Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: integrity

  • Listen In -> Fake Goals #5: Goals That Are Double Standards

    Probably the most subtly evil of the fake goals are the ones which are double standards.

    The goals that you hold everyone to account except yourself.

    As attractive as the option might be to those who think their position entitles them to certain flexibility as regards their own accountability, it is a credibility-destroyer.

    First, double standards undermine any positive motivation your team may have been able to derive out of having a set of ambitious goals.

    Once you remove yourself from the accountable team, the motivation shifts from achievement to measurement; and the focus shifts from working hard to avoiding judgment.

    Secondly, you just fired yourself from the team. You put yourself on a different team. Instead of you being accountable for ensuring the team’s success, you make the team accountable for your success.

    I promise you, they won’t embrace that responsibility enthusiastically. Instead of getting 110% from a highly motivated team, you will barely get 51% (or whatever you passing grade is).

    Listen in.

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

  • Karl Shares Six Words… #30


    His fake promises reassured no one.


    Karl Edwards

  • Thought Leaders Unpacked -> The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block

    thought-leadersWe 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 Acting

    Part 2: Three Qualities
    4. Recapturing the Idealism of Youth
    5. Sustaining the Touch of Intimacy
    6. Enduring the Depth of Philosophy

    Part 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 Me

    Each 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!

  • Listen In -> Bridging the Work-Faith Divide #1: Becoming Whole Again

    So much of life is compartmentalized into purportedly unrelated spheres. Work, family, religion, politics, hobbies, entertainment, etc.

    Until now, a common divide many of us experience is the one between our work and our faiths.

    Bridging the Work-Faith DivideUntil now.

    Until now, we have assumed there is no overlap between the matters of the hands (work) and the matters of the heart (faith).

    We have also assumed that neither should there be any overlap. Because faith is personal, it should therefore remain private.

    Some persons of faith have tackled the question of whether we should take our faith to work with us. They have raised faith issues such as: evangelism, ethics, morality, and integrity.

    In other words, they have asked how to take the topics and vocabulary of the religious realm and apply them in the working realm.

    This week, Claudia and I begin a new series of discussions entitled, “Bridging the Work-Faith Divide,” but…

    BUT!

    Our premise is that the question is more useful if asked the other way around.

    How do we think about the issues of the workplace in the vocabulary of the workplace in a manner that is informed by our faiths? Workplace issues such as: achieving results, working with people, making difficult decisions, improving methods, conducting meetings, and collaborating across disciplines, to name a few.

    Bridging the Work-Faith Divide
    Week #1: Becoming Whole Again
    Week #2: All Work as a Legitimate Calling
    Week #3: Character Formation and Lifelong Learning
    Week #4: Collaboration, Empowerment and Accountability
    Week #5: Becoming a Person of Influence and Impact

    Just now joining the conversation? Catch up on the entire series here.
    Interested in how we can resource your church or organization? Get more information here.

    Listen in.

  • Quote to Consider: Now That’s Self-Awareness

    quote-to-consider“He claimed his modest share of the general foolishness of the human race.”

    Irving Howe

  • Karl Shares Six Words… #18


    Inspired watching the boss stuff envelopes.


    Karl Edwards

  • Loving Monday: Facing Distasteful Realities

    loving_mondayTaxes are due today. Los Angeles City business taxes. While the procrastinator in me wants to postpone the unpleasant task until April 15th when the Federal and State personal income taxes are due, such is not the reality I face.

    In principle I can say that it is easier to face reality than to avoid it. I can also say that the earlier one can face any given reality, however distasteful, the better off one will be on a number of emotional and practical fronts.

    In practice, though…

    Let’s just say it’s easier to talk the talk than to walk the walk.

    Distasteful realities are just that… distasteful. We want to complain about the unfairness of it all, the wastefulness, the extra work, the boring work, or the awful people involved. We want the situation to be other than it is. (At least I do.)

    There is no other way to cut it. No way to make some tasks pleasant. No way to add sugar to the bitterness. No way to remove the sliver.

    The key, I have found, is in learning to receive and accept reality, however (more…)

  • Quote to Consider: Fighting to be Yourself

    quote-to-consider“to be nobody but yourself – in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else – means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.”

    e. e. cummings

  • Question of the Week #25

    What difficult conversation have you been avoiding?

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

  • Karl Shares Six Words… #11


    Skeptical about the training retreat bribe.


    Karl Edwards