Pink slips misplaced in men’s room.
Karl Edwards
Blog
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Listen In -> Fake Goals #2: Goals That Are Arbitrary
Why be limited by reality?!A second way to master the art of demotivation is by drawing targets out of thin air like, “Increase sales by 20%” (even during a recession).
Why be constricted by facts when you can watch people scramble desperately to achieve what has no grounding in reality?
In this week’s show, Claudia and I look at the pitfalls of setting arbitrary goals.
As helpful and valuable as goals can be, if they are not grounded in reality, then they become elusive phantoms who haunt with threats of impending punishments.
Instead of helping us plan better or motivating us to work smarter, arbitrary goals make our efforts feel meaningless.
A lazy salesperson might exceed their target by the luck of a client’s purchasing schedule, while a hard-working salesperson might fall short of their target by virtue of a slow economic cycle.
In this example, the lazy person would probably be rewarded and the hard worker would be punished.
How arbitrary are the targets you set?
Listen in.
Just now joining the conversation? Catch up on the entire series here.
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Shall Not Have Died in Vain
“‎…from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Abraham Lincoln
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Quote to Consider: Who’s Crazy Here?
“They deem me mad because I will not sell my days for gold; and I deem them mad because they think my days have a price.”Kahlil Gibran
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Thought Leaders Unpacked -> The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block
We start a new Thought Leaders Unpackedâ„¢ series this week with Peter Block’s The Answer to How is Yes: Acting On What Matters.As you are familiar by now, the chief criteria for book selection is that I have to be willing to learn, stretch and grow myself in the topic area.
Block’s premise is that we end up asking the wrong questions when we believe that life, work, and/or relationships are things about which we simply need to master certain techniques and do the “right” way.He challenges the assumption that the answers to life and success are all out there somewhere outside of ourselves, and that we need to go discover them, acquire them, and apply them to ourselves.
Life, though, is not something that one can learn to do “correctly”.
He points out that we actually doubt our own abilities and unwisely invalidate our own unique giftedness by buying into the “how” questions.
These themes resonate deeply with me.
I am one of those people who inadvertently subject my dreams to the practical limitations imposed by those who pretend to know the answers. I also hesitate when the means to making a living are not readily apparent.
I am looking forward to taking a more probing look at what is most core to who I am and what I want to be about.
I hope you will join me on the journey and share your journeys as well. Get a copy of the book now and read along.
The Answer to How is Yes: Acting On What Matters
Part 1: The Question
1. How is the Wrong Question
2. Yes is the Right Answer
3. Defenses Against ActingPart 2: Three Qualities
4. Recapturing the Idealism of Youth
5. Sustaining the Touch of Intimacy
6. Enduring the Depth of PhilosophyPart 3: The Requirements
7. Claiming Full Citizenship
8. Home School Yourself
9. Your Boss Doesn’t Have What You Want
10. Oh, by the Way… You Have to Give Up Your Ambition
11. Care for the Whole (Whether It Deserves It or Not)Part 4: Social Architecture
12. The Instrumental Imperative
13. The Archetypes of Instrumentality and Desire
14. The Role of the Social Architect
15. It’s a Mystery to MeEach week I will post my reflections from one chapter of The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block. My reflections are my own and are intended to generate conversation, catalyze additional thinking and encourage mutual learning.
Welcome to the discussion! -
Karl Shares Six Words… #27
Failure and success renewed their vows.
Karl Edwards
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Listen In -> Fake Goals #1: Goals That Are Vague
Meaningful goals can transform a good idea into a practical reality. Fake goals can undermine and sabotage even the simplest of efforts.Claudia and I are starting a new podcast series this week entitled, “Fake Goals: Your Key to Perpetual Demotivation”.
We begin the discussion in this week’s show exploring how to master the art of demotivation with goals like, “Work harder” or “Improve your attitude” or “Make fewer mistakes.”
Vague goals are a common and quite subtle form of confused communication. You know what you mean when you set a vague goal like, “Your attitude needs to improve.”
But I promise you that you’re creating for yourself hours of arguing over whether or not a vague goal like this has been achieved.
And of course, we won’t leave you with the problem without discussing practical alternatives.
Listen in.
Here’s an overview of the entire series:
Fake Goals: Your Key to Perpetual Demotivation
Week #1: Goals That Are Vague
Week #2: Goals That Are Arbitrary
Week #3: Goals That Are a Moving Target
Week #4: Goals That Are a Dangling Carrot
Week #5: Goals That Are Double Standards -
Loving Monday: Shake It Off
I’m out of my routine.Not that I’m much of a person of routine, but even I feel adrift.
This week was already structured. It was structured around an out-of-town visitor who is not coming to town after all. It was structured around certain tasks from last week being completed… which they are not.
I find myself having to practice what I preach… I have to adjust.
I could let it be discombubalating (yes, that is a word). Or I could quickly settle on a new structure.It’s easy to allow oneself to be thrown for a loop by unexpected changes. The mind is still trying to figure out what happened, trying to recover what should have a happened, and speculating on what might have happened next.
The sooner we can settle on what we choose to happen, the sooner we can be on our way and back to effectiveness.
I don’t need to start my planning all over again. I simply need to make an adjustment. I simply need to make another choice. I simply need to make my next choice.
The longer I dwell on the changes and their effect on me, the greater their effect will be and the longer it will take to return to effectiveness.
I‘m going to shake this off and begin a different project now.
Let me know how your Monday morning adjustment went.
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.
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Quote to Consider: Who’s Building All These Walls?
“The worst walls are never the ones you find in your way. The worst walls are the ones you put there—you build yourself. Those are the high ones, the thick ones, the ones with no doors in.”Ursula K. LeGuin
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Karl Share Six Words… #26
Just stepped into another mushy target.
Karl Edwards