.

Manufacturers create basic settings so that a device can be used ‘out of the box’. These common settings are not necessarily the most effective. To get the most out of the device, you should modify these settings according to your needs.

We inherit our default settings from our parents. During our formative years caregivers and teachers fiddle with these settings. Later on, bosses manipulate these settings to make us more productive at work.

Sooner or later you will reach a stage when your settings will be inappropriate for your current situation. As your life spins out of control, will you again allow others to do the fiddling?

Don’t! You know the right settings, so don’t revert to your default. Default settings get you going; they don’t get you soaring.

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Know your default setting (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

#387: Explaining the Wall Street mess

Motivation No Responses »

May 122010

Here’s how I use motivation to explain the Wall Street mess. Can you motivate others? No. Motivation is an internal desire, not an external force.

Yes, it is possible to ‘get’ someone to do something, whether through physical force or the fear of consequences. But this ‘getting to do’ is not the same as ‘wanting to do’. The most you can manage is to convince others to do something, to fan their desire to do. The rest is up to them.

Now, what happens when you are rewarded for doing something you like doing? Research shows that your performance could decline.

Why? When you are rewarded for doing what you like doing, then you have more than one reason for doing it. The result? You are no longer motivated by mere enjoyment.

In other words, Wall Street’s fat bonuses have resulted in people who are no longer motivated by their inner joy. Believe me, it shows.

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Explaining the Wall Street mess (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

#386: Meddling with mentoring

Motivation No Responses »

May 102010

Are you mentoring or meddling? Here’s how you can tell.

You are a mentor if you are using your experience to guide someone who is less experienced. The aim is to help the less experienced person play a ‘better’ role or to lead a ‘better’ life.

There you have the catch. What does ‘better’ mean?

And that’s where meddling comes in. You meddle when you try to change or to control what you see as wrong or inappropriate in the other person’s life.

On the other hand, you mentor when you support the other person as events nudge her into making meaningful life choices, appropriate to her situation and circumstances, not to yours.

Some people believe that you can only mentor if you have already mastered. Don’t you believe it. We teach best that which we have yet to learn. In other words, to be a good mentor, what really matters are the mistakes you are still making.

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Meddling with mentoring (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

#385: Expect robots if profit is your purpose

Business, Efficiency No Responses »

May 052010

With every job loss, business fails to do its civic duty. After all, the real business of business is to keep people busy and off the streets.

For centuries, businesses have been quite good at making money to pay for new jobs to keep more adults busy. But somewhere along the way business leaders began to believe that their purpose was to create profits, not busy-ness.

The road to profit is not the road to full employment which is why technology is so rapidly doing away with the need for workers.

Here is my favorite example of this trend, first celebrated in a business magazine in 2003. Somewhere in Japan is an automated factory which operates 24-hours a day, unsupervised for as long as 30 days at a time. Humans intervene only when there is no more space to store what has been manufactured.

And what has been manufactured? Other automation robots!

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Expect robots if profit is your purpose (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

#384: Positive affirmations trigger negative mood

Motivation No Responses »

May 032010

I’ve always wondered why those happy-clappy people annoy me so much. You know the type I mean – always smiling and drooling at the joys of life. To them, every day is a fantastic day, every thought a positive one, every mistake a learning opportunity.

I think I’ve found the answer to my irritation. Instead of cheering me up and sweeping me along in the wake of their good mood, they depress me. That’s because their gung ho attitude and positive statements clash with my less rosy world view.

Researchers have shown that it can back fire on you to make positive statements about yourself which you don’t really believe. I think the same happens when my nonsense detector is triggered by someone sprouting can-do affirmations to boost his aura.

In other words, your happy mood and smiley face can actually trigger my bad mood and glaring frown. You have been warned.

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Positive affirmations trigger negative mood (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

#392: How is your blow-out protector?

#391: Good boss-bad boss vicious cycle

#390: Step outside to think differently

#389: Don’t be a nice boss

#388: Know your default setting

#387: Explaining the Wall Street mess

#386: Meddling with mentoring

#385: Expect robots if profit is your purpose

#384: Positive affirmations trigger negative mood

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