Fate Agrees With Me

The world seems more polarized than ever. That may actually not be true (think World War II for example.) Yet somehow for this generation it is certainly as divided as I can remember. There is another layer of division that seems to show itself to me lately as well…and it’s a most curious one.

As the push to “take sides” on issues becomes more prevalent (are you a conservative, liberal, democrat, republican, etc…) I have discovered that I am no longer interested in taking sides.

Confining yourself to a particular group seems to be a narrow way to view, and experience, the world. Imagine if our workplaces had to take sides? Where would innovation and dissonant thinking have room to create breakthrough ideas?

So then, why is it when we leave our workplaces we should suddenly have a view that we cling to at all costs…defending, arguing over, and perhaps alienating or marginalizing others simply because we are X or Y or Z? 

The other tremendous risk that is taken when we write off those that don’t fit into our definitions of what is “the right way to think” purely based on a label, is that we miss out on meeting really amazing people.

I’m allowing myself to appreciate others with very different points of view than mine. And although I may not agree with them on some things, I’ve made some incredible friends that I otherwise would never have allowed myself to connect with.

How do you view those around you who don’t necessarily look and sound like a mirror image of you?

Thanks for being here.

Jay

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The Negative Impact of ‘Should’

I’m part of a small group bible study that meets each week. Recently we had a discussion on the word ‘should.’

You should do this…

You should do that…

I should have been better…

I should have thought it through…

I should…You should…We should…

That’s a lot of self-talk harm if you ask me. 

Why do we do this to ourselves? Have we all been brainwashed to we believe we are constantly supposed to better at everything? And, God forbid if we’re actually human every once in a while and aren’t perfect, are we supposed to beat ourselves up over it?

This is a new definition of insanity.

Speaking just for me…I put a tremendous amount of pressure on myself normally. Realizing that I’m adding additional pressure because “I’m supposed to be” even better all the time sounds like I’ve crossed the line from a highly driven person to one who has lost his way?

Where are you with your list of ‘shoulds?’

My small group talked through a variety of options…I’d love to hear yours?

Thanks for being here.

Jay

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Majoring in the Minors

I coached youth hockey for a number of years, and one of the most challenging issues was educating the boys on not only working hard, but working hard on the most difficult things.

Quick example…battling it out with a player from the opposite team, but avoiding areas of the ice that may be more difficult (and in this case, physically punishing) were often avoided. Yet, it looked as if our player was working really hard.

The same challenge is ever present for leaders today. Pouring hours and hours into menial administrative tasks, taking endless meetings that don’t add real value, and wasting time doing the same things over and over again instead of advancing bold new ideas is simply deadly.

It looks like they’re busy…sadly, they are simply serving as an anchor holding the organization in place instead of allowing it to flourish.

Who in your organization is driving the AI conversation?

Who is addressing the new expectations of your workforce?

Who is thinking differently about how to attract world-class talent to your company?

Who is the creative one tackling new regulatory pressure?

Hopefully that person is you.

Thanks for being here.

Jay

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Chief Work Officer

 No organization has this role…at least not any that I’m aware of.

We focus on tech; and trends; and hot button issues; and external drama; and quite often a heck of a lot of internal drama too; we can be fearful to hold people accountable because we may bruise a few egos; but…

…how much time is devoted to execute and improve the actual work?

Have we become so ‘busy’ that we don’t have time to do the work?

Often times we refer to “operations” as having this responsibility. Yet, isn’t operations focused on execution and delivery? That feels different than improving how work gets done.

Maybe it’s just me; but I’d love to hear how your organization brought a laser focus to improving work. 

What intentional decisions did you make to dramatically improve how the work is done?

What barriers did you face to gain consensus to make the investment necessary?

How did you measure your success?

Work is a complex concept…thinking about it holistically can make a dramatic difference.

Thanks for being here.

Jay

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Two Things That Drive Organizational Change

I’m back from some time away to rest and recharge. During that break I couldn’t help but think about the world of work, and why it all seems to be so difficult. Conference content is loaded with the challenges we face, how we might begin to climb the almost unclimbable mountain of problems in front of us, and how the world seems to be changing faster than ever (more coming on AI soon.)

And then I heard a comment from Dr. Po-Shen Loh that absolutely resonated with me…one which kept popping into my head last week.

“We should only hire people who have two primary qualities: they love change…and they are incredibly curious.”

That one hit hard. 

Imagine, everyone on your team embraces change and does not get hung up on the petty slogans of “that’s now how it used to be around here” - and, they have a need to learn more, explore more, challenge traditional thinking more.

Wow.

How might the challenges you face be addressed if your team prioritized change and curiosity?

The possibilities are endless, right?

Thanks for being here.

Jay

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