What's Wrong with Work?

Cause and effect

An article by Guy Kawasaki in the latest issue of Wired magazine got me thinking about cause and effect. 

Kawasaki writes about Steve Jobs and advises wannabe super-entrepreneurs to interpret Jobs' success not try to impersonate it. 

So - Jobs wears jeans to work. But is that why he's successful? Will you be more successful if you wear jeans too? Probably not.

But will you give better presentations if, like Jobs, you use slides with pictures rather than slides packed with text? Probably yes. 

It can be a powerful exercise to observe people we admire and notice what the causes of their success might be. But we'll end up with the wrong answers if we simply reverse engineer and assume "These are all the qualities of a successful person, therefore, that's why they are successful".

Remember - successful people achieve success because of a number of qualities but also in spite of a number of qualities. Just make sure you don't confuse one with the other. 

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Spotted

I've been travelling a lot recently, which basically involves taking things out and putting things in your suitcase repeatedly and figuring out how the hotel room television works. However, on the plus side I did see copies of my new book, What's Wrong with Work? in a number of airport WHSmiths stores.

  

This is great for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it means that the book is out there for anyone to see and, hopefully, be inspired by.

Secondly, it gives me a sense of pride. 

We often work with teams who are achieving extraordinary things (and are capable of even more). Yet they don't recognise what they are and what they do. I am talking about very senior people who run huge organisations who forget that they have influence, experience, ideas and the power to do something with it.

Perhaps it is cultural but it seems in this country we have forgotten how special we are. A reminder - a simple photograph of some books on a book shelf, a thank you from a colleague, a thoughtful gift or a memento of a special moment - may seem unnecessary for adults who, presumably are above needing a pat on the back.

But given how critical and, I go so far as to say, ignorant most people are about how talented, special and worthy they are, maybe these little reminders are more powerful than we give them credit for.

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My local coffee shop

Anyone who knows me, knows I like Starbucks coffee. When I say that I am reminded of Malcolm Gladwell's comment in a speech at a TED conference that most Americans, when asked, say they prefer their coffee strong and dark but actually buy weak, milky coffee (which is why Starbucks is so popular!). The lesson is: Don't take too much notice of what people say to market researchers!

Anyway, back to the point. It isn't just the coffee I like. It is the staff. Given the choice (even when it is clearly more expensive than the competition) I always choose Starbucks.

The first Starbucks I went to was close to the BBC where I used to work. I was regularly given a free muffin, a free coffee and a free smile by staff who recognised me and knew what I liked to drink. The same is true of my local Starbucks today in the small, market town where I now live.

They know my drink, they know my family ("How is your little girl doing at her new school?" I was asked today), they say hello if they pass me in the street.

And it turns out that "recognition" is authoritative. At a workshop I attended last week run by Sandy Ruddock of The Roaring Mouse (the website is being built now) Sandy explained that, on top of being well-groomed, being a good listener, being quietly confident and having good eye contact, showing recognition by using someone's name or remembering facts about them, gives you more authority in a room.

Not only is it good manners but it makes you seem more worthy of respect. It gives you gravitas.

What is encouraging about this is that it reinforces what we always hoped was true - being a thoughtful, considerate, polite person actually helps you achieve more in life than being underhanded, rude and thoughtless. The workplace culture may seem to demand that we leave our morals at the door and join in with the argy-bargy. But good sense - and overwhelming evidence - suggests that behaving with integrity makes the workplace a better place, and a more successful one.

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Who is this good for?

One of the five frustrations of work (as identified in my new book, What's Wrong with Work?) is what I call mis-leadership. We all want to have great bosses but most people cannot say they do. That means, if you are a boss - a manager, a supervisor, a business owner - chances are people don't think you are that great at it.

That doesn't mean you aren't working very hard, trying very hard, doing what you think is best. But it means that, somehow, the message isn't getting through.

And that isn't the fault of the people who work for you. And it isn't actually your fault. But it is your responsibility.

One question to ask yourself to get on the right track is "Who is this good for?". Before you tackle your emails today or head off to your first meeting or make your first phone call of the day, look at how your diary is looking today and, of every item, ask "Who is this good for?"

That's what the best leaders do. They ask whether what they are doing today is good for anyone - for the business, for their team, for themselves. So much of what we spend our time on is, bottom line, not actually doing any good for anyone.

At Taming Tigers, we always Head in the Direction of Where you Want to Arrive, Everyday (Rule 3). One way to do that is to ask this vital question - "Who is this good for?" and ensure the answer is one you can live with.  

Getting away from it all

I am about to go away for three days with some chief executive colleagues "on retreat". If this conjours up images of meditation, green tea and tai chi think again. It will be more "rigorous debate, black coffee and a trip to the pub".

Our purpose is to step away from our businesses to get some perspective. By inviting trusted colleagues from other businesses to listen, challenge, feedback and encourage us, we all hope to gain better clarity about an issue facing us in our business. 

Each of us will bring an issue we want to explore to ensure we all get something tangible and valuable from the retreat. But the real value isn't the time spent on your own issue. The real value is stopping and thinking for a change. Discussions over dinner may be more important ultimately than the "proper discussions" we have during the day. A revelation while someone else is exploring their issue may offer more value to you than the time you spend exploring your own issue.

Whatever happens, each of us is guaranteed to come away with a real benefit in terms of our mental well-being, clarity of thought and motivation.

It couldn't come a moment too soon! I feel very fortunate to have this outlet and look forward to it all year. But surely it should be the norm for teams, friends, business associates, to spend time away from their businesses thinking about life the universe and business. Yes, it can be a logistical problem - who will answer all the emails while I am away? What if there is a business related emergency? But the benefits far outweigh the difficulties.

Next time you get the chance to step back from your work, let me know. Was it time well spent? I think I can guess the answer.

Forever young?

Anyone who was in any doubt that state of mind played a significant part in our experience of life should catch The Young Ones on the BBC iplayer.

For a week a group of elderly celebrities lived as if it were their hey day - 1975. They had to behave as they would have done then: doing up their own shoe laces, making their own tea, taking dogs for a walk, dancing, working, being social.

The results? They were more alert, confidence, fit and fulfilled by the end. 

This has implications, not only for our attitudes as we get older regarding ourselves and our increasing years, but demonstrates how (in the short space of a week), changing the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and about the world (our Rulebook) has a dramatic effect on every aspect of our lives.

If people in their 70s and 80s can re-write their Rulebook and get an immediate impact, surely we all can.

What stories do you tell yourself about yourself and your abilities? For one week, change the Rulebook and see what impact it has.  

It could be worse...

 

Talent or Practice?

What does it take to achieve an exceptional goal? What does it take to succeed?

A lot of people will cite talent as the big decider. And this is very convenient. Because talent is innate, right? So either you are born with it or you aren't. Nothing you can do to change it.

But I don't believe talent is the be all and end all. What we often think of as talent is actually practice.

And not any kind of practice - deliberate practice. This means focusing your time and energy on improving the parts of your game which need work rather than just repeating what you do well.

It is much easier to practice what you do well, isn't it? Much more fun! But that isn't how you improve. You have to do the hard bit - working on what is difficult, uncomfortable, painful. And that's why so many people give up. They aren't willing to do the hard bit.

So that's good news if you are determined enough not to give up. As you watch your competitors drop out of the race you start to feel even stronger, even more determined to reach your goal.

The CEO of my company, Jim Lawless, has just won the UK record for No Limits Freediving, diving to a depth of 101 metres on one breath of air. Incredible. But does he just have a talent for holding his breath? No. In fact, he only started truly training for the record attempt 8 months ago. You can read about his journey on the Taming Tigers blog at http://www.tamingtigers.com/blog/ 

There are many aspects of life which are out of our control. Raw talent is one of them. But the real differentiating quality of successful people is that they practice.

A budding professional violinist asked his tutor how much practice was enough because his friends were practicing more hours than he was. His wise tutor told him - "If you practice with your fingers, no amount of practice will be enough. If you practice with your mind, two hours a day should be sufficient".    

Call the expert

My secret shame (one of them, at least) is my love of reality TV. Not the Dating in the Dark type but the Location, Location, Location type. Grand Designs, Restoration Man, Mary Queen of Shops...the ones that you can learn something from (that's my explanation and I am sticking to it).

What never ceases to frustrate me though is why people think they can do complex projects like starting a business or building a house without consulting the experts. Architects study for 7 years before beginning at the very bottom of the career ladder and are only let lose on an actual building single-handed many years in to their career. So why would someone with absolutely no experience believe they could build a house?

I am a big fan of experts. I have someone I speak to about dog training, someone who puts up my shelves, someone who does my book-keeping, someone who manages my PR. I have a great deal of respect for professionals who have the experience to quickly solve problems (and anticipate problems) which would take me three times as long because I have to invent the wheel first. Why should I start from scratch trying to resolve a problem when someone else has been there and done that before?

Of course, I am sometimes disappointed. I get frustrated when a builder hasn't anticipated problems and then charges me for the wasted time. I get annoyed when I am told by someone claiming to have years in their field "I've never seen a problem like that before". I am short-tempered when an "expert" leaves all the thinking and problem-solving to me and then charges through the nose for the tiny bit they contributed.

However, by and large I think there is huge benefit to calling the experts. Why don't we do it more?

Well, in some cases we probably enjoy figuring it out ourselves. There is a certain pride in saying "I did my own conveyancing" or "I put that flatpack bed together myself". Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes we just don't anticipate how difficult a job is going to be until we try it ourselves. But sometimes we refuse to ask the experts to help us because we feel it reflects badly on us. There is an expectation today that you should be an all-rounder. You should have people skills and business skills and technical skills and creative skills...

In reality we are all rather one-sided. Admitting our weaknesses or holes in our knowledge or lack of experience in a certain area should not imply failure. It should not undermine what we do have to offer. It should be acceptable to say "This is where I am of more value. And this is where I bring in other people to help". It is only lack of confidence, actually, which stops us admitting when we need expert assistance.

In the workplace, it should be acceptable to admit to the gaps and seek other people to fill those gaps. Pretending they aren't there is a sure fire way to waste a lot of time and a lot of money.

Mental vs physical challenges

A colleague of mine is about to undertake a very difficult and dangerous physical challenge. I can't tell you much about it at the moment but as soon as he starts blogging about it I will let you in on it!

We all admire people who put themselves to the test physically, especially when they are attempting something we ourselves cannot imagine doing - for me that includes anything involving running, anything in the extreme cold or anything which involves doing without a nice cup of Starbucks coffee every day.

It is relatively easy for most of us to imagine what would be hard about a physical challenge. Let's say you were about to trek to the North Pole. You can imagine some of the things that would be tough about that -

• The cold
• The lack of home comforts
• The company of a small set of other people who are bound to annoy you at some time
• The relentlessness and potentially the boredom
• The exhaustion
• The difficulty of escaping should you want to give up
• Missing people back home
• The muscle pain and potential pain of injuries (and the lack of access to a doctor or pain meds or a nice warm bath)

Before you set off you would have to be pretty sure that you were prepared to take part despite all of these difficulties. In fact, you would have to believe that the end result - the sense of achievement - would be worth it.

But how much consideration do we give when we embark on a mental or emotional challenge? When we sign up for a self-development programme or try to bring about a change in our company or in our lives...how much do we think about the difficulties we will face?

I find that people under-estimate how hard these mental or emotional challenges are going to be. And then, when they face the inevitable difficulties, they are unprepared. Emotional or mental challenges are just as likely to be tough and include -

• Feelings of physical discomfort (stomach aches, headaches etc)
• Lack of familiar comforts (change inevitably means stepping outside the familiarity of the comfort zone)
• The company of a small set of other people who are bound to annoy you at some time
• The relentlessness and potentially the boredom (change isn't always interesting!)
• Missing people from your past life
• Wanting to give up or downgrade the success criteria (e.g. "Maybe just by getting this far we have proven enough")
• The pain of growth and change for which there is no medication

I don't lightly make this analogy. I believe this is one of the main reasons we so often give up when we set about making a change to our lives or to our company or to our relationships or to ourselves. We don't think of it as giving up because it isn't as obvious as turning on your heels half way to the North Pole. But it is giving up nonetheless.

At Taming Tigers we are going to ask all delegates to fully commit to the journey they are about to embark on as if it were a physical challenge rather than a mindset challenge.

I believe that, if we fully recognise what we are about to do and face up to the myriad ways we will find it hard before we start, we will be far better equipped to deal with those obstacles when they arise...certainly better equipped than if we entered in to the journey oblivious of the hurdles and pains ahead. Ignorance is not bliss.