#349: Good riddance 09!
Good grief! It’s the end of 2009.
No, no, that’s not right. Let me try that again. Good riddance 09!
But wait, we shouldn’t be too quick to kiss it goodbye. If we don’t learn from it, its unlearned lessons will be back. And then George Bernard Shaw will be right in saying that ‘We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.’
So, play it safe. Look back, but look wisely. Hindsight is useless at changing history, but it can be used to help you create a better future.
Use hindsight to see how life happens to you, how your life tends to unfold. This understanding can help you to create a better future. But you must act on this understanding, because it is only through doing, through action, that you gain experience.
And experience is hindsight with enough bite to influence the future. Now we’re ready to say it: Goodbye 09!I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.comListen to the radio version of 'Good riddance 09!'(10 most recent radio files)James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VACopyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#348: Your approach to the great unwrapping
Did Santa pay you a visit yesterday? If so, how did you react, with glee or with gravitas?
How you reacted points to how you are likely to react to the gifts awaiting you in the new year.
A few of us are such control freaks that we fixate on the one outcome we want, the must-have gift, to the extent that we become visibly angry if we don’t have our way. Some of us are attached to the outcome we want and find it difficult to hide our disappointment.
Others are willing to be open to outcome and receive graciously whatever is given. A number of us have become so detached from outcome that we live with passive acceptance and fateful resignation of whatever happens.
Only a few of us are in open anticipation of outcome, visibly excited to engage with any surprise the universe may offer.
So, how did you approach the great unwrapping?
I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.comListen to the radio version of 'Your approach to the great unwrapping'(10 most recent radio files)James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VACopyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#347: Lazy, your country needs you
Listen up, people, it’s time to slow down. It’s that time of year when it is okay to be lazy. Retailers please ignore this message.
The rest of you, it is time to practice being lazy. Working hard gets you two things – more work and tired. What does lazy get you? New ways of doing things simpler and faster, and new products. Who invented power steering? A lazy person, or course! In other words, lazy people create efficiencies and stimulate inventions.
How do we get the benefits of lazy all year round? Practice! Practice makes perfect.
Now, maybe Dagwood Bumstead was right when he said that ‘you can't teach people to be lazy - either they have it, or they don't.’ But you won’t know unless you test yourself.
Here’s how it’s done. Rest before you get tired. Simple, isn’t it? Now practice.
We need many more efficiencies and inventions next year.
I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.comListen to the radio version of 'Lazy, your country needs you'(10 most recent radio files)James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VACopyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#346: Safe to try half the time
It’s the season to be nice and forgiving. So this is the safest time of year for you to try the following social experiment. I call it ‘having fun with averages’.
According to the law of averages, fifty percent of the people you interact with daily are above average intelligence. And the other fifty percent? Exactly! They are below average intelligence.
The law does not identify which half is which. But that is exactly what makes the game possible and so much fun. You get to choose whether they are above or below average intelligence.
Here are the rules. Treat everyone you meet this morning as below average intelligence and note how they respond. Do the opposite this afternoon.
Here’s what I’ve learned playing this game. People tend to behave the way I expect them to. And people tend to treat me the way I treat them.
Now go on, play the game. I’m sure fifty percent will forgive you.
I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.comListen to the radio version of 'Safe to try half the time'(10 most recent radio files)James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VACopyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#345: After the Big Day
Pity poor Santa. He and his team of elves are forced to work harder and harder every year because every year there are more children to please.
And every year they must wait in suspense for that one Big Day to learn whether their performance was good enough.
Sound familiar? Yes, it is your average corporate performance appraisal system. Every year you are expected to do more and more with less, but you are only told once a year whether you were good enough during the year.
You are expected to get better according to something called continuous improvement. Yet, your common or garden variety HR department doesn’t understand why you need to know how you are doing while you are still doing it – while you can still change the result.
Dear HR, let me explain. It is easy to change history in the making, but it is impossible to change history after the Big Day.
Just ask Santa.I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.comListen to the radio version of 'After the Big Day'(10 most recent radio files)James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VACopyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#344: Absence makes the evil thought
As I watch happy families rushing around collecting presents like squirrels gathering nuts, it is clear to me that money is not the root of all evil.
But then I remember the unhappy families, the ones forced by circumstances beyond their control to be spectators to this year’s shopping frenzy. That’s when I know George Bernard Shaw was right when he said that the lack of money is the root of all evil.
More than 50 years ago Frederick Herzberg warned managers about this evil. His research showed that money in itself does not motivate. Rather, it is the absence of money in the form of a good salary that demotivates.
Herzberg was wrong, sort of. The absence of money doesn’t just demotivate. The way our economy is structured, the absence of money makes one desperate. And as I watch happy families spending freely, I cannot help but think a few evil thoughts.
I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.comListen to the radio version of 'Absence makes the evil thought'(10 most recent radio files)James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VACopyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#343: Expecting rewards from the jolly fat man
It’s that time of year again and you’re wondering whether you’ve been good enough to expect a reward from the jolly fat man in the corner office.
Ah, but there’s a catch to the idea of ‘to expect’. The word ‘expectation’ has two meanings: likely-to-happen and ought-to-happen. In organizations, likely-to-happen often outweighs ought-to-happen. In other words, your boss knows what behavior is required, but believes that inappropriate behavior is more likely to occur.
This can cause a vicious cycle. Your boss’s expectation of how you will behave can determine how he or she treats you. In turn, that treatment will affect how you respond, which then reinforces your boss’s expectation.
Some bosses would prefer inappropriate behavior as an excuse not to reward you, but that’s not the bad news. The bad news is that whatever reward you expect, it’s not necessarily based on your real performance.
But maybe, in your case, that’s the good news.
I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.comListen to the radio version of 'Don’t listen to your customers'(10 most recent radio files)James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VACopyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#342: Be secure in your loving
It’s the season to be jolly... but it is not easy to be jolly if you’re worried about job security. So, let’s make this the season to be loving.
Here’s way. Apparently, money can’t buy you love, but being loving can bring you a little security. Let me give you two examples.
Do you like to spend time with people who are hateful and spiteful? I didn’t think so. If you are loving and caring, you are more likely to attract people than to turn them away. In this age of networking, you had better not be turning people off at first meet.
Next, do you love what you do? Colleagues are energized by people who love what they do. Bosses need energized workers. More importantly, customers love dealing with energized people who love what they do. And companies need customers.
Be a little more loving and you will be needed by bosses and customers alike. Now that’s security.
I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.comListen to the radio version of 'Be secure in your loving'(10 most recent radio files)James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VACopyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
#341: Don’t listen to your customers
I have been heard to shout loudly that you must listen to your customers. However, like all of us, I have a dark side. My dark side is very aware that you should not always listen to your customers.
Surprise, surprise, your customer is not always right.
There is a catch. It takes insight to know when they are wrong and guts to go against what they think they want. As Henry Ford pointed out, if he had listened to his customers he would have built a better horse and buggy.
And then there’s the guy who realized that customers did not want an overnight package delivery service because they could not imagine that it could work. That guy gave us FedEx.Market research and customer relationship management help us to learn about and learn from customers. And yet, sometimes success comes from not listening to them. But be warned, not listening does not mean ignoring.I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.comListen to the radio version of 'Don’t listen to your customers'(10 most recent radio files)James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VACopyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh
posted by James Henry McIntosh at
