Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Author: Karl Edwards

  • Leadership B#llsh&t in a Tough Economy: A New Audio Series Begins

    bossA raw mixture of disappointment and anger motivates this series.

    In the wake of our biggest and most complex economic crisis since the Depression, our business and political leaders are functioning like ostriches with their heads in the sand as if anything they don’t see won’t really be happening.

    Instead of the thoughtful, probing rethink of policies and practices that have proved themselves disastrous, these leaders are simply waiting on the sidelines… continuing with all that we now know doesn’t work and squandering a significant—and possibly limited—opportunity to learn and change in deep and transformative ways.

    More than a personal disagreement about approach, I want to identify these practices out for what I am convinced they are: Leadership Bullshit.

    Leadership Bullshit is the public bravado that those with power muster to disguise their own lack of knowledge, capabilities and integrity about how to proceed forward in these challenging times. They mistakenly interpret those three deficiencies as weaknesses to be hidden at all costs instead of learning edges to be addressed in partnership with their peers, staffs and coaches.

    In this next audio series, Claudia and I have some fun pointing out that the proverbial emperor is wearing no clothes.

    Join the conversation and share your own experiences where the leaders in your life have tried to pull any of the following stunts.

    Leadership B#llsh&t in a Tough Economy
    Week #1: Brainless Downsizing
    Week #2: The HR Cop-Out
    Week #3: The Fine Art of Blaming
    Week #4: Fear & Panic on Main Street
    Week #5: Political Mumbo-Jumbo

    Listen in.

  • Loving Monday: Good Weather Attitude Infection

    loving_mondayThe urban skyscape sparkles from being scrubbed clean. The incessant storming pausing to catch its breath. I want the freshness that is outside to infuse my work and infect my attitude.

    More of us are familiar with dreary weather leading to dreary feelings. What about good weather?!

    clearskiesI‘ve got to tell you, this is the morning to get outside if you’re anywhere near me in Southern California. Crisp, bright, bracing and fresh.

    Don’t even think of disappearing behind those solid walls or settling yourself underneath those oppressive florescent lights until you’ve had a deep breath of cold morning air and an invigorating walk outside.

    When struggling to get back to work on Mondays, we need all the help we can get. It can be difficult to leave the weekend behind. Instead of spending the first part of the day grieving its loss, we can give our attitudes a jump start by noticing and enjoying the special beauty bestowed by the recent rains.

    Give yourself the gift of a fresh start to the week. If the weather is on your side, embrace this fickle friend before it turns. May its freshness restore and renew your energies at work this week.

  • Quote to Consider: The Adventure is You

    quote-to-consider“Rebellion against your handicaps gets you nowhere. Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world—making the most of one’s best.”

    Harry Emerson Fosdick

  • Loving Monday: Facing the Dreaded Day

    loving_mondaySome Mondays are easier to face than others.

    Today is dedicated to the others.

    When we dread Monday morning more than we look forward to it, it’s time for change. Change of job, change of responsibilities, or maybe change in relationships.

    But we all dread Monday mornings on occasion. And on those occasions we do not need to find a new job as much as we need to find a new approach. We need a way to face the day in spite of the strong urge to pretend it isn’t there.

    For those of us who talk to ourselves, our best bet is to remind ourselves that the benefits of facing the day far outweigh the costs of avoiding it. While the feeling is completely the opposite, the facts suggest otherwise. We would be wise to heed the facts.

    We know this. We know that avoiding problems simply allows them to escalate. We know that to put off a difficult conversation is to communicate nonetheless and probably not the message we intend. We know that paperwork does not do itself, and that piles only get bigger when we are not the ones taking them down.

    If today is one of those Mondays that you would prefer not to face, then have a friendly chat with yourself. Remind yourself that the facts are your friends, friends who can be powerful allies when addressed in a timely and direct manner.

    Some Mondays are easier to face than others. All Mondays are better faced than not at all.

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

  • Thought Leaders Unpacked -> What the Dog Saw #4: True Colors

    thought-leadersWhat seems obvious to some is not obvious to everyone. What is a common perception in one generation can seem anachronistic to the next or revolutionary to the prior.

    What-the-Dog-SawIn those moments in between, when something new is emerging, those with a stake in the status quo can find themselves inadvertently blinded by that stake.

    They need the world to stay the same in order to continue functioning as they have, succeeding where they have, and/or exerting power to the extent they have.

    In Chapter #4, Gladwell tells stories of two women who were able to articulate the emerging public perception before either most women or the predominately male leadership of their companies did. The respective ad campaigns were hugely successful for both the many women who may otherwise never have considered coloring their hair, and for their firms who made a fortune.

    Just as interesting, though, is that these campaigns were very different from each other. They were different because the perceptions of one generation are not necessarily shared by the next. The language which communicated beauty and value in one time does not necessarily translate to all times.

    Hence, the need for awareness of people’s perceptions. Awareness to our own perceptions. Blindness to the values, perspectives, mores, ethics, feelings, needs and anything else that contributes to how people perceive reality is the ultimate Achilles heal in these fast-paced times of ours.

    How can you increase your awareness of both your own perceptions and the perceptions of others as they relate to what you are trying to accomplish?

    What was your main take-away from Chapter 4?

    Each Friday I post my reflections from one chapter of What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. If you are just joining the discussion now, welcome! Catch up on the entire series here.

  • Quote to Consider: Upon Achieving Yet Another Birthday

    quote-to-consider“Old age takes away from us what we have inherited and gives us what we have earned.”

    Gerald Brenan

  • Loving Monday: Rhythms of Newness

    loving_mondayHappy New Year!

    Another warm, sunny day for the Rose Parade. A thrilling or disappointing Rose Bowl game depending on your loyalties. Any late night festivities are but a memory.

    This morning most of us fortunate enough to be working are back at it.

    New Year

    In one sense, we’re picking up where we left off.

    In another sense, it’s a brand new year and we’re at the start of something.

    We might be tempted to conclude that New Year’s is a day like any other. We’d be right, though, only in the one sense.

    More importantly would be the opportunity to use the calendar with its annual and seasonal cycles to help us stay fresh, start over, and/or change course. As satellites use the gravity of the planets to propel themselves forward, so we can use the spirit of freshness the New Year brings to propel ourselves forward.

    New energy, new ideas, new perspectives, new attitudes, new approaches, new relationships, new strategies. And on and on we might go. On and on you should go! The new year is an opportunity to use the annual cycle to structure a rhythm of newness into your routine.

    It’s too difficult to be endlessly creative and energetic all of the time. It’s too easy to let busyness and urgencies dictate your priorities year after year while time slips through your fingers.

    Start this year off by choosing to begin or renew three values, projects or attitudes. There’s no need for a huge laundry list of “good” ideas. Neither should you sell yourself short by taking the easy “way out.”

    Seize the initiative. Tap into the spirit of newness that the New Year offers. Design your own rhythm of newness.

    How might you use the New Year to catalyze or renew your priorities?

  • Listen In -> The Career Journey #4: Engaging Fully With Your Own Career Journey

    No one can make your career journey move forward but you.

    Yes, others are involved. Yes, circumstances intervene unexpectedly for good and ill.

    But we cannot wait for circumstances to change or others to act when it comes to our own next decision.

    We need to engage ourselves. Assume ownership of the stewardship of our lives. Get involved. Stay involved. Make our next decision, even if a small one.

    Join Claudia and I as we discuss this final—and most rewarding—aspect of The Career Journey.

    Listen in.

  • Loving Monday: Holiday Hangover

    loving_mondayBack at it after a long holiday weekend.

    Remind me where my desk is, please. What was I working on? And you are…?

    It’s so nice to have a four-day weekend. (I hope you got one!)

    Getting back into the swing of things can be a challenge. The key is to bring the benefits of any rest and relaxation you experienced over the holiday back to the office.

    When we leave the good feelings at home, we end up resenting the return to work.

    In other words we want a holiday hangover.

    But only if the break is a blessing that propels us forward and not an escape whose inevitable end depresses us.

    There’s another break coming up this week. If the Christmas break didn’t work well for you, is there something different you can do to make the New Year’s holiday different?

    What are three benefits you want to experience from the time off this week? Maybe reconnect with an old friend. Get some time to yourself. Read a book. Throw a party. Reflect on the lessons learned this last year.

    Next give yourself permission to pursue those three outcomes. Be intentional. Pick up the phone today. Make them happen. If an initial idea doesn’t pan out, then adjust it and try a modification.

    Finally, go back to work next week with a holiday hangover! Bring the blessings of the break back to work with you. Let the rest, reflections, and relationships spill over into the energy and enthusiasm that makes work rich and meaningful.

    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

  • Listen In -> The Career Journey #3: What If You Were the Most Important Clue?

    We look for vocational validation from so many sources. Evidence, support, credentials, positions, titles, ranks, and on the list goes.

    Who or what will tell us what role, position, and/or field we should be investing ourselves in?

    But what if the most important clue were you? What if it were your own journey of learning and growing, developing interests, expanding skills, and need for ever increasing challenge that could give you the most meaningful information about the next steps in your career journey?

    This week Claudia and I discuss the value of using your own professional development as a crucial, if not central, source of clues for charting your path forward.

    Listen in.