September 2009 Archives

We all have a lot of obligations these days--not just at our jobs, but in our private lives--to our families and to our so-called "personal brand," our commitments to organizations as well as individual pursuits such as fine-tuning specific skills with classes so we can remain at the "top of our game." But that's just it--sometimes all of these obligations feel like a game, and leave us overwhelmed. This can drain your energy and make you generally useless to family, friends, and of course, co-workers. So, how do we stop this "obligation overload," or at least mitigate the effects of it?

1. Take a "Think Week." Twice a year, Bill Gates takes a week by himself to ponder business and employee insight in a cabin somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. This week of "mapping ideas, [and] grilled cheese, and orange crush" as one Wall Street Journal article described it, is crucial to the functioning of Bill Gates. And if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for you. Think about taking a week somewhere--anywhere--to re-focus and re-charge. I've wanted to do this myself for a long time, but I've never been able to do a full week. In 2010, I'm going to change that.
2. "Unplug" on a regular basis. This doesn't mean "unplug" from just email for a few hours a day and then brag about it to everyone who emails you with an auto-reply, a process Peter Shankman described. It means unplug from everything for a period of time each day--not just email. Stop answering/obsessively checking your BlackBerry or iPhone. Pull yourself away from the television or Twitter and engage with real people about something other than your goals. Ask them how they're doing. We spend so much time "engaging" in the digital world that we don't put enough of a priority on doing it in the real one. This is becoming an issue for a lot of folks. Take control of it.
3. Remind yourself of your priorities. I have a lot of professional goals. You probably do, too. But do you have personal priorities? Big, lofty ideals about who you want to be as a person or do in life (that's not work-related)? If not, try to think of some because it will not only change your perspective--and thus decrease obligation overload--but it will bring added meaning to your life and challenge you. These priorities may change, and that's ok.
4. Realize you are not your "personal brand." This is crucial to avoiding "obligation overload." If you wake up and think, "I've got to get on Twitter and check out what people are saying about me today!" then you're headed down the wrong path. How do I know this? I've done it myself. It's good to be concerned with how you're perceived, but if you're constantly worried about what others think about you, you'll cave into pressure to do everything.
5. Find a hobby. Yeah, yeah, I know you're probably thinking, "I don't need another thing on my to-do list!" but I don't mean pick up a hobby that's related to your job or some other over-arching life or career goal, I mean pick up a hobby that's a stress reliever for you and only you. Whether that's getting in a bike ride for just thirty minutes once a day or taking a couple of hours on the weekend to paint or take a walk and really think, find something that's all about you and allow yourself to that every week. When you're trying to get a lot done, it's amazing how much taking some time alone clears your mind and re-charges you for other activities. The key is not to feel bad about taking the time away from others. In the long run, you'll decrease obligation overload and be more fun to be around anyway.

Although a company's culture is mostly an abstract concept, real, physical things such as a company's physical plant and design can play a significant role in shaping its unique culture. The way a space is designed and enhanced can influence productivity, general outlook, and a lot more. There are many companies out there that sell expensive furniture and chairs to make an office better, but really these just help business achieve standardization in terms of the look of the space, but don't give it any heart.

It's no secret that some of the so-called "coolest companies to work for" such as Google, Apple, and Yahoo have spent millions to create fun, interactive work environments. I've even seen some companies do totally insane things, like build a three story slide in their offices.

But what about small companies with smaller budgets? With our limited budget and small space, we've not gone to any extremes (yet) but we have added things that represent us and our culture. From the Nintendo Wii Room with Astroturf on the floor to the Relaxation Room that was built by employees in an unused office, all of these additions add personality and depth to the work environment. They also allow people to put their own "stamp" on their workplace. Since we spend a lot of time in our offices, that's really important.

Maybe some of these extreme workspace makeovers will give you ideas for what you can create at your own company:

• Red Bull, London. Indoor slide, conference room ping pong table, and reception desk that looks like a skateboard ramp.
• Google, Mountain View, California. Volleyball court, swimming pool, and scooters.
• Fog Creek Software, New York 200 gallon fish tank.

What are the common themes in these and many other cool office environments? Lots of glass (perhaps to evoke transparency and authenticity), no cubes or very low cubes, snacks, fridges filled with drinks, and entertainment options. If you've got a large budget, you can also have cafes, real restaurants, and maybe even a convenience store on-site for employees' needs.

What makes your office unique? What cool, interesting, and fun things have you created for your environment? What have you seen at the coolest offices? Also, are these gimmicks or actually a representation of their culture?

When you're hiring someone, one of the questions always asked is, "Have you done this kind of work before?" If the candidate says they have, it's important to determine the quality of their work--that is, did they do a good job? What's their track record? I view the current healthcare debate from a similar standpoint. As Americans, we need to hire someone to fix our broken system of healthcare. As a result, anyone in the running for the job needs a thorough interview; we need to know what our prospective candidates' track record is on the matter. This isn't a political issue, but an economic and human one that will define our future for a long time. So, with the U.S. government interested in taking on this great task, it's necessary to ask the crucial questions anyone would ask before hiring someone for an important job.

In this case, if we were to examine the U.S. government as a potential candidate for taking over the job of fixing healthcare, we'd discover pretty quickly that they have a sketchy past when it comes to project management. Examples? How about our gigantic budget deficit? Or the impending collapse of Social Security? Are we ready to let the government take on the massive project that is reforming healthcare in light of these shortcomings? I'm not so sure. However, I'm convinced that no matter what your take on the issue, we need to have healthy debate and discussion regarding the topic, and we must refrain from letting that debate devolve into a mob-like mentality that attempts to silence discussion on the topic.

In the middle of August, John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, wrote, "The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare", an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. Mackey opened the article with a quote from Margaret Thatcher, "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." The use of this quotation set the tone for the piece. Mackey offers some interesting possible solutions, pointing out the need for support in tax laws and regulations that effect the current situation. However, I was disappointed with his comments regarding chronic diseases, specifically diabetes. In his comments, Mackey asserted that a whole myriad of diseases, including diabetes, could be magically cured by eating right, and lumped all of these diseases into one group. I think this was a bad move, particularly with regard to diabetes: Mackey made no distinction between type 1 or "juvenile diabetes"--the kind children get--and type 2 diabetes, which has been linked to obesity. Unlike type 2, which can be caused by being overweight, type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disorder that attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and it mostly affects young people--it can't be cured by "eating right" and kids (and the adults they grow into) have to inject themselves with insulin to stay alive. Since he was writing an article, Mackey should have done more research on these diseases; I'm puzzled as to why he didn't. It worries me he didn't do his research on that front because then I start thinking about what other areas he hasn't researched before writing about them. Mackey also missed an opportunity to provide background into the Whole Foods brand, and what the stores stand for. He should've touched on what Whole Foods was doing to encourage healthier diets for everyone--not just people with chronic health issues--by selling foods that use fresh ingredients at more reasonable prices.

While I don't agree with everything Mackey says, he never claimed to have a perfect solution. That's why I was surprised to see the largely negative response and notices of boycotts on social media sites. As Mashable posted about a week after the WSJ piece, 22,000 Facebook users pledged to boycott Whole Foods. I think that action is misdirected. Why not channel that energy into advocating more solutions for healthcare? In my opinion, people jump on the "anti" bandwagon all too soon, and take out their frustration with the healthcare system on people who are simply speaking their mind--and last time I checked, there's nothing wrong with that. It's too bad that when a business person stands up, voices his opinion, and offers possible solutions, that he and his company are attacked. Why do people fall into this "mob mentality" when these attackers provide no solutions themselves? The way I see it, it's better to engage in discussion, disagree, and find new solutions than to silence people simply for having a voice. I'd rather channel my energy into brainstorming possible solutions than galvanizing support on Facebook to boycott Whole Foods. John Mackey and his company aren't the problem.

Clearly, I'm not an expert in healthcare, public policy or anything like that, but it's evident that reform is needed. What I do understand is business, so I'll draw on my experience in that arena to share some of my perspective on healthcare, and where/how we can do better. Maybe someone smarter than me can build on my suggestions to discover ways to implement similar changes.

• We need transparency and accountability in healthcare. Make it clear how much medical care and treatments cost and give the responsibility to the consumer for the spending. If we purchased healthcare like we do any other service or product, there would be no way a hospital could charge $50 for a BandAid. People forget that this is driving up the cost of healthcare, and the cost is being passed along to ALL of us. A common solution for this is high deductible Health Spending Account (HSA) plans.
• Let's incentivize preventive care. Rather than preserving a system that encourages providers and companies to wait until there is a problem to sell a solution, reverse this and create incentives for preventing larger health problems down the road.
• Fix the food supply. Healthcare is more than dealing with problems once they land in your front yard. It's also about giving people access to wholesome, nutritious food without hormones, harmful ingredients or preservatives. A person should be able to go to the grocery store and know that the meat they buy isn't from a cow who has eaten feed laced with all sorts of unknown things. They should be able to purchase milk for their kids without hormones in it. This seems like basic stuff to me, but it's not a required part of our food supply right now, and I think that's silly. Organics and natural items are a step in the right direction, but must be available at a reasonable price to all people.
• Healthcare is not a 'right' but it should be easy for everyone to access and affordable. Mackey said healthcare isn't a 'right' in his article for the WSJ, and it's what incensed people most from what I can tell. However, he didn't do enough to explain his point--something I'll try to do here. It's crucial that everyone at all income levels has access to great healthcare for both the good of the individual and society as a whole, however, that doesn't make it a human right. Let's just get rid of the term right now--it adds nothing to the debate and only serves to mire us in circular discussion instead of progress. What does make sense from my perspective is the ability for each person, if they work and contribute to society, to get healthy food from their grocery store and affordable health coverage for their entire family. This takes work from everyone in society--the government, huge corporations, small businesses--everyone.

I'd like to hear your constructive thoughts on what I've discussed. Add your ideas to the conversation by posting comments here, talk to people, ask your employer, contact your local representatives, anything. I don't support any specific political view on this, and at this point neither Democratcs nor Replublicans have a good solution, so we need to demand more options.