I saw this sign on the door of my nearby OfficeMax and simply had to take a photo. Wouldn’t it be nice if all jobs were posted so honestly?
NOW HIRING: Hard Worker Who Won’t Complain About Everything He/She Is Asked To Do, Three Weeks After Being Hired.
APPLICATIONS NOW BEING TAKEN: Obsequious, fawning sycophant. Other knowledge and skills only minimally necessary.
JOB OPENING: Need steady employee to take the place of the malingering, excuse-making, habitually late one we’re going to fire as soon as he gets here.
As it turns out–nothing is as ever fun as it seems–this sign was for the position of supervisor in the ImPress section (copies and printing). He or she is supposed to ensure accuracy of orders so I hope he or she corrects the spelling on the next Now Hiring sign, from Impress to ImPress.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed seeing the sign and wondered what they would do if someone showed up to say they certainly could impress a supervisor and would like to start immediately.
I once asked my group to help me develop some descriptions for a position into which someone would be transferred. I expected, “must be able to use Word proficiently” or something of that nature. Instead I received lists with descriptions like, “Must be in a good mood upon arrival, not after three cups of coffee.” “Can’t be weird acting.” “Grown up who is not in need of babysitting.” “Approximately well-balanced mentally.” “Can just do the work, please.”
A Challenge
Challenge yourself to think of what others–supervisors, coworkers and clients–would honestly say they want from someone in your job. Their wants may be unrealistic or incorrect for the work, but it can be a good way to consider if you can provide just a bit of it. Think how it would impress them!
January 30th, 2012
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Assessment Centers and Interviews, Life and Work |
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In one of those odd events made possible only by the Internet, I learned about the Oyu Tolgoi mine. The mining company employee who corresponded with me for a time told me that the Oyu Tolgoi mine will have more of an impact on Mongolia than anything since Genghis Khan in 1206!
Mongolia is the world’s largest land-locked country and is mostly high altitude (about the altitude of Denver), has long, bitter cold winters and is dry in many areas. It has a population of close to three million people (population density of about 3 people per square mile). The people are still mostly nomadic, since they travel with the herds that are the primary sources of their incomes.
My correspondent told me, “My tribe raised reindeer, so tourists always wanted to get photos. To us, reindeer were for milk, meat, hides, antlers, hoofs and teeth, so we couldn’t figure out why tourists wanted photos. Sometimes they would give us more money for one photo than we would make in months of hard work.” (The average Mongolian lives on about $1.25 a day. )
Life for many is very challenging as it has been for thousands of years, but the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine has the potential to bring billions of dollars to the economy over time. My correspondent said, “It has already changed my life and the lives of many others, for the better. We are very grateful for it.”
You can see a five minute video about it on YouTube. Listen to the respect shown by the engineers for the Mongolian miners and employees. There is a poem written to express pride in being chosen by Central Asian Mining Logistics (CAML) to work in the mining industry as miners or in other jobs required to keep the mining operations going. I think the translation probably creates some odd phrases, so I smiled at it. However, I was a bit misty-eyed too because it is genuinely sweet! My correspondent said, “It’s all true!”
CAML PRIDE
Proud Mongols’ dream fulfilled with joy
Youth that’s chosen to be employed
People of CAML at Oyu Tolgoi site
Strong and enthusiastic we show our might.
Before the shift we early morning rise
To hug the greeting golden sunrise
The work exhausts me but I smile
And clocks tick time filled with tasks worthwhile.
Divine, the fortune that gave this chance
To bear my employer’s logo on my chest
Great achievements are waiting to be built
On sunny days there, out in the field
Of beautiful, home-country’s youth I’m proud
The company’s objectives they’ll greatly fulfill
In each corner of the globe to have a branch embraced
I raise this Moon-mother’s milk and praise!*
Neat, huh?
*©CAML (An impressive Human Resources company.)
January 5th, 2012
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Life and Work |
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1931 Magazine Cover
We tend to treat the beginning of a new year as though on January 1st, something magical happens that allows us a brand new start on life,work, health, finances and relationships. This year I’ve heard a lot of people express thoughts along the line of “Good riddance to 2011!” As though the twelve months of 2011 had it in for them. If years could talk, maybe 2011 would say to us, “Good riddance to you, you whining, ungrateful, weak-willed human, with your helpless, hopeless attitude!”
Sometimes life and circumstances bring stress, anger, disappointment, heartache and grief. As a result, a day, a week, a month or a year will always have unpleasant memories. We don’t have to be such Pollyannas that we look for reasons to be glad for the truly bad and sad things that have happened. We also don’t need to beat ourselves up unmercifully and take the blame for all of it. But, we will feel better and more able to deal with the future if we purposefully look for the aspects of even sad situations that can give us reasons to be happy or at least, less unhappy.
We can also benefit by seeing how some of our own behaviors and responses created the problems, added to the problems or kept us from responding to the problems effectively–and how we can do differently in the future.
One thing is for sure–if you’re going into the new year with the same old you to deal with all of it you probably won’t get a trouble-free year, no matter how much magical thinking you do.
*If you had habits that caused you problems last year and you haven’t replaced them with new ones, it won’t be the fault of 2012 if your life is no different when 2013 starts.
*If you won’t allow yourself to see even small increments of improvement in whatever it is that has bothered you in 2011, you will see the flaws rather than the good things in 2012.
*If you put the blame on someone else for every upset in your life or work in 2011, you probably will still be griping in 2012. The griping part is bad enough, but what’s worse is that most of us gripe instead of doing even little things to make life better for ourselves.
This is the first week of the new year. If it helps you to think of it as a cosmic event that erases the past and gives you a new chance, think that way. However, you will be better off if you don’t put so much pressure on 2012 and put more pressure on yourself to be the catalyst for good things all year long. Happy New You!
January 1st, 2012
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Keeping On!, Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development |
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This has always been my favorite Christmas card verse, but it means more to me every year. What about you? As you find yourself having more and more old days and old times to remember, do you also find yourself with more old friends and loved ones to think about and perhaps to miss more than ever?
In the next few weeks reach out to those who are still living and with whom you can still communicate by phone or in person. Email is good too, but it’s better to hear their voices and let them hear yours.
At the same time, resolve this year to be important in the lives of others–many others, if possible.
One year–all too soon–2011 will be part of old days and old times. When others think about you, let them have plenty of reasons to smile!
The Nativity scene I display every year.
Cardboard stable from Woolworth’s in 1952–75 cents.
Straw I got from a barn in 1960 (Saved carefully!)
Figures from the 1960s–19 cents for the shepherd.
White place mat bought for $1.00 in 1967,
just for this purpose.
The whole display: Priceless!
December 29th, 2011
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Life and Work |
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When Your Thoughts
Are In Turmoil
When your mind is whirling, twisting and knotted up with worry, fear, anger, doubt, shock or sorrow, the most difficult thing to do–but the thing that will help the most–is to be calm. Not the concept of be calm and carry on, only be calm.
Peace, Calm and Tranquility
In the past I’ve written several articles about seeking peace of mind and holding onto it when you find it. A recent post, on the anniversary of the events of September 11th , was a reminder to think of peace in every sense, work toward peace and let peace be our focus in life and work.
I heard from many people about habits they were trying to stop or start, after the post on Control, Alt, Delete. I also received a lot of emails about the post on lessening the negative influence of the Itchy Socks in our lives. On a more postive note, many people liked the post on faith and holding on, in spite of adversity.
But the post that received the most remarks by phone, email and online, was the one about dedicating time. A special one was from a woman who emailed me to report that around the time she read that article she had reached what she thought was the worst time of her life–a darkly threatening wall that she couldn’t get over or around. She decided to dedicate a day to her son in the military, to see if it helped her get through a work day. She found it so helpful that she started dedicating days to many in her circle of friends and later telling them what she accomplished in their names!
She told me, “I started every day with a moment of prayer to ask for guidance and peace. Then, I dedicated the day to someone. After that, there just didn’t seem to be room for the worry and sadness that used to go round and round in my head all the time.” That was in 2009 and she is still moving forward and being effective and positive.
Get Calm and Stay Calm
There are many ways to gain peace and calm: Through spiritual faith and prayer, while exercising or regaining health and fitness, through quiet time and meditation, by cleaning house or decluttering, through walks, music, reading or a hobby, by becoming closer to a loved one or by eliminating a harmful element in your life. One thing is for sure–trying any or all of those things won’t hurt!
The idea is to stop mental clamor, agitation and disturbance and allow your mind and spirit to level out and be calm. Then, appreciate how good it feels. You can do something worthwhile soon, but for a little while let yourself feel the calm. Do that with purpose every day and you’ll learn to recreate the calm no matter where you are or what you’re doing.
When you hear about, read about and think about things that have the potential to bring grief, anxiety, sorrow or the other negative emotions that gather and grow, stop. Picture yourself turning those off and flooding your mind and heart with peace and calm so you are better prepared to do the things that must be done. That process can add years to your life, joy to your work and other activties and happiness to your relationships.
Give yourself that gift during this Holiday Season, 2011.
November 30th, 2011
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Keeping On!, Life and Work |
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I sometimes see teachers write TGIF! on the blackboard on Friday. A workplace I know has TGIF celebrations every Friday at noon. (And they wonder why no work gets done the rest of the day!)
I often hear people who work non-traditional schedules say, with elation, ”Today is my Friday!” Or, with despair, “Today is my Monday.” I sometimes wonder if their days off are such unalloyed pleasure and their work is so unpleasant as to make the time away such a marvelous experience!
Of course, there are reasons to like time away from work: Sleeping later, being able to have an unstructured day, spending more time with family and friends, going out on a date, staying in on a date, sports and recreation, and just getting a break from unpleasant interactions with coworkers, bosses and customers.
However, it often seems that Monday morning is filled with conversations about the work and hassles of the weekend, not the joys. If a favorite team lost, even Sunday afternoon sports on TV doesn’t stir up fun conversation.
I’ve written before about the names my daughter, Shannon, and I had for the days of the week when she was young. With the holidays approaching and people getting restless at work–and kids getting restless at school–it might be good to remember them, Pollyanna though they might sound.
- Marvelous Monday!! Shannon and I now and then had a special breakfast on Monday to celebrate getting to see friends and talk with them about the fun things we did over the weekend.
- Terrific Tuesday!! With Monday out of the way we could really get busy at school and work. An amazing concept, huh?
- Wonderful Wednesday!! The weekend was coming up, but we could spend two more days turning in good work–and in Shannon’s case, wearing cute clothes!
- Tremendous Thursday!! This was a big day, because we knew everyone else was getting worn down, so we could be the most energized of anyone. Yaaaaay!!!!!!!
- Fabulous Friday!! We made a point of getting up early (for us, anyway) on Friday, so we could go to school, and to work, feeling ready to do well and end the week on a high note.
- Super Saturday and Sacred Sunday: We seemed to always have a good time on weekends, but on Sunday evening we talked about how much fun it would be to get back to school the next day. We were ready for Marvelous Monday!!
There are millions of people who are unemployed (or jobless, as the new euphemism puts it). Most of those people don’t just wish they had a job, they desperately need a job. There are likely millions of people who just as desperately wish they had fulfilling jobs where they are treated decently. Many hundreds of thousands of people are disabled to the point that they will never be able to work at all or to work again as they would like. Many more people are retired and live each day wishing they could be active and useful back at their former jobs.
If you are employed and find fulfillment in that employment in some way; if you have friends at work and a workplace that is tolerable; if you are making enough money that with good money management you can pay your bills and have at least a bit left over, be very, very grateful. Make each workday a day of thanks for your good fortune.
Shannon and I were thrilled to be able to come home, relax and have fun on the weekends, even though often my “weekend” was not a Saturday and Sunday. However, we made a purposeful decision and commitment to not live for only two days a week, while dreading the other five. Every day is a good day. Have a good day at work and school this week!
November 20th, 2011
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If the next person who calls your work phone or who comes to the counter or sends you an email asking for assistance turns out to be a close friend, you’d be anxious to help. If you could make things easier for them, you would. If you couldn’t help in the way they wanted, you’d try to find an option.
That concept is the idea behind the Shane Company’s slogan, “Now you have a friend in the diamond business.” It proved to be so catchy that many other businesses have adapted it. It also would be a great way for us to advertise ourselves and to keep as our approach when we communicate with internal and external customers and clients.
That slogan popped into my head last week when I was talking to a receptionist I have dealt with many times and who has always been unsmiling and flatly monotone to the point of sounding unwelcoming. On my last visit to that office she was looking up my information on her computer and had not smiled, responded to my smile or acted approachable to me or any other client. Suddenly she looked up and gave me blinding smile that transformed her face and I thought, “Wow, that’s more like it!”
That’s when I realized one of her coworkers had walked up behind me. The smile was for her friend, not for me as a client. As I walked away while she was talking in an animated and warm way to her friend, I thought of how different she sounded and how much better she would represent her organization if she showed just half that caring to customers and clients. Even more importantly, I thought about how nice it would be to feel that instead of being greeted by an automaton I was greeted at the front desk by a friend.
Try taking that approach at work and see how differently you treat people and how differently they respond. Notice how much you want to put them at ease and assure them that they will be helped; how anxious you are to do their projects correctly; how you give them the benefit of the doubt if they are a bit difficult to deal with; how you make everything as easy for them as possible. Projecting the spirit of a friend who wants to help has a tremendous impact on others and gets much more positive results.
Treat customers or clients as if they have a friend in your business–you!
November 5th, 2011
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Life and Work, Service to Customers, Clients and Coworkers |
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“Gadhafi is history” a Libyan official said, when announcing on October 20th, 2011, that Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (commonly known as Moammar Gadhafi) had been killed by Libyan rebels. It is the end of a cruel, violent and utterly repressive dictatorship that started in 1969 with a military coup that was, at the time, welcomed by many.
Several years ago I wrote about Ozymandias of Egypt, one of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s most well-known works. That poem speaks poignantly of how most of what we think of as impressive in our lives and the lives of others is taken away by time, until finally nothing much remains. It is a reminder to us to touch as many lives as possible in a positive way every day, as our small way to ensure that some part of our spirit remains forever. I don’t think that is a selfish goal–and it will help us stayed focused on what really matters. In Shelley’s poem he describes Ozymandias as having a ”…heart that fed.” Ozymandias had a heart that consumed rather than contributed. You and I want to be contributors.
Moammar Gadhafi, so it has been said, often referred to himself as “The King of Kings.” I think the title was taken already, so that makes it even a bit more presumptious of him! However, during his lifetime there were many who lined the streets when he drove past and shouted his praises as if he deserved them. (A lesson for us there, as well!)
With Gadhafi’s self-given royal title in mind, I was particularly anxious to re-read Shelley’s poem. Take the time to read it, almost as if it is standard text, so you can fully appreciate the message.
Ozymandias of Egypt
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
At some point, all of us are history. We have no control over that. But we can control a good part of the present and in so doing make a difference in how we are remembered and how much we will have enriched the lives of our loved ones, friends and even chance acquaintances.
Stop for a moment and listen to the sound of the wind whistling around the fallen statue of Ozymandias. Watch as the sand swirls and shifts from there to the death site of Moammar Gadhafi. Then, do something very, very good with your life today!
October 20th, 2011
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Keeping On!, Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development, Service to Customers, Clients and Coworkers |
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Summer is over for many and Winter isn’t here yet. September and October is often a Limbo time. It’s too soon for major holiday planning but you can feel the approach of the end of the calendar year. Summer vacations are over but there seems to be a slow return to what will be a hectic pace to make up for it all. I’ve been sensing some lethargy in people who usually are high energy! (Maybe me, too!)
This would be a good week to make the time–schedule it-and tidy your office or work space, organize your work for the next few days and get some projects off your mind.
1. Take everything off your desk top and dust or wash items. Don’t just shuffle things around, make it look better and different when you put the items back–and don’t put all the items back. Stuff can be very distracting, both to you and to others.
2. Make a priority list of three items only. Three. Preferably three you’ve been stalling on. Do them as quickly as you can and get them out of the way. They might not be three Vital tasks or Crucial tasks, to use that concept. They could just be three tasks that you don’t want to think about anymore. Do them quickly.
3. List all of the remaining projects you must do and when they must be done; tasks you think would be good to do and when you’d like to have them started; things you really would like to get involved with and will if you possibly can sometime. The idea is to see what is hanging over your head with a vengance and what is just self-created pressure. If they’re on a list, you at least won’t forget about them completely, but you can let them rest. You may never do some of them, but you might adapt the thoughts some way.
One way to get focused is to make sure that you are being dependable for those who are expecting you to keep promises about work. After the three quick tasks, those are the tasks that need your attention.
4. Take a moment to do some introspective thinking about what is frustrating you right now that you have some control over. What are some things you can do to move yourself past that frustration? Think hopeful thoughts about the rest of this month and into the Fall and Winter. Let some anger or irritation go. Give yourself some peace of mind.
5. Survey your kingdom–or at least your cubicle, locker, patrol car, work space, or wherever you spend most of your time–and let yourself feel refreshed and recharged about it.
A man who seems very put-together told me last week that about once a month he has to stop for a moment, get things re-organized and say to himself, with a pleased sigh, “OK, that’s better. Carry on.” Make this week your time for that kind of emotionally and mentally healthy activity, then let me know how it makes you feel. Best wishes!
September 25th, 2011
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We distinguish the excellent man from the common man by saying that the former is the one who makes great demands upon himself, and the latter is one who makes no demands on himself.
Jose Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher and essayist (1883-1955)
Most of us want to be thought of as excellent–in our work, in our example, in our efforts and ethics, in our health and appearance and in our outlook on life. We want to be excellent parents, excellent friends, excellent employees, supervisors, managers or leaders. We don’t want to be common in the sense it was used in this thought, as unexceptional, mediocre and unimpressive. (The examples we see of that condition are enough to motivate us!)
Señor Ortega y Gasset was correct: Achieving excellence (or improving substantially) requires making demands on ourselves–perhaps asking of ourselves actions that are difficult or uncomfortable mentally or physically, or that require time and effort. It’s rarely easy. Most of us have to say, ”OK, Mind, Body and Spirit. I want this from you! I know you can give it to me and I won’t settle for less, so do it!”
What do you want to demand of yourself today, this week or in the coming weeks and months? It doesn’t have to be a dramatic accomplishment to be worthy of demanding more. Maybe you need to more consistently fulfill the requirements of your work role. Maybe you need to focus on a new or renewed good habit; or stopping one thing and starting something else; or, being your best self even when you are tempted to be otherwise. It’s all worth the effort, and all of it will give you a wonderful sense of achievement.
Remember, you can’t hint or hope, even to yourself, and expect to achieve. You will have to command, insist and refuse to accept anything less than what you want. That is the ultimate self-discipline that leads to excellence. Be demanding!
September 13th, 2011
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Keeping On!, Life and Work |
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