Doing better things

Some of you will already know that my working philosophy is to ‘do better things’. This statement comes from the Levels of Learning theory. In a similar way that Mazlow captured the notion of the hierarchy of needs, the idea behind levels of learning is a progressive approach to improvements. The first level is about ‘doing’; doing anything in a manner that is unfocused and unclear. This approach to work, or indeed to life will deliver poor results, low attainment levels and poor satisfaction.
Move up a level to ‘doing things well’ and instantly the impact is one of improved achievement and satisfaction. Doing a job well gives the doer and those around an increased sense of ability and no doubt pride. So if ‘a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well’ is your kind of thing then creating just a little more focus to your day to day activities will reap rewards.
But why stop there? Why not push things on to the next level and ‘do things better’? The idea is simple; you take a long hard look at what you do and how you do it and ask if there is a better way to approach things. Could you improve how things are done? If so you will have achieved that illusive goal of improvement. If you apply this thinking across a whole department of a team then you are into continuous improvement thinking which is so essential in any workplace.
No doubt with a continuous improvement cycle firmly embedded and things being done to a better standard it feels like the team are really motoring and achievements come naturally. At this point it would be easy to rest on one laurels but the theory of Levels of Learning requires a little extra push to get to ‘doing better things’.
‘Doing better things’ means taking a fresh approach to your thinking and to your practices. It challenges you to think about why you have adopted a particular approach, whether this approach is still relevant and whether there is a better way that you should now adopt. In organisational terms you might implement a 5S programme and soon discover that the benefits first gained are being lost to time consuming reviews. Moving to Kaizen might be a better use of skills, knowledge and time. On a personal level changing your routine might have a dramatic effect on your health, just swapping one unhealthy item for a piece of fruit will still make a difference to your health over time.
Doing better things is not easy, it is a challenge but one worth going for. Take the Kaizen approach to it and take one small step at a time. Focus on one area of your work or your life and challenge yourself to find a better way of doing that thing!

Etiquette – is for everyone

I recently visited an office where several staff were eating lunch at their desks. Nothing too unusual about that, except the smell from one of the lunch boxes had everyone apologising for the aroma that filled the air: everyone that is except the person eating from the offending box.
This type of behaviour typifies a loss of standards in the workplace that I have noticed. Another problem area for many office personnel is the increasing trend towards wearing what I refer to as ‘beach wear’. This style of dress is fine for out and about or indeed at the beach but I find exposed tummy areas, with tattoos, plunging necklines, casual shoes and combat trousers don’t inspire confidence. If a person can’t dress appropriately for work it sends to me a message that they don’t care.
It is hard to get the balance right in work but a little thought can make a big difference. Before opening a window or turning on the air conditioning, ask others if they don’t mind. If you borrow an item make sure you return it. Say please and thank you more often, share treats now an then and think about what you are saying so as not to cause offense.
E-mail can be a major trap for ‘breaking rules’, too many people use bold, or UPPER CASE in e-mails and don’t realise that this is viewed by the reader as shouting and rude.
I am guilty too of not always being on the ball when it comes to behaving in the correct way at work, but I try to be aware and if I do spot a mistake I try to correct it by apologising. No one is perfect but a little effort goes a long way in making life just that little bit brighter.