#326: Pay more to sell more

Lately, we have confused ends with means and assumed that efficiency is a worthy end in itself.

No! Efficiency is a means. Ask old Mister Henry Ford. He once annoyed his fellow industrialists by doubling the pay of his manual workers.

History has shown that Henry Ford was no fool when it came to producing high volumes at low cost. Yet, according to modern business practices, he was a total fool for willingly increasing his labor costs. What was he thinking!

I’m afraid that is the point. He was thinking. He realized that there was no point in building so many cars if so few people could afford them. He simply wanted his workers to be able to buy the cars they were making!

Poor old Mister Ford. He could not rely on a bail out or a cash for clunkers hand out. He had to make his own success... by paying his workers more. Of course, today we know better.



I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of 'Pay more to sell more'
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James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
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Copyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh

#325: Information is job power

In this era of frantic job hunting, many people make one of two choices about job information - to share it or to hog it.

I have been a guest speaker at a number of job hunting networking groups. I noticed a remarkable openness about sharing job opportunities and related information. People who had already lost much explained that they share what they know because sharing works. A number had found new jobs this way.

I have no feedback on those who don’t share job information, mainly because they seem to be invisible. I guess they still believe that if you share, you risk seeing someone else profit.

But that’s the whole point. Job information is like love. The more you share, the more you get. If you hide your love, you end up rejected and alone.

If you are stingy with job information, you will be isolated, out of touch and out of reach when employers start calling.


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of 'Information is job power'
(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

#324: Practice being suddenly successful

One thing this sudden economic collapse has taught many of us is just how right Ernest Hemingway was about going broke. In his book “The Sun Also Rises” a character explains that he went broke “gradually, and then suddenly.”

Exactly! That’s how it happened: gradually and then suddenly.

Well, that’s the bad news. The good news is that the opposite is equally true. How do you become successful? Gradually, then suddenly.

Most successful people will tell you that they struggled for quite some time before they became successful. And many will admit how close they came to giving up.

But of course they did not. They carried on and got better at it. That’s what the famous golfer Gary Player meant when he said, ‘the more I practice, the luckier I get.’

To be suddenly successful you must practice success gradually and consistently. And believe me, right now is the right time to practice being lucky.



I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of 'Practice being suddenly successful'
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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

#323: Rolling with the times

What does the saying ‘a rolling stone gathers no moss’ mean to you?

I grew up in a culture where calling someone a rolling stone was an insult. It meant that the person was incapable of holding down a job for very long.

That was a long, long time ago, when people could easily work for the same company until they retired. Today, the speed at which companies create and destroy jobs mean that you have no option but to be a rolling stone.

Common sayings have different meanings in different cultures and even across different generations. Here in America calling someone a rolling stone is becoming a compliment. It means that you are willing to keep trying different things and different places until you succeed.

Being able to survive as a rolling stone has become a strength, not a flaw. Like the real Rolling Stones, we can have ongoing success, if we keep on rolling with the times.


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of 'Rolling with the times'
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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

#322: Business is not sport

Football season is here again and so is my pet dislike – holding up sports teams as models for business teams to copy. It’s ridiculous for business teams to strive to be like sports teams. And it can be dangerous. Here’s why.

Sports teams are trained for only one sport. Team members know exactly which sport they’re playing, how to play it and which rules apply. How simple.

Sports teams wear uniforms so that you can easily spot the competition. They are introduced as your competition before each game. How polite.

Competing teams agree to respect the umpire. Sports umpires tend to be very visible, very loud and very strict. How reassuring.

Best of all, sports teams face only one competitor at a time, at a date and place agreed on well in advance. How convenient.

In business you do not have these luxuries. That’s why I think sports teams should study how business teams do it.


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of 'Business is not sport'
(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

#321: Consistent or stubborn?

When it comes to job hunting, are you consistent or stubborn?

Being consistent at work matters because it enables others to anticipate how you will act. Consistency is the basis of trust. Trust allows you to rely on others to behave as expected and deliver as promised. Ultimately, consistency reduces costs related to supervising and coordinating.

If you always do the same thing in the same situation, then you are being consistent. But what if the situation has changed?

Does it make sense to be consistent in terms of who you were back then? And if you now adapt to this new world, will you be seen as inconsistent and therefore untrustworthy?

Actually, being suspected of being untrustworthy could be the lesser risk. If you are consistently unwilling to adapt, to renew yourself, then you will be seen as plain stubborn.

And we all know that stubborn often creates nonsense at work. That’s the greater risk.



I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork dot com

Listen to the radio version of 'Consistent or stubborn?'
(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

#320:Efficiency can cost too much

It’s labor day and I worry about work. Not only the lack of it but also how the narrow focus on cost control has cheapened it.

Many people think that the point of efficiency is to reduce cost, but few realize that efficiency can cost too much. Efficiency costs too much when society pays the price.

For example, efficiency gives us canned elevator music instead of soaring symphonies; bland warehouses instead of green parks; polluted streets instead of side-walk cafes. 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 do have the power to prevent that. It’s called choice.


I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of 'Efficiency can cost too much'
(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

#319: Don’t only build your strengths

Here’s another little trap to avoid if you are trying to land a job or a promotion.

Many populist life-skills coaches promote the idea that you should concentrate on building your strengths, while ignoring your weaknesses. They argue that you are employed and rewarded for your strengths, not to work on your weaknesses.

This is nonsense. And it is harmful.

If you build one or two strengths then you will be valued exactly for that and little else. Specialists are seldom credited as team players or leadership material, and they are often feared for the power their special strength gives them. And in a rapidly changing world, special strengths have a nasty tendency of becoming irrelevant.

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. Over time, you will be valued more for being balanced and well-rounded.



I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of 'Don’t only build your strengths'
(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