Developing an Emergency Preparedness Plan

What Brings You Joy at Work?

Cornelia and I recently attended a rehearsal of the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.  The first piece on the schedule was Korngold’s Violin Concerto with the very famous, Israeli-American violinist Gil Shaham as soloist.  It is such fun to be at a rehearsal in the elegant Concert Hall and see the orchestra in jeans and the conductor in just pants and a shirt with a sweater thrown over his shoulders. He took off the sweater before picking up his baton!

Out came Mr. Shaham in jeans and polo shirt and the conductor told us he’d just gotten off a plane from Europe and had come directly to the Kennedy Center.  This is all so different from seeing an actual concert when the men in the orchestra are in black tie and the women in long black dresses or dressy pants outfits!

The orchestra and the famous soloist played beautifully together throughout the piece.  To me it sounded flawless!  As the conductor was discussing his suggestions to the soloist and the orchestra, Cornelia asked me what word came to mind and I said, “Joy”.  I saw it on the expressive face of Gil Shaham as he played a piece he is famous for and one he has probably played hundreds of times.  It was so obvious that the notes and the majesty of the piece still brought joy. His face lit up as he played. He smiled and moved in a way that signified he was feeling the joy the music was sharing with him and that he was sharing with us.  A recent review of his performance in the New York Times described him as “brilliant with flawless precision and gleeful command.”  We certainly agree with that assessment!

Observing a talented musician so enjoying his work reminded me of how important it is for anyone to find joy in their work.  I feel so sad when I hear people say “it’s just a job” or “I work for the pay”.  Yes, work is work and we all work to get paid but how wonderful it is when we find a job that brings us joy!

I am not talking about having to love every second of every day at work because there isn’t a job anywhere that is perfect. Just today I observed a cashier in a busy restaurant finding joy in that repetitive job.  She smiles at everyone and engages people in conversation. She makes you feel special because she greets you like a friend.  For a while I thought it was just me that she did this with and then I observed her interacting positively with everyone who comes to her to pay their check.  I know I would find it hard to find joy in doing her job, but to her credit, she has made it work for her and, she brings joy to others by showing them her smile and her wishing them a beautiful day!”

My wish for you is that you find joy in your work!

What We Can Learn from Google … the Company, Not the Search Engine!

There aren’t a lot of 15-year-old companies with the impact Google has had on us all. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t get through a day without Googling something. Who am I kidding?--it is more like an hour! Not only is Google a tremendous business success, it has stayed true to what the founders believed, and because of those beliefs; it has built a strong corporate culture.

Of course, there is no perfect organization or perfect culture, but I really admire how Google has gone about building a successful company. A year or so after they started the business, they came up with “Ten Things we Know to be True.” Every so often they revisit the list and revise if needed, and on their website they challenge us, their customers, to hold them to this list. Here it is:

·      Focus on the user and all else will follow.

·      It’s best to do one thing really, really well.

·      Fast is better than slow.

·      Democracy on the web works.

·      You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.

·      You can make more money without doing evil.

·      There is always more information out there.

·      The need for information crosses all boundaries.

·      You can be serious without a suit.

·      Great just isn’t good enough.

I’d like to focus on “You can be serious without a suit.” How does that resonate with you? Do you think employees have to dress a certain way or their offices have to look a certain way for them to be productive? Your beliefs may not be contributing as much to developing a positive culture as you think. Google says, ”We put great stock in our employees--energetic, passionate people from diverse backgrounds with creative approaches to work, play and life. Our atmosphere may be casual, but as new ideas emerge in a café, or at a team meeting, or at the gym, they are traded, tested, and put into practice with dizzying speed--and they may be the launch pad for a new product destined for worldwide use.” And no one wears a suit!

Last year their stock reached over $1,000 a share, and since all employees are stockholders, this was quite a moment. Rather than focusing on the dollar value, the leadership urged Googlers (employees) to be “audacious in philanthropy.” Google donates $50 to a recognized charity for every five hours employees volunteer to that charity. This kind of “good citizenship” means that employees are very proud of where they work, which contributes to their strong corporate culture.

Once again in 2014, Google was number one on the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work list. That is no accident. Employees feel empowered and valued, and they know they have some of the best benefits an organization can offer.

You are probably thinking “all this is well and good, but my organization isn’t Google,” and you would be right. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t do some of the things they do. Hire the best people, develop their potential, listen to them, reward them to the best of your ability, and respect them for who they are and what they bring to your organization.

Something to think about--if your employees were asked to describe your organization’s culture, what words would they use? Why not ask, take what you hear, and build on it!

Credibility Builds Trust

I recently attended an exhibition that my eight-year old Victoria was in. She is taking gymnastics at a local college and the event was a combination of the little kids showing their skills and a highly professional show performed by the college students.  I went to see Victoria and she was on stage for about three minutes and she did a great job. However, we didn’t leave when she finished and, thank goodness, stayed for the rest of the show—it was spectacular!

I’ve been fortunate to see Cirque du Soleil several times and these kids could easily move right into those shows and perform with the professionals. If you’ve ever seen a gymnastics performance you get where I am going with the idea of trust.  Several times in the performance, the performers jumped into each other’s arms or climbed onto someone’s shoulders or other ways where they were depending on each other to catch them or hold them up.

 I thought about how it must feel the first time you do something like that when you aren’t sure what is going to happen but you have to trust that it will work out ok.  In life, we have to trust other people all the time. Children trust their parents and teachers.  We put trust in our elected officials and we hope they will do the right thing (and we too often learn we were wrong!).  We trust the important people in our lives to be there for us.

Trust is built on credibility.  In our business lives, we don’t usually trust people without proof that they mean what they say or that they will do what they have promised.  It may take us a long time to learn to trust a new manager or co-worker. We observe them in action to see if they keep their promises and live their values.  Hopefully, once the trust is established, it lasts for the life of the relationship but trust can be destroyed much quicker than the time it took to build it in the first place.

Trust is a necessary building block for any successful relationship—be it professional or personal.  How do you demonstrate trust to your employees or friends?  Do you live your values? Do you keep your promises?  Can people depend on you like the gymnasts do on each other—will you be there when they fall?