"Do or do not...there is no try."
- Yoda in Star Wars
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
The Hedgehogs of Incompetence
The hedgehogs of incompetence know how to persevere. They will draw out debates, call for additional research, delay, and fumble. And throughout these episodes, their goal will be simple: to outlast the competent.
It is a devilishly clever strategy. When you are not interested in getting things done, you have all the time in the world. It is the ambitious who are impatient and their impatience makes them easy prey. Eventually, they start to drift off. This one gets a promotion. That one takes a lateral move. A third leaves the organization.
After a while, no one is left but the hedgehogs. Mission accomplished.
How does one counter this? Engage the hedgehogs with information requests, pointed questions, surveys, evaluations of their performance, deadlines and more deadlines, and documentation. Let them begin to sense that their strategy of sloth is going to be used against them. They want to cruise. Make sure they can do anything but cruise. Box them in with procedures and policies and records of their commitments for there is one thing that hedgehogs cannot do and that is to admit they are hedgehogs.
You may drive them off for a change.
It is a devilishly clever strategy. When you are not interested in getting things done, you have all the time in the world. It is the ambitious who are impatient and their impatience makes them easy prey. Eventually, they start to drift off. This one gets a promotion. That one takes a lateral move. A third leaves the organization.
After a while, no one is left but the hedgehogs. Mission accomplished.
How does one counter this? Engage the hedgehogs with information requests, pointed questions, surveys, evaluations of their performance, deadlines and more deadlines, and documentation. Let them begin to sense that their strategy of sloth is going to be used against them. They want to cruise. Make sure they can do anything but cruise. Box them in with procedures and policies and records of their commitments for there is one thing that hedgehogs cannot do and that is to admit they are hedgehogs.
You may drive them off for a change.
Quote of the Day
The
Mind is ever a tourist
Wanting to touch and buy new things
Then toss them into an already
Filled closet.
- Hafiz (1320 - 1389)
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Top Ten Films of the Decade?
Richard Brody of The New Yorker is a brave or foolish man to list the top ten films of the decade.
Most of the films you are thinking of aren't on his list.
Most of the films you are thinking of aren't on his list.
The Fog Merchants
This post by Cultural Offering on the need to clear "fog" sparks many thoughts.
A quick one: Have you ever encountered the attitude that if something can be easily understood, it must be shallow? Conversely, there's the view that if an essay or position is hard to decipher, then it contains deep thought.
Fog merchants.
A quick one: Have you ever encountered the attitude that if something can be easily understood, it must be shallow? Conversely, there's the view that if an essay or position is hard to decipher, then it contains deep thought.
Fog merchants.
Music Break: Turkish March
Here's something to be humming today: Evgeny Kissin plays Beethoven's The Turkish March.
The Footnote Person
When Charles speaks, there is always a footnote. Sometimes, there are many footnotes.
Charles doesn't tell you about the footnotes. You have to spot them on your own. The footnotes may say "Disregard all previous statements" or "I'm just saying this to make you feel good" or "Will you be my pawn?" The contents of the footnotes are endless. Many of the footnotes have footnotes of their own.
Charles is a very pleasant person if you accept the fact that he is thoroughly unreliable.
I wonder how he got that way.
Charles doesn't tell you about the footnotes. You have to spot them on your own. The footnotes may say "Disregard all previous statements" or "I'm just saying this to make you feel good" or "Will you be my pawn?" The contents of the footnotes are endless. Many of the footnotes have footnotes of their own.
Charles is a very pleasant person if you accept the fact that he is thoroughly unreliable.
I wonder how he got that way.
The Skeptic Game
Let's play The Skeptic Game.
You know the rules because you've probably encountered some world-class players, but I'll repeat them anyway and in fact, there's only one: A negative spin is put on any action, no matter how noble, innocent or selfless.
For example:
A boss treats all of the employees to lunch.
And the skeptic says:
"Just trying to buy their affection."
"It's too bad the rest of us can't afford such tabs."
"That means something bad is coming next week."
With that attitude in mind, consider how a skeptic can quickly spin the following:
You know the rules because you've probably encountered some world-class players, but I'll repeat them anyway and in fact, there's only one: A negative spin is put on any action, no matter how noble, innocent or selfless.
For example:
A boss treats all of the employees to lunch.
And the skeptic says:
"Just trying to buy their affection."
"It's too bad the rest of us can't afford such tabs."
"That means something bad is coming next week."
With that attitude in mind, consider how a skeptic can quickly spin the following:
- An intern is talking about something that was mentioned in a management class.
- A young woman is promoted to head the IT Department.
- The boss passes out copies of a leadership book to the entire team.
- Fred and Mary volunteer to go to the computer conference in Cleveland.
Then estimate how much damage a resident skeptic can do to a work unit.
Quote of the Day
The word aerobics came about when the gym instructors got together and said, "If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it jumping up and down."
- Rita Rudner
- Rita Rudner
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