NonsenseAtWork

#43: Get lost to get fresh

An episode of NonsenseAtWork

By The Chief Nonsense Officer
nonsenseatwork.com
About
Nonsense stops you from being successful. Nonsense is always at work. It never stops. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there is always some sense in nonsense, if you look for it. The Chief Nonsense Officer aims to help you make the nonsense at work work for you (in 60 seconds. No more, no less). Make contact via james@nonsenseatwork.com
More places to listen
Nonsense stops you from being successful. Nonsense is always at work. It never stops. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there is always some sense in nonsense, if you look for it. The Chief Nonsense Officer aims to help you make the nonsense at work work for you (in 60 seconds. No more, no less). Make contact via james@nonsenseatwork.com
nonsenseatwork.com

More places to listen

#52: When you plan, plan to fuhgeddaboudit
If you must project, then at least start with zeros. Zero-based thinking will help you lose your memory.
01:00
December 5, 2019
#51: Why you struggle to look blown-away busy
Fake busyness has taught me three lessons.
01:00
December 4, 2019
#50: You will fail unless you check the order of things
As with much in life, it’s all in the order of things. Sequence matters. In the beginning was not the end.
01:00
December 3, 2019
#49: Your one habit is making you a pessimist or an optimist
The word ‘expectation’ has two meanings. It can mean ‘looking forward to’ or ‘it is my due.’
01:00
November 27, 2019
#48: You will benefit from being entitled to give thanks
Here we go again, the time of year that highlights entitlement.  Thanksgiving is simply too close to Giveme, that other celebrated family holiday.
01:00
November 26, 2019
#47: Your goal has a gap between promised and delivered
We have been conned into believing that shouting a goal will force us to achieve it. Or risk being embarrassed. This is simply not correct.
01:00
November 22, 2019
#46: You must dance to get stoned
We get stuck when we don't do and we don't move.
01:00
November 21, 2019
#45: How fearful is your short-sighted hierarchy?
Fear at any level on the hierarchy makes all of us short-sighted.
01:00
November 5, 2019
#44: To be a leader, be a leader
You want to be a leader? Then be a leader. It’s that simple. However, there’s just one little problem.
01:00
October 31, 2019
#43: Get lost to get fresh
Get lost for a fresh perspective on life.
01:00
October 29, 2019
#42: Why you can’t live your life in a straight line
The turns determine where you end up.
01:00
October 24, 2019
#41: No tantrum needed as you add bad days
Why do infants throw more effective tantrums than adults?
01:00
October 22, 2019
#40: Trying to be glum is too much fun
Happy chappies with their fake smiley faces and their ‘have a nice day’ choruses annoy me into grumpy retorts. 
01:00
October 17, 2019
#39: Can the bad, then raise the praise
It seems that every generation repeats the same old debate: should we reward good behavior or punish bad?
01:00
October 15, 2019
#38: Become a bigger Who as you shrink your What
By now you know there are only three ways of changing.
01:00
October 10, 2019
#37: Give goals the laser treatment before it’s too late
Here’s the trick to achieving your goals. When you are running out of time, it’s time to make like a laser.
01:00
October 8, 2019
#36: When in a moral morass, think with your gut
Are you a moral hypocrite? Of course you are. So are we.
01:00
October 3, 2019
#35: How to avoid written tomatoes
Yes, you have a powerful way to stop the on-line bully. 
01:00
October 1, 2019
#34: Why a calm center leads frenzied activity
The closer you are to the center of things, the slower you need to move, the less you need to do, to get somewhere new.
01:00
September 26, 2019
#33: When teamwork means specializing in nonsense
Too often, at least for my liking, I encounter teams that allow people to specialize in nonsense, and to become very good at it too. 
01:00
September 24, 2019
#32: When slipping on uncertainty, follow your heart
All small decisions, if you know the facts, should be dealt with consciously. But in large matters, where facts are missing and things uncertain, you must follow your heart.
01:00
September 20, 2019
#31: How not to join the dark side of emotional intelligence
The dark side to people skills has always existed. We join the dark side when we assume we are too intelligent to have our emotions manipulated.
01:00
September 17, 2019
#30: Stop encouraging leadership at work
What are leaders supposed to do? That’s right, leaders are supposed to create a passionate vision that will inspire me to live up to my full potential.
01:00
September 12, 2019
#29: Don’t ignore clueless communicators who have earned respect
I get very annoyed when I read a garbled report, a jumbled email or a truncated text message. Surely, being able to write well is a basic requirement for success.
01:00
September 10, 2019
#28: Let them make excuses for you, not use you as the excuse
Politics, it seems, is everywhere. It is supposedly a good thing because it helps you to get things done. Actually, it is a way of claiming success without being seen as the snake on the corporate ladder.
01:00
September 5, 2019
#27: Success depends on having access to gossip without passing it on
The trick is to have access to gossip without passing it on.
01:00
September 3, 2019
#26: Don't judge a culture by its covers
Americans are truly strange. So I thought many years ago on my first Memorial Day in the USA.
01:00
August 29, 2019
#25: Leadership tricks for a summer holiday
Are you one of those executive types who simply cannot shrug off the leadership mantle on your day off? Then try these tricks.
01:00
August 27, 2019
#24: Liking you is not a recommendation
I like you.  But I’m not sure that I can recommend you.
01:00
August 22, 2019
#23: Struggle free of nose grinding
As you recover from your vacation, give yourself a break and walk the easier path.
01:00
August 20, 2019
#22: Create imbalance to make change happen
 The way to create change is to first create imbalance. Let me explain.
01:00
August 15, 2019
#21: Vacation time is wasted time unless you're in time
Are you going on vacation?  Oh well, it will be a complete waste of time... unless you are in time. No, not on time. In time.
01:00
August 13, 2019
#20: How to be a real manager on vacation
August is the month when real managers go on vacation while juniors hold the fort. It is also when a lot of MBWA takes place.
01:00
August 8, 2019
#19: Delegate your office to have a proper vacation
The fear of being held responsible stops many managers from delegating effectively. And thus from having a decent vacation.
01:00
August 6, 2019
#18: The safety in setting nonsense goals
Have you seen that ridiculous sticker on the back of big trucks?  You know the one.  “Safety is my goal.”
01:00
August 1, 2019
#17: Bad mood rising makes you less gullible
Bad moods help me to think clearer about how to be cranky.
01:00
July 30, 2019
#16: What is the key aspect of leadership?
Is there one aspect of leadership that is critical above all others?
01:00
July 25, 2019
#15: The sticky memory in balanced threes
 Use this trick when giving a talk and you want your message to stay standing even after the audience has left. 
01:00
July 23, 2019
#14: Science made me shifty
The human face is mentally demanding, and so, to focus my brain, I look away. To think.
01:00
July 18, 2019
#13: Why I look away to give you a thoughtful response
I learned long ago that looking away keeps stray thoughts at bay.
01:00
July 16, 2019
#12: Don’t only build your strengths
Your strengths might make you a superstar for a while in one special  area, but those same strengths might make you a dysfunctional manager,  parent or spouse. 
01:00
July 12, 2019
#11: Whistle as you (stop) work
Remember when we had a time limited for work? It was called the 8-hour day and the 40-hour week. 
01:00
July 10, 2019
#10: The three most important words I have learned
When a leader makes a statement, outlines a plan or offers a solution, followers stop thinking.
01:00
July 3, 2019
#9: Periodically pull the plug to wipe your life
What do you do with too many emails, too many text messages, too many articles saved for later? You don’t cut out, shut down or stop saving, do you?
01:00
July 2, 2019
#8: How your curvaceous bottom can lead to liking (your job or project)
Don’t give up when it feels like you’ve hit bottom. That’s where you find the curve that takes you to the top.
01:00
July 1, 2019
Please match your content with context
If you want to act a part or show off, then use a stage. If you want to build a solid foundation for a concept or a career, then use a platform for support.
01:00
June 28, 2019
Why I expect nonsense in every cubicle, corner office and boardroom
From that day onwards I treated organizational life with a great deal of suspicion, expecting nonsense in every cubicle, corner office and boardroom. I have inhabited them all and nonsense has not disappointed.
01:00
June 27, 2019
Slow down, you speak too fast
Speaking too fast is a common mistake. We know that we can listen faster than a speaker can speak, and so when it is our turn to speak, we speed up.
01:00
June 22, 2019
What has me dumbfounded and keeps me flabbergasted about amazing, astounding and astonishing teamwork
It is ridiculous for business teams to try to be like sports teams. And it can be dangerous. Here’s why.
03:50
June 22, 2019
Why nonsense happens at work
Organizations are strange concoctions. They are staffed with people who agree to strive for collective objectives in exchange for individual rewards.
01:00
June 22, 2019
Why nonsense is abundant
Why is nonsense so abundant? Because it is a natural, renewable resource.
01:00
June 22, 2019
Why Nonsense At Work Will Be in Little Bytes of 60 Seconds
The Chief Nonsense Officer explains why future episodes will be exactly 60 seconds in length. (More on www.nonsenseatwork.com)
02:22
June 21, 2019
Introduction to Nonsense At Work
What is nonsense (at work)? Why is there a podcast about nonsense at work? Does nonsense have a purpose? How should you react to a podcast on nonsense at work? Answers supplied in this episode. (More on www.nonsenseatwork.com)
01:51
June 21, 2019
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