Holidays - no longer a time for relaxation

According to a recent survey  83% of London’s City workers will be taking their Blackberry on holiday with them.  A quarter are going to check their email and a third take their laptop. 

This year whilst on holiday I noticed several people every night gathered around their laptops in the free WiFi area.  With one or two with their phone at the ready next to their sun lounger.  Whatever happened to it being OK to relax, switch off and chill out.  No one can be that indispensable that they can’t have at least 1 week away without their lack of input having a significant negative effect on the business.  I own a business and my commitment is to turn my mobile on once a day to pick up and respond to any urgent messages. 

Stephen Covey in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People talks about sharpening the saw.  If we keep pushing ourselves, with no time to refresh, then our performance and productivity is going to drop.  So too perhaps the enjoyment of our job.   I’m not going to witter on about delegation etc.  if people choose to be connected to their work whilst on holiday that’s their choice, but what if through your leadership you’re setting up a culture that says you expect people to be accessible, connected and involved 24/7 365.  If when you go on holiday and you phone in to work are you inadvertently saying “I expect you to do the same”, rather than making it clear it’s your choice.  The reasons for your staff staying in touch on holiday can be very insightful as to what’s emerging and taking hold as common work practice - are these what you want to encourage and embed?

Shoes, handbags and gladrags (or ties)…

We were out with friends at the weekend, and having already done a bit of light shoe appreciation, a little later in the night we indulged ourselves discussing our shoes in more detail and swapping favourite shoe shops. 

We all have ways of expressing our self image, be it a tie, socks, jewellery, handbags etc.  There are always little signs detailing an aspect of our personality, or something that just makes us feel fantastic.  For me footwear is more than something that keeps your feet dry.  In fact there have been times when a favourite pair of boots has been glued and better glued, was still letting in water when it rained and my response was to carry a spare pair of dry socks with me - yes my mum rolled her eyes. 

And so last Saturday night we purred about Poste Mistress shoes (especially the winter ranges) and drooled over boots we’d like to own.  [I am hopeful that this winter I'll find a pair of fuchsia pink or lime green boots, preferably mock crock with a great looking heel.]  Then, as conversations do, we bequeathed our shoe collection to each other when we die - it is important that they go to a good home.  Now hopefully this won’t be for a very long time as a) I’m sure we’d like to get some more personal pleasure from our shoes and b) we’d like to see each other live very long and happy lives.   

I can see it now, age 97 (minimum) at the funereal tea party reminding people that we have first pick over the other one’s shoe collection, because this was promised to us nearly 60 years ago.  Let’s hope our excellent taste in footwear remains and neither of us gets bunions.

Fancy instant success in a bottle?

Out there in the garden called life we see success and greatness all the time.  What we don’t often see is what it takes to get there.  With programs like X Factor we could be seduced in to thinking that you show case your natural talent, get a lucky break, appear on TV and Bob’s suddenly your uncle - or in this case Simon.  There is less emphasis on the trials, errors, commitment and sacrifice the person has gone through to develop their passion.  

We meet someone who has achieved what we want, and they offer to help us.  They’ve distilled their knowledge, learnings and mistakes in to something we can participate in and get the benefits in a fraction of the time.  Yet still there are those who want it even quicker.  All of those I know who have achieved success did it from the inside out.  They worked on their character as well as their competence. 

So I wonder, are we building a culture / workplace that eludes to, or expects instant fame, fortune and success in a bottle and if so how do we help people cope with the disappointment and disillusionment?  And will all of this help to build a more resilient generation or bitter cynicism?

What do you think?

You are what you read

How many books do you get to read every month?  And are they the sort you should be reading. 

I’ve always been a bit of a bookworm and I appreciate not everyone finds it a pleasure to read.  The one thing I have noticed in my choices, is that over the years the ratio of fiction to work orientated books has changed.  Depending on the content of what I’m reading (i.e how much it makes me think) I’ll read between 3 and 6 books a month, (not including audio products, journals and articles).  When I’m doing research that could increase to being about 6 per week.  Now I don’t expect my clients to read that many (although it’s nice if they do), however often when I give them a book to read in a month they choke (not literally you’ll be pleased to know). ” I don’t have the time”, is a common cry, usually seeing reading this as been on top of their job.  Yet the book absolutely relates to their work and their desired future. 

Jim Rohn said “are you feeding your brain protein or candy every day?”  Candy being TV, radio, etc. It’s the nice stuff that distracts us and helps us unwind.  I love watching NCISon a Friday night, yet if someone said you can watch it every night I’d say no thanks.  Another 5 hours of NCIS isn’t going to take me closer to achieving my vision.  5 hours reading something from my book shelves is going to be more useful investment.

What stimulus and inputs are you feeding to your brain on a daily basis and when you know what they are and exactly how much, is this exactly what you’d pick from the menu - or would you choose different options or change the portion size?

Whatever you’re doing right now is contributing to your current results, if you’re happy with these, great and keep going.  If you want different results then maybe it’s time to revisit the menu.