Category: work
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Even if your are the expert, it’s valuable to take the time to listen to others’ perspectives. Engaging in such discussions can lead to surprising insights or beneficial outcomes for all the participants, including the expert. There are two key reasons for this. First, what is considered common knowledge in one field can often be…
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The optimal size of a group is first determined by the function of the group. A group will need the requisite skills, abilities, experience, and manpower to accomplish its goal. In addition to function, there are cognitive and social underpinnings which influence the optimal size of a group. Studies suggest optimal group size tends to…
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The recent wave of layoffs within prosperous tech companies has been a wake-up call, especially for younger professionals who have not experienced previous economic downturns. However, those familiar with cyclical business trends or the relentless pursuit of “shareholder value” are neither shocked nor surprised. Why Layoffs Happen Layoffs often signal that a company’s executives believe…
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I have used systems thinking for most of my adult life. It was at the heart of the infrastructure, services, and human organizations I built. Systems thinking has been a key tool to understand the world around me and to identify the most leveraged way for me to make a positive impact on the world.…
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TL;DR – Read the title 🙂 The HBR Your Company Is Not a Family written by Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha, and Chris Yeh has better prose than what follows here. If I had found it earlier I wouldn’t have bothered writing this post. In the last few months I have chatted with a number of…
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A common misconception held by first time managers and many employees is that Human Resources, AKA HR, People Team, or whatever is the in-vogue term is these days, exists to support the employees. Well informed optimists would say HR is called on to look after the interests of both the employees and the organization as…
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Last night I had a spirited discussion with some friends about US politics. One of our friends was expressing a concern that historically the US has been too “nice”, hopeful, helpful. We have created a culture people want to enjoy, but now we will be taken advantage of and ultimately destroyed. We need to be…
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For the last twenty years I have spent a portion of my time each week working with college students at my church. I have generally found the college students’ faith vital with a great interest in making a difference in the world. I have watched these young men and women invest time into serving their…
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Many people are aware of the excellent work done by the Grameen bank. They have pioneered micro loans as a way to fuel economic development. A new twist to this is http://kiva.org which is attempting to link donors to the people who are taking the loans. They describe their system as P2P micro loans. Over…
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The The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, Leigh Branham suggests that while most managers think their employees switch jobs for better pay, that better pay is rarely the primary reason people switch jobs. Most people want to feel Trust, Hope, Worth, Competent. When they have trouble finding these things, they will often seek new opportunities.…