#300: Ratting on your future

If you are lucky enough to be going on a summer vacation, keep this in mind. Your dear leaders might not be there when you get back, at least not in terms of ownership. It seems they are jumping ship.

According to data based on filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission company insiders sold far more shares this June than they bought. At least twenty two times more.

Who are insiders? Common sense tells us insiders tend to be the people at the top. The ones with options.

What are we to think of leaders who don’t believe in the future performance of their own companies? After all, these are supposedly the ones with the vision, the strategy and the plans to lead us through the night.

You know what I think? I think as little as possible. Because every time I start to think, I think of what rats do when they think a ship is sinking.


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Ratting On Your Future
(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

Copyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh

299: Dream big what matters

Do you believe in something big? I don’t mean religion, although that does qualify. I mean anything that means more to you than life itself. Or almost more.

Big shakers and movers all have big beliefs. For example, at his treason trial in 1964 Nelson Mandela said that freedom for his people is an ideal for which he lived for, but if needs be he was prepared to die for it.

There are many people amongst us who are determined to live and die for things that are bigger than themselves. Simple things like family and friends. Strangely, there are also many people who are willing to live for a car-too-fancy, a house-too-big, a phone-too-smart and a physique-too-sexy. Or to die getting there.

This summer I hope you are able to take some time off to dream big dreams, think big thoughts and believe in big ideas. I hope you come back to reality clear on what really matters.



I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Dream Big What Matters
(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

Copyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh

#298: Why stupid happens at work

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! Except it’s not funny when you make stupid decisions because others are unwilling to speak up and against.


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Why Stupid Happens At Work
(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

Copyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh

#297: Avoid unhappy good times

Why do so many people stay in jobs they obviously don’t like? Or work in places that stress them out?

Yes, yes, I do know about the job shortage. But that is only part of the reason. You had better understand the other reason before the economy turns around.

The other reason is called cognitive dissonance. You experience cognitive dissonance when you become aware that your attitude is inconsistent with your behavior.

When you admit to being unhappy in your job, your behavior in going to work is inconsistent with your feelings. Inconsistency is a unpleasant. So, if you admit to being unhappy, you will be under pressure from this feeling of dissonance to do something about it.

We all like taking the path of least resistance, which is why it’s easier to change your perceptions about your job than to find a new job. But that’s a trap that will keep you unhappy even when times are good.


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Avoid Unhappy Good Times
(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

Copyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh

#296: First-world hostility at work

I once worked for a retail company in a country that many people in the USA would label as third-world. At the time they would have been right, because that country was then caught up in social unrest.

And yet, that’s where I learned many amazing leadership lessons. Like this one. One day the CEO explained to us why he insisted on creating a really good work environment for all employees. He wanted employees to feel that at least at work they would be safe, valued and nurtured.

At the moment, the USA is going through social readjustment, not social unrest. Never the less, there is enough tension and fear in many work places for these to be labeled hostile work environments. What are CEOs doing about it? Very little because hostility is a tried and tested way of encouraging people to leave.

Can you blame me for sometimes wondering which country is third world?


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of First-World Hostility At Work
(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

Copyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh

#295: Dealing with summer stress

Just when you think you can’t handle any more stress the schools close for the summer vacation. Time to reach for that bottle of painkillers, the one that states ‘take two and keep away from children’.

You can also calm down by trying the following tricks guaranteed to reduce stress or to delegate it elsewhere.

First, aim lower. I have learned over time and at great personal cost that the world will not end if you lower your standards. Not too much, though. They might notice.

Once you’ve mastered that trick the next one will be a piece of cake. Here it is in one word: procrastinate. You have no idea how much stress I’ve saved myself this way. Invariably someone will run out of patience and do it on your behalf.

After you’ve lowered your standards and taken your time, try this one for fun. Never put off until tomorrow what your spouse can do today. Now have a nice day.


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of Dealing With Summer Stress
(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

Copyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh

#294: Become a skeptic

We are beginning to hear lots of conflicting reports about the state of the economy. It’s getting better. No, it’s getting worse. Better! Worse! Did! Didn’t! Did too!

Oh for Pete’s sake! If you’ve had enough already, like me, then become a skeptic. It’s good for you and its good for your business.

By skeptic I don’t mean someone who automatically rejects new ideas. And I don’t mean cynicism either. What I suggest is a return to the original meaning of skepticism. Question all ideas. Use the scientific method to evaluate reports and statements. Ask for compelling evidence. Don’t accept hear say. Don’t automatically trust experts.

Keep in mind that in an ever changing world facts are never final. They are open to challenge and subject to change. Be wise and treat all facts as provisional conclusions.

Remember, don’t take up skepticism as a position. It is a method. Use it.


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Copyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh

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

#293: The other side of panic

Do you remember sixties? That’s when Kris Kristofferson warned that ‘freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.’

I find it interesting that when we lose material things, slowly through loss of income, we panic even though it’s supposed to lead to freedom. I suppose it’s not freedom on our terms. Yet, if we panic for long enough we begin to realize what we truly value. And that is a completely different set of things we don't want to lose.

Here’s my way of telling whether I have panicked long enough to reclaim my values and to recognize what I value. I ask myself five questions.

• Do you live to work or work to live?
• Do your wants put your needs at risk?
• Do you collect things or friends?
• Does size matter more than utility?
• Does providing for your family prevent you being with your family?
  

Your answers will tell you whether you have gone beyond panic.


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Copyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh

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

#292: Don’t fire the relationship

Did you know that customers have relationships with people, not with organizations? Well, that’s something many businesses have forgotten in their rush to fire employees.

Managers glibly talk of their business having a relationship with its customers, but that is an impossibility. One can only have a meaningful relationship with another person. As a customer you may develop a relationship with a representative, but not with the organization itself.

So what happens when that representative leaves the organization? The relationship is over. The business must court you all over again or watch you follow the ex-rep elsewhere, maybe to a competitor.

Many businesses try to lull us into a false feeling of relationship with the organization by ensuring that all representatives follow a common script. Are customers really that gullible?

The solution is pretty obvious. To hang on to your customer, hang on to the person who built the relationship with the customer.



I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Copyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh

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