#19: Business is simple
I once read about a meeting at a well-known manufacturer of ovens. The CEO sat listening to the discussion about quality problems with the latest model. Sales people reported about unhappy customers; quality control people defended the production team by quoting statistics. Finally, the CEO lost patience and asked, “Are you saying that we are selling ovens that don’t work? Well, get the hell out of here and fix them!”
Indeed, business is that simple.
I am cynical enough to suspect that the over supply of business schools, the worship of the latest management fad and the rapid adoption of business buzz words all merely serve to give management an aura of complexity.
I think this stems from a subconscious yearning for business to appear difficult enough to warrant CEOs earning more than scientists, healthcare professionals, teachers..... in fact, more than anyone else.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
#18: Distractions cause IQ loss
Work bit 1: Being distracted by emails, text and phone messages can cause you a loss of IQ double that caused by smoking pot. This according to clinical trials by psychiatrist Dr Glenn Wilson of King's College London University.
Work bit 2: Not everyone was affected to the same extent - men showed a larger drop in IQ than women. Don’t ask.Work bit 3: Other research has shown that when you are interrupted, it could take you as long as 25 minutes to get back in full swing. Even worse for your productivity is that 40 percent of the time you are likely to be distracted into doing something completely different.Work bit 4: It seems that the main problem is not the interruption, but what it does to your short-term memory. You simply forget what you were doing. Now get back to work, if you can remember what you were doing.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#17: The Trojan horse in your organization
Most people know the Greek legend of the Trojan horse, but not many people know that at least one senior person in the hierarchy of Troy was suspicious of that horse. We know that he was ignored.
Consider a Trojan horse incident in your own organization. With hindsight it should be clear that one of the following situations existed at the time:
A - No-one spotted the threat.
B - Someone did suspect something, but kept quiet.
C - Someone did suspect and did speak out, but was not heard.
D - Someone did suspect and was heard, but ignored.
No organization or team can be effective if any of the above four points apply to it. Obviously, it is difficult to do anything if no-one spotted the threat. But it is always within your power to listen to others. If you don’t, then be ready to welcome another Trojan horse.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
#16: Justice be done
Work bit 1: Remember, justice must not only be done. It must be seen to be done. If you must reprimand someone at work, then make sure others are aware that you did take action.Work bit 2: Some people believe that if you focus on the little details, then the big details will behave themselves. They argue that serious crime was reduced in New York by focusing on petty crime.Work bit 3: If that is true, then it is time to stop people stealing office supplies. According to Spherion Workplace Snapshot, one in five workers aged 18 to 24 do not think it wrong to take home office supplies. The Enron guys didn’t think it wrong either.Work bit 4: Employees stealing from their employers is costing U.S. businesses an estimated $52 billion a year. There goes your bonus in somebody’s briefcase.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#15: Organizations are truly strange
Organizations are strange concoctions. They are staffed with people who agree to strive for collective objectives in exchange for individual rewards. These people agree on a code of conduct and to follow instructions.
Those who don’t accept the purpose as mutual, the codes as worthy or the instructions as valid, are kicked out.
At best, it becomes a place where those who do think differently, learn to conform. At worst, it becomes staffed with like-minded people inclined towards pre-judgement and prejudice.
We have created a place where the person who critically assesses ideas is labeled an obstructionist; where the one who speaks the truth is undiplomatic; where the expert hired for her knowledge is told that we've always done it this way; and where the one who agrees with us and tells us what we like to hear is promoted.
What hilarious nonsense!
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
#14: You cannot motivation others
Work bit 1: Have you ever tried to motivate someone else? If so, stop trying, because you cannot. Motivation is an internal desire. The best you can do is to convince others that an action is desirable; the rest is up to them.Work bit 2: Some mangers still think they can motivate you by giving you a ‘bigger’ job. But there are two ways to make a job ‘bigger’ and their favorite one is to give you more-of-the-same job.Work bit 3: Having more of the same job is called job enlargement. Often re-engineering and downsizing are used to make your job bigger so that you end up working harder - and feeling less motivated.Work bit 4: On the other hand, job enrichment happens when you are ‘stretched’ to take on more of the management and decision aspects of your job. You end up working smarter – and feeling more motivated.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#13: Outsourcing versus sub-contracting
When is it outsourcing and when sub-contracting? Companies that rushed into outsourcing have belatedly discovered that there is a difference. Subcontracting is about efficiency ; outsourcing is about effectiveness.
You should subcontract when an outsider can provide a service more efficiently than you could do it in-house, which is why you can have more than one subcontractor providing the same service. Office cleaning is an example.
Outsourcing makes sense when you need access to necessary skills or expertise that you don’t have to own. What matters now is the relationship between the two of you, which is why you have only one outsource partner for a specific skilled service. Payroll administration is a good example.
However, it is pure nonsense to outsource or subcontract anything that involves contact with your customers.
I like to think that my clients outsource to me because I am good at this. But maybe they are simply exploiting me.I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
#12: Work life balance
Work bit 1: More and more people in rich countries are trying to improve their work-life balance. Much of this is triggered by “Generation Y”, the under-28s, who are less interested in lifetime employment with a single organization and of the sort of work commitment they believe led to their parents getting divorced.
Work bit 2: According to the Hay Group, business-school graduates are looking for a work-style to go with their lifestyle, not the other way round.Work bit 3: At the same time, many employers are faced with a shrinking worker population and tight immigration controls. Some are designing extra perks to lure more talent. IBM has more than 50 different programs promoting work-life balance and Bank of America has over 30.Work bit 4: Many firms remain unconvinced or still think that work-life balance means little more than child care, health care and flexible working. What does yours think?
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#11: Efficiency can cost too much
Here’s a question for you: “Can efficiency cost too much?” Most people think that the point of efficiency is to reduce cost, so how can it ‘cost’ too much? Efficiency costs too much when society pays the price.
For example, efficiency gives us canned mall music instead of soaring symphonies. Efficiency gives us bland warehouses instead of grand cathedrals. Efficiency gives us me-too MP3 players instead of cool iPods. You get the picture.
Inefficiency can be a bit wasteful, but it’s a small price to pay for beauty. And for honest jobs. Don’t forget that the mad scramble for efficiency has given us downsizing, rightsizing and outsourcing, all meaning the same thing - your fired.If we allow ‘relentless efficiency’ to continue unchecked, our society will become inane, uninteresting and uninspiring. As consumers, we have the power to prevent that. It’s called choice.I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2006 James Henry McIntosh
#10: Women in business
Work bit 1: According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, women now own nearly half of privately held businesses in the country. And their companies tend to be more profitable than those run by men.
Work bit 2: Women don’t get venture capital as easily as men. Women tend to talk in terms of ‘us’ and ‘we’, which investors take as a cue that women are not really in charge. It appears that investors prefer the ‘I’ and ‘me’ of men-talk.
Work bit 3: A survey by Deloitte found that almost 75% of 1400 global companies expect a shortage of salaried staff over the next 3-5 years. Come back baby-boomers!
Work bit 4: Or we can solve the shortage the French way. French mothers are paid more than $1000 per month to stop work for a year and have a third baby.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
