Escape From Cubicle Nation – Book Review
You probably look at cubicle walls and wonder, who the hell designed these ugly monstrosities? But that’s not even the point. Why would any company put their valued employees in these little human pens?
Do they really care about what I think, and if they do then why don’t they ask for my opinion?
If you’ve ever worked in a cubicle, you probably have had these thoughts. The corporate world often does what is easy instead of what is right.
There have been signs of corporate culture changing in large and small companies, but it doesn’t seem to happen fast enough.
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25 Lessons on Working Happy From My German Father
My father owns an electrical contracting business. He built a strong company that has lasted for over 40 years. He has never advertised in his life. He went out and proved he was good and his customers referred him to other friends and contractors all over eastern Pennsylvania. Seth Godin would have been proud.
I worked for him in the summers when I was out of school. Working with him was a pleasure and a pain. He was born German and insists on everything to be perfect. He always set the bar higher than I could reach.
I look back on it now and realize how much I’ve learned. I was lucky to have a father who owned his own business and wanted his son to tag along. I was probably more work then a help, especially in the early years.
As you read this list try to picture a German man with a graying black beard, a tool belt on and a pair of dirty jeans as he says each one. It makes it more fun.
1. Never worry about the time, all it will do is make work go slow.
2. Take time to hang out with co-workers, it makes work interesting.
3. Be able to laugh at yourself because people like to be around someone that doesn’t take himself too seriously.
4. A good cup of coffee is worth the price it costs.
5. Do it right the first time.
6. Why take a longer break then you really need?
7. If it works then you did well. If it works and looks good then you did great.
8. Be able to explain how you made the mistake. No one wants to hear how you’re not sure.
9. The earlier you wake up the earlier you can get home.
10. Nothing wrong with daydreaming as long as you pick the right spots.
11. Don’t worry about how a customer looks, just worry about their ability to pay on time.
12. Always lend a hand to another contractor because you are going to need them to help you before the job is done.
13. Set the bar higher then you can presently reach because one day you’ll reach it if you keep trying.
14. Buy coffee for everyone every once in a while. We all need to spread good will.
15. Can’t force a person to care about their work. It’s really up to them to make that decision.
16. It’s only money. The real joy is in the accomplishment.
17. The customer doesn’t always know what he wants. Sometimes they need to be enticed with good ideas.
18. Don’t walk too fast and don’t walk too slow because you’ll either wear yourself out or you’ll look like a slacker.
19. Even if you don’t know how to do it, give it a try because you may surprise yourself.
20. Eat lightly during the day because you’ll weigh yourself down if you eat too much.
21. Always have a system for each task because then you can do it without too much thinking, which frees your mind up for planning the next task.
22. Never be afraid to walk away. Not every relationship will work.
23. You can enjoy your work or you can think about going out tonight. It’s up to you.
24. Don’t do what I do unless you really love it.
25. Hard work may make you tired, but it’s a good tired.
Happy Father’s Day!
I love you Baba (German name for Dad). My friends always made fun of me for calling him that and now they ask, “How is Baba?” It’s cool how unique things stick in people’s heads.
What is one lesson you’ve learned from your father?
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Image courtesy of Nikki Staib. It’s an image of my father holding his grandson (My nephew Kris).
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Let’s Learn from a Doctor on How to Work Happy – Small Business Tips
Dr. Charles Kerns of Pepperdine University was kind enough to give me a short interview that I think will help all of us work a little happier. He is an associate professor of Applied Behavioral Science, so if he agrees with me you know I’m on to something with this work happiness thing.
As we all know, it’s better to work with someone that is truly happy. I’ve worked with plenty of co-workers who are happy for the first month and then their true personality sets in and I’m stuck with a dud that just wants to coast. So I asked Charles about separating the fakers from the truly happy.
1. How do you think HR managers can separate truly happy and potentially productive interviewees from fakers?
Actually an operating manager’s challenge is to interact with their people in ways that promote performance and positivity(happiness). In support of this effort HR managers can help by designing performance based interviews that reliably assist in identifying individuals whose profile match the performance profile for a specific position.
Selecting individuals against a specific profile can increase the opportunities for boosting the number of happy high performers in the workplace. Selection interview questions which tap a candidates ability to set goals, be grateful, show resilience and focus on their strengths will help identify individuals who may be happier than others in the workplace. Other questions and activities within the selection interview need to identify candidates who have the ability to take key actions which correlate with success in the position that is under recruitment.
The more data that I gather about work happiness, the more I believe that companies need to start this process from the ground up. It’s harder to turn around the titanic than some little wave runner. I asked Charles how smaller companies can get on board the happiness train now before it’s too late.
2. When implementing a happiness-enhancing intervention, what steps do you think would work best for small companies (under 50)?
Small businesses can potentially have a more direct impact on their people’s happiness and performance than larger organizations. Smaller organizations have fewer levels to communicate through and have leader/owners who are more likely closer to the daily operations.
Leaders in small organizations can promote performance and happiness by offering a clear and motivating direction. People want to know that their work serves a worthwhile purpose. Leaders can help in advancing this by documenting and effectively communicating where things are going and how people fit into this direction.
Also, along the way leaders need to help their people focus on those things that their people can influence and that are important to achieving success. Focusing tools that increase both performance and happiness include setting stretching yet realistic goals, providing effective feedback, practicing forgiveness and optimism and finding the intersection between their people’s strengths and situations that will challenge them…
If you want to read more about work happiness from Dr. Kerns check out the original blog article Bring Happiness to Work that spurred these interview questions.
You can also check out his three other articles:
Connecting Performance and Happiness
Thanks Dr. Charles Kerns for being so accommodating to my questions and hopefully we can work with each other again in the near future.
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