What's Wrong with Work?

My next Quest...

At Taming Tigers we talk a lot about Quests. For us, the Quest (the journey) is more important than the goal. It is through going on this journey, facing up to your Tiger (that voice inside you that roars and says "Don't!") and acting boldly that you grow as a person and strengthen your ability to achieve any goal you want. 

For the past few months my Quest has been very much around the business. Growing at the pace we are growing with the ambitions we have makes my Tiger roar, no doubt about it. But I imagine that is true for anyone who wants to grow their business. 

It is time to add a more personal Quest alongside that. And, because it makes my Tiger roar to even think about it, I am going to tell you. One way of getting the momentum you need to act boldly is to tell people what you are going to do. For most of us, letting other people down is a far worse prospect than letting yourself down so it is very motivating!

For many years I have had bouts of psoriasis. Lately this condition has got worse (working hard to achieve the business Quest above is probably part of the equation). My Rulebook says it isn't possible to get rid of it, the best I can do is reduce it a little. However, that Rulebook has stopped me taking any action until now other than buying vats of moisturizer and applying twice daily. 

So, my Quest is to get rid of it. I believe you can't be cured of psoriasis - it can come back if you are prone to it. But I plan to get rid of the external symptoms by addressing the causes. I don't plan to resort to steroids as this just treats the symptoms and has unpleasant side effects. My Quest is, through natural means including diet, complimentary medicine, hypnosis, therapy, whatever it takes, to be psoriasis free. 

I am open to suggestions about treatments. I have already booked an appointment with a homeopathic doctor on my return from holiday. I am drinking 2 litres of water a day (which is tough for me). I am make-up free when I can get away with it. I plan to relax on my upcoming holiday (also tough for me!).

Any other ideas?

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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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A Tip for Restaurateurs

The recent news that some restaurants are taking waiter tips and adding them to wages to make salaries up to the minimum wage got me thinking.

Restaurant owners must believe it is acceptable to take tips meant for a specific member of staff and include that in the takings of the restaurant. They must believe that the restaurant deserves it because, ultimately, all the waiter did was serve the food. The tip is rarely left for the kitchen staff or the managers.

This, to an extent, is fair enough. It doesn't recognise the specific service of a particular waiter and this could certainly discourage waiting staff from doing anything extra special. But if the tips were split amongst staff in addition to their wages there would be some element of fairness there - a recognition of the team effort required to provide a great experience.

But the restaurants go one step further and deduct the amount of the tip from the waiter's salary before giving them their tip back. This means no matter how good or bad the service you provide you still get the minimum wage. No matter how good or bad the restaurant as a whole, those who prepare and serve the food get the same amount as they would whether diners left a tip or not. 

On a radio phone-in earlier this week I heard a caller say he would not be leaving tips in future, especially as service in British restaurants is generally so bad anyway. 

It occurred to me that this is unsurprising, given the climate that waiting staff work in. They are treated like cannon fodder by their bosses, they are pressured in to encouraging diners to leave tips (in some cases being "fined" if they do not get customers to leave a tip) and then the proceeds are shared out amongst the management. 

How highly motivated would you be to work for an employer who treated you in this manner? How committed would you be, no matter how much you valued doing a good job, if this was the reality of your working life? 

Not surprising that so few people see their career as being in waiting tables. It is hard work for little money and, it seems, absolutely no appreciation or respect from your boss. 

The law will be changing later this year but it will do little to protect restaurant staff. My tip - leave your tip as cash, in the hand of the person you want to receive it.

Guest Blogger - Clare Flynn

Clare Flynn is a creativity expert, a former ?whatif! consultant and one of the founders of Make It and Mend It, a new business focused on learning the skills of making your own and mending it when it's broken. Many of these skills have been lost or forgotten in our drive for "Newer", "Faster" and "Shinier". You can join her campaign by going to the website and reading the blog at http://makeitandmendit.blogspot.com/

Here are her thoughts and tips for success:  

Being Successful in Recessionary Times

If we are to believe the media, we are on the brink of Armageddon. Yes, the signs of recession are visible in the empty shop-fronts now appearing on even the most prosperous high streets and in the jobless statistics and the newspapers and magazines that have suddenly got quite a bit slimmer as they are deserted by many of their advertisers. Despite all this, most people are quietly getting on with their lives. Most people are still in jobs. Many of them are enjoying a healthy improvement in cash flow as they reap the benefits of significantly lower mortgage repayments and now reducing energy and petrol bills.

In recessions successful people get more so. Recessions are great times to start up new businesses. There’s less competition for a start. When everyone else is focused on cutting costs and cutting headcount, it is a great time to steal a march on your competition by getting closer to your customers and cranking up your innovation efforts.

Some of the most interesting new product launches and most successful corporations entered the world in the midst of recessions. History is rich with examples of those that built unassailable gains and rode to greatness in these periods.  New needs emerge in such times: Health insurance was born out of the US Depression as were stereo recordings, digital computers, Monopoly, sunglasses, ballpoint pens and bubble gum, to name but a few. Messrs Hewlett and Packard got their products rolling from the famous garage in 1939. Despite industry in crisis and companies going under, Fortune magazine, the world’s first and most successful business publication was born at the height of the Great Depression. This was a counter-intuitive and risky venture at the time, but proved an unqualified success.

Whilst money may be tight, creativity comes free, as does spending time understanding your customers’ needs. Time spent now hanging out with customers and consumers, observing them, talking with them and listening to them, will yield rich insights about their needs and behaviour that will give a huge edge to your new product and service development efforts and help you hone your advertising messages.

History shows that it is twice as easy to grow share in a recession as in buoyant economic periods. Those firms that succeed in growing market share in this recession are likely to hang on to it, while those that lose it will have a tough and very costly battle to regain ground when things pick up.

On a personal level, I am in the throes of launching a new business and am feeling very excited and optimistic about it. So what are the qualities needed to be successful in tough times?  Here are my top tips:

Frugality: whilst it’s not going to help our high streets, is a great tool to help you re-focus on what really matters. Cutting out stuff, questioning whether you really need something or not, enables you to get rid of a lot of distraction, as well as saving money. You can also find a lot of pleasure in doing things that don’t cost much. It’s more creative, it’s more of a challenge and it’s ultimately more satisfying. Yes, frugality is the new black. 

“Stickability”: hang on in there and don’t give up. Success is born out of many failures. If it doesn’t work, try doing it a different way. If you believe it is right and want to make it happen, don’t let go! Make the future happen. Keep experimenting and keep learning from your mistakes. You may have to double the frugality efforts if you are investing in a new enterprise, or searching for a new job, and on little or no income, but in the words of Kevin Costner’s character in Field of Dreams “If you build it they will come.”

Work bloody hard!: if you want to get ahead and stay ahead you have to be prepared to put the hours in and keep the effort up.

Make time for fun: When times are tough and you are working hard, it’s really important to have plenty of “me time”. Whether it’s curling up with a good book, having a long lie-in at the weekend or hanging out with friends and family, make sure you allow yourself the time to do it.

Eat chocolate!