Be the Post Office.  That’s probably the easiest way to not make money. But if you want a more sophisticated answer it’s have an attitude of “it’s not my job.” I get paid to bring change to organizations.  That’s my job.  And I love it.  There are very few drawbacks to that line of work.  But one of the biggest is the fact that I can’t read a story about something without ...

It’s human nature to complain.  It’s also human nature to try and appease those who complain.  But this might be the worst thing you can do.  Forget the fact that you’re reinforcing the wrong behavior (would you let your kid go out with their friends on Friday if they didn’t come home last weekend?) The real problem with greasing the squeaky wheel is that we’re destroying our chances of creating change. Whenever we create change, we’re going to produce a lot of squeaky wheels.  People aren’t going to want to change.  They might like the old systems.  Or maybe they are in ...

I love cinnamon rolls.  In fact I probably am a bit obsessed with them.  Fortunately a nearby grocery store carries the best cinnamon rolls.  But you see I only really like one type of cinnamon roll.  The kind that is “wrapped.”  (It’s the kind where you take a strip of dough and roll it like a fire hose.)  Now the grocery store doesn’t always carry this type.  They seem to alternate between two different kinds.  Well I kept buying the non-wrapped cinnamon rolls.  I thought “oh these will be just ...

Volunteers are special people.  They agree to do a lot of work that you and I would only do if someone paid us.  They save organizations, time, money, benefits, energy and a host of other things.  Often they are our biggest supporters. Yet we don’t always treat them that way.  We can easily lose sight of what drives them, what motivates them.  This isn’t a condemnation of us.  We often have good intentions to work with volunteers, but we are busy too.  And sometimes volunteer things get pushed to the bottom… When this ...

Most of us don’t have the luxury of working from home.  Most of us are still trapped in the cubicle farms or factory floors.  Of course that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.  But many times it is.  Besides all of the usual hassles and issues of working with others (to err is human!), there is something I think we overlook – noise. I was thinking about that today as I was having a hard time concentrating.  In my current consulting role I spend a lot of time in a cubicle.  Why?  Because sometimes there is no better way to ...