Garage decor by Casey McCorison. (Only for his own garage!) Much easier said than done, but he did it and it looks great!
Not long ago, when I suggested to a complaining supervisor that he should tell an employee to stop behaving inappropriately and start doing the work he was assigned, the supervisor said, with a sigh,”I know. I know. But, that’s easier said than done.”
A few days later, someone wrote to me about some dietary advice her doctor gave her–advice that could potentially save her from surgery and even save her life. She said, “I know I should follow his advice, but it would require me to change a lot of my eating habits and that’s easier said than done.”
Last week I was talking to a friend about a challenging situation and what action I knew I needed to take. I said, echoing those “other people” who avoided the tough tasks: “I’ve told myself this a dozen times, so I know what to do. Unfortunately, it’s easier said than……” I stopped myself, appalled that I would fall back on the idea that if it isn’t easy I should be excused for not doing it!
The truth is that it’s always easier to talk than to do. That’s why someone once commented, “When all is said and done, more is said than done.”
That’s also one reason the 1988 Nike campaign, “Just do it.” was named one of the last century’s TopTenTag-lines by Advertising Age. It acknowledges our human tendency to put off doing things that are difficult, uncomfortable, challenging or not as appealing as something less worthwhile. The people at Nike headquarters say they have heard from people all over the world thanking them for that motivating line, eight letters long.
What is it that you need to stop talking about and just do it? If you’re like most of us you probably have a list of things you know you need to do, want to do or intend to do, but haven’t done. Why don’t you do one of the things on that list right now or at least start it today? Whatever it is, it will undoubtedly be easier said than done because talk doesn’t take much effort. On the other hand, talk without action doesn’t result in much accomplishment.
Do you know something you need to do about work, a relationship, a habit, a task or a challenge, but it’s easier said than done?
August 28th, 2010
Posted by
TLR |
Keeping On!, Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development |
4 comments
I am always fascinated by old reference books. I have mentioned before that I have a replica edition of the first Encyclopedia Britannica, published in 1771. I often read it to add to research about something much more modern. For example, there will be a full moon on August 23rd. Which is to say, the hemisphere of the moon that faces the earth will be almost fully lighted by the sun. The Pale Golden Marble in the sky will look especially beautiful for the few nights before, during and after the Full Moon, then the lunar cycle starts again. That reminded me of one of the sections on astronomy in my 1771 Encyclopedia.
On the surface of the moon, because it is nearer to us than any other of the celestial bodies are, we discover a nearer resemblance of our earth. For by the assistance of telescopes we observe the moon to be full of high mountains, large valleys and deep cavities. These similarities leave us no room to doubt, but that all the planets and moons in the system are designed as commodious habitations for creatures endued with capacities of knowing and adoring their beneficent Creator.
As the earth turns round its axis, the several continents, seas and islands appear to the moon’s inhabitants like so many spots of different form and brightness moving over its surface, but much fainter at some times than others, as our clouds cover them or leave them.
By these spots the Lunarians can determine the time of the earth’s diurnal (daily) motion, just as we do the motion of the sun, and perhaps they measure their time by the motion of the earth’s spots, for they cannot have a truer dial.
The writer was not correct in his assessment of habitation on the moon or other planets in our solar system. However, what interests me is that he not only believed it, he accepted it as an easy concept to believe.
We tend to think most people of that era were so earth-centric they would not have thought there could be life on other planets or that any planet would have people similar to us. The astronomy writer for the first Encyclopedia Britannica not only thought there was life on other planets, he could picture Lunarians using Earth to track time just as we use the sun.
In a way, I’m sorry we found out the truth. I like thinking of a Lunarian couple holding all six of their hands, sweetly kissing with their antennae, gazing into each other’s eye, then looking across at the Full Blue Marble.
August 23rd, 2010
Posted by
TLR |
Life and Work |
5 comments
Baby birds have to be fed every 15 to 20 minutes from sunrise to sunset. Mother and father birds spend their time getting food, returning to the cheep-cheep-cheep of their babies, popping food in the tiny open beaks, flying out again and repeating that all day long.
This goes on for two or three weeks, at which time feeding is reduced to every one or two hours, then four hours, then after seven or eight weeks the birds are weaned and they are pushed out of the nest and taught to fly. It’s not uncommon to see a relatively large juvenile bird following its mother around hoping to be fed–but she doesn’t do it and the baby has to grow up and feed itself.
Do you have baby birds in your workplace? Many workplaces have one or more people who are like perpetual baby birds. They never have learned to provide for themselves and they don’t seem to care about the effect that has on everyone else. For all practical purposes they are in a nest that looks like a work space and they spend their work hours demanding to be fed.
Unfortunately, many supervisors and managers not only cater to them, they make everyone else do it too.
“Just go along with her. You know how she is.”
“Don’t let him upset you. You know how he is.”
“Do it the way she wants this time. You know how she is.”
“I’m going to stop that very soon, but for now try to deal with it. Otherwise, you know how she’ll be.”
Empowering Not Enabling
When employees are trained effectively and expected and required to be effective in their performance and behavior, they are more likely to become empowered. They can do what needs to be done and help others too. They appreciate support and encouragement but they also have the ability to draw from their own sense of worth and personal responsibility. They self-initiate work and are self-motivated and self-disciplined. They have a strong sense of personal responsibility and are willing to be held accountable. What a pleasure! Supervisors need to be careful that they don’t take those employees for granted.
Baby bird employees are different. They are in the habit of working with their little beaks open all the time–and whatever you give them is never enough. You can hear their cheeping in one or more of these ways–it varies according to the personality, interests and ego of the individual:
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Self-promotion at every opportunity–or creating the opportunity.
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Unreasonable demands.
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Making everything they do a major event.
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Inappropriate actions or disruptive behavior.
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Complaining, sulking, whining or pouting about many matters, big or small.
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Taking the role of a victim–especially a saintly victim.
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Wanting to be in charge or wanting to be considered the expert.
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Angling to be thanked and thanked and thanked again.
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Being hypersensitive to their own feelings and insensitive to the feelings of others.
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Often being in the middle of a major emotional upheaval over minor issues.
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Asking for excessive help, encouragement or support, even after learning a task.
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Taking up more supervisory or managerial time than others but not getting more done.
How To Stop Enabling The Baby Bird Behavior
1. Accept your responsility and the need for a change in your own behavior. If you have allowed the inappropriate behavior even a few times, it will be difficult for you to change your responses. It may seem easier to buy a little peace and quiet by catering to the employee just one more time. Resist the urge. Talk to other supervisors or managers and report back now and then. You’ll be less likely to give-in when you have to admit it to someone you respect.
2. Support the behavior and performance you want to see continue. Thank the employee when he or she handles something the right way. Support other employees fully and let it be seen what you value and what the rest of the organization values. This also helps the mature, self-responsible employee who has been carrying the load but not getting the praise because the squeaky beak got it.
3. Stop the behavior and performance that is creating problems or that you do not want to see continue. You don’t need to do a closed door counseling session–unless you want to and think it is needed. Just tell the employee to stop. If you’ve never done that, you’ll be amazed at how effective it is! There are many ways to say you want someone to stop doing one thing and do something else instead–you’ll figure them out. The important thing is to stick with it like a broken record. It’s your way of saying, “We’re not feeding you any more.”
4. Keep the focus on good work. If you’re not careful you’ll replace the time you spent catering to the employee with an equal amount of time noticing whether or not he or she is still being a problem. Instead, focus on what must be done or could be done or on being more efficient and effective. One really good thing about work: It fills the empty time between arriving and leaving the workplace. When everyone is appropriately busy, there is little time for personal agendas and self-centered behavior. The moment you see time being wasted by the neediness of one or more employees, stop it and get the focus back on turning out a work product, whatever that may be in your business or organization.
When someone has been accustomed to only needing to chirp a few times to get attention, it isn’t easy to change things–but it can be done. Like other professional training and development, it’s for his or her own good and for the good of the organization and everyone else–including you.
August 17th, 2010
Posted by
TLR |
Challenging and Problematic People, Life and Work, Supervision and Management |
9 comments
Be able to prove what you claim to be
Many of us have become accustomed to hearing or reading exaggerations, wild accusations, half-truths, all-lies and urban legends. It seems the world is made up of those who believe it all and those who believe nothing anymore. However, when it comes to work and our efforts to develop professionally, all of us need to be able to show proof–to ourselves and others–about all the positive traits and actions we claim for ourselves.
Apply that concept when you are interviewed for a position–or when you interview someone for a job. Apply it when you are wondering why your good qualities aren’t being appreciated. Apply it when you want to have a reputation for being a strong contributor, a nice person or an expert in an area. Be able to provide proof in the form of examples over time. If some examples don’t immediately pop into your mind, your good qualities may not be as obvious as you think.
• Do you contribute to your work team in a way that gets good results with them and others? Prove it. What are some things you have done in the past and recently, where others in your group have thanked you, asked for your assistance, referred others to you or when your contribution was requested, needed or clearly was a help? If you really are contributing, you’ll have some examples without thinking about it for a few minutes.
• Do you communicate effectively, even when it’s difficult? Prove it. Give an example of a time in the last few weeks when your purposeful communication calmed a conflict, reduced contention or eased a conversation into a better path. To claim it as a full-time trait, you should have several examples.
• Do you do self-initiated work that is high in quality and high in quantity, based on the needs of your organization and your manager? Prove it. Give examples from the last week and going back for several months, of some tasks you have done that were effective, needed, and self-initiated, while you also did your regular, required work.
• Has someone implied you are problematic in an area of your work and you think they’re wrong? Prove it. Rather than asking them to give you an example of what you’ve done wrong, be prepared to give a plethora of examples of what you have done that shows you are performing and behaving correctly.
You get the idea. Anyone can say they have done good work, do good work and will do good work. The person who is actually doing it will have so many life experiences to draw from that the examples are ready to give. On a regular basis, think about what you have accomplished and what it took to do it. If necessary, make a list to help you remember. Keep an active mental file of how you are demonstrating effectiveness every day.
What if you don’t have proof? If you find you have very few clear examples to provide, consider how to remedy that lack. Perhaps you need to try new methods or be willing to learn new skills. Maybe you need to stop doing some things and start doing others. Perhaps you should back off or maybe you should step forward. Talk to a professional friend who seems to be on track or talk to to your supervisor or manager. Ask their opinions about your work and ask for suggestions about how you can be what you want to be in the best way possible. Then, be willing to make changes or adjustments to do things a bit differently in the future.
That way, if you are developing a resume, being interviewed for a new job or a promotion, or being asked about your work, you can say, “Examples? Sure! How much time do you have?”
August 10th, 2010
Posted by
TLR |
Assessment Centers and Interviews, Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development |
5 comments
What year?
August, 2010, with its record high temperatures should make us appreciate air conditioning in our homes and cars. For some it might bring back memories of vacations in the good old days with all the windows rolled down. (It’s a give away about your age if you remember rolling a window up or down–although there are still a few automobiles being made with person-powered windows.)
The first concepts for automobile air conditioning were developed in the early 1930′s (The article pictured above was from a January, 1936 magazine.) Packard refined the concept and put them in luxury cars in 1939 and 1940, but they were poorly designed and couldn’t be adjusted. They cost about $4,000 in today’s money ($274 at the time.)
In 1954 Nash introduced the All Weather Eye, an efficient and effective automobile air conditioner for about $3,000 in today’s money. By 1969 over half of all cars made in the United States had air conditioning as standard equipment. Nowadays the vast majority of automobiles include an air conditioner, although some people are reducing the use of them to increase MPG in gasoline consumption. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory released a report in 2000 that said,
Current air-conditioning systems can reduce the fuel economy of high fuel-economy vehicles by about 50% and reduce the fuel economy of today’s mid-sized vehicles by more than 20%.
If you’re like most of us, you may try to reduce your use of air conditioning but you aren’t going to eliminate it entirely. In areas where the temperatures are in the triple digits this week, it would seem foolish to have air conditioning but not use it–although until the 1950s most people were driving in the hottest climates without it.
As with many aspects of life and work, what was once the norm becomes intolerable and what was once a luxurious miracle becomes a commonplace necessity. Try turning off the air conditioner in your home or car. You may find you can do without it better than you think–even though at some point you will probably turn it back on. When you do, stop to feel thankful that some aspects of the good old days are new and improved.
August 5th, 2010
Posted by
TLR |
Life and Work |
4 comments
