We currently act as if people are not inherently motivated, rather that they go to work each day and wait for someone else to light their fire. This belief is common among managers and employees alike... It is right and human for managers to care about the motivation and morale of their people, it is just … Continue Reading ››
Category Archives: Happy At Work
How to be happy at work
Good job experiences from Slashdot
I submitted a posting to Slashdot (News for Nerds) in the "Ask Slashdot" category. It basically asked readers to submit stories of positive job experiences. You can see the posting and the replies here.
There are some wonderful stories there but much of it is tinged with a sense that the good … Continue Reading ››
There are some wonderful stories there but much of it is tinged with a sense that the good … Continue Reading ››
Interesting Google categories
For anyone interested in improving work, here's a few relevant categories from the Google directory:
Coworker relations
Job burnout
Rethinking work
Workplace spirituality
Coworker relations
Job burnout
Rethinking work
Workplace spirituality
Book review: A simpler way
This book by Margaret Wheatley is without a doubt the most beautiful and unconventional business-related book I've ever read. It conveys it's message not only through prose, but also in poems and photographs.
And the message itself is simple and beautiful, namely that:
There is a simpler way to organize human endeavour. It requires a new … Continue Reading ››
Book review: Inner skiing
"Inner Skiing" is an excellent account of how learning occurs, but this time it's not at work, it's out on the ski slopes.
As every skier knows, skiing can be a wonderful experience, when you're in flow, your skis obey your every command and you zoom down the mountainside. And every skier knows the … Continue Reading ››
Book review: Playful approaches to serious problems
So, why on earth am I reading a book about child therapy? First of all, therapy is all about change. You have a problem, you need to change, therapy is one potential tool, and therapy contains many potentially useful methods for promoting change. And one of the biggest challenges facing organizations today is the … Continue Reading ››
Selling fish in Seattle – and having fun
I've never been to the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, but people who have describe it as a joyful chaos. The fishmongers throw the fish and crabs around, catch them one-handed, yell at and with the customers and generally have a great time.
But things weren't always great. Yokoyama, the owner, describes … Continue Reading ››
But things weren't always great. Yokoyama, the owner, describes … Continue Reading ››
Book review: Flow
Everybody knows the state of Flow. Flow is when you're engrossed in doing something. You may forget time and place. You may forget to eat or sleep. You're doing what you're doing, and your entire attention is focused on that.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote a book about it back in 1990, based on many years of … Continue Reading ››
Book review: The soul of a new machine
Writer Tracy Kidder won a Pulitzer prize in 1982 for The soul of a new machine. It's the true story of a team of engineers at Data General who are designing the next generation of micro-computer.
I first read the book ten years ago, while I was still at university, and while it's still an … Continue Reading ››
Quote
Few of us can understand any longer the enthusiasm of Caliph Ali ben Ali, who wrote: "A subtle conversation, that is the Garden of Eden." This is a pity, because it could be argued that the main function of conversation is not to get things accomplished, but to improve the quality of experience. - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi … Continue Reading ››