Fire the Know-It-Alls

They hinder the organization by undermining decisions. Follow Seth Godin's advice:

He's the first one to point out a minor technical glitch and the last guy to want to get on board with a new program. He hazes first-timers and avoids the people who are actually productive. Or he's the one who can take any metaphor and make it literal, instantly, poking holes in it as he goes.

And of course, he's the one everyone has to tiptoe around, because they know his technical status can sink their initiative.

I think you should fire this person immediately. Okay, maybe give him exactly one warning.

You'll find someone else who really knows this stuff. No doubt about it. And firing one intransigent bully is a lot less painful than shutting down an entire division next year because he paralyzed your decision-making.

Deep technical competency is overrated compared with the ability to make excellent decisions and to create a culture where forward motion is valued and personal initiative is rewarded.

Strangers in the City

In a finding that seems counter-intuitive, a recent urban study has found that people interact less when they live in more densely populated areas. Huh?

This may seem to go against common sense, yet most of us see it in action every day. There is very little interaction in a crowd. In fact, the very magnitude of human beings around us teaches us to keep to ourselves and not interact, for our own emotional protection as well as physical protection.

I love the buzz of the city, but I think that cities create impersonal environments, and all us city-dwellers have to work harder at finding community than do those who live in suburban settings.

The paper’s maintained hypothesis, that social interaction is stronger in denser areas, arose from the conjecture that high densities facilitate interaction by putting people in close proximity. The results, however, show the opposite effect, and a key question is why.

Looking for Yes

I love this observation by Seth Godin on the difference between looking for no and looking for yes.

It really seems like a spiritual question for me. At the core, isn't God's approach to life "Yes"?

Of course there are boundaries and consequences, but God is in the business of turning things around, redeeming the world, and making things possible! He is not the God of "All things are impossible."

In fact, the Bible even calls Jesus "God’s ultimate 'Yes'" in 2 Co 1:19. He was constantly in conflict with those whose basic approach to life was "No!"

So if you are a follower of Jesus, ask God to help you find the yes in your life and in your interactions with people. Let's look for yes instead of settling for no.

If you're out to provide a service, or organized to deliver a product, then look for a yes. At every interaction.