Tag Archives: better-working

Finding your *this*

11 Dec

So often I hear people say something along the lines of — if it wasn’t for *this*, my job/life would be so much easier.

*This* might be the students, if the person is a teacher.

*This* might be a partner, if the person is in a relationship.

*This* might be the clients, if the person is a consultant.

*This* might be the technology, if the person is a salesman.

To which I always think, If it wasn’t for *this*, why would you even be here?

Perhaps part of finding your right job/life, is finding your right *this*.

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Just do one

19 Sep

Mid Energy Needs Assessment

So I have this thing.

It’s called the “just do one” rule.

Some days it can be hard to get started. Some days it can be hard to keep going.

So I tell myself – ok, just do one.

I’m in the middle of doing energy needs assessments in Nepal. We’re going around asking people what they use for lighting and cooking to see if there is a renewable energy product which would save their money, or their lungs.

Which sounds awesome, and totally is, but like any job there are times you just don’t have the energy you’d like. Or people aren’t reacting the way you’d like.

I’ve found the assessments work best if you try and vary the questions just a little every day. This can lead to a whole new conversation, unearthing information you’d never thought to ask.

But some days I just can’t do it.

So I just do one.

And that’s ok.

Because that’s the rule.

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Transitions (or, exhaustion + devastation + airports = remarkable thinking)

10 Sep

There is something about leaving a country which you have lived and worked in, and straight away moving to another one.

This year I have done this so many times I am starting to lose count. Already I am at 7, and I think that I will have 3 more before the year is out.

(For the travel hackers amongst you, I think my year is going to look something like this: SYD-MAU-ACC-ATH-ACC-SYD-ILO-KTM-SFO-PNH-CGK)

At the beginning of the year I kept asking people who moved around a lot what the hardest thing about travelling was. I thought maybe I would get tired of living out of a bag, or that I would miss my family, or my close friends, or you know, zucchinis.

I didn’t think it would be the transitions.

I am not upset to be without roots this year, in a way I feel like I have been without roots my whole life.

But somewhere in the transition of picking up everything to put it back down into a new place, my body seems to go into a state of shock.

I usually cry on the plane. When I went back toSydneyfor 3 weeks I felt bizarrely numb for a few days, in a way I could not explain to people. It was just plain weird. And then everything came crashing down and I cancelled all my plans, instead spending a weekend inside with my brother, staring at a wall.

(Don’t worry, insane amounts of partying still happened, just later on).

I think part of the reason for this is the last week before I leave anywhere is totally packed – catching up with friends, finishing off projects, getting through all the “lasts”. I am usually utterly exhausted by the time I leave. And the first week in my new country is always relatively quiet.

So it goes from super intense to super quiet, and the realisation of what I am doing hits me. Where exactly am I? What exactly is it that I think I am doing? Am I crazy?

Not to mention the the thought of all the amazing experiences that I have left behind. The people I will probably never see again.The fragments of language and expressions that I have learnt. And the weird nuances of culture that you only get from being in a place.

(In Mauritius– being in a meeting where three languages are spoken at once. In thePhilippines– the flamboyant culture. In Ghana–the MASSIVE religious billboards. And in Nepal– the relaxed attitude to privacy).

The flip side is that this outpouring of emotion has brought on some of the best ideas that I have had this year. I have written beautiful poetry. Come up with business ideas. Followed up on hard things which I really needed to do. And formulated all of the things which are most exciting about this year. Including achieving all my goals for this year in 7 months – and they were not small.

Call me crazy, but I can only conclude that there is something remarkable about the combination of exhaustion, devastation and airports. Alone, they are just irritants – but with their powers combined…?

My brother reminds me of often of my own words:

“I don’t mind being upset, because I often do my best thinking when I am upset”.

As I prepare myself for the shock that will be leaving Nepal for San Francisco, I am going to do my best to take solace in these words.

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A Merry-Go-Round near the top of the world (or, the value of seeing the day out)

27 Aug

A Merry-Go-Round near the top of the world

Today did not start so well.

A freezing cold shower. A 202 page biogas training manual which was read in entirety, but was not so useful. Lethargy. An entire packet of not-so-delicious chocolate biscuits. Thoughts of a meeting yesterday, which did not go so well. Thoughts that today’s meeting will be the same.

Dogs screeching and fighting outside.

The familiar feeling of being trapped. Without culture, without language, without friends. Without knowledge.

And then.

A meeting today where the village women are attentive and patient with your endless questions. They are so keen to share their beautifully made local handicrafts with you and they make you tea (your favourite!). And even though you feel as if you have wasted their time, they graciously thank you any way for coming, smiling at your feeble attempts to thank them for their generosity.

And then.

A merry-go-round near the top of the world. A market place full of cheering gamblers. A soccer match in the mud with local players as good as you’ve seen from across the region. Fairy floss. And jokes about the over exuberant calls from the local boys. (“I am alone! You are alone! Come over here!)

You remember you can take photos. And that you can stop working.

Actually, you remember how to smile.

And why it is that you are here.

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<3 Making Lists

14 Jul

My three-reasons-to-love Making Lists:

  1. You get to stop thinking about what you need to do next.
  2. You get to cross things off.
  3. Most importantly, you get to add one hard thing. (Definitely worth reading).

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Short lessons from a year in management (or, the value of doing what you think is right)

30 May

Don’t kill people’s mojo

If someone has an idea which they are excited about, let them run with it.

But don’t let them run too long if you are never planning on adopting it.

As Semler points out in the Seven Day Weekend, it just kills their mojo.

Treat your staff like the adults they are

Another truism from Semler.

Let them turn up when they want.

Let them use headphones when then need to.

Let them tell you how to get the most out of them.

If you are busy you will miss deadlines. Build a bridge, get over it and focus on the important.

One thing I have gotten better at is triage.

No how much things are yelling at you in bright red and flashing lights, often they can wait.

Do the important, not the urgent.

Plan, but not too much

You need a plan. A vision.

An idea of where you are going.

But you need to be able to let this go. You are not a crystal ball. Especially if you are new in the role.

Don’t let the financials scare you.

The financials of a company are there to serve you.

If you don’t understand them get someone to explain them to you. Get them rewritten.

Keep it simple.

Keep your head out of the weeds

You need to pay attention to what is going on with your staff and with management.

In a management role you just cannot put your head down and get to work. You need to see and listen to what is going on around you.

And on top of this, you need to get advice, especially if you are new in a role.

Keep asking for help. You do not need to know everything, you are not meant to do everything yourself – no one else does.

So why again are you special?

In the end, do what you think is right

At the end of the day, the only person you are accountable for is you.

Sometimes, if you think it is right, you are just going to have to get stuck in there and do it.

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Thanks to Becks for the inspiration of most of this.

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Why I left a job I love (or, the value of still not knowing)

23 May

I have wanted to work in developing countries since forever. I don’t know why, I can’t really explain it, other than to say it was one of the things that kept me up at night.

(In the words of Steven Pressfield: I had no choice).

But when I finished university I had a boyfriend I adored, no money and a fantastic job I totally loved in Sydney. I wasn’t ready.

Four years on and I was single, about to be promoted and still not ready.

I could feel the draw of what I wanted tugging at the edges, but I just was not ready.

I never thought I’d say this: Anthony Robbins changed my life.

In Robbin’s book Unlimited Power (yes I know, best title EVER), he takes his readers through a goal setting exercise called “Limitation Disengage” (yes, yes, it gets better).

The first time I did this exercise I came out with a whole heap of useful information about how I wanted to be a professional surfer. (Especially useful for someone who has never graduated out of the beginner category in any sport).  Being a surfer had never, ever kept me up at night. I had no idea where this came from. I laughed at myself.

I just was not ready.

The second time I tried it, something happened. I came out with a heap of interesting ideas. Stuff that really did keep me up at night.

I realised I wanted to work on things that I could see were real. I wanted to actually see things get built, to see how people really did things.

I wanted to spend time one step closer to the process.

I also did not want to spend my entire career working for people at the top of the food chain – the likes of the big banks and law firms. (This is despite totally respecting these people. These people will probably contribute more through their income taxes then I EVER will through my work).

I wanted to see what I could do to work directly for those at the other end.

Enter Mohammad Yunnus

I did a heap of reading. And found Yunnus’ Banker to the Poor.

I have never had a book make me cry so, so much. But this crying was not just out of sorrow. Many times I cried out of joy.

It showed me microfinance in a way I’d never seen it before. It showed me its humility – the way it said to people that they themselves knew what was best for their lives. It showed me how I’d be able to see how the smallest businesses operate, how it is that they do things.

A long period of thinking, reading, job applicating (!) and speaking to people led me to what my potential contribution could be. My experience with renewable energy coupled with my desire to travel to work overseas.

So I’ve taken a job with Good Return, starting in exactly one month. I’ll be rolling out a microfinance program involving solar lanterns throughout South East Asia for the following 12 months.

That’s it. That’s all I know so far.

So, you want to learn?

I know what my brother is going to say – there are no “take aways” from this post. And I know that’s what people want from blogs. They want to learn.

Well, what can I say?

Stay posted.

I’m still learning.

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(1)    I am told if you are interested in microfinance and only want to read one book, make it this one. It is brilliant, informative, simple and funny.)

(2)    One of my favourite extracts from Yunnus’ Banker to the Poor (apologies for its length):

I was walking along a village road alone to get to our branch after attending a centre-meeting. After a while I met a young man (around 30) who was walking along the same road. He greeted me, I greeted him. We walked side by side.

“Are you with Grameen Bank?” he asked. “Yes”, I said, “but how do you know?”

“I saw you at the centre-meeting in the village. My wife is also in the group.”

This immediately changed my relationship with him. I became interested in him. He told me his name was Joynal. He was an agricultural labourer. His wife Farida had joined the Grameen Bank eight months earlier, and they had a little daughter of five.

“Farida works very hard to make sure she pays back every single weekly installment on time. She has not missed a single instalment yet.”

“Did she have consent before she joined Grameen”

“She did. But in the beginning I was not sure I was doing the right thing. Then the other women in the village were also joining Grameen. She kept asking permission. Finally I gave in.”

“Are you happy that she joined? Or looking back to you think it would have been better if she did not?”

“No, no, I am happy that she joined. She used to complain that we didn’t have enough food, but now she does not complain. We have enough for the three of us”

For me this was like getting good grades in the final exam. I was pleased that things were working well. Both Joynal and I kept walking silently.

The long silence was broken when Joynal spoke out in a negative tone: “There is one thing, however. I used to enjoy beating my wife. But the last time I beat her I got into trouble. The women in Farida’s borrowing group came to be and argued with me and shouted at me. I did not like that. Who gave them the right to shout at me? I can do whatever I want with my wife. Before, when I used to beat my wife, no one said anything, no one bothered. This is no longer going to be true. Her borrowing group threatened they will get really mean if I beat my wife again.”

I tried to console Joynal:

“Well, maybe it is time you left your wife alone. After all, she is working very hard. She needs your support. You can find something else to do to release your tension.”

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Lessons I learnt on the solar car team (or, how to get the most from your people)

26 Apr

One of the hardest working groups of people that I have ever known was the UNSW Sunswift team. This team built and raced a solar car on almost no budget, against professional teams.

These people worked round the clock, in all their spare time, their weekends, their days off. The running joke in my family was that I had a boyfriend at Long Bay Jail because the workshop where I spent every waking hour was right next to the jail.

Relate the work to a higher purpose

People came to work on the car for all sorts of reasons. Some came to work with a leading edge technology. Some came to be part of a race car team. Some believed in the sustainability message. I am sure some came for the demographic – there were many women on the team.

Allow people to gravitate to what they are good at

People were working on the car were volunteers. So really, they were only happy to work on something they really enjoyed working on. They gravitated to what they actually wanted to work on. There was no thought of “doing your time” in a low level job – it was either what you wanted to do or you were out.

I actually learnt a lot about what I was good at in this team. I worked on the logistics team. And I worked in support role. I did almost none of the technical work, despite the fact that I was doing an engineering degree.

Get people to build their social networks around the group

It got to the point where people were working on the car on Saturday nights, because that was what ALL THEIR FRIENDS were doing. There were numerous couples formed out of the team. And a number of team members were dumped by their non-team partners.

This concept has been well exploited by the “leading edge” workplaces of corporations like Google, Macquarie and Apple. They want you form your social networks at work – because that will make you want to stay.

As I have often been told – it is much harder to say no to someone who your consider your friend.

Remove the monetary incentive.

I was fascinated by Tyler Cowen’s book Discover your Inner Economist where he told the story of how bad an idea it was to pay his daughter to do the dishes. As soon as you pay someone you give them the ability to say no without feeling guilty.

I relate this to my own experience, where sometimes when I was working late in my “real” job I would fall into the mind trap of “they don’t pay me enough to put up with this crap!”. Which I would solve by listening to Beyonce.

Of course, this line of thinking was never possible on the solar car team.

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You can only trace your path backwards, not forwards (or, the value of doing things you don’t like, sometimes)

7 Mar

I have always had a problem with doing things that I do not see value being derived from.

Right now I am watching my brother relax, reading a book [1], while I am writing a blog post. And I am angsty because I am trying to figure out exactly what I am actually going to do with all this writing.

This reminds me of last night I went to a friend’s paella dinner party. I love my friend. She has endless amounts of patience and understands me well. I always enjoy talking to her.

But last night the room was filled with small talk (and people making fun of my ability to say belieber) and I was my usual angsty self.  It is not that I don’t want to stay longer and enjoy myself. I wish I were better at small talk.

Don’t always say no to things you don’t want to do, or things that you don’t often do.

I actually ended up staying two hours after my original thought of leaving. My friend’s sister is a fashion designer. She shows me some pieces which she is putting together which are really unusual [2]. They are based on chunky knitting, and she is using a very heavy fabric. They smell like sheep, which reminds me of my mother’s childhood barnhouse in Norway which stored sheep in the summer. I instantly feel a connection with her work.

Which reminds me firstly, to call my mother. But also, I remember how affected I am when people manage to engage all the senses when they are talking to me about something.

Try and learn from all that you do

I started talking to my friend’s other sister and realised I could ask her incessant questions about how indesign works. I really want to learn indesign for another project I am doing. She mentions that her friend can give me a spare licence which she is not using at the moment.

Also, she is working in an art gallery and has a funny story about a pen being thrown at her head by her boss. And how she kind of respects her for being so mean. This is similar to my lawyer friend who’s favourite boss was the one that was the meanest to everyone. Because she got the best from her staff.

All of this after reading this post about how just saying nice things to your staff does not make people feel better about the work they do.

I wonder whether I should say less nice things to my staff.

Sometimes you just have to go with it

As I (finally) leave, I think about how if you are finding something difficult to do, you are probably not playing to your strengths.

I go home after the party, and starting reading blog posts. This is one of my favourite things to do and I can’t help wondering why. I could never really see the real value of reading so much online.

But now that I have started writing I keep coming up with random connections between what I am writing and things which I have read in the past. And I am starting to see the value of all that reading.

Tracing threads through your life only happens backwards. You do not know where a thread is going to take you when you start, you can only look back at its long (or short) trail afterwards.

So I am glad I went to the party, despite the angst. I now know an extensive amount about knitting with chunky wool and using indesign.

And, it led me here.

[1] What is art, he asks?

[2] On a side (or foot…) note, for some unusual knitting check this out. Thanks to @stephenbrammer.

UPDATE: I should say that this post was inspired by a quote from “If I knew then what I know now” by Richard Edler

UPDATE #2: As pointed out by Prashan, Steve Jobs makes the same point. Albeit in a much more inspired way than knitting and design software!

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Why I love Q&A (or, the value of Audience Participation)

28 Feb

Last year I went with my brother to Q&A – a panel show on the ABC. It was held at the Opera House and they had an outstanding panel from the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (a brilliant event in itself!).

The format of the show involves a panel of speakers, usually spruiking a new book or particular political agenda who form the panel. Audience members send in questions before which are screened as conversation starters. Audience members may also ask spontaneous questions throughout the show, or those at home can play by using the twitter hashtag #qanda.*

I think there are a couple of reasons why this format is successful.

It gives people the opportunity to think

I read up on each of the panellists before the show. I read a little of the pre-prepared material that the ABC sent me and did some of my own research. I came in with a much better understanding of the topics than I would have otherwise. I also thought of questions that I could ask during the show (although I never would have – I’d much rather have kittens!). It made me feel engaged with the topic, and with the show. And it made me question what I thought of the topic – not just what the panellists thought.

I’ve been inspired for a similar reason by “The Update, The Vent and The Noisy” from Rands in Repose (Johanna Rothman makes a similar point here). In essence:

“Business is noisy. Business is full of people worrying loudly about projects, process, and other people. These people have opinions and they share them all over the place — all the time. This collective chatter is part of the daily regimen of a healthy business, but this chatter will bury the individual voice unless someone pays attention.”

If you don’t give people the opportunity to have their say and think about what is going on around them, often they won’t feel that they can.

Audience participation is fun.

The twitter feed has a lot to answer for. The ABC post a running feed of all sorts of tweets at the bottom of the screen – from serious all the way to downright stupid. It always makes me (and often the panel!) laugh about the topic.

When something goes wrong at work, or when someone is not pleased about something that we have done, sometimes I try and introduce audience participation by making a stupid joke of it. This might sound ridiculous, but I’ve noticed two things about this method.

Firstly, I work with overachievers who are pretty hard on themselves anyway. I do not have to tell them to pick up their game. They do not often make mistakes. Helping them laugh at their mistakes makes them realise that it can be good to make mistakes – it helps them learn and get better at their job. More than that, it proves that their job could not be done by a team of highly skilled robots. (Besides, it is often not the mistake that is the issue, everyone makes mistakes. More it is the way that it is handled).

The second thing is that the joke turns the mistake into a story, which gets told. The audience participation stops other people from making the same mistake. And people want to add to the story, because it usually is pretty funny, which makes them think about it differently.

The point being, of course, that everyone loves a good story!

*(I'd link to it, but twitter is down. Just type #qanda into the search bar)

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