Okay, so i was thinking on the tube on Monday about the idea of decision making. Obviously, as part of our jobs we are required to make decisions - this is part of any job. However, in my job, I have found decision making to be very interesting and challenging.
I would suggest, that 99.9% of the decisions we make don't have huge consequences. For example, it does not really matter whether or not I decide to read my book on the history of Formula 1 or go to bed. Sure, i may be slightly more tired in the morning, but, bottom line, its not going to hugely influence my life. Lets not get too metaphysical and start suggesting that all actions have effects (which they do), but lets assume that their consequences are negligible.
And there we have it... we have assumed. I have heard, and HATE, the saying "when you assume you make an ASS of U and ME (As an aside, why do people always say that in a slightly ridiculous voice!? In fact, its anything but an unassuming voice). Anyway, the point is, that we make decisions, very often based on assumptions, and generally our decisions are assessed against these assumptions.
Where the decisions are based heavily on assumptions, they are deemed risky, and where they are based lightly on assumptions and primarily on fact, they are deemed "informed". So that is decision making...
Well for me, there is more to decision making that just assumptions and facts. Usually I make decisions with a motivation attached to it. While it may seem that more often than not, decisions boil down to a balance of Fact vs Assumption, many of the decisions we make have important business relevance. And this is where the point of this post (hopefully) begins to take shape.
We are all expected to make business decisions and indeed are encouraged to be risk takers. But a vital part of our own success, and probably self esteem, is the motivation we have for making particular decisions. When i want to make a decision, I want to know that it not just the right one, but that I am also making it for the right reasons.
My point is this - it is often very difficult to know that we are making the right decision, and I find it even harder to know why. Due to the massively complex corporate culture, business environment and sheer number of people we work with, making decisions is often the easy bit, but understanding why is often anything but transparent. When you take into account business culture, value, sales, politcs, money, personal interestand so on, decision making becomes very obscured.
One quote springs to mind: "Indecision costs more than a Bad Decision". A great quote no doubt, but sometimes I think that making the decision not to decide until I better understand my own motivations , is as important as being able to decide in the first place.
Then again, you may disagree - maybe motivations mean nothing and all I have done is made an ass of me.
Kindest,
DD
PS really good artice on JV here. Check it out. It is interesting. Also, it is relevant to my post - it outlines the importance of decision making. Check it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/5062609/Barclays-master-of-its-destiny-as-John-Varleys-gamble-pays-off.html
Tuesday 31 March 2009
Saturday 21 March 2009
The Ever-Rest Challenge
Well, today I took part in the Everest challenge. As any of my colleagues were keen to point out, technically i profited from a charity event, which in turn means that I am a bad bad man. It was an interesting start to the day, though there were a few comments I wanted to make.
1. I felt like death: By the time I finished, floor 30 seemed felt like my first step into hell. In fact, if you will spare me the (deliberate) literary allusion, it felt like Dante's first step into the inferno. My whole body hurt, my throat burned - hell, even my teeth hurt. And it was not that nice kind of pain you get after good exercise, this was a proper "I am not as fit as i thought i was, dream on if you think you are going down stairs for another one" kind of pain. And you know what, it surprised me. I play football 3 times a week and am used to running 5 miles at a reasonably competitive time, but this was something else. I was a wreck.
2.Hands off...Hands on: There was a lot of clapping. I know it was all for charity, but there seemed to be ab awful lot of clapping. I am not suggesting that this was totally self congratulatory, as there was some really hard work put in, but I think I clapped "ourselves" at least three times. Hell, we just rocked in at 10am for a run up some stairs. I guess my point here is that we were clapping the wrong people. The majority of the money raised, I will hazard a guess, was donated by people not present. It was these guys who deserved the applause, and yet we couldn't give it to them, not directly at least.
3. Give me a hand: The stewards or marshall's saw some grim sights. One of them tried to encourage me by saying "would you like some water?". I replied with "mate, I need a fu*king hug, not some water". At least he smiled, no harm was meant, but christ did I really need a hug (thanks HP).
4. Always mix business and pleasure: It was really interesting to see the group dynamic once again. I know there were some individuals attending, some branch teams and some couples present, but it was really interesting to see the other graduates again.
We took some excellent and ridiculous photographs, but what stood out for me was the attitude. For me, it did not feel like I was with people I worked with, it felt like I was there with a group of buddies (allow me this sentimental digression please). That said, it was buddies who abuse, insult and generally torture me when they can, but that's standard and I'm down with that. The point remains that I felt that people were more natural and at ease than during working hours (you see - this is why corporate wear sucks). While people may assume this is obvious, I find it difficult to relax around people I work with, even outside working hours, but today it felt easy to do so. But then again, we were all in shorts.
5. Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail: there was some pretty wicked planning involved today. Sure, there were one or two pairs of shorts that were too short, but generally, it was a well executed day. While I will not pretend to know all the logistics, I must say it ran pretty smooth. So cheers to those guys who organised it. In fact, I feel compelled to add, that the one part of the day that was left to myself to organise involved an amusing incident. I managed to get the DLR towards Bank, then stay on the train once I had reached Bank (while everyone departed) and headed back towards Shadwell. So good work guys on the organisational front - very smooth and very enjoyable.
These were the things that leapt to mind, though I am sure several other observations leapt a bit higher for everyone else. I had a really good day and certainly had a lot of fun. It would be great to have the option to meet all the guys in that sort of capacity every week - it was certainly refreshing to have a totally non work meeting with some of the guys - but I guess one of the charms was that events like that don't happen all the time.
As such, I'd though I would leave you with a poem:
Churchill Place has many a stair,
It is tough on the mind as well as the soul.
My body felt good, my heart without care.
at the challenge ahead and the easy goal.
Floor one to ten took my ambition,
It was tough on the mind as well as the soul.
For me, it began at a sprint and ended a war of attrition,
The first ten flights had begun to take their toll.
Floors ten to twenty felt like I was running in glue,
It was tough on the mind as well as the soul.
I walked and struggled on and my hopes were too few,
Never before had I felt less suited to a role.
The last ten flights were designed to separate the great from the crud,
It was tough on the mind as well as the soul.
I insulted a helper and sweatted what felt like blood,
WhileClimbing the stairs I descended into a hole.
The finish arrived , and supreme was the feeling,
It was easy on the mind and let lose my soul!
Yet nothing could stop me, over did I go - reeling,
Despite all this I had achieved my goal!
And so it ended with a group hug,
happy I felt and without a drug!
training next year has begun in vain,
For I still know I will feel as much pain.
A dreadful poem - but then again, given how dreadful I felt, it seemed fitting.
Kindest,
Dante
1. I felt like death: By the time I finished, floor 30 seemed felt like my first step into hell. In fact, if you will spare me the (deliberate) literary allusion, it felt like Dante's first step into the inferno. My whole body hurt, my throat burned - hell, even my teeth hurt. And it was not that nice kind of pain you get after good exercise, this was a proper "I am not as fit as i thought i was, dream on if you think you are going down stairs for another one" kind of pain. And you know what, it surprised me. I play football 3 times a week and am used to running 5 miles at a reasonably competitive time, but this was something else. I was a wreck.
2.Hands off...Hands on: There was a lot of clapping. I know it was all for charity, but there seemed to be ab awful lot of clapping. I am not suggesting that this was totally self congratulatory, as there was some really hard work put in, but I think I clapped "ourselves" at least three times. Hell, we just rocked in at 10am for a run up some stairs. I guess my point here is that we were clapping the wrong people. The majority of the money raised, I will hazard a guess, was donated by people not present. It was these guys who deserved the applause, and yet we couldn't give it to them, not directly at least.
3. Give me a hand: The stewards or marshall's saw some grim sights. One of them tried to encourage me by saying "would you like some water?". I replied with "mate, I need a fu*king hug, not some water". At least he smiled, no harm was meant, but christ did I really need a hug (thanks HP).
4. Always mix business and pleasure: It was really interesting to see the group dynamic once again. I know there were some individuals attending, some branch teams and some couples present, but it was really interesting to see the other graduates again.
We took some excellent and ridiculous photographs, but what stood out for me was the attitude. For me, it did not feel like I was with people I worked with, it felt like I was there with a group of buddies (allow me this sentimental digression please). That said, it was buddies who abuse, insult and generally torture me when they can, but that's standard and I'm down with that. The point remains that I felt that people were more natural and at ease than during working hours (you see - this is why corporate wear sucks). While people may assume this is obvious, I find it difficult to relax around people I work with, even outside working hours, but today it felt easy to do so. But then again, we were all in shorts.
5. Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail: there was some pretty wicked planning involved today. Sure, there were one or two pairs of shorts that were too short, but generally, it was a well executed day. While I will not pretend to know all the logistics, I must say it ran pretty smooth. So cheers to those guys who organised it. In fact, I feel compelled to add, that the one part of the day that was left to myself to organise involved an amusing incident. I managed to get the DLR towards Bank, then stay on the train once I had reached Bank (while everyone departed) and headed back towards Shadwell. So good work guys on the organisational front - very smooth and very enjoyable.
These were the things that leapt to mind, though I am sure several other observations leapt a bit higher for everyone else. I had a really good day and certainly had a lot of fun. It would be great to have the option to meet all the guys in that sort of capacity every week - it was certainly refreshing to have a totally non work meeting with some of the guys - but I guess one of the charms was that events like that don't happen all the time.
As such, I'd though I would leave you with a poem:
Churchill Place has many a stair,
It is tough on the mind as well as the soul.
My body felt good, my heart without care.
at the challenge ahead and the easy goal.
Floor one to ten took my ambition,
It was tough on the mind as well as the soul.
For me, it began at a sprint and ended a war of attrition,
The first ten flights had begun to take their toll.
Floors ten to twenty felt like I was running in glue,
It was tough on the mind as well as the soul.
I walked and struggled on and my hopes were too few,
Never before had I felt less suited to a role.
The last ten flights were designed to separate the great from the crud,
It was tough on the mind as well as the soul.
I insulted a helper and sweatted what felt like blood,
WhileClimbing the stairs I descended into a hole.
The finish arrived , and supreme was the feeling,
It was easy on the mind and let lose my soul!
Yet nothing could stop me, over did I go - reeling,
Despite all this I had achieved my goal!
And so it ended with a group hug,
happy I felt and without a drug!
training next year has begun in vain,
For I still know I will feel as much pain.
A dreadful poem - but then again, given how dreadful I felt, it seemed fitting.
Kindest,
Dante
Thursday 19 March 2009
Culture - not just about taking in museums.
It has been slightly longer than I had hoped between posts. Believe me, this has been more down to the fact that I have been busy than a lack of things to say (ask my flatmate - he hears allot of my comments that don’t make it as far as this blog!). Anyhow, I wanted to make a few comments about culture.
First of all, living in London, a city of culture, I have begun to feel very lucky. Lucky that I have the opportunities to visit all these wonderful places like the imperial war museum, the Tate modern and even Westminster - what ever floats your boat. So, that’s great! There are so many places to go, so many places to see... but do I have the time to get to them all?
You see, this is the double edged sword that is culture. The culture of work.
Having moved out of the retail network and into a more office based position, I have become involved in a different environment. This different environment brings with it its own unique set of unwritten rules, behaviours and expectations. And what is a "culture", in the business sense, except rules, behaviours and expectations.
This 'office' environment seems to me to have some very specific, and perhaps specific to it, cultural idiosyncacies. I thought I'd briefly discuss a few.
1. Look, but don’t touch. Of course, it’s a slight metaphor. In an office, it’s totally okay to look, or rather, not look but listen carefully to other interactions that are going on around you. Indeed, feel free to eavesdrop on people. In-fact, you may not even be eavesdropping - you may just be listening to a conversation people want you to hear. Or, to take this to a greater extreme, you may be able to see / hear that a conversation is taking place, without being able to hear the details. In this case it is obvious that its okay you see these two people are having a conversation, but you must not enquire as to what it is.
For them, it is a "private conversation" that they are having in public - so never ever interrupt. Or, better still, look at your emails and sigh - that way it looks like you have been asked a difficult question that requires your full attention, but really, you are more interested in the type (if not the detail) of the conversation.
2. NEVER and I mean NEVER, go home. It is a total mistake to be the first to leave. Woe and betide the gent or gentlewoman who leaves early. In-fact, even if you are doing something you could do at home, it is better to get a coffee (that you wont drink) at 455pm and spend 20 minutes doing it in the office. It’s better to be seen working in the office, than be working unseen (but twice as hard) at home.
3. Sell yourself: I am not endorsing some sort of prostitution, but every opportunity for discussion, even if it is about how many pens you need for an afternoon meeting, are an opportunity to display your social networking and self management skills.
4. The train was Late: If no one else gets your tube in, there were always delays on that line. It does not matter that you were technically early, if you arrive between0855 and 0920 without reason, there were delays on the tube. Any longer, and you are into the realm of major delays, but this time period is small enough to account for a "random" delay. Of course, those extra 5 minutes in bed were worth it.
5. Status please! There is literally never a dull moment. It is inconceivable that you may actually have a free moment. A free moment is merely an opportunity to find more work. If you are not working or seeking work, you are wasting time and not adding value. The same goes for lunch, if you are not working lunch; your lunch schedule is not working. And of course, people should know that you are seeking work, email as many people as possible and ring someone for a status update. OR, better still, ring your flatmate and talk crap with him that sounds like business.
Okay, so these were 5 things that leapt out to me. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of hard workers in the office, but I wonder about the culture. If our culture is to behave in this fashion with the goal of being perceived to work hard, are we maybe missing the point?
Is it okay to leave 20 minutes early to catch a faster train home where you will work harder? Is it okay to see two people having a "private conversation" and comment on it? To be honest I don’t know.
I guess the reality is that perception matters, culture does not.
Or rather, business culture is fundamentally a perception of performance. And in our business reality, performance is everything.
For me, there is more to life than performance, but one thing I do know is that all this 'culture' is causing me to miss a hell of a lot of 'culture' in London.
DD
First of all, living in London, a city of culture, I have begun to feel very lucky. Lucky that I have the opportunities to visit all these wonderful places like the imperial war museum, the Tate modern and even Westminster - what ever floats your boat. So, that’s great! There are so many places to go, so many places to see... but do I have the time to get to them all?
You see, this is the double edged sword that is culture. The culture of work.
Having moved out of the retail network and into a more office based position, I have become involved in a different environment. This different environment brings with it its own unique set of unwritten rules, behaviours and expectations. And what is a "culture", in the business sense, except rules, behaviours and expectations.
This 'office' environment seems to me to have some very specific, and perhaps specific to it, cultural idiosyncacies. I thought I'd briefly discuss a few.
1. Look, but don’t touch. Of course, it’s a slight metaphor. In an office, it’s totally okay to look, or rather, not look but listen carefully to other interactions that are going on around you. Indeed, feel free to eavesdrop on people. In-fact, you may not even be eavesdropping - you may just be listening to a conversation people want you to hear. Or, to take this to a greater extreme, you may be able to see / hear that a conversation is taking place, without being able to hear the details. In this case it is obvious that its okay you see these two people are having a conversation, but you must not enquire as to what it is.
For them, it is a "private conversation" that they are having in public - so never ever interrupt. Or, better still, look at your emails and sigh - that way it looks like you have been asked a difficult question that requires your full attention, but really, you are more interested in the type (if not the detail) of the conversation.
2. NEVER and I mean NEVER, go home. It is a total mistake to be the first to leave. Woe and betide the gent or gentlewoman who leaves early. In-fact, even if you are doing something you could do at home, it is better to get a coffee (that you wont drink) at 455pm and spend 20 minutes doing it in the office. It’s better to be seen working in the office, than be working unseen (but twice as hard) at home.
3. Sell yourself: I am not endorsing some sort of prostitution, but every opportunity for discussion, even if it is about how many pens you need for an afternoon meeting, are an opportunity to display your social networking and self management skills.
4. The train was Late: If no one else gets your tube in, there were always delays on that line. It does not matter that you were technically early, if you arrive between0855 and 0920 without reason, there were delays on the tube. Any longer, and you are into the realm of major delays, but this time period is small enough to account for a "random" delay. Of course, those extra 5 minutes in bed were worth it.
5. Status please! There is literally never a dull moment. It is inconceivable that you may actually have a free moment. A free moment is merely an opportunity to find more work. If you are not working or seeking work, you are wasting time and not adding value. The same goes for lunch, if you are not working lunch; your lunch schedule is not working. And of course, people should know that you are seeking work, email as many people as possible and ring someone for a status update. OR, better still, ring your flatmate and talk crap with him that sounds like business.
Okay, so these were 5 things that leapt out to me. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of hard workers in the office, but I wonder about the culture. If our culture is to behave in this fashion with the goal of being perceived to work hard, are we maybe missing the point?
Is it okay to leave 20 minutes early to catch a faster train home where you will work harder? Is it okay to see two people having a "private conversation" and comment on it? To be honest I don’t know.
I guess the reality is that perception matters, culture does not.
Or rather, business culture is fundamentally a perception of performance. And in our business reality, performance is everything.
For me, there is more to life than performance, but one thing I do know is that all this 'culture' is causing me to miss a hell of a lot of 'culture' in London.
DD
Tuesday 3 March 2009
Work Life Balance and Thoughts on the future.
Hello all,
This blog entry has been slightly delayed for two reasons. The first because I was back home for the weekend (stressful!) and the second because I wanted to be able to give some proper thought to this. Anyhow, this post focus's around the work life balance and the idea of a career.
Okay, so what is "work life balance". When someone asked me what sort of work life balance I had, i thought it was a round about way of asking was I on drugs. And thats the truth. I was new to London, and it struck me as maybe being like one of those weird sayings people say, just like "are you friends with Dorothy?"* Anyhow, as we all know, work life balance relates to how we balance our working and social life. This got me thinking...
First of all, I didnt know I had a work life balance. Sure I go out at the weekends and what ever, but I didnt know that this was called a WLB. Then I realised why. Most of the time, when I think of things, I think of actions, not "long term consequences". You may be able to see where this is going. For example, my social life and playing football to me were just individual activities, but ultimately they are part of a delicate balance. But Hang on! This does not seem natural. Think of the following few examples:
1. Binge Drinking: Is it actually possible to just go for a drink? Have two pints and it is a binge drink.
2. Learning something: Is it still possible to just learn something because I like to, or do we have to identify a development need?
3. Change your attitude: Do I change my attitude or do I now change my approach in order to meet my long term objectives.
Anyhow, I may be labouring a point, but essentially when I go for a drink, read a book or changing my attitude about something, I always felt these were isolated actions. But now they form part of my work life balance. Interestingly, I now minute plan my social life in outlook. I put social events, including football training in my outlook.
I find myself more effective at having fun if I plan and structure it. But does this in someway make it less fun? Or is this planning just part of the bigger picture that is necessary for me to adapt to? Like say....a Career?
This leads me on to the second part of this post. This is the first job I took as a career. Every other job has been taken out of necessity, interest or experience. However, my place on the Grad Programme is one that I took for the future and potential. This in itself is quite an alien concept to me.
My previous career planning was listening to a philosophy lecturer telling me that all the greatest philosophers were either tortured to death or committed suicide. Tough Break. But the point was I had no plan...
I had no plan and ended up here. But is that such a bad thing? I mean, I'm pretty happy with where I got to, I have had a blast at Uni and had a great time so far. So when certain important leaders in our institution and peoples whose opinion I value start telling me to get a plan for the future, the fact that my lack of planning so far has got me where I am happy to be makes me think - Do I really need a plan?
This then brings me full circle to my work life balance. I am more effective when I plan my fun side of my life, so if i plan my work side, will I be more effective at that too?
So thats my thoughts on the difficulty of carreer choice and balancing my working life. Of course, I couldnt end without a final remark.
Those greeat philosophers certainly didnt plan to be tortured, but they did plan to commit suicide. The phrase a rock and a hard place when it comes to plans springs to mind. Or as a certain actor once said " a plan is just a list of things that dont happen".
Good luck with your work life balance!
kindest,
D
---
* I usuually reply, "no, she is my ex girlfriend". Lord knows what they infer from this.
This blog entry has been slightly delayed for two reasons. The first because I was back home for the weekend (stressful!) and the second because I wanted to be able to give some proper thought to this. Anyhow, this post focus's around the work life balance and the idea of a career.
Okay, so what is "work life balance". When someone asked me what sort of work life balance I had, i thought it was a round about way of asking was I on drugs. And thats the truth. I was new to London, and it struck me as maybe being like one of those weird sayings people say, just like "are you friends with Dorothy?"* Anyhow, as we all know, work life balance relates to how we balance our working and social life. This got me thinking...
First of all, I didnt know I had a work life balance. Sure I go out at the weekends and what ever, but I didnt know that this was called a WLB. Then I realised why. Most of the time, when I think of things, I think of actions, not "long term consequences". You may be able to see where this is going. For example, my social life and playing football to me were just individual activities, but ultimately they are part of a delicate balance. But Hang on! This does not seem natural. Think of the following few examples:
1. Binge Drinking: Is it actually possible to just go for a drink? Have two pints and it is a binge drink.
2. Learning something: Is it still possible to just learn something because I like to, or do we have to identify a development need?
3. Change your attitude: Do I change my attitude or do I now change my approach in order to meet my long term objectives.
Anyhow, I may be labouring a point, but essentially when I go for a drink, read a book or changing my attitude about something, I always felt these were isolated actions. But now they form part of my work life balance. Interestingly, I now minute plan my social life in outlook. I put social events, including football training in my outlook.
I find myself more effective at having fun if I plan and structure it. But does this in someway make it less fun? Or is this planning just part of the bigger picture that is necessary for me to adapt to? Like say....a Career?
This leads me on to the second part of this post. This is the first job I took as a career. Every other job has been taken out of necessity, interest or experience. However, my place on the Grad Programme is one that I took for the future and potential. This in itself is quite an alien concept to me.
My previous career planning was listening to a philosophy lecturer telling me that all the greatest philosophers were either tortured to death or committed suicide. Tough Break. But the point was I had no plan...
I had no plan and ended up here. But is that such a bad thing? I mean, I'm pretty happy with where I got to, I have had a blast at Uni and had a great time so far. So when certain important leaders in our institution and peoples whose opinion I value start telling me to get a plan for the future, the fact that my lack of planning so far has got me where I am happy to be makes me think - Do I really need a plan?
This then brings me full circle to my work life balance. I am more effective when I plan my fun side of my life, so if i plan my work side, will I be more effective at that too?
So thats my thoughts on the difficulty of carreer choice and balancing my working life. Of course, I couldnt end without a final remark.
Those greeat philosophers certainly didnt plan to be tortured, but they did plan to commit suicide. The phrase a rock and a hard place when it comes to plans springs to mind. Or as a certain actor once said " a plan is just a list of things that dont happen".
Good luck with your work life balance!
kindest,
D
---
* I usuually reply, "no, she is my ex girlfriend". Lord knows what they infer from this.
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