And rare.
We’ve forgotten what boredom feels like.
I recently read a book — Comfort Crisis (must read if you haven’t already) that describes the author’s hunting expedition to the Alaskan mountain ranges.
Author Michael Easter and his crew spend hours in the mountains waiting for their prey. While waiting, they have nothing to do except talk to each other and read instructions on their food packets. They soon run out of topics to discuss and food packets to read!
They don’t have their phones and absolutely no connection with the external world.
Just reading that scene made me shudder. What if…
Yep, it can be tough.
We live in strange times. Many folks who’ve changed jobs and have been hired in the last year or so haven’t seen their teams and their offices since the time they joined.
Before COVID, this would have been seen as impossible and a bad talent and hiring practice. Even remote workers met their teams and went to offices once in a while. However, here we are. Like everything else, this is the reality of the ‘new normal.’
Remote onboarding is challenging. One of the key goals of an onboarding plan is to immerse the new hire into the company culture…
A decision-making weapon that no one talks about.
I didn’t really get empathy up until my son was born. Yes, I’d heard all about it. I had read about its importance but didn’t practice it because it didn’t come naturally to me and, more importantly, I didn’t see it around me.
And that’s true. No matter what we think or say, empathy doesn’t come naturally to us.
We are selfish creatures by design. Everything that we do is designed to serve ourselves and our interests no matter how we’d like to think about it.
I found it difficult to relate to others for the longest time unless I…
Along with solutions.
Every day when I go through my LinkedIn feed, I see at least 10 –15 posts from people looking for new roles. These are just folks who are actively seeking help on LinkedIn. I am sure that the number of passive job seekers is way more.
COVID hit the job market badly, and millions of people went out of jobs overnight. While the worst may be behind us, we aren’t out of the woods yet. So when I was asked to hire people in my team, I was excited to be helping alleviate some of that problem and started looking…
#1 They don’t have an open-door policy.
I have read dozens of leadership books and articles by now and have also been fortunate enough to see some amazing leaders in action, both at work and on the personal front.
There are some important traits that many of these articles talk about, and most good leaders share. Things like delegation, communication, influence, leading by example, openness to feedback, humility, etc., are commonly spoken about and seen in them (well, humility not quite often).
However, there are some other qualities that great leaders possess and things that they do that are extremely important but not often spoken about. …
Yes, it is possible.
When was the last time you were truly happy for other’s success? Happy for someone who wasn’t family or a close friend.
To some extent, it’s normal to be envious, indifferent, or even dislike when others keep achieving milestones in their lives.
This behavior is evolutionary and inherent within us. We perceive someone else’s ascent as our downfall. Remember, not very long ago; we roamed around in hostile environments wherein the best survived and the rest perished. So if someone else were better than you back then, you’d probably have to worry about your survival.
That’s not the world that…
#3 Shit happens. Move On.
Toddlers can be amazing teachers if you’re willing to listen (or observe).
To watch a child hustle and struggle her way through her early years is fascinating and mesmerizing, to say the least.
Before our son was born, I never really saw the growth process in action. Yes, we’ve all seen ourselves grow in our personal and professional lives, but that growth happens over a period of time and isn’t quite noticeable on a day-to-day basis. However, a child’s growth is visible every single day. …
#6 Compounding is Powerful
Writing did not come naturally to me. In fact, I dreaded writing when I was in school and college. Interestingly, what made me incline towards writing was; Reading.
I developed a love for reading a decade or so ago, which intensified over the last few years. I started with fiction and gradually slipped into non-fiction and then stayed there.
When you read a lot, you start getting a ton of ideas and thoughts. Every book gives you food for thought. Some of these ideas were so brilliant that I had to share them with others to remember them. …
My experiments with mental diets.
I come from a conservative, religious, orthodox family. My parents and grandparents strongly believe in the values and principles of Jainism.
One of Jainism's key principles is Non-Attachment, also called ‘Aparigraha.’ To explain it broadly, Aparigraha means minimal attachment to material and worldly possessions. It recommends very limited possession of property, relations, and emotions. This principle's key idea is that unchecked attachment to possessions (material & psychological) results in direct harm to one’s personality.
While it is difficult to follow and comply with this recommendation completely, my family did make an effort to follow it to the extent that they…
The whats, the whys, and the hows.
This is a familiar situation for most of us. You told your colleague something, they interpreted something else and then communicated a completely different thing to a third person, stripping the statement of its original intent or spirit in the process. Kids call it the telephone game. For adults, it is workplace gossip.
Many of us have contributed to and been victims of gossip like this. It is deeply pervasive in our workplace and can range from harmless banter and conjectures to full-blown conspiracy theories.
Why we like it
No matter the nature of gossip, we seem to derive some definite pleasure from it…
Dipesh Jain
Musings About Sales, Productivity & Behavioral Science
