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SMALL—FAST—and WRITTEN WHEN THE MOOD STRIKES.
Update From Eileen
It wasn’t until I called home from Australia that Mother reminded me, “Happy Spring”. In the transpacific silver bullet that carried us in darkness from California to Brisbane, I had already lost St. Patrick’s Day somewhere at 40,000 feet, crossing an invisible International Dateline. I’m so glad I didn’t miss the first day of Spring.
It arrived as I watched new friendships beginning to bud. In the gentle night air, Aussie voices chirped in my ears like cheery birds building a nest. Although I missed the meaning of unknown slang and my ears scurried to catch up, their smiles conveyed a generous welcome. I had come here to keynote the Australian National Speakers Association annual conference-my first time to this continental country girt by sea.
Just as springtime foretells new growth, a visit to a new country creates new learnings:
Their multicolored plastic-like dollars with tiny see-through emblems make great sense for everything from a casual romp in the sea to letting the user instantly know the denomination. No way could someone counterfeit these bills!
Like Europe, public toilets for women have much more class with a door lock that signals “engaged” or “occupied”. (How much more civil than in the US where we peer under a stall to see if there are feet!)
Australia has hit upon good ideas for conservation. Toilets offer two choices for flushing, depending upon the “need”. Great sense for water preservation! Hotel room keys activate the air-conditioning so that when one leaves, the power is conserved.
The macadamia nut industry began in Mt. Tamborine, Queensland and seeded the Hawaiian Island groves. (Surprised me!)
People will always help you out if you’re in trouble. Like the shuttle driver who found us a taxi when the hotel booked us on a ride going to the wrong airport; like the Jet Star agent who told us he’d let us check three bags because, as newcomers, we didn’t know the two-bag rule.
The Coral Sea has fenced areas to protect bathers from “stingers”, sharks and saltwater crocodiles. YIKES.
From hotel clerks to cabbies, people know and love their country. Most can tell you proudly about flora, fauna, and the assorted animals. I wish I were that knowledgeable about my land.
My final learning: while I’d go again in a heartbeat, there’s just no place like home!
Eileen
Important New Survey On Overwork In America
Ellen Galinsky and her terrific Families and Work Institute have published an important new survey on overwork: Overwork In America: When The Way We Work Becomes Too Much. Some of the highlights include:
One in three American employees is chronically overworked.
54 percent of American employees have felt overwhelmed at some time in the past month by how much work they had to complete.
29 percent of employees spend a lot of time doing work that they consider a waste of time. These employees are more likely to be overworked. (QUESTION: What would happen if it were PRODUCTIVE WORK?)
79 percent of employees had access to paid vacations in 2004 but more than 36 percent had not and were not planning to take their full vacation. (QUESTION: What is the health risk of no vacation? ANSWER: It could be severe).
Most employees take short vacations with 37 percent taking fewer than seven days.
Only 14 percent of employees take vacations of two weeks or more.
Among employees who take one to three days off (including weekends), 68 percent return feeling relaxed compared with 85 percent who take seven or more days (including weekends).
Only 8 percent of employees who are not overworked experience symptoms of clinical depression compared with 21 percent of those who are highly overworked.
The Family and Work Institute also put together a self-assessment quiz on overwork. For more information about Overwork In America: When the Way We Work Becomes Too Much, go to http://www.familiesandwork.org.
Checklist for Creating Work-Life Integration Program
Too often, work/life initiatives are seen as benefit-driven. Furthermore, they are perceived as either/or programs. The following guidelines can actually produce far more productive results:
Address issues with a systemic culture-change focus rather than as a benefit.
Examine traditional assumptions (hours worked is an indicator of commitment and productivity; part-time workers aren’t as committed; single people can give more time to work; men have at-home wives; numbers of meetings equate to how you value the company.).
Involve everyone in the organization. Management might change their assumptions but a co-worker could believe that a part-time peer is “shirking”.
Examine work flow. Does the system reward people for working all night even though they suffer from sleep deprivation the rest of the week? If work is cyclical, can flexibility be built into the schedule?
Can work be realigned to accommodate a task which needs uninterrupted, focused time?
Must Read Books
BLINK: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcom Gladwell (2005, Little Brown & Company, ISBN 0316172324)
Ok, you say, “just how am I suppose to do that?!” And that’s the answer: you already do! At a book signing in La Jolla, CA, I was intrigued by Gladwell’s research and examples. Education, experience, and environmental context are blended to create an intuitive response that is faster than our conscious thinking. What is equally telling is the danger of failing to ask if that response is accurate. Read the book. Easy to read, fascinating, and thought- provoking. You might not even know the latter occurred!
HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN LUCK by Susan RoAne (2004, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0471612804)
Susan has a storyteller’s soul and a knack for news-hidden people. In this straightforward book, she crafts a methodology for using conversation, attention, synchronicity, intuition, and basic kindness as ways to capitalize upon a current opportunity that some might call “luck”. Try it. You just never know what might happen.
GET YOUR SHIP TOGETHER, How Great Leaders Inspire Ownership From The Keel Up by D. Michael Abrashoff (2005, Portfolio, ISBN 1591840740)
Mike and I met a few years ago at a conference. He had just left the Navy as captain of the USS Benfold, a $1 billion destroyer. Mike had been profiled in FAST COMPANY Magazine for his grassroots leadership techniques that increased a retention rate from 28% to 100%. Spend time with Mike and you know why. He recently sent me his second book. It’s just as chock-block filled with wisdom as the first. You don’t have to be in the Navy to run your business, department, or venture aground.
Welcome To The McDargh Clan
SPECS
MN Health & Housing Alliances
National Speakers Association of Australia
Schering Plough—Global Project Management
Women’s Food Forum
Wells Fargo Bank
St. Joseph’s Hospital—London, Ontario
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
