If you received NO economic benefit from your job. Would you continue to do it?
If you answered “no”, think about what message and attitude you are sending to your clients, co-workers and business network.
If you answered “yes”, think about how this makes you different and unique to your customers, clients, contacts and relationships.
It’s the end of June, summer is in full swing.
For those who live and work in the temperate climates, summer feels different at work.
Summer is different.
Work is not as important or easy to focus on as it was in February with the snow blowing outside.
Work-Life balance becomes a critical issue for many.
All you managers and supervisors, it’s time to loosen things up at the office, especially on Friday.
Everyone enjoys a perk, a freebie or a bit of fun in their life, and this is especially true at work.
Lighten up the summer work environment with the following ideas:
1. Have a random raffle or give away. Give away a book(never a business book), a gift certificate to the coffee shop, tickets to a movie, a CD, never more than USD $ 20. The winner has to be picked by a completely random process (no trivia, or knowledge necessary to win). Giveaway should occur before lunch, no big ceremony, no speeches. Don’t do it regularly. It’s not about you, it’s about everyone else.
2. Go on a coffee run for everyone. You do it, don’t send the office person or secretary.
3. Any big sporting event or local team playing on the weekend? Have everyone pick a winner and final score, give the winner(s) next Friday afternoon off, or buy them lunch next Friday.
4. Really furious about something or someone? Let it wait until Monday. This is a good thing for everyone involved.
5. Let everyone go home early, even an hour will be appreciated.
6. Bring in some summer food and snacks for lunch. No big catered affair, just plenty of good food, napkins and plates and give everyone plenty of time to enjoy it. Don’t forget the summer refreshments (skip the alcohol).
7. In everything you say and do this Friday, try NOT to be the authoritarian boss, be a fellow co-worker. You might learn something about people and motivation, and yourself.
Related Links
10 things you should do on Friday afternoon
We are creatures of habit.
We enjoy and feel comfortable with a routine.
We create routines in our personal and professional lives constantly.
We wake up around the same time, go to work at an appointed hour, drink coffee at a scheduled time.
We tend to focus and concentrate on our specific career area, and in doing so are excluding influences and relationships that matter.
New and different influences and relationships that can dramatically change the way we work, feel and create.
Even our free time is scheduled and programmed.
We read the same papers, watch the same programs, go out at the same time, and surround ourselves with the same people and experiences.
In order to maintain interest and excitement in our professional and personal lives we need to learn, experience or add something New.
Turn the microscopic view of our lives into a telescopic view and look for the New relationships and New elements of influence.
We can’t change, innovate, modify, evolve and grow if we don’t have access to New.
New ideas.
New learning.
New skills.
New methods.
New relationships.
New challenges.
New does not seep into us by accident, it requires active participation on our part.
We must seek it out, experiment, and take chances.
Find it, analyze it, embrace it or reject it.
New does not always make us happy, in fact it can create conflicts and anxiety which ultimately lead to better definition of what we want, or what we are doing.
We can find New in books, magazines, web logs, articles, especially if they are unrelated to our current business.
New can be found by taking a different route to work, shopping in a different area, eating different foods or in different spaces.
New can be found in any person whom we haven’t had a conversation with.
We have to make the conscious decision to break our routines and seek out New.
When was the last time you encountered something New?
When will be the next time?
What can we do today to find New?
When creating our weekly agenda, keeping in mind that we must dedicate time to actively seeking experiences and information that are outside of our comfort zones and areas of expertise.
Find something New today.
Start a list, when you find something New write it down.
Encourage the people around us to discover and share something New.
Watch how New begins to change your life and decisions, enthusiasm and attitude.
Related Links
5 ways to promote creative thinking and idea generation
I’d like to work with Tim Smit.
I determined that halfway through an article in the BBC News article by Peter Day entitled Tim Smit’s Monkey Business
I think it would be quite an experience.
A supportive and demanding environment, requiring the daily application of personal and professional skills.
Optimal results would be demanded, incompetence not tolerated and everyone would be focused on achieving positive and focused results.
Creativity and innovation are sought out and rewarded.
It might even be fun. In fact I’m sure it would be.
Fun and rewarding in the sense that the people working with Tim are doing what they want do to, have the skills to do it, they work with people they like, and are focused on achieving something, together.
That’s a great definition of my ideal workplace.
Take a look at some of his management “rules” for his current project, The Eden Project
We focus too much on specific business skill sets and abilities in business and management as a “guarantee for success”.
We forget that we are human beings, and work and interact with other human beings.
Business is all about participating in a community.
If you, your product or your service is wanted and desired by the community, they purchase it, a profit is probably generated.
We are successful.
Is there anyone who comes to work and doesn’t think they have to have the skills to do their job, to interact with others as a team, and be productive?
Do we need to hammer this into our people any more?
A little fresh air, creativity and innovation is in order.
Time to create a community and social organization, with the goal of creating a product or service.
Creating an active, open environment where ideas can be developed, forcing ourselves to learn new skills, having a relationship with those around us, great ideas.
Keep on eye on Mr. Smit, his project and his ideas.
Some sort of financial, social or commercial success for his project will turn his ideas loose upon us and maybe change the world.
I can hardly wait.
Related Links
How much time is scheduled for thinking in your normal business day?
Do you have a regular time when you take the phone off the hook, avoid interruptions and think about business situations and problems or create plans?
Do you often worry about past, present and future business decisions?
This quotation from Harold B. Walker Think or Worry
might provide some motivation for you to include some time for reflection and thinking into your workday.
“Thinking works its way through problems to conclusions and decisions, worry leaves you in a state of tensely suspended animation” (H.B. Walker)
Get the subject out in the open, describe it, observe it, analyze it, understand it.
Think about it.
Create solutions or action plans to deal with the reality and stop worrying about it.
“You can think about your problems or you can worry about them and there is a vast difference between the two.” (H.B. Walker)
Related Links
There are a number of reasons why individuals and organizations refuse to perform in an ethical manner or raise their voice against unethical behaviour.
6 Reasons why we don’t object to unethical actions or behaviour.
1. Ignored and Ostracized. We will be eliminated from the “group”. Showing opposition to an idea that was created by someone with power or the power of persuasion can result in being ignored and left out of future decision-making.
2. Fear. Not on board with the company philosophy? You might get fired. Fear of unfavorable personal consequences.
3. Demoted. Will lose power, prestige, and income if you speak up or oppose the idea or practice.
4. Insecurity. Perhaps we are not sure if the means justify the ends. Inability to clearly see the situation as unethical or wrong.
5. Reward. We see a payoff (money, power, prestige) that overwhelms our sense of ethics. Justifying wrong in order to receive personal gain.
6. Lazy or uncommitted. Unwilling or unable to challenge the group or idea.
5 Reasons why we should speak up and question unethical actions or behaviour.
1. Be true to yourself. Stand up for your own beliefs.
2. Be a leader. Others in the group might believe the same thing, but are timid or afraid of voicing objections. Create a dialogue and open a discussion of the issues.
3. New point of view. The group might not have thought of the consequences, or not see the situation as an ethics related decision. Open their eyes.
4. Protect the organization. Your intervention might save the organization from scandal, embarrassment, legal and financial problems.
5. Clarify. If you are unsure, voice your concerns and let the group present their case in order to clarify and resolve any doubts that you might have.
Related Links
Is your company noble, moral, ethical or virtuous
Corruption, bribes, mordidas and tips – Doing business in Mexico
I took 2 weeks off for end of the year holiday and discovered several very important lessons.
1. I didn’t read, answer or write any emails during the vacation, I did not turn on my cellular phone for 14 days. Nothing negative occurred, the world did not come to an end and I spent a great deal more time with my family and my thoughts.
2. I had written a list of “to do” items that I considered to be of great importance upon my return. Today I found the list to be 90% irrelevant.
3. I spent the morning going through my hundreds of emails, and found it effortless to answer, delete and deal with a mountain of work. It was almost fun.
4. I have a much more relaxed and patient attitude toward the work that must get done this week/month/year. Not that I want to do it slowly, but I understand what must be done and am going to do it, without panic and anxiety.
Perspective. I have a different perspective on my life and work. That’s what vacations and holidays can provide.
Break up your routine.
Give yourself the opportunity to rest, recharge and refocus.
Get a new perspective on your life, work and problems.
Hell, there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something. Thomas A. Edison
I’ve found the most successful and exciting environments to work, study or play in are those with “no rules”. Environments that are open and flexible and not strictly controlled with things you can’t do. It’s exciting to be in these situations, inspiring, sometimes a bit scary, but always memorable.
Rosa Say has a brilliant read for all managers about how the use (or abuse) of rules often limits our creativity and enthusiasm. What are the Rules? Hopefully, none.
If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results. George S. Patton
It is good to obey all the rules when you’re young, so you’ll have the strength to break them when you’re old. Mark Twain
Related Links
What are the rules? Hopefully, none.
I was watching the movie Risky Business and the following quotation jumped out at me.
“Do you want to do anything meaningful, or are you only in it for the money”.
It appears that others are thinking about exactly the same thing. Take a look at Doing it for Free.
“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.” – Sir John Lubbock
Creating and maintaining a positive attitude is the most efficient and low-cost investment one can make in order to change their life. A positive attitude is a habit and must be learned through repetition and conscious effort on your part.
A positive attitude is not dependent upon your genetic composition. It depends upon your decision to face your world with enthusiasm and to create a positive environment.
We are faced with millions of challenging situations throughout our personal and professional lives. Many provoke physical or emotional pain and suffering. Can you tell me which of these situations will be made easier by being depressed, critical, bitter, angry or apathetic? None of them.
By accepting the reality that we will be faced with many challenges in life, and that we must seek solutions, it becomes obvious that creating and maintaining a positive attitude can only help us. Our problems remain the same size, it does not matter if you react with bitterness or enthusiasm, it doesn’t change the problem.
What we alter with a positive outlook, is our ability to accurately measure the situation and create appropriate solutions. If you choose to maintain a positive attitude you are no longer a helpless victim of circumstance, but an active participant in the creation of opportunities and solutions.
“When you choose to be pleasant and positive in the way you treat others, you have also chosen, in most cases, how you are going to be treated by others.” – Zig Ziglar
Long hours at work can lead to hypertension and death. A study of over 24,000 workers in California by reseachers at the University of California has found that working over 40 hours a week has a direct relationship to higher blood pression and hypertension. Link
The Pope announced that too much work can lead to “hardness of the heart”. He advises that more time should be spent on reflection, meditation, contemplation. Link
What’s the real message here?
Become more efficient. Get the same work done in less time.
Think and plan your work, work SMARTER not HARDER.
Slowing down does not mean being lazy. It requires planning and discipline, and these take time.
Take more time to enjoy life and family, adjust your priorities.
If you are in a leadership position, find out why your people are working consistent overtime, and intervene. You could be saving their lives and improving their health.
Related Links
Lee Iwan Accumulated Experience 
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