Tag: values

Find the challenge

FabrizioLeave a comment

It’s pleasant to hear we are right, to be praised for the great work we are doing, to be surrounded by people who let us do what we believe is worth doing.

And yet, it’s a position in which we should feel uncomfortable.

As nobody is perfect, and most of us are far from it, if all we hear are praises and applauses one of two things is happening: either the criticism and the alternatives are being hidden from us or we are in an environment that lacks diversity. In both cases, we are not hearing the other side of the story, the one that would make our understanding rounder and more effective.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that.

John Stuart Mill

We just don’t care

FabrizioLeave a comment

Is Faceapp sending your picture and personal data to a shady Russian firm that will use them against your will for illecit purposes?

Two considerations about the question that has dominated the internet in the past weeks.

Number 1, the level of mistrust towards tech companies is continuosly growing. And for good reasons. Faceapp is not alone in telling users that the company owns everything that is uploaded on their servers. After recent scandals, people are sceptical and ask good questions about what is done with the data they share within apps and other online services. It’s absolutely legitimate, and it’s fair.

Number 2, even if the question is asked, we are no longer very good at waiting for an answer, or demanding that the answer is in line with what we would consider a proper use of our pictures and data. If others are sharing how they will look like when they will be old, so should we. The rest is background noise, because the truth is we do not really care. It’s absolutely natural, tech companies know that, and they leverage the power of cheap and convenient.

Until we pick fair on everything else, in every situation, even when it’s expensive and difficult, we can’t expect others to be fair with us.

Culture with examples

Fabrizio8 Comments

More often than not, company culture is idealized.

A group of managers sit down and write about their ideal company. And of course, everybody wants an honest working environment where feedback is given regularly, it does not matter if they have never delivered honest feedback once in their careers, and the very idea of doing that scares them.

Next time you are having a conversation about culture, think back at what you and your colleagues have done so far. Certainly write down your ideals, but then challenge the group to identify and narrativize some concrete example that embody the ideals.

If finding those is not a problem, you are on the right track. Own the examples and spread them internally and externally, as they will resonate with people far better than words that have been inflated.

If finding examples is proving difficult, that’s the first symptom that your attempt with culture will fail. You can either proceed with a culture change (changing the way things are done), or try to find ideals that better reflect what is really happening (and for which you have good examples).

When asking for help

FabrizioLeave a comment

If you ask for help, the worst thing that could happen is that the person or the group you are asking to will not be receptive and you will not get any help. Your situation does not really get any worse.

It’s the same as having money to invest with only the potential gain to risk. Worst case scenario, you walk with your initial sum.

We often avoid asking for help for the fear of being judged, of letting others know we do not know, of feeling inferior and not being able to give back. And yet the benefit is so vast we should not think twice.

Also, it’s a powerful way to build networks.

Worrying

Fabrizio1 Comment

Worrying never helped one bit.

It does not make people feel better, it does not give the object of worrying a clearer shape, it does not move towards a solution.

Worrying is an easy shelter. When we say we worry about something, we take a distance from that thing, we see it from afar and hope we never get there.

What we would really need, instead, is to immerse ourselves in it, dissect it and see how it looks like. See if anything can be done about it, then act, and move on. Leaving behind all that is beyond our control.

Truth is, worrying is comforting. It takes courage to move past it.