photo credit: melalouise

This year, I started a web marketing optimization company (called [meta]marketer) and we’re truly doing well. I found a business partner I respect and admire and who shares many of my core values, and we hired someone with a lot of smarts and talent and who also wants to make a positive influence on the the world. We’re small, but we’re growing, and we have big plans.

And then there’s this blog, which has been a great opportunity for me to focus my thoughts and remind myself why it’s important to me to lead with integrity and be a force for positive change in the business community, however small my impact. Sometimes it’s a lot to keep up with, especially when I’m up to my ears in leads I need to follow up with and client meetings to attend to, but it’s worth having a place to come back to and renew my passion for good in business.

And of course, there’s my life partner, who, despite being wired for art and beauty and hedonism and everything non-corporate, understands my corporate idealism and patiently puts up with my excessive work hours and workload.

I’m healthy, I’m happy, I have good prospects ahead of me, and I love the people around me.

If that’s not success, I don’t know what is.

I hope you have a wonderful, happy, healthy Thanksgiving and a restful long weekend, and that you come back to work next Monday recharged and ready to do good work.

photo credit: the_progressive

Over at WebWorkerDaily, there’s a great article called Teach an Old Dog New Tricks: How to Break Bad Work Habits. Karen Leland admits that impatience is her bad habit, and it affects her work:

In terms of how it’s affected my productivity at work, I’m embarrassed to say that my impatience has led to countless instances of emails sent in a hurry, which only needed to be retracted or clarified latter; decisions made on quick assumptions — that turned out to be wrong — and occasional crankiness with those around me who are not moving fast enough.

She goes on to list steps to break bad habits, including naming the habit and setting up alternate actions to get around the habitual behavior.

How have you overcome bad habits at work?

photo credit: Wagner Machado Carlos Lemes

If the rows and rows of self-help books at the local bookstore are to be believed, we should all be trying to improve ourselves in various ways every moment of every day. And sure, there’s something to be said for allowing yourself to evaluate your own skills and characteristics with unflinching honesty and making efforts to improve areas that matter, especially if something you do (or don’t do) negatively affects other people.

But a post in the wonderful blog Dumb Little Man puts forth that, for greatest gain, we should concentrate on our strengths, not our weaknesses:

It’s so intuitive – “I’m worst at tasks involving my weaknesses, so my greatest potential for development is in these areas. If I work on those things, I’ll become rounded!” Too bad it’s incorrect. Your strengths represent your natural ways of responding to the world; by going ‘with the grain’, instead of against it, you’ll find it easier to perform the amount of practice necessary to reach expertise in your chosen field.

It’s such a great observation, and so easy to overlook. After all, it’s easier to build on momentum than to counteract inertia. I give this advice to my clients when it comes to marketing, as well: concentrate on what’s going right, and figure out how to piggyback off of that in as many ways as possible.

What’s more, as they point out further into the article:

strengths-use leads to happiness. Achieving this happiness means both finding tasks that are suited to your strengths, and finding ways to involve your strengths into the tasks that you do.

Does this mean you shouldn’t look in the proverbial mirror every so often and give yourself a good hard review for potential areas of improvement? Not at all. But it does suggest that the majority of your time is best spent developing your talents and becoming even more of a rockstar at them.

photo credit: greg westfall.

According to the results of a July 2009 McKinsey Quarterly survey, many of us have more responsibilities (without a corresponding increase in title or pay) and a good deal more stress since the economic downturn began. In an article called Leaders in the crisis, Kevin Lane and Monica McGurk summarize the survey’s findings:

Most respondents are working more hours since the crisis began, and nearly 40 percent have more responsibilities without the benefit of a new title. But although stress levels have increased, most executives say they can cope.

There’s a lot more great content in the article, particularly dealing with motivating employees who are overwhelmed and overworked, and keeping the company staff aligned. Definitely be sure to read the whole thing, particularly if you manage people and want some tips on motivating them through these conditions.

But it leads us to wonder: what are you doing personally to cope with your stress? Even if your techniques aren’t completely healthy, we’re curious. And especially if you have healthy techniques we haven’t listed in the poll, be sure to share them in the comments.

photo credit: dan taylor

Jeff Stibel writes over at the Conversation Starter blog at HarvardBusiness.org about 7 Ways to Be Happier at Work. We’ve talked before about how to feel good about your work, but you can just about not cover this topic enough. One of my favorites on his list is this:

Do things differently. Part of the problem at work for many people is boredom. We are stuck in a rut where we come in and do the same thing over and over and over again. Get your enthusiasm back by doing things differently. Make every effort to learn, to grow, and to challenge yourself. Take on more responsibility or attempt something you never thought you were capable of doing. Even if your responsibilities don’t allow for much flexibility, try a different approach to your existing responsibilities.

I once managed someone who needed coaching to improve his work process, but he so resisted change that we decided to try making one very small change in his work process each week. Each Monday, we’d decide if the change from the previous week had become enough of a habit yet to try adding a new change, and most of the time it hadn’t. He was so entrenched in his old way of doing things that it was all but impossible for him to accept even the slightest variation.

That’s not an isolated example in much of the workforce. People in general are distressed by change, and they avoid it at nearly all costs. But when you resist change, not only do you miss out on the benefit Jeff Stibel mentions of breaking out of a rut, you also stand to miss out on new possibilities when the culture around you changes. If your reaction to change is to dig your heels in and cling to the old ways, you may be thought a hindrance to progress. As Scott Robinson writes at TechRepublic:

Culture change in corporations is often breathtakingly rapid because only the largest multinational corporations can get away with gradual change. Change is never easy, and it can be traumatic for some, especially when it’s rapid and broad in its scope. But a company streamlines its in-house culture to redesign the way it does business.

In other words, it’s often get with the program or get out of the way. Understandably, the greatest resistance to change usually comes from fear: fear of the unknown, of what will happen to our individual roles once the changes sweep over the land. And in this time of economic uncertainty, that fear can be strongly exacerbated by looking around and seeing friends and loved ones out of work. But by far the best way to ensure that you’re not a corporate casualty is to adapt as smoothly as possible. If you can’t visualize yourself as a full participant in the new corporate structure or new corporate culture, it may be difficult for others to visualize you there.

Our best bet, then, when we see change coming our way, is not to cling to the old ways, but to view the change as an opportunity to learn, grow, challenge ourselves, and yes, ultimately, be happier.

photo credit: faeryboots

I was recently emailed by a friend of mine. Adrian is a corporate idealist, no doubt. But he’s also more of a vagabond idealist. Chances are slim that he’ll return to what most of us consider the ‘corporate’ life. Instead, he’ll blaze his own trail, one that clearly defines his own understanding of work, life, passion and impact.

Adrian sent me a link to this story, which ran in the New York Times last month. It highlights the idea of a nation – yes, an entire nation – measuring the success of their economy by a Gross National Happiness index. The two-minute video on the left will give you the idea of what’s going on.

Here’s how G.N.H is measured in Bhutan:

Specifically, the government has determined that the four pillars of a happy society involve the economy, culture, the environment and good governance. It breaks these into nine domains: psychological well-being, ecology, health, education, culture, living standards, time use, community vitality and good governance, each with its own weighted and unweighted G.N.H. index.

While I don’t want to debate the realities of a major country (like the U.S.) adapting this model, the four pillars and nine domains may have a lot to say about our personal understanding of work/life balance.

Instead of lobbying Congress to adopt a G.N.H index, how about you develop one in your own life? In looking at the above 13 themes, where do you stack up personally? Take some time this weekend and take stock of your own life. See what your personal G.N.H. is and make changes in the areas that need to be improved.

You may find, as Bhutan did, that your very survival (corporate or otherwise) depends on it.

Let your newest good accomplishments speak for themselves. To avoid bad stories about the past, create new stories. For example, if Thain had started a smart new anti-poverty program since leaving Merrill and Bank of America, he might be in the news for other reasons than executive bonuses.

In the throes of embarassment and anger, it can be difficult to suppress the urge to lash out and hurt those who are hurting you. But as the article points out, it only tends to make it more difficult to move on.

Instead, finding the will to focus on future accomplishments and shift focus to what you’re doing now, rather than what you were doing before, is the best way to ease the transition to whatever comes next.

And something will come next.

What are your best tips for handling a job break-up with dignity?

Below are some ideas for kickstarting your satisfaction and motivation.

1. Keep a customer focus. If you work in an environment with a call center or customer service group and you’re not part of it, look into spending a lunch or break listening to calls or reading emails. You might even be able to answer some. It’s amazing how being reminded of why you’re in business can make all kinds of politics and tedium bearable and more meaningful.
   
2. Go for a walk. While you’re out, clear your mind, listen to the birds, take deep breaths, and gradually let yourself start thinking about your work again. Nine times out of ten, you’ll approach your work with new clarity afterwards and you’ll be able to bring positivity to your work.
3. Do pro bono work for a local non-profit you believe in. Not only do they get your quality work, but you get a recognizable name to add to your portfolio.One word of caution about pro bono work: you have to take it seriously. Don’t sign up to do it if you’re not going to make it a priority in your schedule. You won’t be doing the organization any favors if you cause them to miss schedule targets, and you can really give yourself a professional black eye if you come off looking like a flake.
4. Start a recycling program if your company doesn’t already have one. If you work in a large organization, approach your operations group about collecting recyclables and signing up a service to process them. If you’re in a smaller company and this isn’t in the budget, you can always organize a group of people who are willing to do the work themselves: set up a schedule and everyone take turns taking glass, say, to a recycling center once a week. Or do it as a department; it makes a great team builder.

Now it’s your turn: what are your tricks for making yourself happy at work? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Dan4th, via flickr

An article in FT.com addresses the gloom typically felt by executives (and others) during a downtown and offers reasons to be cheerful.

There is still business to be done, demand to be met, and customers to be served.

Moreover:

Donald Sull, professor of management practice at London Business School, wrote recently about seizing the upside of a downturn. “Most managers look for golden opportunities when the good times are rolling,” he said. “This is a mistake. The best opportunities often arise during downturns when distressed sellers are forced to offload valuable assets at bargain prices.”

Sure, it’s hard to hear this when you’re struggling with something external, like being out of work, or if you’re a manager, being required to let people go. These are difficult circumstances, but it’s no less true that there are still opportunities out there.

Now let’s hear from you: what are your stories of opportunities that have come to you at this most unexpected of times?

BusinessWeek talks about how to handle those cases. True to our philosophy of being the change you wish to see, here’s what stood out to us:

Your boss will betray your trust, then tell you to stay positive. Your boss will chastise you for your behavior, then act the same way. Sure, you can quit, but have you gained anything besides an ulcer? Instead, make the most of your time. Focus on gaining the right experience, building your interpersonal skills, and policing your attitude. They are your ticket out. Absorb those daily humiliations, so you never become like your boss. Most important, don’t write off the message because of the messenger. Your boss didn’t reach this level by accident. Be open to criticisms and suggestions. You’ll likely miss some valuable nuggets if you completely tune out your boss.

Personally, I would have to agree. I’ve had a series of bad bosses, and have learned something from all of them. If nothing else, as the excerpt above suggests, I learned how to be a better boss myself by not doing what these people did.

What have you learned from bad boss experiences? Tell us in the comments.