Questions To Trigger Your Thinking . What Do You Do When the Going Gets Tough? Trigger Question #19 “When the going gets tough, I recalculate route.” The Chief Nonsense Officer. Times are tough. And yet, each generation believes its time was the toughest. (As in, “When I was your age…”) But that's about tough in the general, not tough in the specific. Like the tough week you've just had. Now that's specific! I know, I know. We must define and agree on what tough is. Because tough for me might...
23 days ago • 1 min read
Questions To Trigger Your Thinking . Where Does Your Mood Take Them? Trigger Question #59 “Never play the moody blues at work. Your boss will tell you to take your shitty attitude and go.” The Chief Nonsense Officer. Because you were once a tiny tot, I know you heard at least one grown-up say, “Don’t do as I do. Do as I say.” And if you have a job, then you have heard someone in power say, "Don't do as..." Actually, they would never say that. They expect you to know that you should be very...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Questions To Trigger Your Thinking . Do You Argue To Win or To Be Right? Trigger Question #02 “I often win when I lose. But only if my mind is open.” The Chief Nonsense Officer. We can define management as the attempt to herd scarce resources toward achieving a stated goal or outcome. But that sounds too straightforward, as if the path were clear. Better to view management as a never-ending process of making effective choices. Which at least reminds us that, in a constantly changing world,...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Questions To Trigger Your Thinking . Will Your Plan Survive a Punch in the Face? Trigger Question #79 “No one warned me that one day I would be too old to try one more recalculating route.” The Chief Nonsense Officer. It was hot. And humid. Hot we knew; humid was new. Also new was driving on the wrong side of the road. The kids in the back seat were tots, restless tots. We were running late for a show in a faraway city. Luckily, we had detailed printed directions. What could go wrong? I'll...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Questions To Trigger Your Thinking . Do You Flow or Do You Stagnate? Trigger Question #89 “Shit happens. But which is worse, being in the shit or flowing with it?” The Chief Nonsense Officer. I once lived in an old house in an old village back in the old country. The house had indoor plumbing. Well, sort of. The sewage did not flow, like city sewage, to a place far, far away. It flowed into two tanks in the garden, one on either side of the house. But sometimes it did not flow. Guess whose...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Insights To Boost Your Career and Success . Bad Mood Rising Makes You Less Gullible Insight #17 “I always wanted the benefits of being a grumpy old man. Grumpy was easy, but I had to wait for old.” The Chief Nonsense Officer. Lately I’ve been practicing to be a crotchety old man. And why not? I’ve earned the right to have some fun, finally. (You'll know what I mean when your age catches up with mine. And yes, being a crabby old lady can be as much fun. So I've been told.) There’s an added...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Questions To Trigger Your Thinking . Will Looming Dead Time Help You Hit the Deadline Right? Trigger Question #97 “I prefer self-imposed deadlines because then I can decide whether I should enforce them. Or not.” The Chief Nonsense Officer. No matter what the time of year, there is a deadline near you. So this could be as good a time as any to ponder the real meaning of the term deadline. Yes, yes, we all know deadline as the date or time by which you must have done something or delivered on...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Insights To Boost Your Career and Success . Be Valued More by Sharing Your (Contextual) Knowledge in the Era of AI Insight #375 “When your boss asks you for information, saying ‘Who wants to know?’ is not the wisest response.” The Chief Nonsense Officer. In organizations, knowledge only has value if it is useful and if someone actually finds a use for it. And in organizations, because you are supposedly part of a team, you seldom use knowledge in isolation. That’s why knowledge-workers...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Questions To Trigger Your Thinking . Do You Zoom Out to Recharge? Trigger Question #6 “My job required me to zoom in, but I preferred to zone out.” The Chief Nonsense Officer. You’ve been under a lot of stress lately. Admit it. And admit that your role comes with built-in stress. Being on a pyramid, middle and up-wards, might give you a better view, but it seldom gives you a lighter load. Stress is heavy. And in today's topsy-turvy environment, much of that heaviness comes not only from the...
3 months ago • 2 min read