Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

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  • Listen In -> The Hard Facts of Working with People #2: People Need to Contribute and Make a Difference

    Many of us, if we were honest, would prefer not to have other people on the team. But we need more arms and legs than we have ourselves!

    So we hire beings to function as utilities, which by their nature are anything but utilities. That is, we hire human beings.

    Hard fact to face about these creatures known as human beings is that they need to contribute and make a difference.

    Take this fact into account as you shape their job descriptions, responsibilities, communication patterns, and performance evaluations, and you will discover the most amazing source of energy, ideas, production and effectiveness imaginable.

    Ignore this fact and you will spend a fortune on high turnover, stagnant careers, negative attitudes, and a bare bones work ethic.

    You can crack the whip all you like. Yell and scream. Threaten and punish. Nothing will elicit anything more than the absolute minimum in effort.

    It’s your choice. Face this hard fact of working with people or not.

    Listen in.

    Just now joining the conversation? Catch up on the entire series here.

  • Quote to Consider: Depending On Your Perspective

    quote-to-consider

    “Vexed sailors curse the rain
    For which poor shepherds prayed in vain.”

    Edmund Waller

  • Karl Shares Six Words… #41


    Glazed eyes betray fake listening technique.

     

    Karl Edwards

  • Listen In -> The Hard Facts of Working with People #1: Replaying a Timely and Helpful Series

    “If I had a nickel for every time someone referred to working with people as “the soft side of business” I’d be a millionaire.”

    What I said several years ago when this podcast first aired still holds today.

    It is precisely because of this disastrous fallacy about working with people that we are replaying this important series during our vacation season at Bold Enterprises.

    Far from being the soft side of business, working with people is filled with hard realities that, unless faced, will undermine even the best laid plans.

    Just because the human element is difficult to quantify and doesn’t show up neat and tidy in the financial reports, doesn’t mean that it isn’t one of the central keys to success in your workplace.

    You invest in state of the art technology. You conduct thorough and ambitious strategic planning. You invest in the best in marketing and sales. You keep a lid on unnecessary costs.

    But too many of us are dismissing, ignoring or overlooking the highest impact investment of all… our people.

    The Hard Facts of Working with People
    Week #1: Facing the Facts about a Timely and Practical Reality
    Week #2: People Need to Contribute and Make a Difference
    Week #3: People Need to Learn and Develop
    Week #4: People Need to Connect and Belong

    Listen in.

    Just now joining the conversation? Catch up on the entire series here.

  • Loving Monday: Lighten Things Up

    loving_monday Yes, work is difficult more often than it is fun. Yes, difficult work can be meaningful and rewarding in many ways even if it is not fun.

    This week, though, I want to focus on making work fun.

    Or at least inserting a bit of fun into an otherwise serious and focused environment every once in a while.

    While I couldn’t resist the image of a full-on practical joke, I’m not suggesting that practical jokes are the best way to bring a bit of lightness into the workplace. (Though I do love the occasional clever stunt.)

    I‘m thinking more of maintaining a good sense of humor. Of being able to poke fun at the ridiculous side of some of your policies and procedures. Of sharing funny stories from home about the antics of your kids or relatives.

    I’m thinking about making ice-cream runs in the afternoon. Of refilling coffee cups just to be nice. Of all standing up and stretching legs at the same time.

    Transform envelope-stuffing into a party. Turn a dreaded deadline into a race.

    Work too easily morphs into pressure and stress instead of meaning and reward. We need to intervene and help everyone keep a sense of perspective.

    Humor is one such tool for maintaining perspective. Keeping things light. Injecting some fun. Enjoying the others on the team.

    How do you lighten things up in the serious world of work?

    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: Eyes on the Goal

    quote-to-consider“Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find his right road.”

    Dag Hammarskjold

  • Karl Shares Six Words… #40


    Stiff arm greeting to approaching assignment.

     

    Karl Edwards

  • Free or Trapped?

    Ever think about how you ended up in the job or career path you are in?

    You might be participating in a family business. Maybe a friend recruited you. You needed a paycheck and grabbed something that pays the bills. You wanted the prestige that goes with your profession. You chose to climb the corporate ladder to get the responsibilities, pay, and status that goes with doing so. You are trying to finance a certain lifestyle. Someone once told you that you would be good at this sort of work.

    What is your story?

    In particular, and the focus of this morning’s reflection, how much choice did you have in the matter?

    Was it the only job that was available? Would any other choice have felt demeaning or less prestigious? Were you responding to family expectations? Were you competing with peers? Were you desperate for any paying work? Were you protecting your job security?

    Whether we feel free or trapped is a huge factor in shaping how we deal with situations at work. Especially all that is complicated and unpleasant in our jobs!

    If we feel free (i.e. we chose our situation and feel we have a choice about whether or not we will stay in our situation), we are much more likely to be able (more…)

  • Thought Leaders Unpacked -> The Answer to How is Yes #6: Enduring the Depth of Philosophy

    thought-leadersWe have lost both the interest and the ability to go deep.

    We simply do not know how to reflect deeply about what is most important to us. In addition, we aren’t even sure that doing so would make any difference.

    So Peter Block asserts, and I concur.

    Instead of exploring the value of and means toward becoming people of depth, though, Block focuses on one of the enemies of depth… speed.

    Maybe these chapter titles are throwing me off. The titles point to a positive attribute, but the content elaborates on the negative forces that work against the titled attribute.

    I find myself anticipating an exposition of the positive attribute (e.g. “depth” in this chapter, “intimacy” in the previous), and come away disappointed when the emphasis is on all that works against intimacy and depth.

    With that off my chest, let me think about the problem of speed in my life.

    The first insight that caught my attention was how legitimate needs for quick action, immediate decisions and demanding schedules can expand without my (more…)

  • Quote to Consider: Counter-Intuitive Yet Wise

    quote-to-consider“Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your tasks.”

    Phillips Brooks