Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
Ask any priest, competitive athlete like Michael Jordan, or experienced traveler.
Rituals done with intent bring meaning to life.
They also work, doing things like boosting performance and making things go better.
Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton noted in Scientific American that “investigations by psychologists have revealed intriguing new results demonstrating that rituals can have a causal impact on people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.… Read the rest
Little things count; they frequently count very big.
A recent post spoke to the smarts behind picking the right time zones for multiple locations that optimize work.
This post extends that thought to how workplace shapes individual and organizational performance.
While the Yahoo (and to degree, HP) move to eliminate telecommuting by remote workers was an interesting step, it misses the bigger point.… Read the rest
It’s not Flo Rida, but like a lot of little things that add up to make a huge difference, where you put offices and people is critical for all sorts of reasons.
You want to hit the sweet spot.
Time zones, for example.
A recent call with a colleague left me chuckling as she walked me through the logic of her Shanghai-headquartered company putting their US marketing and sales office in New Jersey.… Read the rest
She has been dead for over a decade and I still remember the first time we met as if it was yesterday.
Over 70, she summoned me from across Liberty Street with a wave of her hand as I wondered what a stranger was doing motioning to me. Newly moved from Chicago, it was definitely not something that would happen in the Windy City unless the person was psychotic.… Read the rest
Gary Allan Hertzberg, the American musician known professionally as Gary Allan, has a song line of “Let’s be naughty and save Santa the trip.“
For the “naughty or nice” standard, it’s a pretty good way to gauge behavior, and one for all of us (you too) to follow.
Exemplary behavior in one person – think Nelson Mandela – is rare.… Read the rest
“Kismet” the CEO asked?
“Yes, kismet,” I said. “The not-so-accidental fact that I’m working with someone who has some of the same strengths and challenges that I have. The good news? I know them well.”
The CEO’s direct report was the client, someone I’ll call “Bob,” did indeed have a skill set that reminded me of me; hardworking, a nose for the business, great rapport with people below him on the corporate pecking order, broad interests and knowledge, smart (well, maybe not that part) and the ability to be too candid when greater diplomacy was in retrospect warranted.… Read the rest