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Update From Eileen
Here it is, the first day of Autumn, and my spirit is not soaring as it normally does in what is my favorite time of the year. The notion of nature blazing wildly as it readies itself to sink down and become nurtured for the burst of Spring seems far removed from reality. September 11th changed patterns.
This edition must also change. I extend these articles in hopes that you might find some ideas to help encourage, to support, to guide and maybe even to heal.
Courage,
Eileen
Deny Terrorism Another “Win”
“A terrorist wins if his or her actions cause us to change our behavior.”
A commentator on September 11, 2001 ABC News.
That statement has prompted me to think deeply about what is our current business climate. From where I sit, “they” might be winning across all fronts as we cancel meetings, hunker down, restrict access, and hide behind all the real and imagined fears of a nation under attack. We have become shell-shocked because that which we once thought was invincible has been devastated. But not devastated by some form of new technology but rather the cunning of the human mind.
This is the very mind that now we must get under control or else we stand to suffer extended damage. I am not advocating glib ignorance of security but rather a response that is both logical and courageous. If we, as individuals and organizations, do not proceed with the marching orders of commerce, of life, of production, then we might very well find businesses that cannot fill orders, belts being tightened even more, offshore competitors finding our customers, and employees sitting in shock without something positive and productive to do.
When the great Sudan famine claimed thousands of lives, international rescue teams who worked in the drought-stricken sub Sahara found that what kept people alive—despite the smell of death—was a spirit of resilience and hope. Might we take a lesson from them!
The deaths of so many have brought us closer as a nation. Let us literally join within our companies and families and move forward, valuing the work and the labor of our hands and mind. We must not let violence take residual victims. At the very least, now is the time to gather together, to talk not only about what happened, but what we now know is of greatest value. We must talk about what we can do to build these human connections that allow us to live and work together in our community, our nation and ultimately, our globe.
And then, it’s time to get back to business.
Work/Life Priorities Take New Meaning
As many of you know, work/life balance issues are a heart-felt theme of some of my programs and my first book. No words, however, could give us a perspective on life priorities any faster than the attack on America. Funny, though. We have the very lessons ready at hand but, in due time, I’ll bet we probably slip back into our old modes of behaving. We’ll continue to have “too much to do and too little time”.
Consider this information as incentive for continuing to look at work/life balance programs and behaviors. Clothing retailer Eddie Bauer gives its employees paid “balance days” to attend to family or personal business, in addition to three personal days and the usual holidays and vacations. Many companies are switching from sick, vacation and personal days to “paid time-off banks” from which employees can draw for whatever purpose they choose.
It’s a good strategy. According to the American Management Association, employers report more success in retaining workers by “giving them a life” than by offering them more money.
Management Quiz on a Balanced Work Environment
1. Has the phase “not a team player” become a performance review standard to mean this person fails to work 24/7?
2. Are meetings empty collections of exhausted, inattentive people?
3. Is traveling on Sunday or staying over on a Saturday for a better price common a practices (Or was it common before this September?)
4. Is working on weekends a standard and expected practice?
5. Is doing training on one’s own time a standard practice?
6. Are people on vacation expected to bring a laptop and/or check in daily with the office?
Something to think about.
Must Read Books
OK, this time I am deviating. Forget the reading. I want us all to see Dewitt Jones’s magnificent 20-minute video, Celebrating What’s Right With the World. Dewitt is an award-winning National Geographic photographer and friend whom I think is wise and wonderful. In Celebrate, you find yourself moved to find abundant possibilities in every situation. It is EXACTLY that what we ALL need right now.
This is the perfect film for schools, organizations, and congregations. Contact Star Thrower Distributors at 800-242-3220. Rent it or buy it. For individuals, get 10 to 20 people together, share the rental fee, and have a celebration party. You’ll have wonderful conversations and make those needed connections.
P.S. If price is a concern, go to Dewitt’s web site http://www.dewittjones.com and look for his keynote address video on the same topic.
“Bringing laughter shall be my fourth career,” Sister Helen Lange, OSB
(She just wrote this to me about her diagnosis with cardiovascular disease, emphysema, and rapid loss of sight. She’s my junior high school principal, retired, living at the Benedictine Priory. What a model for life!)
Reaction or Response: You decide.
As we all seek to understand and go about our daily lives with some semblance of order and productivity, it might be well to stop and consider a very important distinction: the difference between reaction and response. The former is visceral and patterned. The latter is measured and thoughtful. The first is our natural, knee-jerk response that comes from our heart. The second is deliberate and joins the head and the heart. And both have their place in time.
All of us have our “story” about where we were and what we did within the first few hours of the devastation in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC. That story reveals our reactions. Mine was to cry, to get on the phone and call, and then to numbly pull out ironing and stand in front of the television while I watched the drama unfold. My hands needed something to do. Ironing gave me order, straight lines, and an ability to put everything in its place at a time when nothing was in its place. In the week that followed, I seemed befuddled, moving papers from place to place. I was in a time warp that turned even the most mundane of acts-like grocery shopping- into a surreal experience. Work canceled right and left and what could have given me some focus and purpose vanished. So I sent donations, got rejected as a blood donor (too small) , attended church, meditated and baked cakes for the local fire station. I have a feeling my reactions were closely aligned with yours.
Now I am in the place of response. A response is a choice that comes from pausing, assimilating information, observing, and thinking. By pausing, we have the opportunity to make, hopefully, a wise response. Consider the following questions as resources to help you gather information, and then respond to the marketplace, to each other, to the needs of our global community.
1. What do you want?
2. What are you doing now?
3. Is what you are doing getting you what you want?
4. What do you need to do differently?
5. Is there anyone who can help you?
If you are asking these questions as an individual, a department, an organization, a team or even a faith community, and you get stuck, look for a facilitator. I can help you as well as refer others. Now is the time for responses and not reactions.
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
—Lao Tzu
“I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb. I’m also not blond.”
—Dolly Parton
Overview and Contact Information
Is life leading you instead of you leading a life?
Is work working you instead of you doing the work?
You’re not alone! It’s the challenge of our times.
From business leaders to rank-and-file workers, the competitive 24/7 world of heart-stopping change has left many feeling in need of new tools to answer these questions:
- How do I engage more of my talent and that of the folks around me in meaningful work?
- Why is it that resiliency is a word I think of only with rubber bands?
- Why does it seem that we compete more with each other than the competition?
It’s tough when the rate and pace of work leaves you feeling disconnected, unheard, and certainly not aligned to produce results that matter in the long run.
Then there’s the issue of joy. Flat out joy. You don’t want “work” to become exclusive of play. Leave your spirit and heart at the door, and it’s hard to be creative and productive. You want to be connected with people who respect you and visa versa. You want to do good work— no, make that GREAT work–in the bargain. You want to spend your time in a place that lets your spirit soar and your talent shine. My joy is in helping individuals and organizations rediscover the joy of living and the joy of satisfying work.
If you want results that go well beyond the bottom line—contact us. Since 1980, we’ve been engaging the human spirits of individuals and organizations. Now—it’s your turn.
Call 949-496-8640 or send email eileen@eileenmcdargh.com
