It may take 50 or 100 years for people to pay proper tribute to
Jerry Seinfeld’s
insights into the human condition. After all, when Shakespeare was
churning out his comedies and tragedies, people saw them as lively tales
with compelling characters; but it took later generations of scholars
to pontificate with straight faces about how Shakespeare
“invented” the modern human sense of self.
But already it’s telling that whole academic studies often tell us
no more about people than what Seinfeld has been able to
figure out
on his own. The whole range of human foibles is catalogued in the nine
seasons that his self-named show was on the air. And the Internet is now
filled with
life lessons from
the show.
And as we celebrate the
25th anniversary of the program’s birth, for our own purposes we can find three lessons from the show about the task of
leadership.
1. “It’s not a lie if you believe it.” In other words, conviction counts for a lot.
When Jerry is told to take a
polygraph test to verify his claim that he never indulged in that guilty pleasure,
Melrose Place,
he seeks tips on insincerity from liar extraordinaire George Costanza.
George finally yields the tersely magnificent observation, “Just
remember: It’s not a lie … if
you believe it.”
No, I’m not saying the takeaway is for managers to lie, but I am
suggesting that George offered the most crucial insight into the art of
persuasion.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner once quipped that a strong point of view is worth 80 IQ points. That’s the power of conviction.
And an acting teacher once
told me, “Acting isn’t about lying. Acting is about the
truth.”
That sounds contrary to common sense, but she was right. The reason a
good actor is such an amazing communicator is because he or she can take
on a role and
truly bring it to life, by finding the human truth inside that fictional role and bringing it out.
Most managers don’t know how to
own the leadership roles they play in the manner that good actors own the roles they play. (That’s why I argued in my
previous post that, if you as a manager can’t say something with conviction, you’re better off not saying it at all.)
To paraphrase Martin Luther, “If you’re going to sin, you might as
well sin boldly.” And if you’re going to make an argument or spell out a
vision, do it boldly or just don’t do it.
And it begins, as George noted, with you being the first one to internalize it and embrace it and believe it.
2. People are horrible and wonderful and amusing. So have a sense of patience and a sense of humor when leading them.
“People … they’re the
worst,” Jerry says to his friend Elaine Benes in one exquisitely misanthropic
dialogue.
This worldview is what makes that show unique. It’s a celebration of
people at their most insecure, their most self-interested and their most
entertaining. (But of course, if Seinfeld and co-creator Larry David
were true misanthropes, they’d have used their wondrous grasp of human
nature to become con artists instead of hilariously revealing
entertainers.)
Their show is a form of reparative therapy for anyone who’s had to
deal with this gang of idiots known as humanity, and certainly a comedic
release for anyone who’s had to manage any portion of our gang.
Yet there’s no trace of either cynicism or sentimentality in the
show. While its later seasons weren’t as biting as the earlier ones, it
never devolved into a syrupy mush as did
M*A*S*H in its final seasons, when even the worst characters began to take on saintlike qualities and motives.
That’s why, in the
Seinfeld finale, an honest reassessment
of the characters’ past actions results in them getting jail time. A
little punishment was only fitting, in the brutally honest Seinfeldian
worldview.
3. You may want to give people who “get” the show an edge in the hiring process.
Granted, most people entering the workforce today weren’t alive when
Seinfeld first captured the popular imagination and rewrote our
vocabulary.
But thank heaven for reruns and the Internet and whatever new forms of
communication are still to come, which can allow the show to enlighten
new generations about the messiness of life together.
“
Seinfeld was a show about norms, not nothing,” Sam Sommers wrote in a 2011
Psychology Today article.
“At its minutiae-focused best, the series was a 22-minute weekly
discourse on the unwritten rules that guide social interaction …. And
Seinfeld attracted an audience by exploring those very complexities.”
The show masterfully nailed social dynamics regarding interpersonal
politics, taboos, envy, insecurity and other building blocks of human
relationships. So if you’re dealing with a true aficionado of the show,
you know you’re likely dealing with someone with a certain baseline of
social awareness and emotional intelligence. And the importance of that
can’t be underestimated.
The Most Expensive World Cup Teams
Most Valuable Player: Neymar, $88 Million
president Sandro Rosell for covering up the full transfer cost.
For the player, his first season at
Camp Nou fell short of expectations;
he missed all but one match in the final month of
competition after injuring his foot during his club’s loss to Real Madrid in the Copa Del
Ray in April.But there is little doubt the 22-year old striker is destined for
greatness for his club and country. That’s reflected in mobile sports
news provider then Score’s $82 million estimate of the current market
value of his transfer fee — the amount of money an acquiring team would
pay to Barca to get him out of his contract. It’s the third highest in
the world. It’s also the most of any player on the Brazilian roster
which claims the top spot as the Most Expensive World Cup Team valued at
$718 million.
In conjunction with transfer markt.com and Brazilian outfit Valor.com,
theScore compiled the total current market value of each national squad
playing in the World Cup based on the sum of the transfer fees each
player could command in today’s market at their club level. Player fees
are assessed by the player’s salary, stats, age, and recent performances
among other things.
Four-time most valuable player in the world
Lionel Messi
has the highest estimated transfer fee valued at $163 million. In March
the 26-year old broke an 87-year old record to become Barcelona’s
greatest goal scorer in history after netting his 370th goal in his
452nd match. He already held records for most goals scored by a Barca
player in La Liga. In this World Cup he has scored in each of his
Argentine’s squad first round matches, including a stunner in injury
time yesterday in a win over Iran. Valued at $654 million, Argentina
ranks as the third most expensive playing in this World Cup.
Reigning MVP Cristiano Ronaldo comes in third with an estimated $136
million current market value. His stock is holding strong —
Real
Madrid spent $141 million, in today’s dollars, to acquire him from
Manchester United in 2009 to make his the most expensive transfer in
history. His Portuguese club is ranked No. 9 among the most
expensive at $400 million. Germany is the most expensive among fellow
Group G clubs, ranking 4
th overall in the world with an
estimated value of $622 million. Ghana is worth $151 million while the
US is worth only $77 million. The combined value of this group dubbed
the “Group of Death”: $1.250 billion
Of interesting note, using theScore’s total market values, Group D of
Uruguay ($261 million), Costa Rica ($52 million), England ($493
million), and Italy ($449 million) slightly edge out ahead as the
toughest with a combined total market value of $1.254 billion.
Of course being the most expensive team is no guarantee of success.
Ranked No. 2 on the list with a total market value of $674 million,
Spain was eliminated from the tournament. The team was also top-ranked
by FIFA as the favorite to win and was incentivized to repeat their 2010
World Cup victory with a world-high $977,000 bonus per player. Their
first loss came at the hands of the Netherlands whose market value is
$249 million, and then they were knocked out by Chile, worth $200
million.
The Top 10 Most Expensive World Cup Players (based on current market value of transfer fee):
1. Lionel Messi, Argentina, $163 million
2. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, $136 million
3. Neymar, Brazil, $82 million
4. Edinson Cavani, Uruguay, $82 million
5. Mario Gotze, Germany, $75 million
6. Andres Iniesta, Spain, $75 million
7. Luis Suarez, Uruguay, $71 million
8. Mesut Ozil, Germany, $68 million
9. Cesc Fabregas, Spain, $68 million
10. Hulk, Brazil, $65 million
How To Be Happy At Work
“The way we’re working isn’t working,” wrote Tony Schwartz and Christine Porath in a recent New York Times article entitled “
Why You Hate Work.”
The article goes on to tell the sadly familiar tale of today’s typical
workplace—lack of engagement in what people do, massive impediments to
doing their work well, little appreciation for what they have done, all
leading to the suspicion what they do at work makes no difference
anyway. “For most of us,” the authors conclude, “work is a depleting,
dispiriting experience.”
The authors—both management consultants—report that “more and more
companies are taking up this challenge” of dealing with workplace
disengagement. They describe a change program at the Albermarle
Corporation [ALB], a multi-billion-dollar chemical company, that claims
to have done so.
Interestingly, Luke Kissam, Albemarle’s chief executive, started the process with himself.
“He began by building breaks into his
days—taking a walk around the block—and being more fully focused and
present during time with his family. He now sets aside at least one
morning on his calendar every week for reflection and thinking longer
term. He has also made it a practice to send out handwritten notes of
appreciation to people inside and outside the company.
“Mr. Kissam has also championed a
comprehensive rethinking of his organization’s practices around
meetings, email, flexible work arrangements, conflict resolution and
recognition. By the end of 2014 more than 1,000 of his leaders and
managers will have gone through a program aimed at helping them more
skillfully meet their own needs, and the needs of those they oversee.
“’I can already see it’s working,’ Mr.
Kissam the chief executive of Albermarle told the authors. ‘We’re
trusting them to do their jobs rather than telling them what to do, and
then we’re appreciating them for their efforts. We’re also on the right
path financially. A year from now it’s going to show up in our
profitability.’”
Missing the main point: purpose
The managerial steps taken at Albermarle however don’t entirely
correspond to the authors’ own diagnosis of the problem of dispiriting
workplaces. Thus the authors conducted a study, in partnership with
Harvard Business Review, to examine the drivers of worker engagement.
The study identified four such drivers:
Physical needs: the physical opportunities to regularly renew and recharge at work;
Recognition: the need to feel valued and appreciated for contributions;
Autonomy: the need to be able to focus in a sustained way and define and where to work: and
Purpose: the spiritual need to feel connected to some kind of higher purpose at work.
The survey found that the most important of these needs is the last:
purpose. “Employees who derive meaning and significance from their work
were more than three times as likely to stay with their
organizations—the highest single impact of any variable in our survey.
These employees also reported 1.7 times higher job satisfaction and they
were 1.4 times more engaged at work.”
Yet the changes described at Albemarle do little if anything to do
with the firm’s purpose. The CEO is still talking about the firm’s
purpose as “getting on the right path financially,” something that will
“show up in our profitability.” Talking about the purpose of the firm in
purely financial terms is a quick way to demotivate employees.
The CEO might have listened to Simon Sinek and started with the
question, why? Why does Albemarle even exist? Is it to “be a company
that is on the right path financially” and “showing profitability”? Or
is it a firm obsessed with delighting its customers with remarkable
products and services?
The question is particularly relevant in the case of Albemarle, given on the one hand its questionable
earlier history on environmental issues, and on the other, its more recent efforts to establish itself as a major player in the fast growing market of biofuels.
In assuming that the purpose of a firm is to make money, Albemarle’s CEO is not alone. According to a
recent report
from the Aspen Institute, the conventional wisdom in the United States
today is that the goal of a corporation is to maximize shareholder
value, even though Jack Welch has called this “the dumbest idea in the
world.”
By talking of the purpose of a firm in purely financial terms,
executives miss an opportunity to create meaning and purpose for their
workers. Ironically by not focusing the firm on delighting customers,
they also miss a huge opportunity to “get on the right path
financially.” That’s because delighting the customer is not just
profitable. It’s
hugely profitable.
Clarifying the ingredients of workplace satisfaction
The goal of delighting customers also sheds light on the true meaning
of employee recognition. Giving employees a clear line of sight as to
how the work is impacting the ultimate customer and whether those
customer is being delighted is inherently more motivating for employees
than a pat on the back from the boss. Recognition from a boss is a poor
proxy for real customer feedback, since the recognition may be mistaken
or arbitrary, and hence a further source of workplace frustration.
That’s one of the key
current problems at IBM,
for instance, where although the top management pays lip service to
responding to customers, the actual decisions make clear that the
primary drivers are cutting costs and increasing earnings per share. In
such a situation, talk about delighting customers only elicits cynicism.
The need for a radical transformation in management
Thus the Albemarle experience can hardly be regarded as a success
when it doesn’t deal with the root cause of workplace disengagement. In
fact, it’s symptomatic of a deeper malaise of management theory and
practice. Better practices in terms of autonomy and recognition will not
by themselves resolve the problem of workplace dissatisfaction, unless
the purpose of the firm becomes more uplifting.
Limiting the length of meetings, mandating response times on emails,
or creating fitness facilities or nap rooms are not bad things in
themselves, but they are baby steps, in comparison with the longer and
more difficult journey of management transformation that lies ahead.
Focusing a firm on delighting customers means a more fundamental
shift in how leaders and managers think, speak and act in the workplace.
It entails a different set of goals, habits, values, attitudes and
beliefs. It’s not any secret as to what’s involved. More than
a score of books have been written about it.
Work alone won’t make you happy
Those who really want to do something about improving workplace
happiness might also draw on significant insights about happiness from
the field of psychology, such as Jonathan Haidt’s book,
The Happiness Hypothesis. Haidt summarizes a large amount of recent research on happiness with the formula:
H =S + C + V
where
“H” is happiness;
“S” is the “setpoint” or basic
disposition to greater or lesser happiness, which varies considerably
from individual to individual;
“C” is the amount of happiness generated by the conditions in which the individuals find themselves; and
“V” is the amount of happiness generated by the voluntary activities that individuals undertake themselves.
The biggest part of the “conditions” (C) for happiness, says Haidt,
are social relationships. “No man, woman, or child is an island. We are
ultra-social creatures, and we can’t be happy without having friends and
secure attachments to other people.” We may find the people with whom
to have these relationships at work, but it’s the relationships, not the
work that is critical for happiness. We need to be realistic about what
the workplace by itself can, and cannot, do. Even inspiring workplaces
are not sufficient for true happiness.
The second most important part of the conditions (C) for happiness is
“having and pursuing the right goals, in order to create states of flow
and engagement. In the modern world, people can find goals and flow in
many settings, but most people find most of their flow at work.”
Turning work into a calling
If the conditions at your workplace are miserable, you may be
starting with negative conditions (C) for happiness. Can you overcome
these bad conditions with positive voluntary efforts? Haidt suggests
that you can, by turning work into a calling.
“Research finds that most people approach
their work in one of three ways: as a job, a career, or a calling. If
you see your work as a job, you do it only for the money, you look at
the clock frequently while dreaming about the weekend ahead, and you
probably pursue hobbies…
“If you see your work as a career, you
have larger goals of advancement, promotion, and prestige. The pursuit
of these goals often energizes you, and you sometimes take work home
with you because you want to get the job done properly. Yet, at times,
you wonder why you work so hard. You might occasionally see your work as
a rat race where people are competing for the sake of competing.
“If you see your work as a calling,
however, you find your work intrinsically fulfilling—you are not doing
it to achieve something else. You see your work as contributing to the
greater good or as playing a role in some larger enterprise the worth of
which seems obvious to you. You have frequent experiences of flow
during the work day, and you neither look forward to “quitting time” nor
feel the desire to shout, ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’ You would continue
to work, perhaps even without pay, if you suddenly became very wealthy.”
Haidt goes on to quote Amy Wrzesniewski, a psychologist at Yale
School of Management: “Work itself is but what you deem it.”
Wrzesniewski finds “all three orientations represented in almost every
occupation she has examined. In a study of hospital workers, for
example, she found that the janitors who cleaned bed pans and mopped up
vomit—perhaps the lowest-ranking job in a hospital—sometimes saw
themselves as part of a team whose goal was to heal people.”
Even without better management, Haidt suggests that most people can get more satisfaction from their work.
“The first step is to know your
strengths. Take the strengths test and then choose work that allows you
to use your strengths every day, thereby giving yourself at least
scattered moments of flow. If you are stuck in a job that doesn’t match
your strengths, recast and reframe your job so that it does…
“If you can engage your strengths, you’ll
find more gratification in work; if you find gratification, you’ll
shift into a more positive, approach-oriented mindset; and in such a
mindset it will be easier for you to see the bigger picture—the
contribution you are making to a larger enterprise—within which your job
might turn into a calling. Work at its best, then, is about connection,
engagement, and commitment.”
Change your work or your workplace?
The issue of happiness at work is of widespread interest. My article, “
The Ten Happiest Jobs”
now has close to a million page-views, in part because the happiest
jobs are not the ones people expect: clergy, firefighters, physical
therapists, authors, teachers, artists, psychologists, financial
services sales agents, and engineers. By contrast, the “unhappiest jobs”
include jobs where the conventional wisdom would least expect
unhappiness: managers. The message is clear: climbing up the corporate
ladder of a hierarchical bureaucracy is not the path to happiness.
Bottom line: if you are interested in pursuing happiness in a
workplace that is not engaging you and the management is actively
thwarting your own efforts to generate purpose in your work, maybe it’s
time to look around for a different workplace?
Video: Self –Help Books in 60 Seconds:
The TEN BEST PC GAMES
1. Theat rhythm: Final Fantasy
From
the role-playing series Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy pays tremendous
tunes through a Nintendo 3DS rhythm game. The course of a traditional
RPG mimics the game which using battle, cutscene sequences and
exploration. Using stylus with greatest gaming music ever composed. It
is a sharp rhythm game and for 3DS owners it looks to be a prime piece
of fan service.
2. The Secret World
The
release of The Secret World has been announced more than five years
ago. From its great competition, stand out the EA and Funcom (Age of
Conan). It’s not set in some sci-fi world and fantasy so it opts to
employ a modern-day setting- albeit. The main features of this game are
creepy location, serious atmosphere and distributing enemies. Its making
is not visually different but it’s different functionally.
3. Spelunky
It
is the most expected release of Xbox Live Arcade. From Indiana Jones,
Cave Story, Bomberman, and Castlevania it pulls together to deliver a
slick side-scroller. It has local four-player support also. We will be
liable to believe the publicity on the basis of what we played and seen.
4. Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends
The
launch of Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends set in the coming days.
That has taken a different direction for the launch of Test Drive:
Ferrari Racing Legends and Test Drive Unlimited 2. That is on the iconic
manufacturer’s car catalog that focused with closed circuit races. That
does not mention the career mode on the company’s history. For Test
Drive’s latest reboot unleashed developer Slightly Mad Studios is
on-board.
5. Bellator MMA Onslaught
By
obtaining the Ultimate Fighting Championship license EA shook up the
mixed-martial arts market’s retail side. It follows EA’s own EA Sports
MMA and a trio of THQ-published entries. This game aims for a different
kind of market not only in price point. The PlayStation Network and Xbox
Live Arcade published by 345 Games. For a more traditional fighting
game that sheds the sim approach with an accessible button. For MMA fans
it would be a different option, it costs $15 and may lack big-name
fighter.
6. Endless Space
For
Steam pre-orders Endless Space is available in beta. For the 4X fans it
looks to be an incredible time sink. 4X are “expand, explore,
exterminate and exploit”. On Independence Day 4X space sim will be seen a
formal release. With gorgeous ship design and stylish menus that looks
quite slick to trailers. That controls everything from war and diplomacy
to economy and science. Put players on their own galactic empire.
7. NCAA Football 13
For
Madden NFL 13 at E3 EA Sports turned on the hype machine in early June.
NCAA Football 13, the pro series’ collegiate younger brother due out
first. The Heisman Challenge mode has been introduced the game. For
casual and hardcore players the game had made variety of small
improvements. With dynamic scores ticker and EPN updates that ramping up
the presentation.
8. Quantum Conundrum
In
late June, Quantum Conundrum launch on PC. With the PlayStation Network
and Xbox Live Arcade releases that get to the console players.
“Exemplary” is the platform-based puzzler gameplay.
9. Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure
The
game Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure don’t have any
resemblance with Rhythm Heaven. For this unique little 3DS option we can
draw bizarre Japanese trailer. That is the only parallel we can draw.
Rhythm
Heaven is a music game so your actions are timed to a beat. Each
movement or interaction helps to create a background tune. Here, you
hope posing to hide behind the statues, dancing with a group of enemies
on rooftops.
10. Ice Age: Continental Drift – Arctic Games
I
think kids and adults are still like the licensed minigames. So here is
a wonderful Minigame Ice Age: Continental Drift – Arctic Games for you,
on the popular CG film franchise that delivers a licensed take. For 10
included minigames the Xbox 360 version requiring Kinect.
