NonsenseAtWork

At this time of year, we wonder whether we’ve been good enough to expect a reward from the jolly fat man in the corner office. Which is why it’s a good time to remind you that expectations can influence behavior.

When you keep to your kind, you are excluding many people. You are being unkind to those who are not your kind.

Here's what still worries me. When is it dung and when is it something useful? When is it nonsense and when is it sense? And who decides which is which?

Often we hesitate to answer because we fear. This fear is understandable when we are young and inexperienced. But it makes less sense when we are older and wiser.

If your attitude is to choose to be your anger, then you will react in anger. Which seldom ends well. But if you look at the situation differently so that you can choose your attitude to be "I feel angry," then you can choose how to direct that feeling of anger.

Before you judge someone for breaking your rules, make sure you understand *why* they broke your rules. Because if they broke your rules properly, then it is probably time for you to judge your rules instead.

The problem is two-fold. First, you can probably do it faster and smarter. And second, you are itching to jump in and get it done. Because you're a manager. It's your nature to get things done.

I am never surprised when leaders use we-talk when things go badly, and I-talk when things go well. Disappointed, yes. But never surprised.

We still discourage diversity. Why? Because uniformity is easier to manage. Because diversity is discomforting, hence inconvenient.

You will be ineffective if you ignore details that matter. And you will squander resources if you focus on issues that will fade away without your help.