Many people working in large companies speak business-buzzwords as a second language. Business language is full of pretty meaningless words. I Don’t Understand What Anyone Is Saying Anymore article tells that the language of internet business models has made the problem even worse. There are several strains of this epidemic: We have forgotten how to use the real names of real things, acronymitis, and Meaningless Expressions (like “Our goal is to exceed the customer’s expectation”). This would all be funny if it weren’t true. Observe it, deconstruct it, and appreciate just how ridiculous most business conversation has become.
Check out this brilliant Web Economy Bullshit Generator page. It generates random bullshit text based on the often used words in business language. And most of the material it generates look something you would expect from IT executives and their speechwriters (those are randomly generated with Web Economy Bullshit Generator):
“scale viral web services”
“integrate holistic mindshare”
“transform back-end solutions”
“incentivize revolutionary portals”
“synergize out-of-the-box platforms”
“enhance world-class schemas”
“aggregate revolutionary paradigms”
“enable cross-media relationships”
How to talk like a CIO article tries to tell how do CIOs talk, and what do they talk about, and why they do it like they do it. It sometimes makes sense to analyze the speaking and comportment styles of the people who’ve already climbed the corporate ladder if you want to do the same.
The Most Annoying, Pretentious And Useless Business Jargon article tells that the stupid business talk is longer solely the province of consultants, investors and business-school types, this annoying gobbledygook has mesmerized the rank and file around the globe. The next time you feel the need to reach out, touch base, shift a paradigm, leverage a best practice or join a tiger team, by all means do it. Just don’t say you’re doing it. If you have to ask why, chances are you’ve fallen under the poisonous spell of business jargon. Jargon masks real meaning. The Most Annoying, Pretentious And Useless Business Jargon article has a cache of expressions to assiduously avoid (if you look out you will see those used way too many times in business documents and press releases).
Is Innovation the Most Abused Word In Business? article tells that most of what is called innovation today is mere distraction, according to a paper by economist Robert Gordon. Innovation is the most abused word in tech. The iPad is about as innovative as the toaster. You can still read books without an iPad, and you can still toast bread without a toaster. True innovation radically alters the way we interact with the world. But in tech, every little thing is called “innovative.” If you were to believe business grads then “innovation” includes their “ideas” along the lines of “a website like *only better*” or “that thing which everyone is already doing but which I think is my neat new idea” Whether or not the word “innovation” has become the most abused word in the business context, that remains to be seen. “Innovation” itself has already been abused by the patent trolls.
Using stories to catch ‘smart-talk’ article tells that smart-talk is information without understanding, theory without practice – ‘all mouth and no trousers’, as the old aphorism puts it. It’s all too common amongst would-be ‘experts’ – and likewise amongst ‘rising stars’ in management and elsewhere. He looks the part; he knows all the right buzzwords; he can quote chapter-and-verse from all the best-known pundits and practitioners. But is it all just empty ‘smart-talk’? Even if unintentional on their part, people who indulge in smart-talk can be genuinely dangerous. They’ll seem plausible enough at first, but in reality they’ll often know just enough to get everyone into real trouble, but not enough to get out of it again. Smart-talk is the bane of most business – and probably of most communities too. So what can we do to catch it?
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Tomi Engdahl says:
These words signal that there’s some wiggle room in the offer being made.
If You Hear These Words in a Negotiation, You Should Always Ask for More, According to an ATF Communications Expert
https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/negotiation-communications-how-to-get-more-janine-driver-tedx-talk.html?cid=sf01002
In a memorable TEDx talk, analytic interviewer Janine Driver unlocks the secret power of some common terms.
If you’re in a negotiation or you’ve asked someone for something, listen carefully to the answer. If you hear the word “decided” or an adverb such as “normally” or “typically,” it always means you can and should ask for more.
In a fascinating TEDx Talk, Driver demonstrates how these words signal that there’s some wiggle room in the offer being made, and what you should say in return.
If you hear the word “decided” or one of the “-ly” words, you should immediately answer with a “because” statement that provides a reason why your case should be an exception.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Employees must be able to answer these 13 questions.
Here’s How Google Knows in Less Than 5 Minutes if Someone Is a Great Leader
https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/heres-how-google-knows-in-less-than-5-minutes-if-someone-is-a-great-leader.html?cid=sf01002
After years of study, Google uses a few simple questions to identify the company’s best leaders.
Great companies are built by great leaders. (That’s why the ability to identify and attract talented people is almost as critical as the ability to develop talented people.)
But since leadership is more art than science, how can you objectively determine if someone is a great leader?
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Great Leaders Bring Out Others’ Self-Confidence
https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgebradt/2019/11/05/how-great-leaders-bring-out-others-self-confidence/?utm_campaign=forbes&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Malorie/#6d616c6f7269
Leaders inspire and enable others to do their absolute best together to realize a meaningful and rewarding shared purpose. Great leaders add bringing out others’ self-confidence by emphasizing confidence-building in their approach to the direction, authority, resource, and accountability aspects of delegation.
“They can because they think they can.” – Virgil
Putting it all together. If you’re lucky enough to have followed a level 5 confidence-activating pinnacle executive, you know how it feels. You know how it feels to follow someone who cares about building enduring greatness, puts others first, and is relentless in the pursuit of what matters. You know how it feels to follow someone who lives “Be. Do. Say.” – someone you respect for who they are and what they represent. You know how it feels to follow someone who trusts you, makes you feel better about yourself, and brings out your own self-confidence.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://auntie.fi/tuletko-kuulluksi-palaverissa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kuitenkin olet jotain mieltä. Sinulla on ehdotuksia toimintakulttuuriin. Haluaisit ehkä määritellä uudenlaisia tavoitteita työllesi. Mutta jos sinusta tuntuu, että ideoitasi ei oteta vakavasti, seurauksensa on todennäköisesti turhautuminen. Ehkä motivaatiosi kärsii ja alat katsella sillä silmällä työpaikkailmoituksia. Jos koet, ettei sinulla ole mahdollisuuksia vaikuttaa työtilanteeseesi, se voi johtaa kyynistymiseen ja siihen, ettet enää jaksa välittää työstäsi.
https://auntie.fi/tuletko-kuulluksi-palaverissa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://grapevine.fi/tyontekijalahettilyys-2-0-tata-tyontekijalahettilyys-vaatii-noustakseen-seuraavalle-tasolle/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=facebook_jatkuva
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pick one area of weakness and get to work.
The Father of EQ Reveals 12 Ways to Increase Your Emotional Intelligence
https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-father-of-eq-reveals-12-ways-to-increase-your-emotional-intelligence.html?cid=sf01002
Take a line from Daniel Goleman and look in the mirror. See where your EQ score soars and what you need to work on.
Like most lasting ideas, the importance of emotional intelligence seems obvious in hindsight. Research shows developing greater emotional intelligence can lead to higher performance and pay as well as better professional and personal relationships.
As Inc. colleague Justin Bariso defines it, emotional intelligence is the ability to make emotions work for and not against you.
The obvious part? The better you can understand and manage your emotions — and the emotions of people around you — the greater your chances of success.
Self-management is also obvious. Managing how you respond, especially in times of stress, conflict, or adversity. Staying focused on your goals. As Jeff Bezos puts it, a sign of high intelligence is the willingness to change your mind when you uncover new information or new perspectives.
Relationship management involves a number of skills. Motivating others. Mentoring others. Dealing effectively with conflict. Applying an occasional dose of tough love (in pursuit of a positive, not negative outcome).
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Millennials Are Coming For The Boomers’ Money: One Bank Sees Generational Conflict Breaking Out This Decade
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/millennials-are-coming-boomers-money-one-bank-sees-generational-conflict-breaking-out
study titled “Age of Disorder” in which the author makes the case that Economic cycles come and go, “but sitting above them are the wider structural super-cycles that shape everything from economies to asset prices, politics, and our general way of life” Having identified five such cycles over the last 160 years…
The first era of globalisation (1860-1914)
The Great Wars and the Depression (1914-1945)
Bretton Woods and the return to a gold-based monetary system (1945-1971)
The start of fiat money and the high-inflation era of the 1970s (1971-1980)
The second era of globalisation (1980-2020?)
The Age of Disorder (2020?-????)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mitä keinoja on piristää päiviä ja löytää kadonnut innostus etätyötä kohtaan. Lue lisää blogistamme ja jaa vinkit etätöissä jaksamiseen.
https://tyopaikat.oikotie.fi/tyontekijalle/artikkelit/miten-selattaa-tama-paattymaton-etatyo?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=otty_fb
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/this-is-the-richest-person-to-have-ever-lived-/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reed Hastings on New Book, Netflix’s Future — and Why He Fired His Last CFO
https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/reed-hastings-book-netflix-cfo-fired-1234755643/
Tomi Engdahl says:
If any of these problems sound like something you do, there’s time to fix it.
9 Signs You May Be a Bad BossDo you freeze employees out of meetings and chastize them for not fulfilling requests that were poorly explained in the first place? Here’s looking at you.
https://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/10-signs-you-may-be-a-bad-boss.html?cid=sf01002
Are you a good manager or a bad one?
That’s actually not an easy question to answer. There are times when good managers have employees who hate them and bad managers have employees who love them. Bad managers can get results while good managers can have failures.
If that’s possible, you may wonder why it’s important to be a good manager. Bad managers will have short-term successes, high levels of employee burnout, and higher turnover. These are all expensive and a bad way to run a company.
A good manager doesn’t guarantee success, but good managers are willing to take feedback, make changes, and treat their employees properly.
The reader sent this list describing how his manager treated employees
Many managers behave this way and they have good reasons–and bad reasons. They may give unclear instructions because they don’t know what they really want and are too afraid to say so. They may not set clear expectations because they assume the requirements are obvious.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Väärinymmärtäminen sekoittaa elämämme – kuvittelemme ymmärtävämme toisiamme, mutta se on harhaa
https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2020/09/03/vaarinymmartaminen-sekoittaa-elamamme-kuvittelemme-ymmartavamme-toisiamme-mutta
Tomi Engdahl says:
Defining Objectives and Key Results
https://www.workpath.com/en/okrs?gclid=Cj0KCQjwy8f6BRC7ARIsAPIXOjh895o8UT9TDN00byoOVlDlFdRPnBbN6b4395Vt-ZLVM82EkDkM7BEaAhqUEALw_wcB
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs): Are an agile leadership and goal management framework. It is a strategy execution tool to guide result-focused work, create alignment and engagement around measurable goals. OKRs consist of one Objective and several Key Results.
Objectives: Are desirable, ambitious goals, qualitatively describing an aspired outcome. It sets a clear direction for everyone and is supposed to motivate you to work towards it. The Objective basically tells you where you want to go.
Key Results: Describe the metrics you will use to check if you are on the right track to achieve your Objective. They are measurable results indicating your progress towards achieving an Objective and will tell you if you have achieved it
Tomi Engdahl says:
Meet America’s Best Management Consulting Firms 2020
https://www.forbes.com/sites/vickyvalet/2020/03/17/meet-americas-best-management-consulting-firms-2020/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Tell if You’re a Problem Spotter or a Problem Solver
One can build your career, the other will make you CEO.
https://www.inc.com/chris-heivly/are-you-a-problem-spotter-or-a-problem-solver.html
As you build your career, there are two basic mindsets you can optimize for; problem spotter or problem solver. Both can provide a ton of value to the organization. You need both in any growing organization. Both can also serve you well depending on what makes you wake up with jump in your step first thing in the morning.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A therapist shares the biggest mistake people with low emotional intelligence make: ‘It always backfires’
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/18/biggest-mistake-people-with-low-emotional-intelligence-make-according-to-therapist.html?__source=facebook%7Cmain
When I ask people what comes to mind when they think about “emotional intelligence,” their answers are often centered around themselves. I hear things things like “knowing my personal competencies,” “being self-aware” or “managing my emotions.”
It all adds up to the common misconception that emotional intelligence is about examining oneself — my emotions, my feelings, my approach to others.
This isn’t surprising: Most of the literature out there focuses on how people can build emotional intelligence for their own benefit. The typical advice often follows a similar pattern: do some soul-searching to understand yourself better, practice expressing empathy, then benefit by earning the trust of your employees or getting a promotion.
People with low emotional intelligence (or lack it entirely) often make the mistake of only recognizing and exercising their own emotional strengths. As a result, they fail to truly connect with their environment and the people around them — and it always backfires in one way or another.
The most emotionally intelligent people know that in addition to understanding their own emotions, it’s important to perceive the emotions of others, and the way that their environment impacts those emotions.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Unfortunately, many people need to worry about being fired on the spot when they give notice.
https://hbr.org/2017/07/3-mistakes-executives-make-when-telling-people-that-theyre-leaving?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
Being unprepared to be fired on the spot. You never know how much resentment your departure might evoke, or how harsh the response might be. In the worst-case scenario, you could be fired on the spot and escorted from the building immediately. Especially if you’re going to a competitor, don’t be surprised if your resignation turns into a termination. Almost all of a representative sample of senior executives and chief human resources officers we interviewed to supplement our survey said that someone leaving for a competitor would be terminated immediately.
Nevertheless, if you are going to a competitor, say so. Being less than forthright will only compound the resentment when you’re inevitably found out and saddle you with a reputation for evasiveness.
Take every precaution to avoid the suspicion that you might be taking valuable data, technical information, or customer information with you. That means resisting the natural inclination to transfer or delete files from your computer that you regard as personal or of no consequence to the business. If you want to transfer some personal files, do it in front of an HR person. And don’t erase company files, because under forensic examination (if it comes to that) it can look fishy.
Neglecting to rehearse. The second most frequently cited regret was failing to confidentially rehearse the explanation for departure with a trusted advisor. It’s not just a matter of being tongue-tied. The inability to explain clearly and reasonably to a boss or colleague why you’re leaving can lead to hurt feelings and misunderstandings, and it can open the door to protracted and painful attempts to talk you into staying when your mind is made up.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why You Should Have (at Least) Two Careers
https://hbr.org/2017/04/why-you-should-have-at-least-two-careers
It’s not uncommon to meet a lawyer who’d like to work in renewable energy, or an app developer who’d like to write a novel, or an editor who fantasizes about becoming a landscape designer. Maybe you also dream about switching to a career that’s drastically different from your current job. But in my experience, it’s rare for such people to actually make the leap. The costs of switching seem too high, and the possibility of success seems too remote.
But the answer isn’t to plug away in your current job, unfulfilled and slowly burning out. I think the answer is to do both. Two careers are better than one. And by committing to two careers, you will produce benefits for both.
Tomi Engdahl says:
37 qualities you need to cultivate to be an authentic New Age leader – https://whoyouwishtobe.blogspot.com/2019/11/leadership-lessons-for-new-age.html?m=1
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.viikonloppu.com/vitsi-eksynyt-motoristi-pysahtyy-ja-pyytaa-apua-miehen-vastaus-sai-minut-nauramaan/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to become a whistleblower
https://cybernews.com/editorial/how-to-become-a-whistleblower/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=rm&utm_content=become_a_whistleblower
Raising issues is important for good governance.
Bad practice and mismanagement happen often – more often than you’d think. The reason we don’t hear about it more is that many companies, governments, and organizations manage to keep a lid on issues through stringent security and the fear that stepping out of line could lead to consequences for the whistleblower.
Yet some of the most urgent and important issues of our time have been raised by whistleblowers, brave individuals who have mustered up the courage to speak up and talk about the concerns they have in the hope that someone will do something about it.
Things to consider
It’s vital to weigh up your options before going down the path of blowing the whistle. Would you be happy – or more realistically, could you live with it – if you were identified as the whistleblower responsible by your organization or bosses?
If the answer is no, it may be more advisable to keep quiet, as the risk of being unmasked remains high.
If it’s something you feel comfortable disclosing to your company, then many countries’ laws provide support and guidance for how to legally become a whistleblower against someone in your organization. It’s worth checking out these rules to make sure you’re doing it by the book.
It’s also advisable to keep a record of all your actions in the process of raising awareness of issues so that you can refer back to it if asked later on by your organization, company, or another investigatory power.
Turning to the press or regulators?
While the desire to let as many people as possible know about any wrongdoing may be tempting, it can often be inadvisable to report things to the media, because of the potential consequences. If you feel comfortable doing so, and think it will make a difference, you should first report any issues to your company or organization; if you feel that’s not possible, then try and find the relevant regulator for your industry.
At the last resort, approaching the press is an option – albeit the nuclear one.
If you’re doing that, make sure to protect your back. Try and use a burner email account or phone number, and encrypted messaging systems like Signal or Telegram in order to raise awareness.
You may – at some point in the process – have to give up your anonymity, especially if what you’re alleging is unlawful. But it’s possible to take precautions in the early stages of the process to prevent your name from getting out there in the public.
Likewise, if your whistleblowing involves collecting data, be aware of the digital traces you may leave:
Don’t do anything out of the ordinary to collect your data, like visiting the office late at night to gather evidence.
Make sure that any documents you generate are stripped of their metadata before you submit them as evidence, otherwise it could easily be traced back to you.
And be aware that printers and scanners log everything that passes through them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Do You Know Someone Is a Top-Notch Leader? Look for These 4 Signs
https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/how-do-you-know-someone-is-a-top-notch-leader-look-for-any-of-these-4-signs.html?cid=sf01002
If you find yourself seeking to improve your leadership skills, remember this: Leadership is a journey, so enjoy the ride.
1. Remember that humility trumps arrogance.
The best leaders demonstrate humility (like Level 5 Leaders documented in Jim Collins’ Good to Great) and turn away from selfish interests.
2. Go out of your way to soak up the wisdom of others.
Smart leaders continually evolve by soaking up the wisdom of others, acknowledging that they don’t know it all. Someone once remarked, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”
3. Practice patience. Then practice it some more.
A leader who practices patience and is slow to anger receives less attention and acclaim than a charismatic leader with a commanding presence but a short fuse. Yet the former has the clear edge.
4. Always choose integrity — over and over and over.
As the saying goes, doing the right thing, even when no one is looking, isn’t always easy, but it may just save your rear. I was once faced with an assignment that tested my integrity — being tasked with lying to a client to save an account. I heard that inner voice whisper, “It’s not worth it, you’re being set up.” I refused to do it
Listen, integrity is a choice we must keep making over and over again. When you walk the talk, the benefits are tremendous:
You don’t question yourself.
You command respect.
You know truth.
Your confidence shines for others.
You have influence — people listen to your words because they trust your character.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Steve Jobs Knew How to Lead and Motivate Employees. Here’s How He Did It
https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/steve-jobs-knew-how-to-lead-motivate-employees-heres-how-he-did-it.html?cid=sf01002
Steve, like Napoleon, had two faces. On one side he was a brilliant genius … And the other side
Nearly a decade after his death, Jobs remains one of the most fascinating and iconic business leaders of the past century–and perhaps in all of history.
“Steve, like Napoleon, had two faces. On one side he was a brilliant genius and a true misfit. And the other side, his lack of care and sensitivity for people, his disrespect and dictatorial behavior, were all real.”
“A brilliant genius and a true misfit”
Here’s what he said he learned from the experience:
1. To succeed, focus relentlessly on one or two things.
2. Go to the person who can make a difference.
3. Refine, refine, and refine again.
4. Don’t just make products. Instead, “manufacture delight.”
All five companies are in the exact same business with the exact same goal and purpose, which is to manufacture and deliver delight.”
With Jobs, he said, manufacturing delight was partially a matter of reacting to products and ideas with all five senses: How would they sound? How would they feel? Even, how would they smell?
“A remarkable man”
Tomi Engdahl says:
How One Fast-Food Chain Keeps Its Turnover Rates Absurdly Low
https://hbr.org/2016/01/how-one-fast-food-chain-keeps-its-turnover-rates-absurdly-low?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=hbr&utm_medium=social
Many of us who are hungry for the latest dispatches from the war for talent look to to Silicon Valley. We want to know Google’s secret to hiring the best people or Mark Zuckerberg’s one tip for hiring employees. But in a world where most companies don’t operate on the frontiers of digital transformation, and most employees aren’t tech geeks or app developers, our appetite for unconventional talent strategies should probably extend to more conventional parts of the economy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
There’s some big catches with remote work that could have some bad repercussions for workers.
The Dark Downside Of The Work-From-Home Trend
http://on.forbes.com/6186GQnMC
There’s much talk about Facebook, Google, Twitter, Coinbase, Lambda School, Shopify, Square, Upwork, Amazon, Box, Salesforce, Zillow, PayPal, Viacom and a host of other prominent companies offering their workers the option of continuing to work remotely for the foreseeable future—or indefinitely.
There is little discussion around the dark side to this trend. For instance, VMware—a California-based publicly traded software company that provides cloud computing and virtualization software and services— announced that employees who work remotely will get a pay cut if they move out of Silicon Valley to live in less-costly cities.
The work-from-home trend has proved beneficial for both the companies and their employees. Corporations can save money, as they’ll likely scale back expensive office leases. Employees benefit from being at home to attend to their children, especially as the situation for online and blended-classroom schooling is still challenging. The climate improves with less commuters and the quality of life is dramatically enhanced, as people will shave hours off of stressful drives, bus or train rides back and forth to the office.
There’s some big catches with remote work that could have some bad repercussions for workers. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, back in May, followed the footsteps of Jack Dorsey, the chief executive of Twitter and Square, and also promised to allow his employees to continue working remotely. Zuckerberg said, “We’re going to be the most forward-leaning company on remote work at our scale.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Olen kahdessa eri kongressissa on kerrottu:
- Nuku riittävästi
- Syö lounas joka päivä
- Urheile säännöllisesti
- Lue kirjoja ja opi uutta
- Tee kivoja asioita
Amerkikan kongrseeissa esiintyy hengellisyys vähän joka välissä, mutta Euroopassa ei. Muuten ihan samaa ja asiaa, jonka me kaikki jo tiesimme.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s within every company’s power to make these changes.
Why Do People Quit Their Jobs, Exactly? It Comes Down to 3 Reasons, According to Research
https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/why-do-people-quit-their-jobs-exactly-it-comes-down-to-3-reasons-according-to-research.html?cid=sf01002
A new survey drew from over 11 million comments to provide employers with the top reasons that might cause your workers to leave.
The battle for hiring and retaining top talent is a challenging reality for most companies. Add to that aggressive recruitment strategies by established firms, the risk for turnover is ever present by opportunistic employees seeking the greener grass.
A 2018 West Monroe Partners study found that “59 percent [of employees] said they would leave because of a more appealing offer from a new company, not because they’re seeking an escape from their current company.”
To avoid the time and cost of high employee turnover, employers must be cognizant of their employee’s needs, many of which are as simple as more effective communication and positive relationships both with management and with coworkers.
Here are the top three highlights that stood out from Peakon’s findings.
1. Communication has a high impact on employee performance.
2. Management plays an important role in employee retention.
3. Workplace environment matters.
Bottom line: Listen to the voice of the employee.
An employee who feels like their voice is being heard is an employee who won’t leave for a competitor, and is more engaged and productive as a result. Taking a more involved approach in listening to employee feedback and taking proper measures to implement whatever changes can be made can improve employee retention and engagement.
The best part? It’s within every company’s power to make these changes. From communication to managerial responsiveness to the workplace environment, the changes that employees seek are low-lift but high reward.
Tomi Engdahl says:
”Työuupumuksen oireet on tunnettu jo 1970-luvulta asti. Niitä on kolme: uupumusasteinen väsymys, kyynistyminen eli työn merkityksellisyyden kadottaminen sekä tunne siitä, ettei kykene tekemään työtään niin kuin haluaisi.”
Uupunut ei ole välttämättä väsynyt
https://www.hs.fi/hyvinvointi/art-2000006632588.html?share=0d247e429877aff9a987a9a4608972b3
Työuupumuksesta kärsivä ihminen ei ole välttämättä väsynyt. Uupumus voi näkyä pelkästään kyynistymisenä ja tunteena, ettei selviä tehtävistään, sanoo työhyvinvointia kaksi vuosikymmentä tutkinut työpsykologian dosentti Anne Mäkikangas.
Tomi Engdahl says:
You have to know when to use them.
A Former FBI Kidnapping Negotiator Shares the 7 Most Important Words in a Negotiation
https://www.inc.com/thomas-koulopoulos/these-7-words-may-be-the-single-most-important-phr.html?cid=sf01002&sr_share=facebook
It’s tempting to give ultimatums in tense negotiations, but how you give them is what’s important.
A deep negotiation has to be one of life’s most exhilarating experiences. Few things will force you to dig deeper into your creativity and to become so fully aware of your strengths and weaknesses, and will test your mettle as fully as a negotiation on something you really want.
I used to say that the only way to negotiate was to be ready to walk away from the deal. Only by doing that can you really know if the other side was bluffing or not. Colleagues who had been in negotiations with me were familiar with my tactic of slapping my hand down on the table, saying, “That’s it I’m done,” and walking out of the room. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but it always felt good.
I still believe in the power of walking away–otherwise you have no leverage–but what has changed is my timing and the strategy I use to walk away.
There is definitely power in walking away from the table if a deal isn’t right, but if that power is exercised too early, you risk making it a battle of egos and emotion, and derailing the negotiation.
So, what’s the right strategy for identifying the real constraints that the other side faces? Well, first make absolutely sure that you have identified your own constraints.
Once you’ve established your constraints, you’re ready to approach the table. And this is where it gets infinitely harder. How do you determine the other side’s floor?
“Sometimes the only option is to walk away, but you can walk away slowly.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Six Verbs That Make You Sound Weak (No Matter Your Job Title)
https://www.fastcompany.com/40523559/six-verbs-that-make-you-sound-weak-no-matter-your-job-title?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com
Sometimes it’s the smallest words and phrases that shape how you’re perceived around the office. Here are a few to watch out for at every level.
Your job title isn’t the only thing that determines how influential you are. Every word you use at work expresses your personal brand, from your confidence and authority to your depth of knowledge. And it’s verbs–those action words that should be the engine of a sentence–that most often trip us up.
1. “THINK”
Who doesn’t use the expression “I think?” Your coworker might say, “I think we should move ahead with this project,” or your boss may tell you, “I think you’ve got a good idea.” Harmless enough, right?
The only trouble is that “think” doesn’t sound definitive. It subtly saps the power of whatever follows it. “Think” derives from an Old English word (“þencan” or “thencan”) meaning to “conceive in the mind, consider, meditate.” In other words, you’re subtly suggesting that you’re still considering the position you espouse–that you’re not sure of it.
2. “NEED”
When your boss says, “I need this report as soon as possible,” she undercuts herself. Using “need” conjures up a feeling of dependency on the part of the speaker, rather than of obligation and responsibility on the part of the team. I once heard a vice president say to her subordinate, “I need you to do something for me.” It made the tone of her request sound pleading rather than empowered. Simply put, “I need” makes you sound needy. To project more confidence, swap it with firm but polite phrases like, “Please have this report to me by next Friday.”
3. “WANT”
“Want” is really similar to “need”: It suggests the speaker is wanting or lacking in some way.
4. “GUESS”
“Guessing” conveys tentativeness. I once heard a CEO tell analysts, “Our best guess is that our profit for year’s end will be marginally better than last year’s.” There were so many ways he could have reframed that more confidently: “We expect our profit for the year to be ahead of last year’s,” or, “Our results should surpass last year’s.”
If you aren’t sure of the results, that’s fine! Don’t lie or exaggerate. Rather than “guess,” use the most confident expression you can.
5. “HOPE”
Leaders often begin statements with “I hope”: “I hope we’ll get that sale” or, “I hope you’ll be able to take on that assignment.” Rather than inspiring confidence, “hope” has a prayer-like quality, suggesting that the speaker has little control over the outcome.
What are some alternatives? Instead of saying you “hope” that a team will bring in a client sale, tell them, “I’m looking forward to a win,” or “I know you’ll give it your all.”
6. “SUPPOSE”
You’re having coffee with a colleague who asks if you’re going to an upcoming town hall meeting. If you answer, “I suppose so,” you quietly indicate that it doesn’t really matter to you–you’re not really engaged.
Language is a powerful force in all your impromptu conversations. And because there are more chances to use them, the small words and phrases you resort to every day at work can have an outsize impact on your leadership ability. Cut these six verbs from your lexicon, and you’ll start to notice your power and confidence climb.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MOTIVATING PEOPLE
What Not to Do When You’re Trying to Motivate Your Team
https://hbr.org/2018/07/what-not-to-do-when-youre-trying-to-motivate-your-team?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1lEq3YmaZjGgtvJE28Or3dPGEvgh5712S3W0ZNjcdLhaZWsdObSomPBwo
When I speak to large groups about leadership, one question I often ask is, “How many of you have ever received a compliment from your boss that actually offended you?” Without exception, more than two-thirds of the people in the room raise their hands. When I probe further on what people found offensive about their boss’s praise, the most common responses I hear are “It wasn’t sincere” and “They didn’t know what they were talking about.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
VCs have to train themselves to ‘ask the stupid questions’, says Hoxton Ventures’ Hussein Kanji
https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/18/vcs-have-to-train-themselves-to-ask-the-stupid-questions-says-hoxton-ventures-hussein-kanji/?tpcc=ECFB2020
If venture capitalists could predict the future, why wouldn’t they just start companies themselves? That’s the question Hussein Kanji, founding partner at Hoxton Ventures, asked rhetorically at Disrupt 2020.
“If anyone says that they have predictive power in this industry and says they know where the future is gonna be, I just question the wisdom of this,” he said during a session exploring how VCs seek out new markets before they even exist. “Because if you could figure it out, you could come up with the idea, you’re capable enough to be able to put all the pieces together, why would you not found the business?”
Instead, the key to betting on the future is to learn to ask the stupid questions. “I think it’s actually perfectly fine in the venture industry to not be the smart person and to kind of train yourself to be stupid and ask the stupid questions,” said Kanji. “I think a lot of people are probably too shy to do that. And a lot of people [are] probably too risk averse to then write the check when they don’t really understand exactly what it is that they’re investing into. But a lot of this stuff is a lightbulb moment”.
“The breakthrough for delivery, and for that whole industry, was you had smartphones, you could give smartphones to the drivers, you could track what the driver was doing, which is good because then you could route logistics, you know, with a smartphone… light bulb moment”.
Yet you don’t get that light bulb moment until someone walks in the door and explains it to you. “Then your natural question is… why now… what’s actually changed? Like, what makes this so interesting? Why didn’t someone come up with this a year ago? There’s almost always usually a reason for that kind of stuff. And then then the harder part of the job is … are you really picking number one?”
Entering or helping to create new markets is often not without controversy — which both Babylon and Deliveroo has attracted for different reasons. As real disruption inevitably creates societal consequences, it often raises ethical questions that, the Hoxton co-founder argues, aren’t always possible to anticipate early on. However, as the picture becomes clearer, he says VCs should absolutely care, along with, of course, founders and CEOs.
“One of the constant criticisms in the tech industry is, I think the maturity of our industry… we behave more like teenagers. And it’s great to be libertarian, it’s great to be free markets and say markets are gonna sort it out. But you’re gonna have touch points with a lot of other places in society. You’ve got to figure out, and I think, get ahead in terms of…what the impact is going to be, and be more responsible”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here’s how to tell in 10 seconds if someone knows the best way to give advice.
Why the Best Way to Give Advice Isn’t Giving Actual Advice
https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/why-best-way-to-give-advice-isnt-giving-actual-advice.html?cid=sf01002
The next time a friend has a startup idea, consider this tack instead.
When asked, Jeff Bezos’s boss at a hedge fund tried to discourage him from resigning to start Amazon, saying his idea was “probably a better idea for someone who doesn’t have a good job.” When asked, Walt Disney’s brother (and business partner) Roy tried to talk him out of making Snow White.
When asked, Warren Buffett’s father told him it was a bad time to enter the securities industry.
People who ask for advice regarding complex or important decisions rarely want you to tell them what to think. The problem is they’ve thought too much: They’re so deep in data and analysis and the pros/cons weeds that finding clarity is almost impossible.
At that point, the last thing they need are answers. They need non-leading questions they should ask themselves.
What we can do, though, is help the people who ask for advice work through the process of making the right decision for them.
Instead, I asked him a few questions. “How do you feel about your capital reserves?” He feels a little exposed in terms of cash, so I said, “One thing you have to decide is how much you want to tap into that. And at what point maximizing this opportunity is worth possibly not being able to jump on another opportunity in the next six or 12 months.
“You’re the only person who can answer that,” I said.
“Then you have to decide how much time you have available,” I said. “And are you better off doing the bare minimum, so you have time to complete the other projects you have going, or is optimizing this property’s cash flow and bottom line worth a few delays on other buildings?”
He nodded again.
I asked other questions. Like who he considers to be his ideal tenants. His long-term plans for the property. How this building fits into his overall portfolio.
Because there was no way for me to know what is right for him, I tried really hard not to steer him in any particular direction. Instead, I just tried to help him determine the right questions to ask–himself.
If a friend is considering leaving a great-paying job to start a company, don’t tell her it’s a good or bad idea. Help her find the right questions to ask herself. One of those could be, like Bezos, whether she will someday regret never having tried a lot more than having tried and failed. Or, like Disney, whether he believes audiences would love a full-length animated feature in a time when 7-minute shorts were the norm.
Or, like Buffett, whether he believes his determination and work ethic can overcome poor market conditions.
The next time someone asks you for advice, don’t tell them what to do. Definitely don’t tell them what you would do.
Instead, try to them find the right questions to ask themselves.
Because no matter how smart we might like to think we are…their answers are the only answers that matter.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How microaggressions look different when we’re working remotely
https://www.fastcompany.com/90551236/how-microaggressions-look-different-when-were-working-remotely?partner=rss&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss
Microaggressions still exist, even when we’re no longer sharing the same physical space. But they can take on new forms
Though you might think that working from home would cut down on the number of these incidents—after all, there are fewer opportunities for unstructured conversations these days—that’s simply not the case.
Dr. Chester Middlebrook Pierce first defined microaggressions in the 1970s. Today the term is included in the dictionary as “the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.”
According to Columbia professor Derald Wing Sue, whose team defined microaggressions as the “new face of racism” in 2007, these actions fit into one of three categories:
Microassault: an explicit racial derogation; verbal/nonverbal. For example, using racial slurs or refusing to work with someone because of their race, ethnicity, or national origin.
Microinsult: communication that conveys rudeness and demeans a person’s racial heritage or identity; subtle snubs, unknown to the perpetrator; hidden insulting message to the recipient. For example, telling someone they are not like others of their race or repeating an insensitive joke about the person’s ethnicity.
Microinvalidation: communication that excludes or negates the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person belonging to a particular group. This could include telling a person that they are being too sensitive or that they took your joke the wrong way.
AVOID COMMITTING MICROAGGRESSIONS YOURSELF
Finally, make sure you’re not making others uncomfortable either. If someone informs you that you have committed a microaggression, you should immediately apologize. Do not get defensive by justifying your behavior or downplaying their experience. Apologize sincerely and commit to not repeating that behavior. Also, commit to learning more about the marginalized identity group that your microaggression affected through independent research so that your ignorance doesn’t continue to cause them harm.
Tomi Engdahl says:
7 Things Steve Jobs Said That You Should Say Every Single Day
https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/7-things-steve-jobs-said-that-you-should-say-every-single-day.html
What you do is based on what you think. So borrow a few thoughts from Steve.
1. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
Ideas without action aren’t ideas. They’re regrets.
2. “I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
Everyone says they go the extra mile. Almost no one actually does. Most people who do go there think, “Wait–no one else is here. Why am I doing this?” And they leave, never to return.
3. “My model for business is the Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other’s kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other, and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That’s how I see business: Great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people.”
Some of your employees drive you nuts. Some of your customers are obnoxious. Some of your friends are selfish, all-about-me jerks.
Stop whining. You chose them.
4. “My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.”
Deadlines and time frames establish parameters, but usually not in a good way. Most people given two weeks to complete a task will instinctively adjust their effort so it actually takes two weeks–even if it shouldn’t.
5. “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”
Ask most people why they have been successful. Their answers will be filled with personal pronouns like “I” and “me.” Only occasionally will you hear “we.”
6. “I didn’t return to Apple to make a fortune. I’ve been very lucky in my life and already have one. When I was 25, my net worth was $100 million or so. I decided then that I wasn’t going to let it ruin my life. There’s no way you could ever spend it all, and I don’t view wealth as something that validates my intelligence.”
Money is important. Money does a lot of things. (One of the most important is to create choices.)
But after a certain point, money doesn’t make people happier. After about $75,000 a year, money doesn’t buy more (or less) happiness.
7. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
Don’t know what you’re passionate about? No problem. Pick something interesting. Pick something financially viable–something people will pay you to do or provide.
And one day, you will wake up feeling incredibly fulfilled–because you’re doing great work, work you’ve grown to love.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/07/most-important-skill-you-need-to-succeed-at-work-has-nothing-to-do-with-tech-says-psychologist.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Visionary leaders aren’t enough to make an organization change.
Why Visionary Leadership Fails
https://hbr.org/2019/02/why-visionary-leadership-fails?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=hbr&utm_medium=social
Visionary leadership is widely seen as key to strategic change. That’s because visionary leadership does not just set the strategic direction — it tells a story about why the change is worth pursuing and inspires people to embrace the change. Not surprisingly, then, science and practice have a very positive view of visionary leadership as a critical leadership competency.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://auntie.fi/tiimityo-yhdessa-vai-erikseen/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to lead a values-based life.
The Secret to Great Leadership Is in How You Choose to Spend Your Time. This Is How You Do It
https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/great-leadership-how-spend-time.html?cid=sf01002
Work, family, health, and fun. Now you can have it all.
One of the greatest failures a leader can be guilty of is not knowing why they lead. Before leaders can become inspiring and motivating examples to others, they must clarify who they are as a leader, and why they chose to put themselves into a leadership role.
This is an exercise of reaching deep inside yourself to ask two overarching questions:
What are my values?
Am I leading from my values?
Values-based leadership seeks to inspire and motivate others to pursue what matters most. Although the focus is on others, values-based leadership starts with the leader
“your 168.” This is the number of hours in a week, and everyone gets the same–no more, no fewer. The only difference is how we choose to spend our time.
To lead a values-based life of purpose and satisfaction, Kraemer advises that we become more aware of how we allocate our time in a way that reflects our values.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The rule of awkward silence is simple yet effective.
Why Intelligent Minds Like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs Embrace the Rule of Awkward Silence
https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/why-intelligent-minds-like-elon-musk-steve-jobs-embrace-rule-of-awkward-silence.html?cid=sf01002
The rule of awkward silence is great for critical thinking–and a key in developing emotional intelligence.
Love them or hate them, Elon Musk and Steve Jobs are known as two of the most brilliant minds the business world has ever seen.
Yet, despite their ability to process information, think critically, and identify key insights–many of which helped Tesla and Apple reach valuations into the billions of dollars–both men became known for an unexpected habit:
They’ve embraced the rule of awkward silence.
The rule of awkward silence is simple: When faced with a challenging question, instead of answering, you pause and think deeply about how you want to answer.
But make no mistake, this is no short pause. You might go five, 10, or even 15 seconds before offering a response. Which, if you’re not used to doing it, will feel very awkward–at first.
“If you pose to [Elon] a serious question,” says Reisman, “he’ll consider it. And he’ll kind of go into this, almost like a trance–he’ll stare off into space and you can see the wheels turning. And he’s focusing all of his intellect, which is considerable, on this one question.”
You can actually see this happen almost anytime Musk himself gives an interview. In fact, it’s not uncommon for Musk to take from between five to even 15 seconds to think before giving an answer.
Apple co-founder Jobs was known to do the same.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s a 2-step plan that will put you on a path to success.
Sundar Pichai’s 2-Step Plan for a Successful Life
https://www.inc.com/carmine-gallo/sundar-pichais-two-step-plan-for-a-successful-life.html?cid=sf01002
The Google CEO says follow your passion with an open mind.
When Google CEO Sundar Pichai arrived in the United States 27 years ago, he could never have imagined that he’d be leading one of the most valuable companies in the world. Looking back, Pichai credits “a deep passion and an open mind” for his success. It’s a two-step plan that will put you on a path to success, whether your goal is to find a dream job, build a satisfying career, or start a company.
Step 1. Find your passion.
“Take the time to find the thing that excites you more than anything else in the world,” Pichai recommended.
Passion takes courage, he added. Finding what you love to do is not always the same thing as what your parents, peers, or society say you should do.
Step 2. Pursue your passion with an open mind.
The second step to building a successful career is pursuing your passion with an “open mind.”
Pichai knew that he wanted to pursue his passion–technology–but he kept his mind open about where that passion might lead him.
I’ve often said that passion is everything. You cannot inspire others unless you’re inspired yourself. But while it’s easy to say “Find your passion,” it’s harder to describe what it means or what to look for.
In college, I had a passion for a subject–leadership and communication. I didn’t know how to make money from it or how to build a career from it, but I kept an open mind on where the journey might lead.
My passion for communication is the through-line in my career, but an open mind presented new opportunities.
“You will make the world better in your way, even if you don’t know exactly how,” Pichai told 2020 graduates. “The important thing is to be open-minded so that you can find what you love.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
3 of the biggest mistakes managers make that cause people to quit.
3 Signs to Immediately Recognize a Toxic Manager in Action
https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/signs-toxic-manager-work.html?cid=sf01002
Whether you manage people virtually or not, there are common patterns that will work against you.
For nearly two decades, I’ve combed through research to discover the top mistakes managers frequently make to disengage their workers and suck the life out of them.
Here are three of the biggest mistakes managers make that cause people to quit.
1. Micromanaging
2. Rude and disrespectful treatment
3. Having the final say
Tomi Engdahl says:
How To Cope With A Job Hunt During A Pandemic
http://on.forbes.com/6180GaMzC
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jeff Bezos’ ex MacKenzie Scott on her billions: ‘There’s no question’ that wealth is a result of ‘collective effort’ and ‘social structures’
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/29/jeff-bezos-ex-mackenzie-scott-on-her-billions-and-philanthropy.html?__source=Facebook%7CINT
Bezos, the richest person in the world, is worth $179.3 billion and still owns 11.1% of the company he started out of his garage in 1994, according to Forbes.
Scott wrote, “there’s no question in my mind that anyone’s personal wealth is the product of a collective effort, and of social structures which present opportunities to some people, and obstacles to countless others.”
“Like many, I watched the first half of 2020 with a mixture of heartbreak and horror,” Scott wrote. “Life will never stop finding fresh ways to expose inequities in our systems; or waking us up to the fact that a civilization this imbalanced is not only unjust, but also unstable.”
“Opportunities that flowed from the mere chance of skin color, sexual orientation, gender, or zip code may have yielded resources that can be powerful levers for change. People troubled by recent events can make new connections between privileges they’ve enjoyed and benefits they’ve taken for granted,” Scott wrote. “From there, many will choose to share some of what they have with people whose equal participation is essential to the construction of a better world.”
Scott said she made donations to 116 organizations working toward goals like racial equity, LGBTQ+ equity, gender equity, economic mobility, functional democracy, public health and climate change. Of those organizations, “91% of the racial equity organizations are run by leaders of color, 100% of the LGBTQ+ equity organizations are run by LGBTQ+ leaders, and 83% of the gender equity organizations are run by women, bringing lived experience to solutions for imbalanced social systems,” she wrote. “We selected for diversity in leadership across all categories of giving, supporting vital variety of perspective and experience in solutions on every cause.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Want to hire and retain high-quality developers? Give them stimulating work https://tcrn.ch/3mXb9RN
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lue Minnan blogista, kuinka itseohjautuvassa organisaatiossa ylläpidetään ihmisten motivaatiota mission ja vision kautta
Suunnaton motivaatio – eli voiko ihminen motivoitua, jos suunta ei ole selvillä?
https://www.nitor.com/fi/uutiset-ja-blogi/suunnaton-motivaatio-eli-voiko-ihminen-motivoitua-jos-suunta-ei-ole-selvilla
Motivaatio on voima, joka suuntaa meitä tiettyyn toimintaan ja määrittelee, miten paljon haluamme käyttää resurssejamme tuon toiminnan suorittamiseen. Tässä blogautuksessa pohdiskelen sitä, mitä itseohjautuvassa organisaatiossa tarvitaan ihmisten motivaation ylläpitämiseksi.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The New Normal Is The Distributed Company
http://on.forbes.com/6181Gx7lF
There has been a sharp increase in demand for property in upscale vacation areas, such as Lake Tahoe, about 200 miles from San Francisco, or The Hamptons, 100 miles from New York, from well-paid people fleeing the city and looking for properties with more space, as distributed work environments become the new norm and their children will also likely have to study from home.
More and more companies are making it clear that the distributed work environments are the future. It started with companies like Square or Twitter, which soon after lockdown announced that their workforce will not have to return to the office unless they expressly want to do so, and now giants like Google, Facebook or Apple, which are no longer in a hurry to get their staff back to the office and do not expect the situation to return to normal until mid-2021.
Tomi Engdahl says:
“On vaikeampi puhua duunitabuista kuin pornosta” – Ina Mikkola tarttuu työelämän kipupisteisiin ja rohkaisee meitä kaikkia puhumaan niistä
https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2020/09/27/on-vaikeampi-puhua-duunitabuista-kuin-pornosta-ina-mikkola-tarttuu-tyoelaman
Tomi Engdahl says:
Three Positive Mantras To Help Power Through The Pressure Of The Interview Process
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/02/11/three-positive-mantras-to-help-power-through-the-pressure-of-the-interview-process/