Return on Life: In Difficult Times, Choose to Lead

I've been reading lately about workplace negativity. Given our current economic climate, workplace negativity is on the rise and it costs companies millions each year in productivity. One book in particular focuses on how to build a workplace with high morale ("Building a High Morale Workplace" by Anne Bruce). The book includes a discussion of the two types of managers that emerge in a crisis: those that get stuck in the crisis, unable to rebound from it, and those who rise above it all, refusing to be defeated.

Clearly, the managers who rise above help everyone around them move through the crisis more quickly. They do it by being well prepared, knowing how to mobilize help quickly, and by deliberately drawing on the passion, energy and inspiration of those around them. They keep everyone well informed and tell the truth. So by being proactive and focusing on what is going well and what can be done going forward to deal with the situation, rather than dwelling on what has gone wrong, they help everyone become more productive again much more quickly.

What I realized as I read this is that it is not just the manager (or other official leader) who can take on this role. Even if you are not the official leader of a team dealing with difficult times, you can be an "unofficial" leader by adopting the same attitudes of proactivity and looking toward the future. In this difficult economic time, the stress and strain of lost jobs, increased work load due to reductions in staff, and limited access to credit, focus on being part of the solution. Be sure you don't get stuck in the worry and negativity, but focus your time and attention on what IS good (and there's a LOT that is), and what can be done to deal with the problem areas.

You'll be amazed at how your mood lifts, and the effect it has on everyone around you - at work AND at home!

Return on Life: Play hooky without the guilt!

I am a huge proponent of planning your time. Every week, spend an hour planning strategically and tactically for the week ahead. Every day, spend a few minutes making tactical adjustments. Then, to increase your return on life, play hooky occasionally!

One of my three brothers, the one who lives about a 4 hour drive away, called late Wednesday evening. Thursday was a day off for him, and he needed to get out of town. The Pittsburgh Pirates were playing at home that day, so he called to check the weather, considering a day-trip to see the game. As I was checking on the weather, I began thinking "I only have one meeting and it's in the morning. I could go with him!" So I did. We had a great day: the weather was beautiful, we got free t-shirts, and we thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. Pirates lost, but I didn't expect perfection from the day.

But here's the key to playing hooky without regrets: Before I made the decision to take off and "play" on Thursday, I looked at what I was supposed to be getting done that day and decided when I was going to do it instead. I didn't just leave to it to chance that I could absorb it somewhere along the way. Given some current constraints on my schedule, a good chunk of it will need to get done this Sunday. But that's perfectly ok. It's a perfectly acceptable tradeoff for spending time with my brother, which happens to infrequently. And it was great to do it without feeling guilty about the work I wasn't getting done.

So, plan your time carefully, allow yourself some spontaneity without guilt, and still stay on track for your goals!

Return on Life: Error in judgement or just a lie?

While running on the treadmill this afternoon, I happened to catch a story on CNN about a former Citigroup/Smith Barney broker, Ann Halloran. (Disclosure up front--all the information I have was presented in the brief presentation and interview I watched live. I'm basing my comments on that information only). Halloran had been fired and required to return over $300,000 bonus previously paid for falsifying information. According to the story, on her application when she had joined the firm over 20 years ago, she had indicated that she had graduated from a college that she never even attended. Halloran has her lawyers fighting Citigroup's action as unfair, portraying the falsification as an "error in judgement" which she made simply because she was embarrassed that she did not have a college degree. This, even though she was being hired as an assistant. To her credit, she rose through the ranks and had a wonderful career as an investment advisor, with nary a client complaint. Due to her illustrious career, the time which has passed, and the fact that it was a "little white lie" (in the words of the reporter), the gist of the story was that perhaps Citigroup was being overly reactive, and perhaps they only wanted to take the bonus back because of their recent financial troubles.

While I would agree that it's not appropriate to overreact and make more of a situation than is called for, I just can't agree that lying about your college education is a small matter. And, I'm guessing (although I don't actually know) that there is some sort of employment agreement or employee policy manual in place at Citigroup that states that falsifying information, even of this nature, is grounds for dismissal and revocation of bonuses. While the company has other issues and perhaps shows signs of poor decisions (some of which might actually also violate company code--who knows?), in my mind, that has no bearing on the fact that Halloran lied on her application, which is against company policy. I was incensed that she was playing the victim and I hope against hope that she does not win the lawsuit. I don't wish her ill, and I understand that this will likely preclude her working as an investment advisor again, but she should have thought through that 20 years ago (when she was apparently already in her forties) before she presented completely false information. Corporate America does plenty of things wrong and makes plenty of bad decisions, but let's not make it tougher for them when they make a good ethical decision and try to stand by their principles. We ought not punish good behavior!

What do you think?

Return on Life: Realistic Optimism

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I am very much an optimist. You know that I believe that we can all accomplish more than we would ever imagine if we dream big and follow our hearts. However, as much of an optimist as I am, I am still a realist and you need to be as well. Don't ever limit your dreams, but don't forget to consider the facts. Case in point:

In traveling via airplane, you may be optimistic that you will be allow to actually carry all of your carry on luggage with you, stowing it IN the plane with you rather than pre-checking it or even yellow tagging it as you board the plane. That's a good, positive way to think. However, you have to also deal with the facts. If your suitcase is 24" long and has a hard plastic, fixed handle, it WILL NOT FIT in the 20" deep overhead bin unless there is enough room to turn it lengthwise. Being optimistic that you can jam it in there is not dreaming big. It's just unrealistic.

What WILL happen if you try to make it fit by slamming the bin door shut is NOT that your luggage will magically shrink and fit within the closed bin. What WILL happen is that the bracket on the door will break. You'll have then succeeded in delaying the flight for about 3o minutes, which is how long it will take to get the maintenance men out to diagnose the situation and install a new bracket. Trust me, I watched it all happen last Thursday! The reason I share this is that when we are completely unrealistic (not fact-based) in our dreams and plans and then things don't turn out the way we had hoped, we tend to develop a jaded view of dreaming in general. I don't want that to happen! We need our dreams and our inspirations to even BEGIN to achieve all we're capable of.

So dream big, but don't forget the facts. And the next time you're on a plane, don't try to force the door of the overhead bin--you'll still have to check your bag, and in the meantime, you'll make yourself and everyone else late!

Return on Life: There's always a positive side. Really.

Today started out as "one of those days". You know, the kind that can make you wish you had just stayed in bed. The kind that usually result in a grumpy mood and nastiness to those around you.

It began as I went downstairs, on my way out the door for a meeting. I'd made it halfway down when my foot got caught in my pant leg and I came that close to taking the remaining steps headfirst. Instead, I just pulled a muscle in my back.

Then I drove to Panera Bread, bought a hot Ginger Peach Tea and sat down to wait for the other person to appear. Before I even took a drink of the tea, I knocked the whole thing over (fortunately away from rather than on me). It sure takes lots of napkins to sop up an entire to-go cup of tea.

When I left Panera, I stopped by the grocery store on the way home to buy a couple of items, including a bottle of balsamic vinegar. Made it home ok, got out of the car, picked up the bag with the balsamic vinegar, and dropped it on the garage floor (darn leather gloves). Smash! All that beautiful balsamic vinegar all over the place. And it's not even 10:30 a.m. yet.

You haven't lived until you've mopped your garage floor in 18 degree temperature, cleaning up a substance that's about the same color as the oil and dirt already there from the messy winter we're having. I'd have loved to have waited, but it's not supposed to warm up for a week, and although I love balsamic vinegar on my salad, that fragrance is definitely not a positive addition to an enclosed garage. A little too much of a good thing, I guess.

After finishing the mopping, and washing the other groceries that were covered with balsamic vinegar as well, I decided to just sit at my desk and touch as few items as possible, since they were bound to end up being spilled, broken, or at least just on the floor. Other than the usual fighting with the computer to get it to cooperate, it's calmed down since then, thank goodness.

Oh, and what could I possibly find to be good about the sequence of events from this morning? Why, I only whacked my head once on the car mirror while I was mopping! See, there's always a positive side. Really.

Return on Life: Remember that you're in charge

I hope you had the opportunity to hear President Obama's inauguration speech today. If not, be sure to listen to it soon. In part, it was a great reminder that each of us needs to contribute on our own behalf and that of others in order to achieve what we are truly capable of.

A recent newspaper column by Dr. Richard Shearer (January 14, 2009, Barbour Democrat, Philippi, WV) that made essentially the same point by observing the differences between "worrying" and "being concerned." Dr. Shearer gave examples of worry weighing us down while concern stirs us to action. Worry can cause us to freeze and take no action beyond worrying, while concern can help us think about how to deal with a failure, how to create a right out of a wrong, how to improve rather than get stuck in the negative.

Let's join President Obama in creating a nation of "doers", those who act out of concern, rather than a nation of "worriers" who do nothing to advance the situation. It takes each of us, individually, doing our part. Let's just see how far we can go!