Tag: team work

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Fabrizio1 Comment

Four ways companies can decide to (automatically) answer an application for an open position.

#1

*crickets chirp*

#2

Hi, we have received your application. Best Regards.

#3

Hi *candidate name*,
Thank you for your interest in *company name*! We wanted to let you know we received your application for *open position*, and we are delighted that you would consider joining us. We’ll be in touch again once we have processed your application.

Best Regards.

#4

Hi *candidate name*,

Thank you for your interest in our *open position*!

It’s getting close to saying our goodbyes to 2020 and welcoming a fresh new year! This marks the start of a Holiday season with our team as well, as all our operations quiet down for a couple of weeks – until we’re back on January 4th.

We’d like to take this chance to thank you for your patience with our team taking the time to rest and spend time with our families, and to wish you joyous and love-filled Holidays and a wonderful New Year!

*Animated GIF – Happy Holidays*

See you in 2021! 🥳

Two questions.

  1. As a candidate, for which of the four companies would you feel more excited to go work for?
  2. How soon after being hired will you forget about the importance of such seemingly minor details?

And perhaps a third one. Does it matter?

I believe it does. Even when it is about a simple, automated communication with somebody you might not hear about anymore.

The way you communicate is a choice. And it speaks volume to who you are.

The other side of the court

Fabrizio1 Comment

When playing tennis, there are a limited amount of things you can control.

Most of them happen on your side of the court. The way you hit the ball. The angle of the racket when hitting the ball. The power and direction you want to give the ball. Whether you are going to run for the next ball or leave it be. And possibly few more.

When the ball leaves your racket, though, your part is done. There are an infinite amount of variables on the other side of the court you cannot control. The final trajectory of the ball, the response of your opponent, the call of the line umpire, the decision of the chair umpire, the impact of the weather, the variable of the net. The outcome of the shot is in large part unpredictable.

And that’s true also of your work. Whether what you do is going to be successful or not is largely not up to you.

Focus on your side, perfect what you can impact, make sure you have the best possible chances in the best possible context.

Then be happy with it. You have done your part.

Empty shells

FabrizioLeave a comment

Have you ever written down a list of the things you do?

Particularly when you feel overwhelmed, it is useful to write down on paper the things you do regularly. Emails to write, reports to compile, meetings to attend, errands to run, people to talk to, tasks to complete, projects to finalize, and so on.

Then look at the list and ask yourself: what can I delegate?

Sure, the first instinct would probably be to say nothing! But if you think long enough, if you weight the items against your purpose and who you want to be, if you ask others what they expect of you and what they will measure you by, I am confident you will end up with quite a lot you can give away.

Most of the things you do are clutter. They give you the impression of being important, and by extension they make you feel important, but they are merely empty shells very difficult to crack. And the wonderful thing is that if you trust others and ask around, if you become generous, you will find somebody for whom those things are relevant, important, purposeful.

Make the match.

Most of us are so stuck on the short-cycles of urgency that it’s difficult to even imagine changing our longer-term systems.

Amazingly, this simple non-hack (in which you spend the time to actually avoid the shortcuts that have been holding you back) might be the single most effective work you do all year.

Seth Godin, A different urgency

Insurmountable

FabrizioLeave a comment

Nothing is easy, until it gets done.

At that point, it becomes the easiest thing you ever committed to.

That is because starting something new feels insurmountable. It makes us go against our beliefs (about ourselves and the world we live in), it forces us to question things we used to take for granted, it puts us in front of the fact we might have been wrong all along.

It is also the reason why there is rarely a deep connection between someone who has already done and someone who is about to do. To the former, the thing is trivial. To the latter, the thing is impossible.

So, if we ever want to share anything, it is important we talk about the journey rather than the destination. It’s the only way to build common ground, to put empathy at work, to elevate.

And if we want to do something, as we often do, the best way is to set out on the journey and just do it.

All-encompassing

FabrizioLeave a comment

When you are sending a message to the mass, the tendency is to make it as all-encompassing as possible, and by doing that you probably fail to make it relatable, motivating, effective.

A great example is what happens every year when companies share season’s greetings with their audience. And as it is possible to send a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (accompanied by the emoticons of your choice) to a vast number of people, individuals got lazy as well.

Next year, instead of sending a mass message to all your team, your group of friends, your family, pick a finite number of people that had a significant impact on your life in the past twelve months, and share a personal and emotional message with them. Tell them why this Merry Christmas is different. Tell them what they mean to you. Tell them how they have succeded in their job. And let them know why you want them close in the New Year as well.

The return on this small investment will be huge.