Archive for February, 2012

Lessons from the Course: Part II

Published February 27, 2012 Career Development , Golf , Life Leave a Comment

This is a follow up to an entry I made several weeks back on Lessons From The Course. 

I once again had the privilege to serve as caddie for my daughter as she played in another local golf tournament.  If you recall from earlier this month, my last experience as caddie was less than perfect.  So the question is: Did I learn from that experience?

Before I get to the answer to the question, I need to set the stage for my state of mind as I was driving her to the course on a blustery (the winds were blowing 15-20 mph) Sunday afternoon. 

In addition to serving as my daughter’s caddie, I also co-coach her youth league basketball team.  Her last game of the season was on Saturday.  The season had been full of intense games – almost too intense for “church league” hoops for 3rd and 4th graders.  The team had some good wins, including one with a game winning shot as time expired to snag victory from defeat.  There were also some tough losses in which there was some unneeded tension with opposing coaches and officials.   And during all the games, there was lots of sideline coaching – I dare shamefully call it “micro-coaching.”

Our routine for the prior 7 games was to gather the players 10 minutes before the game and go over strategy and plays.  Remind them to set screens on offense, get rebounds and how to fight through screens on defense.  Half-time was spent going over what was working well, talking about shooting percentages and begging them to get more rebounds.  For the last game of the season, my co-coach asked me “so what do you want to tell them for pre-game?” I paused for a moment and said “Nothing, other than go have fun.”  So that is what we told them – “Go Have Fun.” No talk of screens, or spread offense sets, or help defense.  As the game unfolded, we yelled very few instructions from the sidelines, and for the most part we just let the girls play.  We provided words of encouragement when they came out of the game and provided some individual guidance as we rotated players but the “micro-coaching” was no more.  Surprisingly they called out plays, set screens, got rebound after rebound and helped each other on defense – all without two “forty-something” coaches constantly yelling out instructions at them.

It ended up being the most enjoyable game of the season – more enjoyable for the players; more enjoyable for the coaches, and I think even more enjoyable for the parents watching the game.  Our girls ended the season with a 22-12 victory.  More importantly, after two months of practice and playing they were able to do it without constant coaching from the sidelines.  They had reached a point where that that was no longer needed.  These young girls were becoming self-sufficient on the court.

Fast forward to Saturday night, a friend of mine posted a link on Facebook to an article, Are We Raising a Generation of Helpless Kids?  The article basically argues that parents of Gen Y kids (those born between 1984 and 2002) have been consumed with protecting their children to a point where Gen Y kids are not prepared to be self-sufficient adults.  It goes on to say that parents of this generation do everything possible to make sure their kids do not fail.  Essentially it states that many parents have been micro-managing every aspect of their children’s lives, carefully orchestrating each moment to create the perfect childhood. It was a thought provoking article – not only because my own kids are in the tail-end of that generation but also because the older kids of Gen Y are becoming more common place in the work environment.  My initial reaction was that the article was directionally correct but not spot on to the point where my kids and certainly not I as a parent could be included in that generalization.

So now fast forward to Sunday afternoon and that drive to the golf course.  I had my mind set that I was not going to be the overbearing caddie/golf advisor/dad as my precious 9 year old daughter navigated yet another challenging golf course.  As she warmed up, I kept my distance.  I handed her club after club and she went through her pre-round warm up – but I said little other than the occasional “nice shot” comment.    The first hole was a long par 5, into the wind, with a water-carry in front of the green.  What a way to start a round.  You could tell the group in front of her was grinding through the hole and her group found it a challenge as well.  But I was trying hard to keep my word and not micro-manage her play, so I kept my guidance to a minimum.  After a penalty stroke for making a splash and a brutal 3-putt, she painfully recorded a triple bogey on the first hole.  

The next three holes would test my promise to not be all in her business, to not direct her every move.  I could feel the urge to line up every shot for her, to tell her how hard to swing on each stroke.  And I think she could feel it too.  The 4th hole was especially painful; a pretty drive took a bad bounce to the left and ended up in a greenside sandtrap.  A bounce to the right and she would have been looking at a 10-12 foot putt for an eagle.  As she entered the trap, I could not resist reminding her to not over hit the shot as the green was small and on the other side of the green was a steep slope down to a creek.   So she blasted it out of the sand and ended up off the green on the other side of the hole, down the hillside, resting inches away from the creek.  I could feel myself shaking my head, basically saying without saying “I told you not to do that.”  A decent pitch from the edge of the hazard and a follow-up pitch had her on the green “in 4” – about 15 feet away from the hole.  Four putts later, each with more and more verbal direction from me, she finishes the hole.

As we walked to the next tee, I started telling her how important it was to make good chip shots around the green and that 4-putting was just a killer.  She finally looked at me with those sweet brown eyes of hers and said “Dad, I know what I need to do.  How about for the rest of the round, you just let me ask you for advice when I think I need it.”   How could I respond to that, other than to agree and think to myself how pitifully I had failed to uphold my promise to not micro-manage her round? 

So on the next hole, I handed her the driver and quickly removed myself from the tee box.   She lined herself up and hit a pretty drive, she followed that up with a great approach shot into the green and then two-putted for a par.  The only advice I provided was when she asked “9 iron or pitching wedge?” on the approach shot. 

All I could do when that par putt drop in the cup was to hug her and give her a big ole kiss.  Not because she made a par, but because she once again taught me a lesson.  She showed me that there are times when you have to let go and give your kid a chance to succeed or fail on her own.  She was becoming self-sufficient on the course and little by little in her life as well.

So you know I like to somehow tie these back into the world of business, so here goes.  Much like I as a parent have to let my kids fly on their own even if at times it ends in failure, I as a manager have to let my employees fly on their own as well.  I have to provide employees with training and instruction on what to do, make sure they have the right tools, and put them in situation where they can succeed.  But assuming those things are in place, it is up to the individual to actually execute.  I should be there to provide advice if asked, but I cannot micro-manage every aspect of that server configuration, that line of code, or those detailed tasks during a midnight network maintenance.  Employees must ultimately execute the tasks assigned to them without constant manager intervention – even it at times the results are less than perfect.  We learn so much more from successes and failures when they are actually ours – and that is how we become better at our jobs.

So back to the question:  Did I learn from that previous experience on the course?

I think the answer is “Yes.” 

But I learned from this one as well.  I once again feel more enlightened after spending time on the course with my daughter.  Perhaps I should encourage her to enter more golf tournaments – at this rate I might become the wisest man on earth.

Social Media & Lent: Cold Turkey or Moderation?

Published February 22, 2012 Life 2 Comments
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So today is Ash Wednesday. As I looked at my Facebook page and my Twitter feed this morning, I was surprised at the number of people stating they were checking out for the next 40 days – but some with a promise they would be back.

I am sure the rationale for giving up social media for Lent has to do with the amount of time spent staring at a computer screen or smartphone. This is time that many might see as a complete waste of time. Time that could be better spent focused on being more engaged with immediate family or doing something good in the community. If that is truly the case, and it may be for some, then my hat is off to them for making a vow to go cold turkey and use that time for better purposes.

However, it got me thinking though – before all the craziness of social media, did people give up sending emails to friends or writing letters to distance loved ones? Did they unplug all their landline phones and vow to not to make that Sunday call to Aunt Virdie and Uncle Herb? Did they pledge to not talk to their neighbors during Lent? Perhaps some did, but I highly doubt that giving up those things were trendy Lenten sacrifices.

So why is social media looked at differently? Is interacting with our family, friends and followers through social media channels somehow less “real” than other more traditional forms of interaction? Given that many people are giving up social as a sacrifice, one would be inclined to say “Yes.” If that is the case, I would challenge that just giving up for 40 days, to then just come back to it is not enough. If a person believes that Facebook or Twitter is a time waster, then why stop at 40 days? Why not give it up permanently and spend that time on more “real” interactions?

I actually think in our changing world that social channels are a genuine part of our engagement with friends and family. I have actually reconnected with cousins and other extended family through Facebook. Prior to Facebook, I am not even sure my kids knew I had cousins back in East Texas – much less know their names, what they look like and even what their kids are doing. Much like writing letters, making phone calls or sitting down for coffee and pie with neighbors; posting, reading, and commenting on social media sites is just another form of engagement with people – especially with those that are not geographically close to you. Why would one want to stop engaging with friends and family as a sacrifice?

That said, too much of anything can be a bad thing. If one has become obsessed (and I think I fall into that category at times) with constantly looking at Facebook or checking out the Twitter feed, then perhaps the more appropriate response is moderation. That’s why I am not giving up social media cold turkey for Lent, but I am committed to not being as compulsive about it for the next 40 days and hopefully beyond.

Life is Short: Find Your Passion

Published February 14, 2012 Career Development , Life 1 Comment

A friend of mine posted on Facebook the transcript of a conversation she had recently with her nine year old daughter:

Daughter: “Mom, what kind of job do you want me to have when I grow up?”

Mom: “I want you to have a job that makes you happy and makes you feel like you want to get out of bed and go do every day.”

Daughter: “good, I’m gonna work at Baskin Robbins!”

The way in which this young girl processed that great advice on the fly was awesome. She very quickly put together that:

1) She liked ice cream (and who doesn’t);

2) Ice cream made her happy;

3) She should be happy at her job;

4) If you did some crazy algebra, you could end up with Job = Ice Cream and if Ice Cream = Baskin Robbins, then Job = Baskin Robbins.

That logic is hard to argue with on so many levels.

The timing of her post and my reading of this mother-daughter exchange coincided with my preparation for presenting the final ‘habit” from the Infoworld article 12 Effective Habits of Indispensable IT Pros – Ditch the Slackers, Take on Dirty Work, Do it with Data written by Dan Tynan. If you recall the article was the impetus for me starting this blog. You may also recall from two of my other posts, that after reading the article I decided to share each of the twelve habits with my team and provide some “Robert Not Bob” wisdom to go along with each.

The twelfth and final habit presented was: Know When to Fire Yourself

Sometimes the best way to become indispensible as an IT pro is to step away from a stifling career path, even if that means branching out on your own.

“I boosted my career by starting my own company,” says Lowe, of Innovator LLC. “I doubled my take-home pay immediately, set my own hours, and got to work on really interesting things with highly motivated people.”

The notion that a “successful career” implies a steady progression of higher-paying jobs within a company or industry just doesn’t apply any more, he adds.

“A successful career today is a journey on which you discover and do what you love,” he says. “If that happens to be offering businesses innovative ways of changing their work flow to achieve new levels of productivity and efficiency, that’s great. If that happens to be giving guided tours of canyons in Utah (instead of applying the advanced math degree you earned at university), that’s also great.”

When you’re out on your own, being indispensable means solving problems and letting others reap the rewards, Lowe says. “That’s pretty much the essence of my consulting career. I innovate, they prosper, we both win. The next time the client has a challenge, they call me first.”

My Commentary: Assuming you sleep 7 hours a night and work an average of 50 hours a week with another hour each day traveling to/from work, many of you spend close 50% of the hours you are awake each week working. That being the case, you better enjoy your work – otherwise you are spending half your life doing something you don’t like. Life is just too short for that to be the case.

If you are not happy and motivated to be at work, then more than likely the performance you turn in every day is not at a high level either, which means your unhappiness negatively impacts your co-workers and your company. I have seen all too often that a unhappy employee drags down others around them, creating a negative environment that begins to jade entire departments. I often think that unhappiness in the work place is contagious.

As a manager you hope that each and every employee enjoys his/her job even if at times it is a little challenging or frustrating. But in reality I know that is not the case, especially in larger organizations where there is more than likely at least one person that just can’t stand coming to work each day no matter what. While you can attempt to coach people up, inspire them and make the workplace “fun” there are some people that will just hate what they are doing and nothing will change that fact.

While not everyone is cut out to be their own boss and go out on their own as suggested by the author in the above referenced article; people do, even in our challenging economy, have choices about what they do each day. My advice to everyone is:

If for some reason you are completely miserable with your current job, go find something to do that makes you happy. It may take weeks, months or even years to find it, but don’t give up finding your work passion. Life is too short to spend half your waking hours being miserable.

If a nine year old girl can come to grips with that within seconds of hearing words of wisdom from her mother, surely we grown adults can figure it out as well. If only we could all go work at Baskin Robbins…..

My Pilgrimage to Simi Valley

Published February 10, 2012 American Heros , Life Leave a Comment
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America’s best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead. – Ronald Reagan

 

I had a trip out to Orange County, California this week to attend some meetings at the headquarters for one of the divisions of my company. I have made the trip many times before; I think this is probably trip number 12 or 13. On most of my trips, the routine is drive from airport to office, office to hotel, hotel to office, office to hotel, office to airport; never spending much time exploring the area and usually eating at some generic restaurant within a mile or two of the office or hotel. You know – the typical boring business trip.

However this trip was a little different. I have a niece in her freshman year at Pepperdine University. So being the nice cool uncle that I am, I had told her that whenever I made it out to SoCal for work, I would drive up to Malibu and take her out to dinner. Staying true to my word, I made plans to make the hour plus drive from the OC, across LA and up the PCH to Malibu so we could spend some time together.

As luck would have it, my meetings finished early that day and I had about 3 extra hours on my hands. I started to think of what I could do with that time and while I could have easily spent it getting work done, I had an itch to go experience the area. So I started looking at Google maps to see where I could go that would put me in the general direction of Malibu and let me experience something unique to California. It not take me long to spot it – Simi Valley. It was only about 25 miles away from Malibu AND home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Since Reagan is in my opinion an “American hero”; the choice to head to Simi Valley was a no-brainer. I was actually disappointed in myself that in all the times I had been to SoCal, I had never thought to make the drive. As a made my way along “The 5” towards LA I found the 80’s station on satellite radio and starting thinking back to my life in the 80s – fitting since I was going to see the details of the person who in my mind defined the decade.

The drive is about 60-70 miles, so it gave me ample time to reflect back to that time period. I was a teenager for much of Reagan’s two terms in office and as a dorky finance minded kid, I became fascinated in my later teen years with supply-side economics or Reaganomics as some called it. Voodoo Economics as the elder George Bush called it. My love for Reagan was fueled by my older brother. In the mid-80s he was fresh out of college, the owner of a small air conditioning service company, and a die-hard disciple of Reagan. He constantly filled my find with the concept of Reaganomics and the need for the US to have a strong military. I quickly became a believer and still am one today.

The drive also got me thinking about my introduction to the world of business. Since I was certain at the age of 15 that I wanted to become an accountant (funny how that changed once I became one many years later) my brother let me do some bookkeeping for his company. I was in charge of creating invoices, doing some basic job cost reporting, managing cash receipts and maintaining the Accounts Receivable ledger – a clear violation of the concepts of segregation of duties, but hey I was family. This was in the time before PCs were widely used, so I learned to do accounting under my brother’s guidance on green column ledger paper. I am actually glad that was the case, because having to actually write out entries hammered home the basic concepts of accounting. That made my first two or three college accounting classes a breeze and instilled a real sense of understanding financial reporting from an early age. I doubt had there been accounting software back then I would be able to say that now.

As I thought back to those times, I also realized that I learned a valuable lesson from my brother twenty-five years ago. I learned that you have to understand the details of a business in order to be successful in managing it or even supporting it. Since I was doing billing and job costing, I had to understand the air conditioning business. So instead of spending my entire time sitting behind a desk, he also had me go on service calls with the techs and go out to work on installation projects. While I never became an expert on A/C systems, I did learn the basics of repairs and installations which made doing billings much easier. Funny how years later, I preach to my IT teams that they need to understand our business in order to support it and more importantly improve it. I am amazed that I learned that lesson as a teenager, even if I didn’t realize it at the time.

It was nice to reflect back on those times and my beginnings in the world of business. Just the drive to Simi Valley was good for me as it gave me a chance to reflect back on that period of my life.

I eventually made it to Simi Valley, and the Reagan Library did not disappoint. The setting is stunning. My late father-in-law referred to the hills west of Austin as “God’s Country.” Well, I have to say that the hills of Simi Valley were just as beautiful. In fact it was a moving experience for me. I will admit that I even teared-up a time or two. Seeing and listening to the words of Reagan really hit home. I only wish that my brother had made the trip with me, it would have been more special to go through the Library with the one who “converted” me years ago. Hopefully he will make the visit himself the next time he heads out to Malibu to visit his daughter.

I also eventually made it to Malibu and had a wonderful dinner with my niece. It was great seeing her and getting to spend a little time on the campus of Pepperdine University. The campus setting is amazing, as is she.

So let me close with thanking my big brother for the introduction to Reagan and the many business lessons I learned from him at an early age; and also thanking Ronald Wilson Reagan for making our country and our world a better place. We could use “The Great Communicator” about now.

 

Once you begin a great movement, there’s no telling where it will end. We meant to change a nation, and instead we changed the world. – Ronald Reagan, January 11, 1989

Lessons from the Course: A Reflection on Golf and Business

Published February 6, 2012 Career Development , Golf Leave a Comment
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My youngest daughter, age 9, played in a local golf tournament this past weekend. The tournament was fairly low key: one day, 9 holes played from around 1500 yards. There were only a handful of girls playing compared to the hoards of young boys that were out there teeing it up. In some ways that made it more special; knowing that my daughter was developing a passion for something that is not a typical “girl sport.” She was being and I think always will be an individual.

I was assigned the task of serving as her caddie for the day. While I occasionally play golf, I am far from an expert of the game. I like to think I understand what to do on the course, but I know for sure my swing does not produce the expected results on a regular basis. Yet here I was serving as the advisor for a 9 year old girl playing in one of her first competitive, albeit low key, golf events. The decisions to be made were endless and the pressure was always on – What club should she hit off the tee? Should she try and carry the creek on her second shot or be conservative and lay up? Play it safe and just punch out from the rough or try and make the SportsCenter-worthy miracle shot from the rocky, deep grass? Is that putt going to break left or right, or both?

After spending a day as caddie in a tournament, I have a much deeper level of respect for the men and women that make a career out of caddying. Their jobs are much, much more than just carrying the golfer’s bag around the course.

After the round was over, I looked back and thought, “wow I gave her some her pretty bad advice on several of those shots.” I counted up 7-8 strokes I could have easily saved her on the round if I had provided better counsel. I started thinking about why I made provided the advice I did- was I really that bad of a caddie?

While in the end she is the player and it is up to her to make the final decisions and execute the shots, she was relying on me to give her good advice to have a successful round. Several factors came to mind as to how I could have made such lousy recommendations to my own daughter:

1) It was our first time on this particular course, so neither of us knew the layout well nor did we know the nuisances of the greens.

2) I did not fully understand the extent and limits of her golf skills so I did not always know what shots she could and could not make nor which club she needed to hit in order to make the best shot.

3) I did not fully understand her state of mind; her confidence to attempt certain shots on the course and her confidence to question what I was telling her to do when she had a different opinion.

So what happened? I at times advised a strategy that was too aggressive and at other times was too conservative. I recommended her hitting a 9 iron (which was the right club for landing a beautiful shot in the water) instead of going with the 7 iron that would have carried the creek. I encouraged her to go for the glory shot from the rough, when the smart play, and the one she could have executed, would have been to just punch out into the fairway. I told her putt from 3 feet off the fringe of the green when she really wanted to chip but lacked the confidence in her game to tell me so.

I know I learned some things from this weekend and I know she did too. I fully expect that the next time she plays in a tournament that she will play better and assuming she lets me back “on her bag”, that I will be a better advisor to her.

However, I think the lesson for me is deeper than girls’ junior golf. The more I think about it the more I see that there is a business lesson in here too: A lesson on how to better manage teams and understand the ability of employees to execute on a strategy and be successful. Drawing from that golf course experience, there are four things a business leader can do to lead a business to successful results.

1) Know the environment;

2) Understand the capabilities of the business and the capabilities of the employees delivering the services of the business;

3) Understand the tools that employees need to efficiently and effectively carry out tasks and provide access to the right tools at the right time;

4) Remember that employees are people, not machines. They have feelings and insecurities.

Know the Environment

To be successful leaders must understand the external environment in which the business operates. In today’s global economy that is no small feat. You must keep abreast of the challenges being faced by your customers and adapt your product and service offerings to address those challenges. You must also keep an eye on competitors and be aware of changes made in their offerings. In addition, you must be aware of the global economy and significant events happening around the world. If you think the debt problems in Greece or the flooding in Southeast Asia has no bearing on your business – you may be caught by surprise.

You must also maintain a full grasp on what is happening within your own business. You must understand which products, services or lines of business are profitable and what is driving changes in margin – both good and bad. You must also understand the challenges being faced in delivering products and services. You have to know where you have quality issues, inefficient processes, and even where you have internal conflicts between departments.

Finally, you have to know about all the things you don’t know that you don’t know – because those of things that can jump up and bite you.

Understand Capabilities

Acknowledging your strength and weaknesses of your business and your employees is critical to achieving success. I know that SWOT (strength –weaknesses – opportunities – threats) analysis is going “old school” in today’s world of pop management, but the basic premise still holds true. On a macro level you have to know where you have an advantage over your competitors and where your business is vulnerable.

The same hold true at the individual level. Our employees are living, breathing, people. No two are the same and none are perfect. You must understand each person’s strengths and weaknesses and determine how to best leverage the strengths and improve on the weaknesses of each employee. Unfortunately in some cases where the weaknesses are abundant and the strengths are limited, that may mean moving an individual out of their role or even out of the company.

Understand Tools

Companies invest significant amounts of capital each year on acquiring and updating tools for their businesses. Tools can be complex pieces of manufacturing equipment, multi-terabyte storage arrays, the iPad or Droid tablet that everyone insists they need, a new fangled cloud communication service or even what we think of as traditional tools – likes hammers, air wrenches, or drills. But just spending money on new things does not directly equate to business success. You have to understand how the tools are to be used and how the use of those tools will equate to either a more efficient process or a better quality product/service. You have to find the right tools for the right situation and be decisive in the use of those tools.

Remember: Employees are People

Many in business talk about employees using the term “resources”, in fact in most companies the department charged with dealing with employees is called ‘Human Resources.” But at times, we take that term too literal and look at employees the same say we do other resources – computing resources, machine resources, natural resources. We forget the employees are people and people are far from perfect. They have good days and bad days; and many (perhaps all of us if we really look deep enough) have insecurities – including insecurities about their skills and their knowledge of the business in which they spend a huge part of each day. As leaders of a business, you must recognize the valuable insight that employees have about the business and take time to listen to their ideas – even going as far as to coax those thoughts out into the open from those that are hesitant to share their opinions due to those insecurities.

 

As I reflect back, those 3 hours on the Twin Creeks golf course in Austin, Texas were more than a way to fill the hours leading up to the Super Bowl. I gained a better appreciation for my daughter, the game of golf, the work of caddies, and about how I need to approach things at the office. In short, I experienced a 3 hour “life lesson.” Here’s hoping for the chance for many more of those in the coming years.

Have a Little Respect: Don’t Be the Jerk

Published February 2, 2012 Career Development Leave a Comment
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So here is another entry based on the Infoworld article: 12 Effective Habits of Indispensable IT Pros – Ditch the slackers, take on dirty work, do it with data — here’s how to get the inside track on a highly rewarding career in IT – written by Dan Tynan

So when I see the word “Jerk”, I can’t help but think of Steve Martin. You can’t help but love the heartwarming story about the life of Navin R. Johnson. But I don’t think that Navin is the type of jerk Mr. Tynan is talking about as he presents Habit # 9.

Effective IT habit No. 9: Don’t be a jerk
You might be the world’s most brilliant coder or the industry’s leading expert on user interface design. But if nobody likes you, your head is on the chopping block. Given the often challenging personality types drawn to technology, this is especially true for IT.

“Personality goes a long way when it comes time to make cuts in an organization,” notes Nathan Letourneau, director of marketing for PowerWise USA, makers of PC power management software. “Companies prefer people with positive attitudes and a good work ethic, even if they aren’t as highly skilled as another. Don’t be a pain in the butt or overly negative. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t speak your mind, but just make sure you’re respectful when doing it.”

Ultimately, managers like to get rid of the troublemakers and malcontents first, says Engel: “At the end of the day, it’s the person that makes the work environment of the other coworkers better that gets promoted and is the last to leave in a layoff.”

 

RN Commentary: R.E.S.P.E.C.T. find out what it means to me.

That is not just the opening line to Aretha Franklin’s 1967 smash hit song; Respect is the cornerstone for how we should treat each other in the work place. You don’t have to like every single person you work with and you certainly don’t have to be best friends with all your co-workers. However, you should engage everyone around you (co-workers, vendors, customers) with a basic level of respect. You can be firm with people, disagree on things, even have lively arguments without breaking the basic tenets of respect. You should carry forth your daily activities with respect for others and you should expect the same coming back at you from others.

I also think maintaining a positive attitude is important. There is a constant stream of negative news coming at us from all angles. Media outlets give us constant bad news – wars, murders, weak economic indicators, potential collapse of the Euro, bad earnings reports from all kinds of companies. You even hear bad news at work – unhappy customers, lost customers, budget cuts, missed OI targets. It is very easy to slip into a “woe is me” attitude where everything is negative and you begin thinking that things will never get better. But we can’t fall into that trap – we need to see the problems we are facing at work (or outside of work) as Opportunities. Opportunities for us to make things better. Opportunities for us to excel professionally and personally by being the ones to solve the problems. That takes maintaining a positive outlook and turning that negative energy into trying to make things better.

So I guess my take is a little softer than “Don’t be a Jerk”, but yeah that too: Don’t Be a Jerk!!

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