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Spinning plates
Having finished a week of working 18-hour days I wonder if work life balance is just a fable. We, in the training and development world, preach about it, we often offer it as a glowing ideal but when push comes to shove and a client shouts ‘help’ we stretch, flex our muscles, breath deeply, role our sleeves up and get on with it.
The week of hard work is now done, sighed sealed and delivered. The client is very happy, BUT what are the downside? Family life has been put on hold and relatives have come to the rescue to help and support us, and I think it is fair to say there are a few people who could do with some extra sleep. We have been through an experience and can look each other in the eye with a knowing smile. ‘I was there too my colleague.’ Like steel we have been strengthened under the heat, impact and pressure. Our relationship has been forged.
In a strange way it has been a pleasant experience, BUT what of those poor souls that live their lives like that? How do they cope on the never ending corporate wheel?
The truth is, I don’t think they do. I think they feel shackled to the stands of the wheel and feel the lashes of their taskmasters cutting deeply.I’m looking further into the future as we, as a business, expand and take on new premises and staff. So what are we to do?
Lifestyle is important but should it be placed on a pedestal and never compromised when business, for most, is in short supply?As the world moves on we are asked to do more with less, to a better quality and faster – Here’s that hamster wheel again!
My personal belief is that health and happiness should fit hand in hand with being part of a team and doing an interesting and stimulating role and that if lifestyle has to be put to one side for a day or two, it’s no biggie, if it goes on longer than that, then we are in trouble.
I guess it’s a balance; a little like spinning plates on sticks; effort needs to be put in to keep each moving and when one area starts to wobble it needs some attention.
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One stop shop…
It seems that every supermarket is rattling on about how they source sooo much local produce and it makes me wonder why this country is far from self sufficient . This article http://www.optimumpopulation.org/overpopulationindex.pdf makes for very interesting reading.
In brief it shows that we are 74.2% dependant on imports from abroad. Obviously this is not just based on foodstuff but it is staggering that we cannot survive independently as a nation.
Considering that the fuel to transport this 74.2% of ‘stuff’ is getting increasingly rare and the damage it is doing to our fragile planet, it does make you wonder what on earth (literally and metaphorically) are we doing!
With so many nations shifting ‘stuff’ around the world it is rationally tempting to think that some high-level logistical jiggery pokery could cut down on the freight miles this ‘stuff’ has to travel. Why ship wood from Russia when it can come from renewable stocks from Europe. OK, cost might be a driving factor here so listen up, Governments, there might even be a new taxation for you to make this economically viable. What have I said?!Why-o-why are we not adopting our forefather’s wartime philosophy of self-sufficiency? Folks, this is a war, but a positive war that will save many millions, even billions of lives if we cast our minds forward into our fragile future.
Is it time to dig up the lawn to grow our own vegetables; shouldn’t we make-do-and-mend rather than throw it away and buy a new one?
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Power to the People…
When an alcoholic leaves a pub and drives their car, do you blame the person who continually poured the drinks or the person who drank them? Another question, when a society uses greater and greater amounts of fossil fuels do you blame the oil company that drilled for the oil or the society that uses it?
Our world oil, gas and coal reserves are fast running out – not to mention the huge amount of damage this causes to our environment – so it’s worth taking a long look at whether the bar-person, as it were, deserves all of the blame.
If you’re anything like me your life is heavily based on the consumption of fossil fuels, our homes, work and play is mostly powered by fossil fuels: gas, electricity, coal, petrol, diesel, aviation fuel etc. Even the services we buy, such as the servers that power the Internet, are costing us the earth – Servers are more of a threat than SUV’s with their power consumption and the need to keep them cool!
We are, in other words, more than a little bit like that alcoholic who is angry with the bar-person for serving them the drinks that they themselves ordered.
Unless we want more and more ecological disasters like in the Gulf, we have to own up to our energy addiction.It is time to take some responsibility for our own addiction to fossil fuels and do our bit. “What can I do?” I hear you say. Well, it’s a lot easier than you think. This is what some people are already doing:
· People are commuting to work on their bikes, getting exercise as they go.
· They are using video conferencing rather than travelling for hours to see clients face to face
· They work from home when they can, saving fuel and time.
· They buy food from farm-shops, or farmers-markets, that sell their own, local produce (and don’t forget to check it is local!) this saves fossil fuels associated with the thousands of miles supermarkets typically makes from farm to plate.
· When they do use the supermarkets, they shop on-line making sure to choose foods that are in season and not shipped from overseas. They have their food delivered by the supermarket, as one van delivering lots of food is better than lots of cars driving to the supermarket – and it saves you time too!
· Take one two-week holiday rather than two one-week holidays.
· Use fans instead of air-conditioners
· Drink tap water instead of bottled.
The list, of course, goes on and on.These people who take responsibility for their energy consumption have discovered that life gets cheaper, and they get healthier lives in return.
Are you personally willing to accept some of the blame – alongside the bartender – and help us break our energy habit? If so, I’ll see you in the bike lane.
Let me know if you have any energy saving ideas!
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Less is more, more of less…
I’ve always been fascinated by the expression ‘less is more’, and I have been passionate about applying this simple philosophy whenever I find it fits and adds value. This is often in straightforward ways, such as applied marketing, design, within training, etc. and it has and is working very well. There’s something graceful about it, the power of silence, leaving space to be space: There is true sanity in the words ‘less is more’!
It strikes me that it is relatively easy to apply it in simple ways like this, but what if it were more complex, more important, more fundamental, such as work life balance? I thought about the people I know who have made the choice to be run off their feet, stressing everyday. Are they thinking beyond being busy, do they believe that having a full diary and earning heaps of money is a sign of success? Probably.
So, how do we attach value the parts of our life that don’t cost money or make money; our relationships with our friends and family, our partners, even our own health?What do you value in your life? Are you filling it with ‘must do stuff’ and could that simply a misconception or a mirage?
Someone once said to me, ‘If you were lay on your deathbed and someone asked you what you would do if you had more time to live, no one would say WORK.’
I’m reminded of Steven Covey’s big rocks story. Here is a link to a rather old video of the master himself.
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10:10 for business
The 10:10 is a campaign to reduce UK emissions by 10% in 2010. Any person or organisation can get involved – and by working together we’ll maximise our impact.
http://www.1010global.org/uk/creating-workplace-travel-plan
We support this campaign and ask you, whether you are an individual, a small business or a huge organisation, to do your bit.
Adopt flexible working practices
Set up car club sharing schemes – 85% of car trips for work are single occupancy!
Consider restricted car parking
Sign post information on local public transport
Promote a Cycle to Work scheme
Incentivise those who do make the effort to avoid their car. As one pioneering 10:10 organisation is doing, you could offer 5 minutes of extra holiday for every day that someone cycles.
Ensure your office can support cyclists or runners by providing the right facilities – a safe place to store bikes and showers for freshening up. If your office doesn’t have these then ask the organisation next door if they wouldn’t mind sharing.I read an interesting quote the other day, which made me think: “Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something”
Deep
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Don’t press too hard…
The recession: a lot of people have lost their jobs and have been put in a nasty situation as a result, but where does the blame lie? Is the press to blame? Have they created a state of fear that has made businesses draw in their purse strings and be over cautious. Of course there have been some real business casualties along the way BUT they have tended to be ones that have been hearing the death knells for a while and have been kept alive by the banks milking their lucrative cash-cows, or they have been healthy businesses that have over expanded using the banks money to drive expansion only to have the tap turned off, even though they have healthy order books. Do I blame the banking industry? I’ll leave that to you to decide!
I’ve been lucky enough to have visited over half a dozen countries on business the past twelve months and without exception they have all had some kind of economic downturn, but their press have reported fact not speculated or sensationalised so they are recovering much faster. We have been forced to live in a state of fear.
Recovery – The situation is never clear cut because it relies on businesses spending money on the things we need rather than holding back ‘just in case’. It’s a little like being stuck in a traffic jam (perhaps on the M6, again): if everyone in the jam drew away at the same time, accelerated at the same speed and changed gear in unison we would all be back on our way quickly BUT the reality is this isn’t going to happen. We are busy watching each other to see who’s going to make the first move – ‘what are THEY are doing?’ If we see enough positive motion then we too will get on the bandwagon.
I think what I’m trying to say here is, have faith and stand your ground. The country is in a good position right now. Markets are gaining confidence, business are seeing the green routes of recovery, the pound is low BUT this means exports are healthy (lets make more “stuff” in the UK shall we!) and businesses are peaking from beneath the surface once more.Fingers crossed