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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Thought Tweet #568

by Rick Baker
On Sep 19, 2012

Thought Tweet #568 If you're over your head, it's too late to keep your chin up.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Ego and Pride and Denial...they have their purposes, they have their limits.

Best to invest time in self-knowledge before, not after, those limits are surpassed.

Tags:

Humour | Optimism & Pessimism | Thick Skin & Thin Skull | Thought Tweets

Thought Tweet #539

by Rick Baker
On Aug 9, 2012

Thought Tweet #539 Common sense: easy to see in self but tough to find in others. A pessimist said that. I have no idea why.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Or was it an optimist...

Tags:

Optimism & Pessimism | Thought Tweets

How to get People to like you even better - #1

by Rick Baker
On Mar 7, 2012

Here are the Top 10 results of a recent impromptu and unscientific survey on the topic...

How to get People to like you even better:

10. Don't armtwist People...that is to be taken literally

9. Don't make jokes at other People's expense...even if they aren't with you

8. Don't scream at People when they are right in front of you, [it might be OK to do it if they are a long way away].

7. Don't steal People's ideas or their successes.

6. Don't badmouth People behind their backs.

5. Don't swindle People.

4. Don't make bored faces when People are talking to you.

3. Don't make funny faces while People are talking to you.

2. Don't check for notes on your smart phone when People are talking to you.

1. Don't tell People to shut up when they are talking to you.

 

[Imagine how many more People will like you if you add all these Good Habits to your TO DO List.]

Tags:

Beyond Business | Change: Creating Positive Change | Optimism & Pessimism

Know Negativity

by Rick Baker
On Feb 10, 2012

Have you ever stopped to think about negativity?

I mean - have you ever set aside 30 minutes or so to consider what negativity does and the many forms negativity takes.


An Introduction to What Negativity Does

  1. It consumes and wastes our precious personal-energy.
  2. It is contagious, affecting one then infecting other people...wasting their personal-energies.
  3. If you believe in the Law of Attraction then negativity attracts more negativity and causes negative outcomes.
 
The Forms Negativity Takes
 
We do not have to think and do these negative things.
 
We do them because they are part of human nature. We do them because many of us were not born with the gift of self-monitoring and self-regulation....so, if we want to be less negative then we must learn how to do it. And, learning how to be less negative takes work and discipline. It is a skill. 
 
Being less negative is a skill we can learn if we choose to.
 
Working on being less negative is a Good Habit.
 

Wages in the world of work

by Rick Baker
On Jan 17, 2012

As part of our BIG PICTURE, Spirited Leaders has 5 Values

One of those 5 Values is: Labours of Enjoyment & Enthusiasm

In simple words, we want our People to at least enjoy their work.

Why?

We have several reasons, here are 3:

  1. work Enjoyment means People are putting their Strengths to productive use,
  2. work Enjoyment paves the path for work Enthusiasm, which in turn paves the path for work Passion, and
  3. work Enjoyment results in full wages.
Full Wages...what does that mean?
 
It means People, in return for their work, receive much more than money.
 
In the 100-year-old words of James Allen1, People receive "the completion of wages in its sevenfold fullness as follows:
  1. Money
  2. Usefullness
  3. Excellence
  4. Power
  5. Independence
  6. Honor
  7. Happiness"
Now, James Allen had strong thoughts about People and work. He wrote, "Work is of two kinds - it is either loving labor or enforced slavery". At one end of the spectrum, Allen described working People as slaves. At the other end of the spectrum he described working People as true workers. And, he didn't see much middle ground.
 
That's not the way we see working People.
 
We see working People experiencing a range of feelings about work. People's feelings at and about work change frequently. People's feelings at and about work tend to fluctuate within a range. We use a Minus10-to-Plus10 Scale to describe and measure People's feelings at and about work.
 
Our goal is to help People feel good about work...that is, at least Enjoy their work. Using our Minus10-to-Plus10 Scale, that means People score on average at least Plus4.
 
When People score at least Plus4 their enjoyment is contagious...
 
That's why we Value it!
 
 
Footnotes:
  1. James Allen - an excerpt from his book 'Men And Systems' (1914)
  2. link to a friend's thoughts about Workplace Passion

Your Feelings & Your Bottom Line

by Rick Baker
On Jan 5, 2012

Business Leaders: how do you feel when your bottom line is positive, healthy, and growing?

When your bottom-line profits are pretty darned good, do you feel:

  • Terrible? or
  • Nothing? or
  • Pretty Darned Good?
I am going to hazard a guess and say, "When your bottom-line profits are pretty darned good you feel Pretty Darned Good".
 
So, to some degree, perhaps to a large degree, your bottom-line profits impact on how you feel.
 
There is a cause-and-effect at play here.
 
Good bottom lines lead to good feelings.
 
How about flipping it around...
 
Wouldn't you agree with the following: Good feelings lead to good bottom lines!
 
 
PS: In fact, isn't it impossible to imagine how bad feelings could ever lead to good bottom line profits?

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.