by Beth | Oct 17, 2016 | Attitude, Lifestyle
For various reasons, I have driven across Kansas several times in the last 3 months. Holy cow, is it boring! Driving east from Colorado on I-70, you soon find yourself with very little to see and even less to do. By the time you get to Hays, Kansas, your entertainment options are limited to the barrage of billboards near the highway or one of the three radio stations within range (two religious and one that plays both kinds of music: country AND western). You are talked out, tired and sick of reading. Internet connection is iffy (at best). There is nothing to see but fields and fields of various grains. You change lanes merely because you need a change of scenery. You contemplate the meaning of “Rock Chalk Jay Hawk”.
You become bored.
And then… something miraculous happens.
Just about the time that I think I am going to pull my hair out one strand at a time, I get an idea. I solve a problem that I have been working on forever or I have a flash of insight into a situation I’ve been frustrated by. I am suddenly inspired about what to do next, and I spend the rest of the trip fleshing out that idea or inspiration.
It. Happens. Every. Time.
In the age of digital media, we don’t allow ourselves to get bored. It’s too easy to distract ourselves with endless TV shows, multiple social media platforms and an infinite number of ways to play solitaire. But we need to be bored: out of boredom comes creativity! When we empty our brains of all our obligations, work, home, family… then and only then are our minds free to move creatively.
The next time you have a problem to solve, drive across Kansas. Leave your phone / TV / computer off for a whole day. Stare at corn fields. Think about the meaning of “Rock Chalk Jay Hawk”. Think about billboards. Think about nothing.
(And if you happen to figure out the whole “Rock Chalk Jay Hawk” thing, come explain it to me when you do.)
Cheers!
by Beth | Aug 3, 2016 | Company Culture, Employee Retention, Lifestyle, Onboarding, Selecting Good Candidates
This past week I met with a client whose business is in a period of rapid growth. His business has grown so fast over the last 6 months that his brand new office space (occupied for only a year) is suddenly too small. At the same time, he came across an ideal employee that he just had to hire. While he had already renegotiated a deal with his landlord to add more square footage in the near future, he had a big problem for the present:
Where was the new employee going to work?
Every office was full. The main room had been reconfigured several times and there was no way to squeeze in another desk. Even the conference room had a contract employee using it.
When I asked the client where they ended up locating the new employee, he grinned.
“We put him at the table in the break room.”
Sound crazy? Actually, it may have been the best place possible to put a new employee.
Usually a new employee’s first day consists of filling out paperwork, reading an employee handbook filled with dos and don’ts, parking rules and termination policies, and then put at a desk with little or no agenda. Other employees are busy trying to complete their own work and they don’t normally have the time to approach a new person on their team. While the onboarding process is a necessary one, it is typically not a very friendly one for the new hire.
Locate that same new hire in the break room and the situation takes on an entirely different tone. While people are taking a break, they are generally more relaxed and more social. They have a moment to chat while the coffeemaker is brewing; more importantly, they don’t need to come up with a reason to seek out and approach the new employee – they’re right here!
In this case, the new employee was greeted with enthusiasm every time someone walked in to get a cup of coffee. He was included in “water cooler” talk several times a day, and he was incorporated into the company culture quickly and seamlessly.
“This is the best place I have ever worked!” the new employee exclaimed.
If you’re looking to break away from the traditional onboarding process while minimizing the time it takes to familiarize new hires with your company’s culture, perhaps the break room is the “break” you’re looking for!
