Management Craft

Put Some Positivity into Your Workplace

Don't you just get sick of downer news and books and articles that focus on what NOT to do or how to CATCH employees doing BAD things?

Blah, yick, no fun.

That's why I want to share this book with you called, 101 Ways to Get Wild About Work by Curt Rosengren - fellow Seattle blogger and a guy who calls himself the Passion Catalyst.

This book offers 101 ways, and each is written up with energy and inspiration. Yes, there are lots of practical ideas, too, but I just like the "vibe" of this book.

I think it would be a great book to give to all employees as a nice surprise. Just slip one into everyone's mailbox (you know that place crammed full of boring memos and tedious reports?) and let it do the work.

You can download a free sneak peak here.

Fireside Chat with Christee Atwood

Worried about bench strength? Chat with Christee Atwood

During this 25 minute podcast, I chat with Christee Atwood, author of Succession Planning Basics. During the podcast we talk about common barriers to ensuring succession and a strong internal promotion culture. While many mega-large companies have well planned and documented succession and development plans, many companies don't - especially small and medium sized companies. Christee's book is a great primer to get you started on the road to improving organization bench strength. Check out Christee's blog here.

You can listen to my podcast with the Christee Atwood by clicking here:

You can also download an MP3 version of the podcast here: MP3 Download

And just a reminder.....

Here is the Podcast Feed for the entire Fireside Chat podcast series:

To see the complete list of podcasts in this series, select the Podcasts and Webcasts category on this blog or see the list on my main website here.

You can also find this series on iTunes (and several other podcast sites), just search under my last name for Fireside Chat.

Balls in the Air

Balls, balls, so many balls in the air.
One moment they are all up and I feel free.
Then they all head down and I panic.
Can I catch all the balls and how long will they stay in play?
Some are large, some tiny; but even the tiny ones weigh heavy in my mind.
I need a rhythm, a way to keep it all going.
There's a basket over there, maybe some of the balls can go there.
Basket when done. Basket when deferred.
Balls, balls, where did all these balls come from?

Futurist's Predictions for 2008

Here's what fellow blogger and futurist, Glem Hiemstra, sees at the outlook for 2008.

The Emotional Toll and Opportunity Costs of Corporate Battle

When I was younger, winning was all important. I put a lot of energy into it.

I still like a good, clean, debate. But I am less likely to enter into corporate battle. It is generally not worth the effort or time. And the mental anxiety that we experience as a function of being in battle-mode comes at a high cost - stress, illness, frustration, fried nerves, loss of relationship.

Also important to consider, I think, is the opportunity cost. While we engage in corporate battle, we cannot do great work. And this is a shame, because we can all make a big difference today.

What if we chose not to fight at work? What if winning that argument really makes no difference in the grand scheme of things?

What if we could move onto bigger and better things beginning right now?

Quote for the New Year

Happy new year. Here's a nice quote to kick off the new year.

"Listen, here's what I think. I think we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do. By what we deny ourselves. What we resist, and who we exclude. I think we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include."

From the movie - Chocolat