Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Category: Working Matters

  • Clippings from Don: Dumping the Dreaded Performance Review

    Everybody hates performance reviews. As much is not news to anyone.

    More interesting is the lack of creativity in designing meaningful and effective alternatives. 

    In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, Rachel Emma Silverman takes a look at the fading allure of this rigid, intimidating and counter-productive time-waster.

    Teams need to be able to communicate about their work. Everyone needs to be able to give constructive and timely feedback to those with whom they work.

    The problem with most performance evaluation processes is that they function exclusively as a top-down tool for ineffective leaders to communicate the negative feedback they didn’t have the courage or grace to communicate throughout the year.

    Two major problems result. The climate of judgment and intimidation makes even the most competent employee reticent to be honest about their (more…)

  • Quote to Consider: Two Lists That Need To Be Written

    quote-to-consider“Why can’t somebody give us a list of things that everybody thinks and nobody says, and another list of things that everybody says and nobody thinks.”

    Oliver Wendell Holmes

  • Karl Shares Six Words… #55


    Appreciation was the gift he wanted.

     

    Karl Edwards

  • Loving Monday: Coping with Rain

    loving_mondaySome days it rains.

    Born and raised in Southern California, I am not a natural fan of the rain. While I understand its nourishing, generative, and cleansing attributes, I generally consider it an intruder, a nuisance and an unfortunate complication.

    Some days, though, it rains.

    There is no escaping it. There is no wishing it were otherwise. There is no pretending it has no impact.

    What do you do when it rains?

    Stay inside and suspend your plans? Bundle up and trudge on through?

    I am learning a third way… to welcome the rain.

    While certainly not my preference, rain is occasionally my reality. I can face my reality and make the most of it, or I can bemoan my reality and painfully endure it.

    I can choose to transform the situation into an opportunity, or I can choose to blame the situation for holding me back and ruining my plans. The choice is mine.

    How will you respond if it’s raining when you arrive at work? The choice is yours.

    Some days it rains.

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Quote to Consider: Marry Continuity and Change

    quote-to-consider“Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.”

    Pauline R. Kezer

  • Karl Shares Six Words… #54


    Your report I ignore is late.

     

    Karl Edwards

  • Loving Monday: Getting One Thing Done

    loving_mondaySo many goals for the week.

    So many voices shouting for attention.

    The distractions and demands can confuse us, alter our priorities, or even overwhelm us.

    That’s when I find it helpful to commit simply to getting one thing done.

    One thing that will take precedence over everything else.

    With a single goal settled for the day, other important tasks and issues can be scheduled in light of it.

    Instead of losing your most important priority in the mix of the many important things, it becomes the stable anchor around which everything else can be organized.

    Daily Focus Pad

    Daily Focus PadHave you seen our Daily Focus Pad?

    Three simple questions with which to begin each day.

    • If I accomplish one thing today, that one thing must be…
    • What one complicating reality can I anticipate and head off?
    • What one element can I include in my day that will keep me energized?

    Get a copy for yourself. Or purchase a discounted set for the team. (Click here.)

    Before anything else…

    Before you do anything else, pause and decide what one thing you will commit to accomplish today?

    Give yourself the gift of focus and accomplishment today.

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Quote to Consider: Getting to Virtue

    quote-to-consider“Virtue is what happens when wise and courageous choices have become ‘second nature’…

    “It doesn’t come by accident. It comes through the self-discipline required to do anything in life really well—to learn a musical instrument, to mend a tractor, to give a lecture, to run an orphanage. Or, indeed, to live as a wise human being.”

    N.T. Wright

  • Karl Shares Six Words… #53


    Stunned to hear boss’s first apology.

     

    Karl Edwards

  • Quote to Consider: Courage

    quote-to-consider“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

    Anonymous