Tales From Corporate

The five day work week was born after the Industrial Revolution drove people to work under high pressure, unjust and often unsafe conditions that resulted in lives lost.

Following this latest global pandemic, workers found themselves working under high pressure, unjust and often unsafe conditions at hospitals, retail stores, offices, manual labor sites and other workplace areas due to close proximity to others who had contracted COVID-19. 

People are not engaging in The Great Resignation because they don’t want to work; they want to receive value for the work they do. When the economy slowed to a halt, we were forced to evaluate what we did and why, who we did it for, how we were treated and how much it paid. A while back our show talked about seeing the signs around your workplace that a mutiny is about to take place. Now, mutinies are being experienced in all industrial sectors of our nation, at the same time as the greatest supply chain breakdown the world has ever seen unfolds.

In an epic corporate tale, Elizabeth Holmes faces trial for claiming her company, Theranos, co-run by her married lover and COO Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, revolutionized medicine. All while dating her chief operating officer, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani.

Start-ups often claim that they often need to appear further down the path of product development than they actually are to attract and retain investments. Employees at Theranos may not have signed up to misrepresent their blood testing devices or support the lie that it worked, placing human lives in real risk.

Who among us seem to consistently skirt the law and accountability in the name of innovation? Many people of color are wondering if most of them would ever get away with being so very wrong yet strong with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake.

How often are communication plans and press releases well-thought out vs. piss-poor? Especially during these uncertain times, people want to hear more from their leaders - no matter how plain that leader’s Zoom background looks. 

That said, if that leader shares lies, blunders and insensitive comments, most people want to hear much much less. 

How critically do you consume leadership communications? Do you often triangulate what you hear or read? Whether the subject is about return to work, or addressing a PR crisis, leaders can either pivot based on new information and more forward, or stay wrong and strong in their messaging.

Our world has changed tremendously in the last two years, which has increased stress levels, and decreased quality of life and work for many of us.

How are you handling these waves of change, if at all?

Listen in as our 1st guest on the pod, Dr. Portia A. Jackson Preston (www.PortiaJackson.com), shares with us acknowledgment, approach, clarity and other gifts to manage.

“Hey - I’m not getting paid enough.” Are you prone to helping yourself to things that belong to other colleagues? Do you partake in the proverbial five-finger discount? That treat in the fridge you know isn’t yours. Doing the most while on disability leave (i.e. - skiing in Aspen anyone?). Or maybe those company funds that you have access to, that you’re convinced no one will miss.

Regardless of how seemingly small, these transgressions could be the reason you are fired or worse, criminally indicted. From that standpoint one has to ask oneself, is it worth it?

The chaos of flight delays and cancellations recently angered and disappointed thousands of people, leaving airline employees on the front line to receive their wrath.

How do the communications flowing from the top at corporate impact the success of their business? 

Regardless of the name of the airline or company, factors like timing, tone and delivery of communications can make all the difference in people’s perceptions and likelihood to do additional business with your firm.

Return to the Office!

Collectively and Globally Employers have pushed and back tracked plans to return to the office in 2021.

Employees are exhausted but also are not in a rush to return either.

Do we really need to return to life as it was before?

They work amongst us, but do you see them?

Do you know their names?

Do you listen when they speak?

Do you acknowledge their contributions of work and importance in the Office culture?

Crucial and often overlooked, but that should change with the global pandemic, as we give gratitude to all that play their part in the Org.

We all know the type. 

The type who makes you wonder, “How the hell did THEY get THAT role? 

The type that lacks the level of competence, education, training, disposition or  experience that a reasonable person would expect from the person occupying THAT role.

The type who has no shame, despite their glaring lack of qualifications. Seemingly blessed with a bottomless supply of confidence, they are often A-OK with being wrong-and-strong at work. You know who we mean (if not, and you have been working for years, this type may describe you). 

While the Exceptionally Confident but Minimally Qualified in Corporate America seem to be living their best professional lives, are they really?

Welcome to Season 2

When all things are considered, is there any true progress being made with these three words in Corporate America?

Behind closed doors, there are scores of organizational conversations focused on what used to be called Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), but is now known as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) in the U.S., even decades after the Civil Rights movement. Consultants hired, formal initiatives stood up, committees formed, all in the name of developing and meeting new firm DE&I goals.

But why is it that Corporate America in the year 2021 still needs to be reminded to be diverse?

Regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Corporate America, will real, enduring change ever truly come?