July 7th, 2008
Hearing stories of abusive corporate behavior infuriates me. Denying benefits after the fact. Groundless layoffs of older employees. Choosing business models that depend on substandard wages, and then blaming the employees for breaking the business when they request a living wage.
The world has no shortage of assholes in power who justify their destructive and inhuman decisions with short term, unverifiable claims to benefit the bottom-line. I know I’m preaching to the choir here. We know and have quantified the long term damage to the bottom line of treating your primary asset—your team—like an exchangable commodity.
My question is this: What if everyone quit? Yes, everyone. What if everyone who worked for an abusive boss said, “Not me. Not anymore. Find someone else to blame for your inability to see beyond your next shareholder meeting.”
How’s that for a negative outcome to their cowardly, short-term, self-promoting thinking? Entire companies shut down all at once. What if that’s what started happening to the bottom line of companies who don’t appropriately value their employees. The story is over. If you care about the bottom line, you will care about your employees.
Unfortunately, not many of us could afford the unemployment transition. Unfortunately, those of us with the least means to survive would suffer the most. And hence their power to continue to their destructive, life-ruining practices.
But what if… What if…
I can’t help but wondering. I can’t help but hoping. Hoping the power tables will turn. That some unexpected, unplanned movement will emerge where there is no negotiation. No threats. No bargaining. Just leaving. Moving on. Going where you are treated with respect, are given an opportunity to make a difference, are appreciated for all that you bring to the job that cannot be delineated in a job description.
What if everyone harmed by an abusive boss or malicious corporate policy simply quit? Everyone. Everywhere.
What if?
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July 5th, 2008
What might you be doing that invites people to treat you the way they do?
The Question of the Week is offered to increase awareness of one’s personal leadership practices and encourage experimentation with creative alternatives.
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July 4th, 2008
Maybe we have not thought much about Satan,
either in glib self-regard,
or in rejection of such silly speculation,
or in a way more urbane and benign
than to imagine such a character.
Except that as we begin our strenuous Lenten trek,
we are aware
that the power of resistance is at work in our midst
that the force of negation is alive and well,
that our best will is contradicted
by stuff that surges
against our best selves,
that we, even we, are prone to our
several addictions that render us helpless.
So we pray in the Lenten season,
give us primitive freedom to
take full stock of Satan and the power of
evil still among us in our prosperity and
wealth and sophistication,
and give us primitive openness
to your ministering angels
who are present with care and gentleness
and great nourishment.
In the Lenten season, give us freedom
to reconfigure our lives
as a testing field between the force of Satan
and the food of your angels.
Enter our lives with power for newness,
deliver us from a sense of naive mastery,
and give us honest contact with our vulnerability.
Enter the deep places of our life and claim us for your purposes.
We would be more free than we are,
more bold than we dare,
more obedient than we choose.
We wait for the gift of your large gift of life
that will wrench us away from death
to the miracle of Easter joy.
Walter Brueggemann
Prayers for a Privileged People
Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2008
(pp. 29, 30)
(Good even if it’s not Lent.)
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July 3rd, 2008
Decision-making requires choices. But choices do not always suggest what decision needs to be made.
We would like our options to lay themselves out neat and tidy as easy-to-compare alternatives where the pros and cons of each translated into a prioritized ranking with the clear winner presenting itself plainly.
No such luck!
Instead, a myriad of unrelated issues collide into incoherent and often contradictory alternatives from which every gain involves its share of setbacks.
My suggestion is to give up trying to make the “right” choice and settle on making the next choice. The next choice can be made over and over again, with appropriate adjustments for learning from previous choices.
Trying to discern the “right” or “correct” choice can quickly absorb a disproportionate amount of time and energy. The “next” choice can be incremental, experimental, and partial. You will be in motion making your “next” choice, which is far more productive than sitting still while searching for the “right” choice.
Do you have trouble making choices when no clear alternative presents itself? I’d love to hear a story or two about a recent decision-making quandary you faced.
On your side,
- Karl
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June 30th, 2008
Some mornings it requires nothing less than courage to face the day.
Our stresses are many. Pressure comes from unexpected quarters. Projects are not turning out the way we planned. Sabotage seems more common than support. The political winds shift against us. Money dries up and options seem scarce. No one answers when you shout, “Where’s the love?!”
Some mornings we simply need to be our own best friend. Say to ourselves,
“Hey friend. I believe in you. As daunting as the day threatens to be, it will be worse for all involved if you don’t show up.
No one else can give the contribution that is yours to bring today. No one.
I know you’re weary. I know you feel assaulted on multiple fronts. I know it’s not fair. But I know you. And you don’t give up. You can’t stop caring. You won’t allow those around you to settle for less than best, and you won’t allow yourself to in this case either.
Someone, maybe even God, has given you to this day as much if not more than given this day to you. It’s time now to face it and engage it. I believe in you.”
What do you say to yourself to muster the courage to face the day?
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June 28th, 2008
We talk a lot about designing your own workplace culture.
But where are the touch points where we can actually make a difference?
Ellen Weber has an interesting post this morning on how to inject an inventive edge in your workplace culture.
Jump over and check out Build Invention into Your Workplace.
On your side,
- Karl
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June 21st, 2008
Who on the team can you go to for honest, constructive feedback about your working style or communication effectiveness? What would be involved in developing such a relationship?
The Question of the Week is offered to increase awareness of one’s personal leadership practices and encourage experimentation with creative alternatives.
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