Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

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  • Loving Monday: Going to Work Naked

    loving_mondayIt’s an interesting thought. Attractive to some. Repulsive to others.

    Getting dressed in the morning can be such a hassle. Every day. The exact same routine. Time that could be spent at work (or in bed) is wasted on getting dressed.

    I’m not talking merely of the chore of tracking down the missing sock, choosing which shoes to wear or which tie matches best.

    I’m talking about what “look” you’re trying to create. What sort of part you are looking to play in today’s unfolding drama at the office.

    Some of us are trying to look more professional than we feel. Maybe look older, maybe younger, smarter, more successful, more confident, etc. etc. Some of us are trying to fit in. Show that we belong and are of the status and caliber of everyone else.

    That’s a lot of work each morning! Putting on an entire persona is no small task.

    What if we went to work naked?

    Go ahead and cover up your body, so we aren’t distracted. But don’t spend any time covering up who you are. Dispense with the showmanship, the masquerade, the pretending.

    You will do a much better job coming across as you intend simply being yourself than you ever stand a chance of doing trying to be some imagined ideal of a leader, professional, or expert.

    Think of all the time and emotional energy you will save not meticulously crafting this image each morning!

    Being comfortably and unconsciously yourself frees your mind up to focus on the issues, people and problems that will confront you as soon at you get to work. As a result you will do a much better job of being present for and practically dealing with anything that comes your way.

    You are the best thing you have to offer the team at work. Don’t cover it up!

    Experience the freedom of going to work naked today!

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

  • Quote to Consider: Character Development

    quote-to-consider“You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.”

    Henry David Thoreau

  • Thought Leaders Unpacked -> What the Dog Saw #12: The Art of Failure

    thought-leadersEvery week I feel like I’m saying, “This is my favorite chapter.”

    So this week I’ll say, “This is my favorite chapter… so far.” Are men my age allowed to say, “OMG!” Earthquake to my soul.

    What-the-Dog-Saw

    The difference between choking and panicking. The difference between thinking too much and thinking too little. The difference between thinking when you don’t need to and not thinking when you do need to.

    The first sort of over-thinking interferes with your natural (or practiced) ability to do what you need to do, and tragically you don’t do what you ordinarily would be able to do. The second sort of under-thinking interferes with your ability to put your brain to work when you need it most, and tragically you never get the opportunity to do what your brain would have otherwise been able to help you choose.

    Choking or panicking.

    I almost never panic. I tend to remain calm in crisis, my thinking somehow becomes clearer, and my willingness to act decisively heightens. I’m not sure why that is. I’ll just be thankful.

    Choking, though, is another story altogether. And here is where this chapter was so enlightening for me. When faced with an important interview, for example, I respond to the importance by trying harder. That response has always made (more…)

  • Listen In -> Technology… When Less is More #3: Getting Organized

    Are you buried underneath your own organizational system?

    Do your categories, folders, tags, and lists confuse more than direct? When do all your organizational tools merely become your next mess?

    Organizational software can become the next mess to tend. As if you didn’t have enough to do already.

    When is it more work than help to add another tool to the tool chest?

    The answer is different for each of us depending on our working styles, relative affinity for technology, and our specific practical needs.

    Join Jorge Rosas and I as we discuss how to think about the interface between technology and getting organized.

    Listen in.

    Joining this series mid-stream? Catch up on the entire series here.

  • Question of the Week #13

    What is the difference between having a distinct working style and not being a team player?

    The Question of the Week is offered to increase awareness of one’s personal leadership practices and encourage experimentation with creative alternatives.

  • Loving Monday: Bright Open Spaces

    loving_mondayThe wind-swept skies jump-start my morning with their radiance. Amazing how powerfully beautiful they shine in their crystal clear bright blueness.

    My imagination wanders to images of those blistering winds sweeping through my office. Piles of clutter, stacks of minutiae, lists, books, files and forms go flying away.

    Instead of the chaotic and overwhelming blur of stuff obscuring my vision and oppressing my spirit, there is only the sleek clean lines of my desk. There is open space in which to maneuver, to pace and think, maybe even to dance.

    What if…

    Why not?

    And so I grab three boxes. One I label, “Clutter.” One, “Delegate.” And the last one I label, “Tackle.”

    And being the wind god that I am, I don’t waste time pondering over the labels, but with broad strokes of my forearm I sweep across the ravaged surfaces of my domain and watch as the piles delightfully disappear into the “Clutter” box.

    Once in a while I notice an important item go flying from being lost on my desk to possibly being lost in the “Clutter” box, and I pause.

    It is practically impossible to hold onto, the wind is pounding so hard. The gale forces of this wind god’s focused fury insist that these important items be released nonetheless. And thus the “Delegate” box gets a small portion of this office’s hoard.

    Most rarely of all, as the storm continues, is the item so important that it can neither continue being lost nor be passed on to another. And any matter so exceptional and crucial can only be placed in the “Tackle” box. There is nothing to be done with these items except to do them. Right now. Before doing anything else. Tackle them.

    Now it’s time to step into your bright and refreshingly clean workspace…

    …and dance.

    – Karl Edwards

  • Quote to Consider: Getting Over It

    quote-to-consider“The best way out is always through.”

    Robert Frost

  • Thought Leaders Unpacked -> What the Dog Saw #11: Connecting the Dots

    thought-leaders20/20 hindsight is a boon for lazy and irresponsible journalists.

    While the intelligence services have to sift through thousands of clues, leads, chatter, patterns, and threats across a variety of agencies with diverse mandates and structures before any of an infinite number of possible futures unfolds, the journalist simply waits until after-the-fact and then follows the maze backwards to suggest (fallaciously) that the actual course of events was evident all along.

    What-the-Dog-SawI am growing in my appreciation for how deftly Gladwell is able to keep me intellectually honest.

    In example after example in this week’s chapter Gladwell gets into the shoes of those operating before-the-fact. From the perspective of those for whom the thousands of clues, (some legitimate, some not) may or may not in fact be connected radically impacts how we evaluate the efficacy of their work.

    The lazy journalist is able to accuse the intelligence services of failure (and make a lot of money doing so, I might add), because they did not see before-the-fact what seems so obvious after-the-fact.

    One set of professionals (intelligence services) gets accused of bungling their jobs because another set of professionals (journalists) actually bungles their job.

    If there is any dynamic that those of us in the writing professions should be the most aware, it is the power of perspective, point of view, and knowing full well how deeply the interpretation of the story is influenced by how you choose to tell the story.

    It’s a shame that in matters as grave as national security, some of our public story-tellers are lazy and irresponsible.

    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.

  • Question of the Week #12

    How do you use your intuition as a tool in decision-making?

    The Question of the Week is offered to increase awareness of one’s personal leadership practices and encourage experimentation with creative alternatives.

  • Listen In -> Technology… When Less is More #2: Getting Work Done

    More features does not mean getting more done.

    Do you spend more time writing your report or formatting it? More time using your software or learning how to use it?

    The point is, you’re trying to get work done. You’re looking for tools that will help to that end.

    Having all the features may or may not help get you there. And should those layers and layers of features, in fact, get in the way, then they have become your sabotaging enemy instead of your facilitating friend!

    How do we think about what tools we need to best get our work done?

    Listen in.

    Joining this series mid-stream? Catch up on the entire series here.