Want to download Chapters 1-3 of my upcoming book Happywork for free? Just enter your email address below and I’ll send you a download link!
I hope you’ll join my effort to change the workplace forever. Thank you kindly for your interest.
Happywork TV Episode 22: Praise Publicly, Criticize Privately
Posted on December 14, 2014 // 1 Comment
In Episode 22 of Happywork TV, I present the next commitment in my work code of conduct called “The Happywork Agreement.”
This one is made jointly by employers and employees. It goes like this: “Praise will be public; complaining and criticism (whether constructive or not) will be private.”
This goes back to the simple notion that negativity, all things being equal, can be way more powerful than positivity. Ten compliments and one snarky jab, and which of the 11 interactions do you remember? You know the answer.
You can increase the power of negativity by heaping it on people while in the presence of others. If you tear someone a new YNW, and you do it in front of the whole company, yes that is WAY worse for that poor soul. Criticism should remain as private as possible. If you have a problem with me, come talk to me about it. We can discuss it in private.
What about praise? Some people don’t like to be praised publicly – so embarrassing. In my experience, even the people who claim to not like public praise really do like it. Everyone loves praise. Repeat: everyone loves praise. Some people are just a little more shy than others.
Praising publicly is a powerful motivational tool, and it’s part and parcel of just being a nice human being. On the flip side, criticism (even completely justified criticism) falls into the negativity family, and that needs to be handled more delicately.
— — — — —
— — — — —
IMPORTANT!
Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!
Please SUBSCRIBE to my email newsletter! Pretty please – you’ll get these blog posts delivered to you automatically. Merci!
Happywork TV Episode 21: Employees Should Challenge Each Other to Be Their Very Best
Posted on December 11, 2014 // 1 Comment
In Episode 21 of Happywork TV, I present the next commitment in my work code of conduct called “The Happywork Agreement.”
This one is made jointly by employers and employees. It goes like this: “As employees, we will challenge each other to be our very best. Doing great work gives human beings the sense of significance they need and desire.”
In my work travels, I have found myself working with a melange of differently-talented people. Companies are full of superstars and clock watchers. Happy people and acerbic people. Glass-is-half-full people and glass-is-half-empty people (and some glass-is-totally-empty people, too). We all have different family lives, different goals, different backgrounds, and different motivations. We’re all REALLY different (one of the main points of my book).
Here’s an idea: it is US – the employees of an organization, from top to bottom – who should set the standard to live by. All of us – NOT just management. I will work hard, because I don’t want to let you, my coworker, down. It’s just how we live at Vunorri Inc. (the name of my fictitious company). We’re in this together. How does that sound to you? To me, it sounds like a powerful mindset. In most cases, losers (for lack of a better term) would self-select out of such a work environment. And winners would stay. We’d cooperate with each other more often, reaching company goals that much more quickly.
Instead of being forced by big bad management to perform at 150% capacity by using draconian management tactics, wouldn’t it be great if everyone came to work with a strong sense of purpose? Maybe expecting 100% attendance on this is far fetched, but there is nothing wrong with working toward perfection. It’s the journey toward greatness and the processes put in place during that journey, the camaraderie developed during the long haul, that really shape us and the companies we work at, and provide us a chance to feel fulfilled and happy.
What standard will you set for yourself? What standard will your organization set for itself?
— — — — —
— — — — —
IMPORTANT!
Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!
Please SUBSCRIBE to my email newsletter! Pretty please – you’ll get these blog posts delivered to you automatically. Merci!
Happywork TV Episode 20: Do Not Be Jealous Of or Compete With Coworkers
Posted on December 11, 2014 // 3 Comments
In Episode 20 of Happywork TV, I present the next commitment in my work code of conduct called “The Happywork Agreement.”
This one is made by employees to their managers/employers. It goes like this: “There is no need for me to be jealous of or compete with fellow employees. A work culture with employees helping each other benefits everyone. I will work in concert with my coworkers. I will compete only with yesterday’s self. My barometer is yesterday; I must be better today than I was the day before.”
I am not trying to scare away the conservatives in the room by bashing competition. Of course competition can be a wonderful thing. Target makes Wal-Mart work harder. Wal-Mart makes everyone work harder. Competing with other companies is awesome. You might compete so hard with an industry competitor that you wish harm on them; it would be great if you gained market share and they lost market share. You might even want to force them out of business! I can’t tell you to feel otherwise.
But what about employees within an organization? Yes, there might be two qualified employees and only one promotion available. Is that a competitive situation? I guess so. Should these two employees be competing so hard with each other that they’re undermining the other, not cooperating with them, and praying for their demise? No. In my book, that is not healthy for that company, or the human race.
It’s hard to suppress feelings of jealousy when a coworkers gets praise and you don’t. It’s difficult (and ill-advised) to not work your ass off for that promotion you want. Go ahead – work hard! I am asking you to work with all your heart, and to cooperate with your coworkers. Company success should be your number one priority.
Besides, jealousy is such an ugly emotion.
— — — — —
— — — — —
IMPORTANT!
Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!
Please SUBSCRIBE to my email newsletter! Pretty please – you’ll get these blog posts delivered to you automatically. Merci!
Happywork TV Episode 19: Give Two Weeks Notice, But Don’t Quit!
Posted on December 9, 2014 // 1 Comment
In Episode 19 of Happywork TV, I present the next commitment in my work code of conduct called “The Happywork Agreement.”
This one is made by employees to their employers. It goes like this: “If I quit and give two weeks notice, I won’t quit on my employer. Keep in mind that I’m leaving for a reason, and may be eagerly anticipating my last day. So it’s possible my effort won’t be 100%. But I will try.”
I like this part of The Happywork Agreement because it doesn’t suck up to one side or the other with the simple answer. An employee will typically say, “F it, I quit, why should I care how my final two weeks go?” A hard-nosed, traditional-sounding employer might say, “Hey, if I’m paying you, put your nose down in it and do your job. Oh, and those projects you had committed to finish? Are they gonna get done?” And so on.
Notice there how BOTH SIDES ARE BEING UNREASONABLE. And that’s one of the main reasons human beings disagree and bicker and fight and argue!
Any demanding employer in the employee’s shoes – truly in their shoes, quitting a job – would act in much the same way as the employee. In fact, when they quit their VP and EVP jobs, they’re not always giving 100%. Sometimes they’re leaving without two weeks notice, and they’re taking company secrets with them. But knowing this (or maybe conveniently ignoring it), they still can’t forgive their employees for quitting. They take it personally, like it’s a girlfriend breaking up with them, and they hate how you can’t give 150% effort up until the last day. On the other side, how many times have you heard this from an employee who’s submitted her two weeks notice: “What are they gonna do? Fire me?” Ha! How lazy can you possibly be! Your employer doesn’t deserve your half-ass, slovenly effort. Get in there and show them how you carry yourself as a human being. Try!
The gulf between employer and employee frustrated me so much that I wrote a book about it! And this episode was about one of those intractable differences that keep human beings at odds. I hope we can change that.
— — — — —
— — — — —
IMPORTANT!
Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!
Please SUBSCRIBE to my email newsletter! Pretty please – you’ll get these blog posts delivered to you automatically. Merci!
Happywork TV Episode 15: Your Job is Not a Right, So Stop Acting Like It Is
Posted on November 20, 2014 // 4 Comments
In Episode 15 of Happywork TV, I present the next commitment in my work code of conduct called “The Happywork Agreement.”
This one is made by employees to their employers. It goes like this: “I understand my job is not a right, nor a privilege.”
For me, this is a matter of employee attitude. If your employer came to you and said, “You know, you’re lucky to have a job here at my company,” you’d be like “GTFO of here!” That’s not the lever of persuasion that an employer should be pulling!
So, when employees strut around with the attitude that the company is lucky to have them … that, without them, everything would fall apart and who would do their job and “I’m irreplaceable…” Well, you’re wrong. No one is irreplaceable, and the sooner you realize that, the better your attitude might get.
I was once removed from a job, and I thought to myself, “How are they gonna do this without me?” And, “Don’t they even want to know the password to my computer and the online banking and…” Guess what? They managed. It probably took a couple of uncomfortable phone calls and a few late nights, but they survived without me.
My biggest problem with this attitude of “My employer is lucky to have me” is the potential damage it can do to our work relationships. If an employer can piss off her people by copping a bad attitude, an employee can tweak their employer doing the exact same thing. AND that is a terrible foundation on which to build a team.
So that’s my issue – you can’t build great teams if you have employers acting like jerks, and you certainly can’t build a great team if you have employees strutting around like they’re entitled to their jobs.
This is about attitude.
— — — — —
— — — — —
Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!
Please SUBSCRIBE to my email newsletter! Pretty please – you’ll get these blog posts delivered to you automatically. Merci!
Happywork TV Episode 14: Owners May Be More Enthusiastic About The Business Than Employees
Posted on November 16, 2014 // 1 Comment
LOL HIT “PLAY” ON MY FOREHEAD!
In Episode 14 of Happywork TV, I introduce the next commitment contained in the work code of conduct I’ve created called “The Happywork Agreement.” (which is in the book! The Agreement itself was where the whole idea for this book started)
Here it is: “I will keep in mind that my employees may not be as excited about the organization as I am. This is natural, as this business is my dream and not necessarily theirs.”
Key in on the word “natural” here. As an owner or manager, you can wish all day that your employees had an internal motor that ran at 200% like yours does. You can wish it all you want, but it’s not often going to be so. You started the business; it’s your dream. Who could possibly be more excited about it than you?
By the way, when I was a marketing and communication consultant, I used to hate the question some prospects would ask: “Are you going to love my business as much as I do?” What are you, nuts? That’s just impossible, and a seriously lazy question. Ask better questions!
I digress.
If Mr Owner or Mrs Manager is wondering why their employees aren’t as excited as they are, they should first understand that it’s completely natural to have more energy, drive, and excitement for your business than your employees. And if you want to change that, work hard at it! Train your people. Coach them up. Give them a great place to work. Give them a reason to be excited to come to work! Don’t just sit there and wish everyone loved your business as much as you do. Work your ass off to make it so!
And, I would ask that you avoid making us employees feel guilty for not loving your business as much as you do. That’s what I’d call “coaching down,” and if you’re doing this, you’re going on the wrong direction.
— — — — —
— — — — —
Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!
Please SUBSCRIBE to my email newsletter! Pretty please – you’ll get these blog posts delivered to you automatically. Merci!
I Heart Kenny Wallace!
Posted on November 14, 2014 // Leave a Comment
I started reading and could not put it down Kris ……. “@KrisJohnson_NI: @ChrisReimer will check it out pic.twitter.com/ZfThyQ6DkK
— Kenny Wallace (@Kenny_Wallace) November 14, 2014
Happywork TV Episode 13: Employers May Have Skillsets That Employees Do Not
Posted on November 14, 2014 // 1 Comment
In Episode 13 of Happywork TV, I introduce yet another commitment contained in the work code of conduct I’ve created called “The Happywork Agreement.” (which is in the book!)
Here it is: “I will remember that I may possess certain skillsets that my employees do not. Therefore, it may not be reasonable to expect from others sterling performance in areas where I excel. I will be patient. There was only one Michael Jordan on the Bulls.”
In the video, I bring up the example of Magic Johnson. He excelled at just about everything on the court – he was tall, he could pass, he could shoot, he was an amazing floor general and leader. However, when he was handed the Lakers coaching job, he didn’t do so well.
Why? One reason bandied about was that he got frustrated when players didn’t execute plays that he was so able to make himself during his playing career. He wasn’t patient with his players, and it shoed. Jordan did the same thing during his playing career, and it didn’t seem to affect the Bulls’ performance. However, I have to question whether or not it was fun to be Jordan’s teammate. Kobe Bryant is finding out right now how lonely it is when no one wants to come play with you. Guys, it’s Los Angeles. It’s the Lakers! Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to play in L.A.? Here’s your answer: NBA players who don’t feel like putting up with Kobe Bryant’s management style.
Owners and managers will more often than not possess a deeper skillset than the people who work for them. Yes, it’s a generalization, but it will be true more times than not. When I was a CPA, I certainly possessed more skills than junior accountants. It would have been unfair to expect them to be able to do all of the cool accounting things I was able to do. (did I really just say that?)
Smart owners and managers will hire the best people they can, and will then train them, coach them up, send them to seminars, and give them as many chances to acquire the skills necessary to excel. Before you know it, those employees may be ready to shoulder more responsibility. But until they are, you need to be patient, and you need to teach, teach, teach. If you’re riding some junior person’s ass because they can’t do it as well as you, you’re just being a short-sighted jerk.
— — — — —
— — — — —
Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!
Please SUBSCRIBE to my email newsletter! Pretty please – you’ll get these blog posts delivered to you automatically. Merci!
Happywork TV Episode 10: Hire People Smarter Than You
Posted on November 6, 2014 // 1 Comment
In Episode 10 of Happywork TV, I discuss commitment 8 in the list of 46 commitments in my book Happywork. Here it is: I implore you, Mr. Manager and Miss Owner, to hire people smarter than you! As I say in the video, it’s the sign of a great owner and a confident manager.
Reasons why this doesn’t happen more often? Control and ego, I think. Ego = for some entrepreneurs and leaders, it’s difficult to fathom that anyone is more talented than them. It’s this bravado that might allow them to take the risk of starting a business in the first place. Control = in certain situations, you don’t want to bring in someone who could challenge you for control of a situation, or worse, control of a company. It would be like LeBron and Kobe on the same team – they’d win tons of games! Or would they? Who’s the alpha dog? Who’s more talented?
We enjoy when ESPN pundits get into such sports discussions, but you may not have realized that this same situation happens (perhaps on a slightly smaller scale) in businesses every day! It’s not just about accomplishment as a team. It’s WHO accomplished it. Some of us are constantly scratching and clawing for recognition – we don’t want to merely succeed. We want the credit for the success of the business. And we absolutely do NOT want anyone else getting ANY credit for stuff we did. So, to avoid this, we consciously or subconsciously ensure that such situations do not rear their ugly heads – we don’t bring talented people who could challenge us for supremacy.
So that’s my take on this. However, guys, this is the episode I need some comments on! I can speculate as to why a person in power wouldn’t want to bring in someone of similar ability and intellect, but WHY would that person decide not to do so?
(By the way, at the beginning at this video, I explain something that I probably should have already explained. I keep referring to these commitments and this “work code of conduct.” Without giving too much away, this work code of conduct is used to fix Vunorri Inc., the incredibly broken company in my story. My two main characters write the code of conduct, and they call it “The Happywork Agreement.” My book was almost titled “The Happywork Agreement,” but we decided on Happywork instead.)
— — — — —
— — — — —
Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!
Please SUBSCRIBE to my email newsletter! Pretty please – you’ll get these blog posts delivered to you automatically. Merci!