Remember to balance your ability to get things your way with the fact that, on the other side, there is somebody who has just lost the trust in the relationship and their capacity.
You can push, you can order, you can yell, you can bypass, you can threaten, you can boss around. And you’ll eventually make it happen exactly how you wanted it to be.
There’s little future after that though.
We are all subject to similar stimuli. Stress, frustration, love, anger, disappointment, desire, need, anticipation, exhaustion, fear, failure, envy.
Two things matter.
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Viktor E. Frankl
Just adding to Seth Godin’s list.
I’d like my Android phone to know when it is a bank holiday in Finland, and ask me the day before whether I still want my weekdays alarm on.
I’d like any social media to use the timeline to display what I am actually interested in (i.e., the stuff I follow), rather than second guess my personal taste.
I’d like advertising platforms to ask me whether I am looking to buy a car, what type of car, what budget I have, instead of interrupting my daily flow with generic car ads, when I have already bought a car two months ago.
I’d like LinkedIn to understand I am not seeking for employment when Finnish is a requirement, and therefore stop matching my profile with job ads that are completely in Finnish.
I’d like the Google Assistant to answer my questions as an assistant would, rather than listing what they have found on the web (thanks, I can do a Google search on my own).
I’d like Outlook to still send me an email notification for updates to events I have already accepted, instead of sending them directly to the trash bin.
At some point, companies stop serving the needs of their customers and start pursuing revenue only. If we stop idolizing their success, if we free ourselves from the need to become the next billion dollars deal, we realize that there are infinite challenges that demand the attention of our organizations. And we can perhaps manage to take a tiny, little piece of a market.
Here is to the many definitions of success.
What do you value most?
Being right or getting things done?
If you spend time proving you are right, searching for evidence to argue against others, making sure everyone understands and recognizes your contribution, hoping that others will fail, things will be slow.
If on the other hand you are committed to delivering, being right becomes a nonproblem. You accept things and let go of things for the sake of a greater purpose.
It won’t take long to realize you can’t have both.
As most of the interactions with colleagues, peers, and managers happen nowadays in written form – chat, email, articles -, this study provides a good guidance on how to avoid that a conversation will turn awry.
Being direct, starting with “you”, and focusing on facts are sure ways to make an exchange heated. On the other hand, being polite, using opinions, and expressing gratitude will keep an argument on track.
Kindness pays off.
Even when writing.
You've got this 