NonsenseAtWork: Recent Episodes
The Chief Nonsense Officer
Nonsense stops you from being successful. Nonsense is always at work. It never stops. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there is always some sense in nonsense, if you look for it. The Chief Nonsense Officer aims to help you make the nonsense at work work for you (in 60 seconds. No more, no less). Make contact via james@nonsenseatwork.com
The surest way to build trust has little to do with over promise or under promise. The surest way has to do with never. Never promise in the first place.
That’s the difference between satisfaction and loyalty. Satisfaction keeps you happy, but passive. Loyalty makes you passionate and talkative. That’s a big difference.
What happens when you have power over others? It boosts your confidence. Yes, it does. And it boosts your ego as well. Even when you wield your power with a light and humane touch.
Meetings, meetings, bl... boring meetings. Are you also tired of unproductive meetings? If you are, then it probably is your fault. No, not the being tired bit. The being unproductive bit.
It's your job, as a manager, to help the under-performers by giving them feedback, training, guidance, coaching, whatever. Up to a point.
Apparently, the link between creativity and dishonesty is a flexible attitude to rules. This implies that creative people ignore rules. Or that if you want to be creative, then ignore rules.
The people who make up our important relationships become so familiar to us we take them for granted. We presume their presence and depreciate their value.
Doing a premortem is very simple. Assume that your draft plan (or project) has failed. You and your team now brainstorm reasons to explain why it bombed.
The road to profit is not the road to full employment, which is why technology is rapidly doing away with the need for workers. And dumping them onto the streets.
If you act like a torch, you will see too many options. But you will see no option clearly. To see the right option, you need to focus your light. You need to give your goals the laser treatment.
A wise manager will always look at both sides of behavior. Did they trip by themselves or were they pushed by the situation?
I have met many managers who habitually work late because they routinely help others who should already know how to breathe on their own. Not only does the hero manager risk burnout, she also risks becoming the bottleneck to corporate success.
The poor boss at the top must make decisions of great import based on a steady stream of . . . good news.
Imagine your colleagues around the table nod in collective agreement. Makes you happy, doesn’t it?
I have seen people become angry when they realize they wasted their time at work. So angry, in fact, that not even financial rewards could sweeten the bitterness they felt toward those they held responsible.
If you have more than a few years of boss knowledge, then I am sure you can classify those you have known as either just-in-time teacher-managers or just-in-case micro-managers.
Catch-22 ensures that citizens cannot be against their government. Even if they say they are.
There's a divide between feeling the pain and finding a remedy. And there is a divide between knowing the remedy and implementing the remedy.
I had not always liked my colleagues at the various places I worked. But I often loved what we achieved as a team.
Merely being alive creates situations where an understanding you thought was clear, or a belief you held dear, clashes with your direct experience.
Let’s talk about big dreams, because big dreams trigger big fears. If they don't, then dream bigger.
Clearly, every workplace privilege or freedom has a dark side. We can abuse any privilege or freedom at the expense of someone else.
Like all odd behaviors, taking fewer vacations has a name. It’s called shrinking-vacation syndrome. If you ask me, it’s the shrinking self-confidence syndrome.
We live as if we are still passengers in the family car. We ignore the moment we're living in, we fight with our neighbors (passengers and other drivers), and we whine, “Are we where yet?”
If you hold a leadership or a management position, then you have no right to be willfully ignorant.
Try to interact with “other” people, those "different" people. Once you get over the shock, you’ll realize how much fun weirdness can be. You might even learn something useful.
When we make mistakes in interpreting reality, we respond ineffectively. Or we behave inappropriately. Or misbehave. Or all three.
You are a manager. You are supposed to manage problems into successes. Not successes into problems. So, before you start your whining and firing, be very sure that there is no way for you to manage the “wrong one” into being a “right one”.
Every time you encounter nonsense, you are free to decide whether you see “sense” or “non-sense.” You are, indeed, the creator of nonsense. Or of sense. Your choice.
Surprise, surprise, research shows we are far more sensitive to being under-rewarded than over-rewarded. So we shouldn't be so hard on the what's-in-it-for-me generation.
It matters little whether others know you corrected someone who has done something wrong. But it matters much when others don't know whether you disciplined someone for doing a wrong thing.
Fairness is a matter of perception and individuals can perceive inequity if they feel under-rewarded and, surprisingly, if they feel over-rewarded.
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork.com website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork website. There you can also sign up to receivethe weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork website. There you can also sign up to receivethe weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork website. There you can also sign up to receivethe weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork website. There you can also sign up to receivethe weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
You will find the text version of this audio, and much more, on the NonsenseAtWork website. There you can also sign up to receive the weekly nonsense insight and the weekly trigger question right in your inbox. Please go to: https://nonsenseatwork.com/
Every gift to Santa should come with a warning. That's right. I said "to" Santa. (We know how it works. You buy a gift, write a name on a card, and give the gift with the card to Santa. Santa gives the gift according to your instructions.)
And the warning? Make sure that Santa does not let slip how much you paid for the gift. Because people are strange. Witness the following true tale.
The annual office festivities are returning. Unless, of course, you still WFH, in which case you will be PAT (partying at home). Annual office parties always remind me of this true story from way back in 2015. (Maybe I can't forget it because modern art befuddles me. Maybe because corporate communication baffles me. Maybe because cleaning ladies are privy (ha!) to secrets. Maybe all the above.)
In case the threat of recession does not recede, heed this radical advice: Don’t be seduced by fancy financials. Just follow the (real) money.
Here's my favorite definition of politics, from Merriam-Webster: Politics is "the art or science of government."
Why is it my favorite? Because it not only applies to countries, counties and municipalities. It also applies to organizations. The art of leadership might get all the attention, but if a leader cannot govern....
And surprise, surprise. Lobbying is a huge part of governing well. But only if those who lobby know how to lobby well.
Here's an uncomfortable truth about (raw) capitalism. When there's more than a sniff of risk in the air, we are more than willing to compromise our values to stay "successful."
There's a lot of gloom and doom coming our way. Yes, I know, it depends who you're listening to. But let's assume "they" are right. (This time.)
When faced with approaching doom and gloom, what do the wise do? I have no idea. However, I suggest you enjoy the little things, good and bad, just a little more than you did yesterday. As if today is "It", the end of times. (Without taking your eye off the future, because the future has a nasty way of happening.)
Here's how.
How things have changed, thanks to virus, virtual and vanity. Whoa. Surely not vanity. Not after how some people dress for their on-camera work sessions.
This work from home lack of dress-vanity is now likely to infect the office as well. The unemployment rate went down in September 2022, giving (scarce) workers more power to demand changes. Such as to the dress code.
This is a piece I wrote during the previous recession. (Remember that one?) Compare what I wrote then to what is likely to happen during the coming recession. (The one that is predicted daily, even though employers, nervous of the skills shortage, are hiring and placating workers.)
In my previous post, bp275 It’s Time To Become a Skeptic Again, I suggested the best way to view the economy is as a skeptic. But that blog is already in the past, so here's another (nonsense) reason you should be a skeptic today. At least about the economy.
Way back in 1933 George Bernard Shaw said that "If all the economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion." But apparently he was not the first person to use that expression. At least, according to people who research these types of quotes. The funny thing is that these people don't seem able to agree on who said what when.
Another funny thing is that by the time I graduated as an economist, I was convinced that George Bernard Shaw had not used the word conclusion, but the word agreement. ("If all the economists were laid end to end, they would not reach agreement.") I had been exposed to conclusions aplenty. But agreements? Few.
Which is why I find myself in an economy that is in a mild recession as it continues to grow. (Maybe you don't agree, because you've reached a different conclusion.)
At work, should you ask open-ended questions in the wrong tone of voice? Of course you should! That is, if you are a "real" manager. It's your job to put employees on the spot and trip them up. How else will you know what's really going on?
Hang on, hang on. If that's your go-to questioning style, then maybe you could be making things worse. Not sure what I mean? Well, I don't know how you react to open-ended questions asked in a certain tone of voice, but below is how I feel about them.
I handed over thousands of dollars to a major US corporation over a period of four years. One would think that we had built up a respectful mutually beneficial relationship: You scratch my back (provide the service) and I'll scratch yours (contribute to your bottom line).
One would think. But one would be wrong. When circumstances beyond my control meant that I had to end the relationship, they showed me just how much they valued our relationship. They sent me a final bill... wait for it... for $0.28. In the mail. (Current USA postage rates are at or near $0.60. Excluding cost of paper and envelope. Go figure.)
I plan never to do business with them again. Obviously, their "our customers matter to us" was a fake promise. But whose fault was it, really?
Work from home is over. Time to get serious again about work. Wait. I’m joking! Joking or not, here’s a question that might help you get serious about the rest of the year.
.
Did I steal this idea? No. Nor did I have to read a book about asking why. Wise people have been asking, "Why?" ever since Adam and Eve found themselves on the wrong side of the garden gate. (Come to think of it, even little people, before they can read books about why, know to ask "why?" all the time.)
Here's a quote that, I hope, will settle the work from home debate: "Whether you work from home or work in the office, it's still labor. And so are you." (The Chief Nonsense Officer. September 2022)
I assume that by the time you read this, NASA's latest rocket will be on its way for a trip around the moon and back. Assuming all goes according to plan.
(Well, you already know that it did not. Take-off as scheduled nor go according to plan. So much for assuming.)
Many companies are compromising in the office fight. No, not the fight in the office. The fight about the office. Whether you work there five days a week or stay home five days a week.
The most popular compromise seems to be to stay away on Mondays and Fridays. Notice that I said "stay away", not work from home. That's because when I first went to work in an office, anyone who was sick on a Monday or on a Friday had to get a doctor to swear on paper that illness indeed caused the absence.
At least the following true story now makes more sense to me. It is about a quick-witted woman who linked Friday to Monday in a motivational sentence.
Apparently gas prices are dropping. Slowly. Apparently inflation is deflating. Maybe. I hope that means we humans will behave a little less irrationally. Like driving to save on gas.
Tell me, who gets to take part in decision-making in your organization? No, I don’t mean who sits in at key meetings. I mean, who is heard and heeded?
I recently bit into a juicy, ripe fruit. Have you also been so lucky? Mine was a peach. I mean the fruit was a peach. Although the peach was a peach, if you know what I mean.
By fruit I don't mean the ones incarcerated in cans, or the ones frozen in time, or pulped into puree, or juiced into bottles. I mean the ones with skin/peel/rind and pip/pit/stone, the ones that drip and mess. Completely au naturel.
As the sweetness dripped down my chin, I shook, rattled and rolled. With pleasure.
Hot summer weather means lighter and less clothing. But less dress, irrespective of gender, is still a cover. And we are still human enough to judge a body (or a book) by its cover.
On the fourteenth of July, every year, the French celebrate the storming of the Bastille, the famous fortress-prison. Is it still worth celebrating?
Why do people repeat lies and other falsehoods? I don't mean repeat as in 'share,' but as in passing it on, over and over. I'll tell you why. Because it works. At least as propaganda and other forms of perverse persuasion.
Will working from home and flexible working schedules usher in a new era of micro-management? The growth in employee surveillance and monitoring software suggests that... yes, of course it will.
(Do you know what I find amusing about the work-from-home return-to-office debate? It's the staring contest between leaders and employees. Who will blink first? I’m amused because the one who won’t blink first is not even debating. The one who makes things happen. The one called Boss.)
Recently, I saw an article with the headline "Great resignation turning into the great remorse." Or words to that effect.
If you search on that phrase, you will find many similar sounding articles and even a few videos.
And now I have added mine to the mess, I mean mix. (Mine has the benefit of being short. Very short.)
It seems to me that March Madness is more than a March affair. Star performers are idolized every month, every week, every day, whether in sport, business, politics or the local sandbox. Madness indeed.
Once again, we have a cloud full of so-called experts raining down their unasked-for wisdom.
Once upon a time I thought it would be fun to....
I lie. I thought it would be lucrative to jump on the success coach wagon. You know which wagon I mean. The one carting around those Steps to Success.
Lucky for me, and maybe you, I remembered nonsense. And that nonsense is always at work. Specifically, I remembered that what is nonsense to me might be sense to you. And vice versa.
Meaning? That what I see as success might not be what you see as success. Thus, my steps to success might be your steps to failure.
And so I did not jump. I watched that wagon roll by, again and again, on its seemingly endless circular journey. But although I did not join the wagon train, I cannot help but give bits of random advice. Like the one below. (Please forgive me.)
Once again there is much scaremongering about the economy, some of it valid, most of it inflated. This happens when we focus on the mechanisms of the economy while we ignore the purpose of an economy.
The same applies to capitalism and to business. We too often value processes over purpose.
It's almost like raving about the features of a car out of context of its purpose, namely simply to get you from here to there. Features might be nice, benefits add value, but only purpose really matters.
Let's ponder how meeting interruptions have evolved. Ready? In the beginning, only the boss' secretary had the power to interrupt a meeting. Next came tone-deaf bosses who ignored cell phone ringtones, followed by boundaryless bosses who partook when fast food aromas overwhelmed the business agenda.
And today, what have we? Cute kittens? Pawing puppies? Potty tots? Sulking spouses? Another package delivery? In fact, almost anything may pause a meeting.
Which is just another reason I miss those disciplined and disciplinarian gatekeepers. They knew how to keep the boss in line, focused, and performing to the benefit of us all.
Here is a little known fact about me. I am working on my second million. That’s right, my second million. My first million was a complete disaster.
Once upon a time there lived a man called Albert Einstein. We revered him then and we revere him today. But we sure as hell don't heed him the way we should. For example, he once said that "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Or words to that effect.
And yet, here we are, acting as if yesterday's behavior will save us today. We have yet to learn that to understand new things, we must remember to forget.
Remember that line in the sand you used to draw as a kid? "Step over this line and I'll biff you." And if the other kid was bigger...
This is a true story about greener grass somewhere. But how do you know the grass is truly greener on the other side?
Guess what hidden bonus came with working from home. New rules! Guess what awaits you when you return to the office. New rules!
Has where you do your job changed what you do? Probably not much, if at all. And yet, the powers that be keep changing how you do what you do every time where you do it changes.
Too many goals, not enough go. Would a coach help? That question is so then. Today, the question is: Would a coach help more than an app? Actually, there is a third question.
This era of The Great Resignation has me thinking about suspicious minds at work. You know what I mean. Will she? Won't she? Will he? Won't he? (Resign, that is.)
I wonder, why do New Year's resolutions seldom stick around longer than the hangover created at the same time?
When I was a kid, the build-up to Christmas was long and slow. Nowadays it just seems to arrive. No slow build-up. No bubbling anticipation.
How do I fire thee? Let me count the ways. (Sorry, Elizabeth Barret Browning.) By now you have surely heard of the 900 employees fired via Zoom. Well, it's a management trend encouraged by technology advances, nothing more.
It's true. Every cloud has a silver lining. Here's another. Working from home and mandated social distancing have curtailed the stupid notion of fun at work. And hopefully killed that oxymoron, the festive office party, once and for all.
During my early years in the USA, I often made cultural blunders. One of my first offenses was to wonder why anyone would drive around in a chicken coop.
If anything, isolation increased the need for a little gossip. Real, fake, or in between. (You thought Instant Messaging during group video calls was for serious communication?)
Do you have an open Zoom policy? Or an open Teams policy? Or an open Virtual policy? Okay, that last one makes little sense. Working from home has taught us we shouldn’t risk an open webcam policy.
Do you want to know why you struggle to be promoted? In one word, laziness. No, not your laziness. (Well, maybe yours, but let’s ignore that for a moment.)
Believe it or not, I did not play soccer (or football) in my younger days. I played rugby. I liked it because, whenever I touched the ball, I had fourteen muscled guys backing me up.
The other morning I was stuck behind a big yellow bus. I had to stop three times before I got away. Life, it seemed, wanted me to slow down and smell the fumes.
Be warned, this piece is meant to irritate you on Labor Day (in the USA and maybe elsewhere with the “u” laboured back into labor).
Some time ago a friend told me that she is now deliberately without intentions. Confused, I asked her to clarify.
Thanks to Murphy, we know that if something can go wrong, it will. But that does not mean we should help Murphy.
If you always do the same thing in the same situation, then you are being consistent. But what if the situation has changed? Or new facts emerge?
Oh, these lazy, hazy days of summer. The perfect time to sleep at work. You’ve never done that?
This is Part 3 of 3 of "If You Want To Be More Creative, Do This First: Boost Cognition, Cacophony and Cheating"
A picture may paint a thousand words, but that sort of painting will no longer happen in this newsletter. It seems that pictures in emails add more than just a thousand extra words. They also trigger spam detectors and other creative AI thingies that are designed to make life better for us but don’t.
From now on you will have to “picture this” without pictures from me. But don’t fret. I will give you three words to boost your creative picturing of this and of that.
Cognition. Cacophony. Cheating.
This is Part 2 of 3 of "If You Want To Be More Creative, Do This First: Boost Cognition, Cacophony and Cheating"
A picture may paint a thousand words, but that sort of painting will no longer happen in this newsletter. It seems that pictures in emails add more than just a thousand extra words. They also trigger spam detectors and other creative AI thingies that are designed to make life better for us but don’t.
From now on you will have to “picture this” without pictures from me. But don’t fret. I will give you three words to boost your creative picturing of this and of that.
Cognition. Cacophony. Cheating.
This is Part 3 of 3 of "Why You Should Aim for the Power of the Easy Way. (Struggle easier is the wise lesson to learn from your mistakes.)"
Were you taught that life is a struggle? Of course you were. And so was I. We heard adults say silly things like “no pain, no gain.” And “if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.”
That might have been sound advice when you were young. But now that you’re older is it wise advice? There’s only one way to find out. If at first you don’t succeed, don’t try and try again.
Fail if you must, then try something else. Try something easier. Try not to be so trying. Believe me, no pain will be your gain. (At my age, "no pain" is all the proof I need.)
This is Part 2 of 3 of "Why You Should Aim for the Power of the Easy Way. (Struggle easier is the wise lesson to learn from your mistakes.)"
Were you taught that life is a struggle? Of course you were. And so was I. We heard adults say silly things like “no pain, no gain.” And “if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.”
That might have been sound advice when you were young. But now that you’re older is it wise advice? There’s only one way to find out. If at first you don’t succeed, don’t try and try again.
Fail if you must, then try something else. Try something easier. Try not to be so trying. Believe me, no pain will be your gain. (At my age, "no pain" is all the proof I need.)
Were you taught that life is a struggle? Of course you were. And so was I. We heard adults say silly things like “no pain, no gain.” And “if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.”
This is Part 3 of 3 of "Why Opening Up Is Riskier Than Bottling Up. It’s often easier to keep a lid on."
As we begin to open up… As some countries, some states, some counties, some municipalities, some businesses and some minds begin to open up, let me open up about what I don’t know whether to keep bottled up.
As you know, nonsense at work causes the nonsense at work. Like the Yo-Yo decisions on flexi or in-flexi jobs. And the unnecessary confusion as to who at work has the real power to pick who works from where.
Should I open up and admit that nonsense at work does not really annoy me? Because, like some people you know at work, I benefit from the nonsense at work. (Now that I see it in stark black and white print, maybe I should keep the last part bottled up. But it really is exciting to see such an up-tick in nonsense at work.)
Do you know what I find annoying? Those people who go about thinking that all problems are opportunities in disguise.
This is Part 1 of 3 of "Why Opening Up Is Riskier Than Bottling Up. It’s often easier to keep a lid on."
As we begin to open up… As some countries, some states, some counties, some municipalities, some businesses and some minds begin to open up, let me open up about what I don’t know whether to keep bottled up.
As you know, nonsense at work causes the nonsense at work. Like the Yo-Yo decisions on flexi or in-flexi jobs. And the unnecessary confusion as to who at work has the real power to pick who works from where.
Should I open up and admit that nonsense at work does not really annoy me? Because, like some people you know at work, I benefit from the nonsense at work. (Now that I see it in stark black and white print, maybe I should keep the last part bottled up. But it really is exciting to see such an up-tick in nonsense at work.)
This is Part 3 of 3 of "Oh, the Choices We Make. And the Ones We Don’t."
Do you know what I like about living in a (relatively) free country? I make my own choices. Every day.
Do you know what I don’t like about living in a (relatively) free country? I must choose. Every day.
Enough said.
This is Part 2 of 3 of "Oh, the Choices We Make. And the Ones We Don’t."
Do you know what I like about living in a (relatively) free country? I make my own choices. Every day.
Do you know what I don’t like about living in a (relatively) free country? I must choose. Every day.
Enough said.
Do you go on vacation without planning it? And do you plan your vacation without bothering to find out more about the place you have chosen?
This is Part 3 of 3 of "It’s Time We Question Our Questionable Questions. By asking better questions."
Our new world order… Note, I did not say New World Order. Oh, what the heck. Let me cut the nonsense.
In our new world dis-order, a lot of questions are asked and even more remain unanswered. (I’m sure you can figure that out.)
So let me ask you. Have you asked good questions lately? Or have you, too, been asking the same questions over and over? (No, sorry. “Why me?” does not count. You are not the only one who has asked that one over and over this past year.)
Now let me ask you this. Would you like me to give you a few tips on how to ask better questions? No? Well, I need not have asked, because I’m going to tip you a few answers in any case.
But keep this in mind. Time was when better questions got you better answers. Today? Better questions might, with a bit of luck and perseverance, get you one answer.
This is Part 2 of 3 of "It’s Time We Question Our Questionable Questions. By asking better questions."
Our new world order… Note, I did not say New World Order. Oh, what the heck. Let me cut the nonsense.
In our new world dis-order, a lot of questions are asked and even more remain unanswered. (I’m sure you can figure that out.)
So let me ask you. Have you asked good questions lately? Or have you, too, been asking the same questions over and over? (No, sorry. “Why me?” does not count. You are not the only one who has asked that one over and over this past year.)
Now let me ask you this. Would you like me to give you a few tips on how to ask better questions? No? Well, I need not have asked, because I’m going to tip you a few answers in any case.
But keep this in mind. Time was when better questions got you better answers. Today? Better questions might, with a bit of luck and perseverance, get you one answer.
This is Part 3 of 3 of "As We Open Up, Don’t Be the Office Hog. Share what you know or be isolated again."
As you come out (from behind the mask and the screen), as you step into that space called The Office, you have a choice. To share what you know you know or to hog what you don’t know you don’t know. (Or is it vice versa?)
Read the full introduction: https://nonsenseatwork.com/as-we-open-up-dont-be-the-office-hog/
This is Part 2 of 3 of "As We Open Up, Don’t Be the Office Hog. Share what you know or be isolated again."
As you come out (from behind the mask and the screen), as you step into that space called The Office, you have a choice. To share what you know you know or to hog what you don’t know you don’t know. (Or is it vice versa?)
Read the full introduction: https://nonsenseatwork.com/as-we-open-up-dont-be-the-office-hog/
This is part 3 of 3 of "Step Out, Turn Around and Lead From Behind. Or you’ll face the wrong problem as you back into the future."
On Days Like This (Van Morrison), when I Can’t Tell The Bottom From The Top (The Hollies) and everything is Over My Head (Fleetwood Mac), what’s a Poor Boy (Steve Earle) gonna do?
I suppose this is just The Trouble With Normal (Bruce Cockburn). The new normal, that is. The old normal is history. It Don’t Come Easy (Ringo Starr) no more.
I know I am Taking It All Too Hard (Genesis). Surely, All Things Must Pass (George Harrison). And With A Bit Of Luck (Frederick Loewe/My Fair Lady), I will Get It Right The Next Time (Gerry Rafferty).
That is, as long as I stop believing that I Call The Shots (Malcolm Holcombe). Because sometimes I don’t.
This is part 2 of 3 of "Step Out, Turn Around and Lead From Behind. Or you’ll face the wrong problem as you back into the future."
On Days Like This (Van Morrison), when I Can’t Tell The Bottom From The Top (The Hollies) and everything is Over My Head (Fleetwood Mac), what’s a Poor Boy (Steve Earle) gonna do?
I suppose this is just The Trouble With Normal (Bruce Cockburn). The new normal, that is. The old normal is history. It Don’t Come Easy (Ringo Starr) no more.
I know I am Taking It All Too Hard (Genesis). Surely, All Things Must Pass (George Harrison). And With A Bit Of Luck (Frederick Loewe/My Fair Lady), I will Get It Right The Next Time (Gerry Rafferty).
That is, as long as I stop believing that I Call The Shots (Malcolm Holcombe). Because sometimes I don’t.
If you stay inside all the time, then you won’t be able to think from the outside looking in.
This is Part 3 of 3 of "How to zoom through your meetings. Or zoom out of your job."
With a lot of luck, a garnish of garlic and a wooden stake or two, we can finally go back to…
…in-person meetings!
Maybe I got that wrong. Maybe it should be: With a lot of luck, a garnish of garlic and a wooden stake or two, we can finally kill off (unnecessary) meetings.
Not matter which one applies to you, I offer the following thoughts to make your next meeting less of a nonsense event.
This is Part 2 of 3 of "How to zoom through your meetings. Or zoom out of your job."
With a lot of luck, a garnish of garlic and a wooden stake or two, we can finally go back to…
…in-person meetings!
Maybe I got that wrong. Maybe it should be: With a lot of luck, a garnish of garlic and a wooden stake or two, we can finally kill off (unnecessary) meetings.
Not matter which one applies to you, I offer the following thoughts to make your next meeting less of a nonsense event.
Meetings, meetings, bl... boring meetings. Are you also tired of unproductive meetings?
Here's Part 4 of 4 of "When Tough Decisions Are Hard To Make… …Flip a Coin."
It’s time for all decision-makers (yes, you) to play the latest decisions-decisions game. Here’s how to play. Fill in the blanks between the brackets in the following sentence. Then drive yourself nuts trying to pick one:
To be (…) or not to be (…).
(Don’t let Prince Hamlet fool you. To be is not the question. To be is the decision. Your decision.)
Here are a few hints to get you going. To be (in the office) or not to be (in the office). To be (masked) or not to be (masked). To be (vaccinated) or not to be (vaccinated). To be (decisive) or not to be (decisive). To be (the leader they need me to be) or not to be (the leader they need me to be).
Now it’s your turn to play. But note these two rules. Playing is not optional — you may not decide to not decide. And your decisions reserve the right to go public, with or without your blessing. Rule #1 has always applied, but Rule #2 is new. That Virus has made many decisions, and non-decisions, go viral.
Have a nice game.
Here's Part 3 of 4 of "When Tough Decisions Are Hard To Make… …Flip a Coin."
It’s time for all decision-makers (yes, you) to play the latest decisions-decisions game. Here’s how to play. Fill in the blanks between the brackets in the following sentence. Then drive yourself nuts trying to pick one:
To be (…) or not to be (…).
(Don’t let Prince Hamlet fool you. To be is not the question. To be is the decision. Your decision.)
Here are a few hints to get you going. To be (in the office) or not to be (in the office). To be (masked) or not to be (masked). To be (vaccinated) or not to be (vaccinated). To be (decisive) or not to be (decisive). To be (the leader they need me to be) or not to be (the leader they need me to be).
Now it’s your turn to play. But note these two rules. Playing is not optional — you may not decide to not decide. And your decisions reserve the right to go public, with or without your blessing. Rule #1 has always applied, but Rule #2 is new. That Virus has made many decisions, and non-decisions, go viral.
Have a nice game.
Here's Part 2 of 4 of "When Tough Decisions Are Hard To Make… …Flip a Coin."
It’s time for all decision-makers (yes, you) to play the latest decisions-decisions game. Here’s how to play. Fill in the blanks between the brackets in the following sentence. Then drive yourself nuts trying to pick one:
To be (…) or not to be (…).
(Don’t let Prince Hamlet fool you. To be is not the question. To be is the decision. Your decision.)
Here are a few hints to get you going. To be (in the office) or not to be (in the office). To be (masked) or not to be (masked). To be (vaccinated) or not to be (vaccinated). To be (decisive) or not to be (decisive). To be (the leader they need me to be) or not to be (the leader they need me to be).
Now it’s your turn to play. But note these two rules. Playing is not optional — you may not decide to not decide. And your decisions reserve the right to go public, with or without your blessing. Rule #1 has always applied, but Rule #2 is new. That Virus has made many decisions, and non-decisions, go viral.
Have a nice game.
This is Part 3 of 3 of "Kill a Flower for Mother’s Day Niceness. Mother Earth will deal with you later."
Listen up, you many kids of all ages. It’s almost Mother’s Day. You know what that means, don’t you? Florists are happy as flowers are sacrificed.
What about mothers? Believe it or not, this one-day be-nice behavior does not fool mothers. They worry about your conduct on the other 364 days.
(What if you don’t have a mother? You had one. Once. And you still have Mother Earth. She needs you now more than ever. So please leave her flowers alone.)
Listen up, you many kids of all ages. It’s almost Mother’s Day. You know what that means, don’t you? Florists are happy as flowers are sacrificed.
What about mothers? Believe it or not, this one-day be-nice behavior does not fool mothers. They worry about your conduct on the other 364 days.
This is Part 1 of 3 of "Kill a Flower for Mother’s Day Niceness. Mother Earth will deal with you later."
Listen up, you many kids of all ages. It’s almost Mother’s Day. You know what that means, don’t you? Florists are happy as flowers are sacrificed.
What about mothers? Believe it or not, this one-day be-nice behavior does not fool mothers. They worry about your conduct on the other 364 days.
(What if you don’t have a mother? You had one. Once. And you still have Mother Earth. She needs you now more than ever. So please leave her flowers alone.)
This is Part 3 of 3 of "We Teach Our Nonsense Well. Now we should pity our poor children."
Once upon a time, I knew nonsense when I saw it. I had no doubts, ifs, nor buts.
Back then nonsense and sense were clearly divided in my mind, even as I understood that what made sense to me might be nonsense to you. And, of course, vice versa. But today we present all kinds of uncommon nonsense as common sense.
We should pity our poor children, for we have failed the basic test of adulthood. Instead of helping the next generation make sense of our world, we’re spin-doctoring what was once worldly into nonsense.
This is Part 2 of 3 of "We Teach Our Nonsense Well. Now we should pity our poor children."
Once upon a time, I knew nonsense when I saw it. I had no doubts, ifs, nor buts.
Back then nonsense and sense were clearly divided in my mind, even as I understood that what made sense to me might be nonsense to you. And, of course, vice versa. But today we present all kinds of uncommon nonsense as common sense.
We should pity our poor children, for we have failed the basic test of adulthood. Instead of helping the next generation make sense of our world, we’re spin-doctoring what was once worldly into nonsense.
This is Part 3 of 3 of "Let’s collaborate to kill co-operation. Before co-operation, as we practise it, kills us."
Once again I am amazed how well people can work together to achieve a common goal, whether it is to protect the planet, defend democracy or promote public health. Well, maybe half the people work well together. But which half?
If only we could figure out which half wasn’t playing nice, we could do something about it (or them). The problem is that there are so many permutations of what makes up which half. Even worse, people keep changing their minds, their behavior, and the half we thought they were in.
And yet, here we humans are, still surviving and thriving. Astounding. But somehow puzzling.
This is Part 2 of 3 of "Let’s collaborate to kill co-operation. Before co-operation, as we practise it, kills us."
Once again I am amazed how well people can work together to achieve a common goal, whether it is to protect the planet, defend democracy or promote public health. Well, maybe half the people work well together. But which half?
If only we could figure out which half wasn’t playing nice, we could do something about it (or them). The problem is that there are so many permutations of what makes up which half. Even worse, people keep changing their minds, their behavior, and the half we thought they were in.
And yet, here we humans are, still surviving and thriving. Astounding. But somehow puzzling.
Humans are strange. We dominate the planet mainly because of our ability to work together. Yet we compete like crazy.
This is Part 3 of 3 of "Delegate Dumbly or Delegate Smartly, It’s Your Call - Either Way, You’ll Be Remembered for Both."
Out of sight, out of mind only makes the heart grow fonder in the short term. We have been out of sight for more than a year.
Now there’s a fresh fear on the block. The fear of being forgotten, working at home alone. It makes us do dumb things. Like working harder and longer to prove our worth. To show we matter. To make them need us. To be remembered.
Oh, right. We did that back in the office, back in the old days, back when we were also dumb. Apparently, the more things change, the more… never mind.
This is Part 2 of 3 of "Delegate Dumbly or Delegate Smartly, It’s Your Call - Either Way, You’ll Be Remembered for Both."
Out of sight, out of mind only makes the heart grow fonder in the short term. We have been out of sight for more than a year.
Now there’s a fresh fear on the block. The fear of being forgotten, working at home alone. It makes us do dumb things. Like working harder and longer to prove our worth. To show we matter. To make them need us. To be remembered.
Oh, right. We did that back in the office, back in the old days, back when we were also dumb. Apparently, the more things change, the more… never mind.
Now is not the time to do stupid things just to prove how valuable you are to your employer. Like doing more and working harder.
This is Part 3 of 3: "Why Team Building Is Not a Sport - Unless your business is a sport"
Spring is in the air and I can almost hear consultants and HR people planning this year's team building events.
Maybe not this year. That’s one positive brought to us courtesy of enforced social distancing. (Not so long ago you, like me, might have wished for a bit of social distancing when forced to take part in another inane team building exercise.)
Well, maybe even this year. Never doubt the creative power of people who get paid to believe that one more group exercise will surely make you a better working-from-home-alone team player.
(If you love and miss team building exercises, unlike me, then stop reading. Else what follows will annoy you into wanting to do something about my morale. Like sending me on a team building exercise.)
This is Part 2 of 3: "Why Team Building Is Not a Sport - Unless your business is a sport"
Spring is in the air and I can almost hear consultants and HR people planning this year's team building events.
Maybe not this year. That’s one positive brought to us courtesy of enforced social distancing. (Not so long ago you, like me, might have wished for a bit of social distancing when forced to take part in another inane team building exercise.)
Well, maybe even this year. Never doubt the creative power of people who get paid to believe that one more group exercise will surely make you a better working-from-home-alone team player.
(If you love and miss team building exercises, unlike me, then stop reading. Else what follows will annoy you into wanting to do something about my morale. Like sending me on a team building exercise.)
Spring is in the air and I can almost hear consultants and HR people planning this year's team building events.
This is Part 3 of 3 of "Put a spring in your nagging: Because repetition turns growth into development."
Moving to another continent in another hemisphere plays havoc with your habits and expectations. Who knew?
During the first fifty years of my life I knew my left from my right, my spring from my autumn, and the time of day. After almost 20 years in the other hemisphere on a different continent in an unfamiliar country, I still get confused on the right side of the road, surprised that Christmas is cold, expect spring to be autumn, and find myself out of sync with a time that changes every six months.
But I have learned that it is not my habits that hold me back. It is my history.
History is heavy. And it is very sticky.
This is Part 2 of 3 of "Put a spring in your nagging: Because repetition turns growth into development."
Moving to another continent in another hemisphere plays havoc with your habits and expectations. Who knew?
During the first fifty years of my life I knew my left from my right, my spring from my autumn, and the time of day. After almost 20 years in the other hemisphere on a different continent in an unfamiliar country, I still get confused on the right side of the road, surprised that Christmas is cold, expect spring to be autumn, and find myself out of sync with a time that changes every six months.
But I have learned that it is not my habits that hold me back. It is my history.
History is heavy. And it is very sticky.
One of the first new skills I learned after arriving in the USA was time management. No, not productivity management, but how to time my falling back and springing forward.
This is Part 3 of 3 of "Don't talk to your phone (or the trees). Doing so makes you dumber than your phone (and the trees)."
I remember the days of lifting the black handset off the black rotary dialer to hear the operator say, “Nommer asseblief!”
You might wonder what she said, so I’ll tell you. She asked me which party I wanted her to connect me to. (In those days, talking to a person you could not see was as good as a party. Hence the terminology.)
Some of you probably wonder what a rotary dialer is, so I’ll tell you. It’s the black box that we used to contact a human operator who would then connect us to the person, I mean party, with whom we wished to communicate.
There are two other interesting facts about that communication process. Our only privacy concern was whether the operator was bored enough to bother listening in on our conversation. The other fact has become more important today. Back then we were smarter than the black box.
This is Part 2 of 3 of "Don't talk to your phone (or the trees). Doing so makes you dumber than your phone (and the trees)."
I remember the days of lifting the black handset off the black rotary dialer to hear the operator say, “Nommer asseblief!”
You might wonder what she said, so I’ll tell you. She asked me which party I wanted her to connect me to. (In those days, talking to a person you could not see was as good as a party. Hence the terminology.)
Some of you probably wonder what a rotary dialer is, so I’ll tell you. It’s the black box that we used to contact a human operator who would then connect us to the person, I mean party, with whom we wished to communicate.
There are two other interesting facts about that communication process. Our only privacy concern was whether the operator was bored enough to bother listening in on our conversation. The other fact has become more important today. Back then we were smarter than the black box.
This is Part 3 of 3 of "Protect your unreasonable nut-cases at work: They stop you adapting to a new low"
This is indeed our time of shared weird behavior, at home, at work and everywhere in between. You might by now be tempted to abuse the power vested in you by your hierarchy to change weird behavior to your liking. Please don’t.
Encourage a bit of weirdness at work. Until you know for sure whether it promotes or stifles progress. Then protect it or kill it.
What happens when you don’t protect a bit of weirdness? Well, you’ll trigger a vicious cycle that will leave you and your organization adapting to a new low instead of marching to higher ground.
This is Part 2 of 3 of "Protect your unreasonable nut-cases at work: They stop you adapting to a new low"
This is indeed our time of shared weird behavior, at home, at work and everywhere in between. You might by now be tempted to abuse the power vested in you by your hierarchy to change weird behavior to your liking. Please don’t.
Encourage a bit of weirdness at work. Until you know for sure whether it promotes or stifles progress. Then protect it or kill it.
What happens when you don’t protect a bit of weirdness? Well, you’ll trigger a vicious cycle that will leave you and your organization adapting to a new low instead of marching to higher ground.
Encourage a bit of weirdness at work. Until you know for sure whether it promotes or stifles progress. Then protect it or kill it.
This is Part 3 of 3 of "Step Up To Climb Every Ladder: forgiveness and blame awaits on every rung"
The problem with ambition at work is that there are always shoes on the rung above the one you are balancing on. Well, maybe not always. Take my first corporate ladder as an example.
My first formal job after my first formal degree came with a formal title and a formal office. But on my first formal day, my first formal boss resigned. The man who picked me as being worthy, who promised me riches in exchange for my productive loyalty, walked out the day I walked in.
Unlike most corporate ladders, the one I stood on had only two rungs. And the rung above me was suddenly empty.
That rung was the next one up, yes, but in terms of context and experience, it was a rung too far on a ladder too short. At least for me.
This is Part 2 of 3 of "Step Up To Climb Every Ladder: forgiveness and blame awaits on every rung"
The problem with ambition at work is that there are always shoes on the rung above the one you are balancing on. Well, maybe not always. Take my first corporate ladder as an example.
My first formal job after my first formal degree came with a formal title and a formal office. But on my first formal day, my first formal boss resigned. The man who picked me as being worthy, who promised me riches in exchange for my productive loyalty, walked out the day I walked in.
Unlike most corporate ladders, the one I stood on had only two rungs. And the rung above me was suddenly empty.
That rung was the next one up, yes, but in terms of context and experience, it was a rung too far on a ladder too short. At least for me.
The problem with ambition at work is that there are always shoes on the rung above the one you are balancing on.
This is Part 3 of 3 of "Why Fear Is Not a Leadership Game: The missing link in leadership"
Have you heard the one about me being charged by a lioness? Of course you have! I keep telling it. Because she changed me. She taught me something about fear (obviously). And she gave me an insight into leadership (not so obvious). I got away from her because here I am telling you about it (really, really obvious). So what saved me?
This is Part 2 of 3 of "Why Fear Is Not a Leadership Game: The missing link in leadership"
Have you heard the one about me being charged by a lioness? Of course you have! I keep telling it. Because she changed me. She taught me something about fear (obviously). And she gave me an insight into leadership (not so obvious). I got away from her because here I am telling you about it (really, really obvious). So what saved me?
Have you heard the one about me being charged by a lioness? Of course you have! I keep telling it. Because she changed me.
This is Part 2 (of 3) of "Ship your pessimism as you don a cloak of multi-optimism"
Once upon a time committed shareholders went to the harbor to see their ship sail. And then, much, much later, they went to the harbor to see if it had come in. In between sailing and berthing, they lived patiently with the risk they had taken. They had no option.
Today, many of us live with risk all around us. But no longer patiently. That ship has sailed. Soon we will reach the stage when we will no longer recognize our ship when it comes in.
Thank goodness there are still leaders who wear cloaks of positivity as they optimistically scan the horizon. Welcome to the harbor.
This is Part 2 (of 3) of "Ship your pessimism as you don a cloak of multi-optimism"
Once upon a time committed shareholders went to the harbor to see their ship sail. And then, much, much later, they went to the harbor to see if it had come in. In between sailing and berthing, they lived patiently with the risk they had taken. They had no option.
Today, many of us live with risk all around us. But no longer patiently. That ship has sailed. Soon we will reach the stage when we will no longer recognize our ship when it comes in.
Thank goodness there are still leaders who wear cloaks of positivity as they optimistically scan the horizon. Welcome to the harbor.
Once upon a time committed shareholders went to the harbor to see their ship sail. And then, much, much later, they went to the harbor to see if it had come in. In between sailing and berthing, they lived patiently with the risk they had taken. They had no option.
This is Part 3 (of 3) of "Put a Stop at the Top of the Pyramid"
Looking up (at leaders) is a downer. It need not be.
We physically look up to our leaders because their box is drawn higher on the chart and because they sit in a higher office (in both meanings of the word office). We morally look up to our leaders because… Well, maybe once upon a time we did. The buck never seems to stop anymore.
Here’s how to change it. At least at work, if not in the office (the other meaning of the word).
This is Part 2 (of 3) of "Put a Stop at the Top of the Pyramid"
Looking up (at leaders) is a downer. It need not be.
We physically look up to our leaders because their box is drawn higher on the chart and because they sit in a higher office (in both meanings of the word office). We morally look up to our leaders because… Well, maybe once upon a time we did. The buck never seems to stop anymore.
Here’s how to change it. At least at work, if not in the office (the other meaning of the word).
This is part 4 of "Brainstorm for a better brainstorm." When trouble looms or problems multiply, what do the brave do? They brainstorm. Well, I don’t like the typical brainstorm. And don’t even think of thinking outside the box.
This is part 3 of "Brainstorm for a better brainstorm." When trouble looms or problems multiply, what do the brave do? They brainstorm. Well, I don’t like the typical brainstorm. And don’t even think of thinking outside the box.
This is part 2 of "Brainstorm for a better brainstorm." When trouble looms or problems multiply, what do the brave do? They brainstorm. Well, I don’t like the typical brainstorm. And don’t even think of thinking outside the box.
When trouble looms or problems multiply, what do the brave do? They brainstorm. Well, I don’t like the typical brainstorm.
Are you going insane, regressing, or just being old-fashioned? One of those is an effective strategy. ("#196: Sometimes we need opposing qualities to be really effective" is Part 3 of 3)
Are you going insane, regressing, or just being old-fashioned? One of those is an effective strategy. ("#195: Can you split definite into maybe?" is Part 2 of 3)
Now is exactly the time you should be more caring with your feedback and diligent with your appraisals. People at home need to feel remembered.
I often catch myself thinking, “If only I had that smart phone app, or this new tablet or that thin laptop or this stunning software, then I will....”
People who show little respect for their personal space are unlikely to show respect for public space. This lack of respect is killing our planet.
Do you work for a nice organization? You do? I’m so sorry to hear that. Nice is not always successful.
If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Except that sometimes you will appear to be stubbornly persistent and at others persistently stubborn.
Tell me, what is worse than not asking for feedback? Yes, not heeding feedback is rather bad. But having only one source of feedback is even worse.
Take a look at pebbles in a stream. Which ones do you like, the smooth, round ones, or the sharp, rough ones?
What is wisdom? If you don’t know, then you are obviously not wise enough. But don’t worry, if you live long enough you will be.
Why don’t you slow down when you drive at night? Here’s why. Because the posted speed signs tell you not to.
The typical organization is a hierarchy of imbalanced power, which makes it a perfect bully factory. Unless the leaders stop it.
If there is one thing I have learned in the land obsessed with leadership, then it’s this. I’m a silly old fool.
Being right is a moment-to-moment affair. Right becomes wrong as easily as wrong becomes right.
Any fool can rewrite history and only fools will believe him, which is why I’m not jealous of that skill.
Too many people in power don’t understand what it means to be responsible. Responsibility is the ability to respond.
When people stop caring about you, they stop criticizing you. They have written you off and given you up.
Few of us enjoy making big decisions. And yet make them we must. So it helps to understand a few things about big decisions.
A single piece of a jigsaw puzzle makes little sense. When linked correctly with other pieces, the sense appears.
It seems to me that the more graphically violent our movies and television shows become, the more prudish we become in voicing what is more natural to the body.
The need to be remembered is equally damaging. It creates a lot of nonsense for our children to clean up.
Don’t ask for the serenity to accept the things you cannot change. Just get on with it.
Do you do things for effect or do you do things for effect? This is an extremely important question, so please take your time. It is such a critical question to ponder that I will now pause for effect.
Faking upwards only works if you have the foundation but lack the self-belief. It does not work if you have loads of self-belief but no grounding in reality.
Negative self-talk serves a positive purpose – to stop you getting positively hurt or becoming positively dead.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Tell me, how do you interpret the part about the tough get going?
Oh! To be able to recover like that every time I get knocked into shape and cut down to size.
Thanks to those empty symbols of fake fertility, I am perpetually suspicious of anything too nicely wrapped.
Don’t be sad. Depression could be good for you. Maybe not the deep kind, but the odd bout of the downers could lift you up.
According to basic science, it is impossible to work from home, so how can it increase performance?
When it comes to making decisions, do you go on intuition and gut feel or do you deliberate and evaluate?
Many a date who kept me waiting had real charms at play, but I have yet to find the charm in those who keep me waiting at work.
We blame the organization when we should blame the individuals who comprise the organization.
It’s time to get high. All this stress and uncertainty, anger, and fear is driving me to it.
You can tell how lost people are by how much time they waste on leaders and leadership.
Unless your business is the art of the new, it is better to teach focused action than free association.
To deal with the information overload, we use mental shortcuts to make quick deductions and draw rapid conclusions.
Trying to make sense of visual art is a good way of exploring perceptions and practicing to see differently.
This cubicle shows how much you respect your employees and visitors, and how much they respect your company.
Can a nice boss really make a difference? Will it boost your confidence, your performance, your commitment? I don’t think so.
Researchers have shown that it can backfire on you to make positive statements about yourself, which you don’t really believe. I think the same happens when someone who sprouts can-do affirmations to boost his aura triggers my nonsense detector.
We all start out with a default setting. What matters is whether or not you have changed yours.
You must be able to imagine the future and to explain how best to act today to prepare for that future.
Multi-tasking works well enough if the outcomes of the different tasks that you are doing at once don’t matter much.
Do you have a pet pessimist at work? Good. Every organization should have at least one.
Go for slow burn, not burn out, in your career, your start-up, your business plan, your relationships and so on.
I’ve always realized the truth in “dress to impress.” What I did not realize is that the person most often in need of being impressed is me.
You might believe that life is a constant struggle, but I commit to success through the Easy Way.
Make a small resolution with huge clout. Meet a real friend a week and be irritated into being a better you.
By all means reach out to others, but please handle the connection with care. Mind your manners.
The older you get, the faster time ticks as it runs out for you. But for a child, the same year can feel like an age unto itself.
How you reacted points to how you are likely to respond to what awaits you in the coming year.
I am disappointed that they refuse to do the American thing. Boost the economy by buying new stuff.
It’s the time of year that sets you wondering. Wondering whether you’ve been good enough to expect a reward from the jolly fat man in the corner office.
If you must project, then at least start with zeros. Zero-based thinking will help you lose your memory.
As with much in life, it’s all in the order of things. Sequence matters. In the beginning was not the end.
The word ‘expectation’ has two meanings. It can mean ‘looking forward to’ or ‘it is my due.’
Here we go again, the time of year that highlights entitlement. Thanksgiving is simply too close to Giveme, that other celebrated family holiday.
We have been conned into believing that shouting a goal will force us to achieve it. Or risk being embarrassed. This is simply not correct.
You want to be a leader? Then be a leader. It’s that simple. However, there’s just one little problem.
Happy chappies with their fake smiley faces and their ‘have a nice day’ choruses annoy me into grumpy retorts.
It seems that every generation repeats the same old debate: should we reward good behavior or punish bad?
Here’s the trick to achieving your goals. When you are running out of time, it’s time to make like a laser.
The closer you are to the center of things, the slower you need to move, the less you need to do, to get somewhere new.
Too often, at least for my liking, I encounter teams that allow people to specialize in nonsense, and to become very good at it too.
All small decisions, if you know the facts, should be dealt with consciously. But in large matters, where facts are missing and things uncertain, you must follow your heart.
The dark side to people skills has always existed. We join the dark side when we assume we are too intelligent to have our emotions manipulated.
What are leaders supposed to do? That’s right, leaders are supposed to create a passionate vision that will inspire me to live up to my full potential.
I get very annoyed when I read a garbled report, a jumbled email or a truncated text message. Surely, being able to write well is a basic requirement for success.
Politics, it seems, is everywhere. It is supposedly a good thing because it helps you to get things done. Actually, it is a way of claiming success without being seen as the snake on the corporate ladder.
Americans are truly strange. So I thought many years ago on my first Memorial Day in the USA.
Are you one of those executive types who simply cannot shrug off the leadership mantle on your day off? Then try these tricks.
Are you going on vacation? Oh well, it will be a complete waste of time... unless you are in time. No, not on time. In time.
August is the month when real managers go on vacation while juniors hold the fort. It is also when a lot of MBWA takes place.
The fear of being held responsible stops many managers from delegating effectively. And thus from having a decent vacation.
Have you seen that ridiculous sticker on the back of big trucks? You know the one. “Safety is my goal.”
Use this trick when giving a talk and you want your message to stay standing even after the audience has left.
The human face is mentally demanding, and so, to focus my brain, I look away. To think.
Your strengths might make you a superstar for a while in one special area, but those same strengths might make you a dysfunctional manager, parent or spouse.
Remember when we had a time limited for work? It was called the 8-hour day and the 40-hour week.
When a leader makes a statement, outlines a plan or offers a solution, followers stop thinking.
What do you do with too many emails, too many text messages, too many articles saved for later? You don’t cut out, shut down or stop saving, do you?
Don’t give up when it feels like you’ve hit bottom. That’s where you find the curve that takes you to the top.
If you want to act a part or show off, then use a stage. If you want to build a solid foundation for a concept or a career, then use a platform for support.
From that day onwards I treated organizational life with a great deal of suspicion, expecting nonsense in every cubicle, corner office and boardroom. I have inhabited them all and nonsense has not disappointed.
Speaking too fast is a common mistake. We know that we can listen faster than a speaker can speak, and so when it is our turn to speak, we speed up.
It is ridiculous for business teams to try to be like sports teams. And it can be dangerous. Here’s why.
Organizations are strange concoctions. They are staffed with people who agree to strive for collective objectives in exchange for individual rewards.
The Chief Nonsense Officer explains why future episodes will be exactly 60 seconds in length. (More on www.nonsenseatwork.com)
What is nonsense (at work)? Why is there a podcast about nonsense at work? Does nonsense have a purpose? How should you react to a podcast on nonsense at work? Answers supplied in this episode. (More on www.nonsenseatwork.com)