How do you quantify what employee turnover costs your team in lost time, lost knowledge and retraining?
Author: Karl Edwards
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Mixed Feelings About Monday Morning
As the weekend winds down, I’m thinking about the variety of feelings we’re all having about going back to work.
Mixed feelings for me this week. I love the approaching people encounters—some I’ve known for years and a few others I’ll be meeting for the first time. I have certain tasks and deadlines hanging over my head that I’m experiencing as heavy weights for some reason.
Some projects draw me forward, and my energy increases as I get increasingly involved. Some projects nag and accuse, and I resist with childish dread.
How are you feeling about getting back to work this week?
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Listen In -> Bad Resolution Recovery #3: Half-Hearted Intenders
“Oh, did another year go by before I tackled my New Year’s resolution?”
Our third resolution maker is the “half-hearted intender.” This person may love the annual tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions, but ends up returning to life as usual with little change to show for the exercise.
In this week’s podcast discussion, Claudia and I appreciate the strengths of the easy-going, take-life-as-it-comes type of person and offer a couple of suggestions for moving forward on your resolutions without having to morph into some sort of driven maniac.
Listen in.
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Question of the Week
When work product is not as expected, how do you distinguish between a difference in substance (which you would confront as unacceptable) and a difference in style (which you would permit out of professional respect)?
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A Bias Toward Action: What Opportunity Arose Today?
You know how strongly I feel about having a “bias toward action” in effective decision-making.
I found a great series of questions for evaluating unexpected opportunities over on Liz Strauss’ site. She calls it, “The Opportunity Action Test.”
Not an exam at all, these reflective questions help you discern. Before undertaking any time-consuming or budget-busting analysis, spend half an hour running through the list and see whether enough insight emerges for you to make a decision.
At least to go ahead and make your next decision today!
On your side,
– Karl
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When Realism Morphs Into Cynicism
A strength of the cynic is their grounding in reality. Sure, maybe to a fault. But let’s not lose this gem no matter how hidden by the crusty exteriors.
When it comes to wanting change (e.g. making a New Year’s resolution), the resolution cynic actually has the most potential for choosing something within reach.
The disappointment with resolutions may come more from buying into the cultural norm of setting lofty aspirations, rather than from any flaw in the practice of an annual self review.
If you are fed up with resolutions, you may find it helpful to return to your roots, so to speak. What will work? What can I act on today? What are the obstacles and how will I address them?
Instead of giving up and blaming the resolution process when things don’t work out, trust your intuition and take a step back into a more grounded reality. It’s a harsh place, but you are comfortable there and would benefit from approaching change one harsh step at a time.
What do you think?
Listen and participate in the entire discussion on Bad Resolution Recovery here.
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Listen In -> Bad Resolution Recovery #2: “Don’t Bother” Cynics
“New Year’s Resolutions are bunk!” (Usually screamed in even more colorful language.)
At the other end of the spectrum, there are those of us who have given up on New Year’s resolutions. “Why set myself up for failure?” we ask ourselves.
In this week’s podcast interview, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the attitudes of this group of cynics.
The risk, of course, of not scheduling a regular season of self-reflection and change is that in our busy lives we may not get to it at all. That’s a big downside! We may have thrown the proverbial baby out with the bath water.
Join us in the discussion. I think you’ll be surprised at what we can learn from the “Don’t Bother” cynics!
Listen in.
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Question of the Week
How might others’ effectiveness increase if you chose to pause and chat with team members as you walk through the office?
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New Line Cinema: How Greedy Can You Get? Writers Take Heed!
So the big news today is the lawsuit being filed by the estate of JRR Tolkien against New Line Cinema and its parent company, Time Warner. Of an agreed 7.5% of the gross earnings of the Lord of the Rings triology they are due, the estate has been paid… you guessed it… nothing!
How greedy can you be? Not only have the movies and ancillary products earned over $6 billion, the lost interest/earnings related to the delay alone are worth a mounting fortune.
How greedy can you be? The entertainment industry seems to glory in its shame. I’m sure they’re all patting themselves on the back for being able to postpone payment for as long as they have.
Ironically enough, the writers are on strike for a share of the earnings related to what their works are earning on the internet. The studios may as well go ahead and promise whatever percent they like. The writers will never see it. They’ll never be able to audit or gain access to audits of the studio’s earnings. Who are the fools here? Seriously.
I‘m sure New Line Cinema is preparing an articulate set of words (read excuses) to sooth, reinterpret reality, and extend the entire process.
Whatever the legality, it’s an abuse of power. That’s my take. What’s yours?
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Noble Ambition or Self-Sabotage?
We are currently discussing how New Year’s resolutions go wrong. It’s February and we’ve already failed, given up or forgotten the noble aspiration we chose just last month.
In this week’s podcast chat, Claudia and I discuss one type of resolution-maker, those who shoot for sweeping change. On the one hand, I want to tip my hat to those with high aspirations and aggressive ambitions. What a great problem to have, if you can even call it that.
The problem emerges when we observe (if we can take an honest look at ourselves) that we keep falling short of our ambitious goals. Do we make adjustments that will serve us better, or do we keep doing the same things (in the name of determination, of course)?
Today I want to wonder aloud whether the practice of setting out-of-reach New Year’s resolutions may not be a subtle form of self-sabotage.
Are we possibly shooting beyond our reach, so we can at least feel good about the scale of our ambition without actually risking failure at a more modest level? After all, if we fail to reach the moon, at least we were shooting for something impressive. If we fail to make a small adjustment, then we are without excuse and it hurts more.
But by limiting ourselves to out-of-reach goals, we inadvertently sabotage our own chances to effect meaningful change over time. We create a reach-and-fail cycle instead of a step-and-achieve cycle.
Believing that a big reach is better than a small step, we set ourselves up for failure rather than achievement. I say let’s set ourselves up for achievement and look for the steps toward change we can take today.
Listen to the entire conversation here. Or listen to the most recent podcast by clicking on the player in the right column.
What do you think? Am I being too harsh?