Audio Tidbits

If this is a hammer, then that has to be a nail. Sure, it’s just a twist on that old saying you already know quite well. Unfortunately, it’s generally truer than not. Although I discuss the notion in a management context, it applies most any time there is a job to do or a new situation to deal with in your family, community, or anywhere else you find yourself. Please listen for a tip about avoiding this little quirk of human nature.

Have you ever experienced a life changing event? I’m not talking about an event that prompted change in how you do something, think about things or how you handle some situations or circumstances. I am thinking about a fundamental change in who you are and how you perceive yourself and the world around you. You suddenly become a different person, someone who thinks, feels and behaves unlike the person you were. The notion is worth a careful thought or so. Please listen and see if you agree with my perspective on life changing events and real personal change.

Have you ever heard someone say, “No one intimidates me?” What do you think? Perhaps you have said that yourself.

I suspect that the person who makes such a declaration is somehow missing the obvious or maybe just doesn’t get it. Even if we are the best in the world at something we do, we aren’t the best in the world at everything we do. In this episode, I discuss those times when we aren’t the best and know it. There is someone or many someones who are much better at what we want to do than we are.

What do you do or want to do, knowing that you aren’t the best and most likely won’t ever come close to being the best? Who do you know that is much better at it than you are? That is where to look when trying to decide who intimidates you.

If this all rings a little bell for you, press play and listen. I have a tip you may find helpful.

Do you know the difference between real and fake delegation? Have you ever been told that a job or other responsibility was being delegated to you only to learn that the person doing the delegating was looking over your shoulder, second guessing you and criticizing what you were doing and how you were doing it? Even worse, have you ever been the delegator who was doing the looking over the shoulder and second guessing? In either case, you know all there is to know about fake delegation.

In this episode of Audio Tidbits Podcast, I discuss fake delegation, real delegation, and what it takes to be real. It’s not nearly as easy as it might seem. Please listen and see what your conclusion is.

How do you deal with your stress? You ask, “What makes you think I have stress?” Well, it’s pretty simple. We all have times of stress. It may be very stressful or only a little stressful, but stress it is. It may be what they call good stress that helps us deal with important situations and people, or it may be the bad kind that gets us down and is hard to handle. Nonetheless, stress is not something any of us can avoid.

In this episode of Audio Tidbits Podcast, I discuss how to handle the bad stress in our lives. Please listen. You may find the tip I share helpful as you deal with the stress in your life, as you appreciate the real value for all of us in having someone we can lean on.

When you hear the word “gossip,” do you lean toward thinking that gossip is a bad thing or toward thinking gossip is good? I suspect we are told more times that gossip is bad and that it’s not good to gossip. Well, what if I told you that not only is gossip good, it is essential to our survival in our families, our communities, and in our world? We can’t get along without it. Are you doubting me? Are you losing confidence in my judgment? Please listen and then decide. I think you may be surprised.

There are times to argue, if the arguement is of one kind, but if it is of the other kind, arguing has little to no point and may make worse the exact thing you want to improve. Please listen and see if you agree. If you happen not to agree, let's not argue about it.

What comes to mind when you hear that someone is assertive? The typical ideas quickly move to descriptions of behavior: what the assertive person says and does. More specifically, they focus on how he or she acts. But is this assertiveness?

On the surface, it is definitely assertiveness of sorts; but this type of behavior can easily transition into aggressiveness, unpleasantness and abrasiveness. When assertiveness is fundamental, this never happens. For the fundamentally assertive, it’s not about what they say, what they do or how they act. It’s all about who they are and how they are. It’s a matter of style. Please press play and hear for yourself.

How much do you struggle when making decisions? If you fit in with most of us, you don’t struggle much at all. You make dozens of decisions every day with little thought or indecision. Now and then though, there is a needed decision that slows you down and perhaps even causes you to stop in your tracks. This decision is important, makes a difference, is potentially very consequential. Press play and let’s think about those times when deciding gets difficult, when our decision makes a real difference for us and more generally for others. That’s when we need a decision strategy formulated just for us.

We know that being helpful, doing our share, accommodating to the needs and interests of others and generally being a good sport is a good thing, but there can sometimes be too much of a good thing. There the people who we all know who way underdo the notion of pitching in and helping but there are also those who way overdo it. Where are you on that range of being the proverbial Johny on the spot? Listen in to think about it with me.