Where business and the arts meet, making work better together.
Next Wednesday a bunch of us will be having a ton of useful fun down at the Connectinghr unconference. Specifically we will be:
Trying not to take ourselves too seriously đ
Meeting interesting people and having interesting and useful conversations
Figuring out the meaning of life
And kicking up a racket
Would you like to join us?
Thanks to Patrick Hadfield for the photos. You can catch Patrick on Twitter and over at his blog too. Look forward to seeing you next Wednesday.
I left the house without my bag this morning and had to dash back and get it. On my way back to the station I forgot to look both ways crossing the road and had a narrow squeak. I’ve managed to survive the rest of the day so far and got to thinking about forgetting things. So in no particular order, here are five things I think we’ve forgotten how to use properly.
1. Roundabouts
I used to think that in England, we give way to the right on a roundabout. These days I’m not so sure. After several happy years without a car I was given one recently, and since then I’ve lost count of the number of times the front of my car has been narrowly missed by white van man. He seems to be able to simultaneously swear, drive with his knees, smoke and text. Yet the simple act of giving way at a roundabout eludes him. Still, at least it blows the argument that us blokes can’t multitask eh?
2. Speak Up
People often tell me they don’t like being told what to do yet they persist in dumbly allowing their boss to tell ’em. Maybe there’s a better way? But you sure as hell ain’t gonna find out if you don’t open your mouth and start the conversation. And if you really feel that’s not possible where you work, find another job.
3. Peanut Butter
Peanut butter can only exist in one of two magic quadrants. They are: 1. toasted crumpet, butter, marmite, peanut butter (strictly in that order) and 2. White bread, butter, jam, peanut butter (again, strictly in that order). Any other use of peanut butter is heresy.
4. Swearing
I can remember when the power of a good swear made the hairs on my neck stand up. A well timed, passionate swear can be the gateway to many exciting things. Trouble is, nowadays, folks’ dialogue is riddled with arseholes, bastards, pricks and wankers. So please, swear smartly.
5. Connecting Stuff
In the olde days, folks used to choose where to post stuff based on the likely audience. Career type stuff on LinkedIn, conversational stuff on Twitter, and goofing off on Facebook. Then some smartass decided it would be really cool if all these tools could be seamlessly connected. So now when I go to LinkedIn I get to see who just went for a run and who just checked in at the kwik e mart. And I’d rather not thanks. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should.
I’m starting to think I’ve lost, or at least forgotten, my marbles today. What have you seen people forget lately?
I’ve been extremely fortunate of late. I’ve done loads of good work, been out and about at lots of events and met plenty of interesting people. A lot of this interaction has resulted in some really positive, supportive and lovely feedback. And even the stuff that’s not been lovely has been very useful in helping me to think about how I can improve. From conversations with Carole I know she has recently been getting lots of lovely useful feedback from the people she teaches to swim (plus a particularly yummy piece of chocolate feedback too). And so has Keira. Her improvements in drumming and school have resulted in well done’s, keep it going’s and even a couple of merit points. It’s all good.
But hang on a minute. Today is Friday, ain’t I supposed to be angry today? Hell yeah! I’m angry all right. I’m angry on behalf of all those  people doing good work in companies and getting no feedback at all, let alone anything lovely or useful. A few days back I tweeted about a piece of super client feedback and Neil Usher responded:
Neil’s reply got me thinking back to my twelve and a half years in BT. I got well paid, I got a car, a pension, and lots of other things besides. But in all honesty one of the main reasons I left BT was an almost total absence of timely, useful feedback. And I know from many conversations with many people that BT is not alone. This void exists in many workplaces, and its absence serves no one well.
You’re probably reading this and thinking: What a soppy git/Get a life/Doesn’t know he’s been born/Insert patronising comment of your choice here. But I think feedback matters. A lot. Neil, well done on recently passing 4,000 reads on your new workessence blog, nice work feller.
So if you’re like me, Carole and Keira and you have recently received or given some positive, supportive, lovely feedback, please share it here – there’s a deficit needs filling. And if you haven’t spotted your colleagues doing something right lately, look harder. And when you notice it – just tell them. Simply and sincerely. Please.