Meddling with mentoring:Are you mentoring or meddling? Here’s how you can tell.You are a mentor if you are using your experience to guide someone who is less experienced. The aim is to help the less experienced person ...READ MORE›
Working from home is impossible:Have you wondered why so many people treat coffee shops as workstations? I’ve finally figured it out. No, no, it’s got little to do with this recession even though this recession has ...READ MORE›
Ask as you want answered:How should you ask a question? Well, that depends on the answer you want.If you want a ‘no’ answer, then frame the question in the negative; if you want a ‘yes’, then structure the question as a ...READ MORE›
Enough with the leadership dreams:To all real business people out there, I say it’s time to stop encouraging leadership at work. Actually, go the whole hog – tell them to stop this leadership nonsense all together.What are ...READ MORE›
Be brave, trust is (still) dangerous:A critical thing we lost last year, apart from money, is trust. Without trust we cannot form workable relationships. But as we found out, trust can be dangerous. It involves risk, ...READ MORE›
How to get your boss to act like a real manager once a week:I come from the land of the Ostrich and I have a question for you. When it comes to feedback on your performance at work, do you bury your head in the sand?You ...READ MORE›
Don’t waste our time (again):What a waste of time 2009 was! I mean, it feels as if we spent the year in reverse. So much for evolution.Talking about evolution, I think it’s time some of our so-called business leaders ...READ MORE›
Resolve to behave badly (again):Are you feeling better yet or are does your head still hurt from behaving badly? I do hope you behaved badly. It’s so much easier to make resolutions stick if you start off from a low ...READ MORE›
Good riddance 09!Good grief! It’s the end of 2009. No, no, that’s not right. Let me try that again. Good riddance 09!But wait, we shouldn’t be too quick to kiss it goodbye. If we don’t learn from ...READ MORE›
Your approach to the great unwrapping:Did Santa pay you a visit yesterday? If so, how did you react, with glee or with gravitas?How you reacted points to how you are likely to react to the gifts awaiting you in the new year.A ...READ MORE›
Lazy, your country needs you:Listen up, people, it’s time to slow down. It’s that time of year when it is okay to be lazy. Retailers please ignore this message.The rest of you, it is time to practice being lazy. ...READ MORE›
Safe to try half the time:It’s the season to be nice and forgiving. So this is the safest time of year for you to try the following social experiment.I call it ‘having fun with averages’.According to the law of averages, ...READ MORE›
Expecting rewards from the jolly fat man:It’s that time of year again and you’re wondering whether you’ve been good enough to expect a reward from the jolly fat man in the corner office.Ah, but there’s a catch to the idea of ...READ MORE›
Don’t listen to your customers:I have been heard to shout loudly that you must listen to your customers. However, like all of us, I have a dark side. My dark side is very aware that you should not always listen to your ...READ MORE›
Suicides at work:Have you seen any good suicides at work lately? I guess not. It’s just another difference between the French business model and the American model. While Americans tend to kill their bosses and ...READ MORE›
Boost their energy to keep your job:Do you still have a job? If so, let me guess. You are working harder and doing more, because a few of your colleagues have been fired. (Now that more work is trickling in as ...READ MORE›
Trust in paint for protection from stupid texters:Let me tell you about one of the most amazingly powerful things found in our modern society. No, no, it’s not technology or weaponry. It’s something that has been ...READ MORE›
Legally spreading illness:Here’s a fun question for you. What is the quickest way to legally spread swine flu in the USA? You don’t know? Here’s a clue. It has to do with people you interact with every ...READ MORE›
Why nonsense is so abundant:Why is nonsense so abundant? Because it is a natural, renewable resource. I realized this when I watched two dung beetles at work. I looked around the African bush and saw lots and lots of ...READ MORE›
Are you losing your memory?Did your organization let people go last year? If so, chances are that it also lost some of its memory. Is this good or bad?Corporate memory is the collective body of knowledge of how we do what ...READ MORE›
Customer service begins at home:When it comes to customer service, who should you focus on first? The one with the fattest wallet? The one who always comes back? The one with the biggest network? Or the one you ...READ MORE›
Expect robots if profit is your purpose:With every job loss, business fails to do its civic duty. After all, the real business of business is to keep people busy and off the streets.For centuries, businesses have been quite good ...READ MORE›
Positive affirmations trigger negative mood:I’ve always wondered why those happy-clappy people annoy me so much. You know the type I mean – always smiling and drooling at the joys of life. To them, every day is a ...READ MORE›
The business of business is busy-ness:What exactly is the business of business? After all these job losses, I hope you see it as clearly as I do. The real business of business is to keep people busy and off the ...READ MORE›
Swept along out of context:Whenever I witness rabble rousing, I think ‘context’. Context forms the setting, the backdrop, for an event. It enables you to make sense of the event, to clarify its meaning, and to ...READ MORE›
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