WOW Word-Of-the-Week #434: Performance
November 29, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #434: Performance
Performance – the act of accomplishing something successfully.
On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your performance? If you are a manager how would you rate your current staff on performance? Or do you have co-workers that are slackers? How often have you had to cover for them?
This week’s WOW features an LA Times article written by Tiffany Hsu titled, “Slackers suck up managers’ time” and subtitled “Bosses spend almost a day a week dealing with poor performers, a report says.”
Tiffany starts on writing, “Slacker employees don’t pull their weight. Bur they do a great job attaching it to their bosses.
Managers spend nearly 17% of their working hours dealing with poor performers, according to a report from staffing firm Robert Half International. That’s basically a full day a week that could have been spent being productive.
And sucking up supervisor’s time isn’t the only downside to subpar workers. Of the more than 1400 chief financial officers interviewed by Robert Half, 95% said laggards can bring down office spirits. Bad hires are costly, not just for the drain they place on the budget but also in terms of lost morale, productivity and time.”
The article states three ways to best avoid hiring slackers.
- Managers should ask current employees what they’re looking for in a teammate instead of just relying on their own instincts.
- To avoid losing a promising worker they should hire them immediately.
- A company should pay employees what they deserve. They’re more likely to want to work harder.
This week’s focus is on performance. How many of your co-workers are slackers? How does that make you feel? As a manager do you have your staff help with the hiring decisions? Do you pay your staff what they deserve? How much time do you spend each week dealing with poor performers?
Reader Responses
“We have very few slackers in our office, which makes it easy to come to work every day. In fact, it is the ordinary office workers – The Worker Bees – who do great work every day. And some even come in on weekends to complete their work for the following Monday morning. It is a pleasure to work with these people, who not only take their work seriously but take great pride in doing a job well. The first time, every time.” – “Warrior” Joe
We have very few slackers in our office, which makes it easy to come to work every day. In fact, it is the ordinary office workers – The Worker Bees – who do great work every day. And some even come in on weekends to complete their work for the following Monday morning. It is a pleasure to work with these people, who not only take their work seriously but take great pride in doing a job well. The first time, every time. Have a wonderful weekend. We are taking the girls with us tomorrow night to pick out our tree. Take care, Susan. “Warrior” Joe
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #433: Holidays
November 22, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #433: Holidays
Holidays – that special time of year that brings joy and/or stress.
How do the holidays make you feel? Do you travel to be with your family? Do you spend time with family that lives out of town?
Long time subscriber John always makes me belly laugh when he replies to my WOW’s. This is what he wrote after my WOW #429 on family.
I recall a quote from an elderly Aunt of mine back in the 50′s that always stuck in my mind which occurred after a family “tiff” during the annual Thanksgiving family get-together many, many years ago.
Three members of the family were particularly known for getting on each others last nerve. During a particularly “animated discussion” my Aunt, who was known to enjoy her homemade Elderberry wine, stood up and proclaimed, “A toast to Thanksgiving, that special time of the year that we get together to remind us why we all moved apart.”
The saying goes you don’t get to pick your family but you do get to pick your friends. You may not be able to control their behavior but you can control yours. You can choose to not be reactive or you can choose to not be around them. My mother used to tell me to “ignore your brother” a lot. As I have gotten older I don’t need to ignore him as much as just understand “he is who he is.” And “I am who I am.” We get along a lot better now!
This week’s focus is on how the Holidays make you feel. Do you feel joy or stress? In a perfect world what could you do to make them more joyful? What behavior could you change to reduce your stress?
Reader Responses
“Obviously an apropos topic. I always look forward to the holidays. It is a chance to spend time with family and be grateful for so many things that I have, especially my good health and that of my family. At family holiday gatherings I never bring up politics because it is too touchy of a subject. And I’m outnumbered anyway. Outside of that, my in-laws have always been wonderful to us, and I have always been grateful for how they have remembered my wife and I and our girls. We are very fortunate. As a thank-you to my father-in-law, I always take him to a college basketball game either in Milwaukee or Madison, WI, to see my Marquette Warriors play the dreaded Wisconsin Badgers. We meet his cousin at a restaurant before the game, and catch up with all of our lives during a leisurely lunch. Then we go across the street to the game. It is a small token of appreciation for what he does for us during the year. I have much for which to be grateful during the year, and the holidays are the time when I can show my appreciation. As you know, Susan, it is a wonderful life.” – “Warrior” Joe
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #432: Completion
November 14, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #432: Completion
Completion – the act of finishing or ending.
Do you like to do projects around the house? What spurs you to start a project? If you finish a project do you feel a need to start another one?
This week is about completion and how it feels. I actually completed a project that I had thought about doing for the last two years. Completing it felt great! It was the starting it that was a problem. I kept
thinking “Maybe I should just pay someone to do it.” One of the reasons I didn’t start was out of fear. Fear that I might make a mistake. Has that ever been a reason you didn’t tackle a project?
I finally decided last week that I wanted it done. So then I took the steps needed to make that happen. When I take on a project I need to give it 100% of my attention. Clearly I wasn’t ready to do that before. But probably more importantly, I decided that I needed to stop doubting my ability to do it right.
I have to say, it turned out great and the sense of accomplishment felt even better than having someone else do it for me. And once I had completed it I felt more comfortable taking on another more challenging project. When I completed that one it felt really, really good!
This week’s focus is on completion. How do you feel about projects in general? How do you handle work related projects? Are you more apt to complete them ahead of schedule? Do you have a tendency to put them off until the last minute? Do you ever doubt your ability even though you know deep down you can do it?
Reader Responses
“I am someone who when he starts something, I finish it. Whether it be at work or at home. Now, there is one project that I started a few years ago at the house that I have not completed. We have a wrought iron railing outside of our back door. I scraped off a good bit of the rust, but never finished it due to activities with the girls or weather or whatever else came up during the warm weather months. So, that is something that I have to finish. That project and a number of other things I want to do was put off last year after we had water flow into our basement during a severe rain storm. Once all of the carpets were pulled out and the base boards removed and new doors were hung, we had to make a decision on getting a system installed in our front lawn to direct future rainwater away from the house. Then my wife had to go through a lot of the clothes damaged in the original storm for our tax deductions. As a result, my regular reading of books and Sports Illustrated magazine was put off. As a result, I have a year’s worth of magazines to read and books that are piling up. At work, I will usually work on a project for a coworker immediately. I don’t put it off. I have never been a procrastinator. My wife kids occasionally about the fact that I am methodical about projects that I do. She is now seeing the same thing in our four-year-old. When she starts something, she does not like to be interrupted until she has completed the project. My 11-year-old is like her mom: she does not always finish what she starts. However, eventually it gets done. Instead of completion, Susan, I would have used the word follow-up. But we all have things we need to complete, so your word selection was correct.” – “Warrior” Joe
“Thank you Susan, I forwarded this to my husband! Ha!” – Linda
“I almost ALWAYS put them off until the last minute and I really want to change that! Thanks Susan! I’m printing out the word COMPLETION and will tape it to my computer screen!” – Christine
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #431: Oxymoron
November 7, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #431: Oxymoron
Oxymoron – a figure of speech in which contradictory or opposite words or concepts are combined for effect.
My long time friend and subscriber Joe is responsible for this week’s WOW. This was his response to my WOW #415 on Debauchery when I commented on the behavior of the people at the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.
Joe wrote, “I think civilized debauchery is an oxymoron.” That made me think of all of the common oxymoron’s. For example: Jumbo Shrimp – Active Retirement – Freezer Burn – Half Empty – New Used Cars – Non-Dairy Creamer – Oven Fried – Plastic Silverware – Rubber Cement – Vanilla Fudge – Pretty Ugly – and one of my all time favorites – Planned Spontaneity!
Then I found a UT article titled “Two-headed headlines can make you dizzy,” by Richard Lederer. I thought they fell into the oxymoron category too. What do you think?
MAN STRUCK BY LIGHTING NEW BAR EXAM TO INCLUDE
FACES BATTERY CHARGE TEST OF LEGAL SKILLS
NEW STUDY OF OBESITY HALF OF ALL CHILDREN TESTED
LOOKS FOR LARGER TEST GROUP SCORE BELOW AVERAGE
MAN MINUS EAR WAIVES HEARING MISSOURI GAS CHAMBER IS UNSAFE
INCLUDE YOUR CHILDREN OLD SCHOOL PILLARS
WHEN BAKING COOKIES ARE REPLACED BY ALUMNI
This week’s focus is nice and light! Did you crack up when you read the headlines? Did you know there is a website that lists over 2500 oxymorons? What is your favorite oxymoron?
Reader Responses
“My favorite oxymoron is the title of a Leon Uris photo book “Terrible Beauty,” which describes the country of Northern Ireland during the “troubles” back in the late 1960s through the late 1980s. I will never forget that. Also, l loved the headlines. When people are on deadline it is usually the first thing that comes to mind for a headline, and many times they turn out to be extremely funny. During the times I worked for newspapers, I was always careful about writing the headlines. Fortunately, I never penned one of the embarrassing headlines. Those can really put egg on the face of an editor.” – “Warrior” Joe