Here are some haiku to contemplate when you find yourself in the midst of difficult, uncomfortable, tense situations at work. Read them slowly. Notice how you feel about each one.
Whenever I try
to see things the way you do,
fear overcomes me.
I will obey you.
Whatever you say is right.
The org chart says so.
Disagreeing with
everyone else about this,
I must be confused.
When the yelling starts
and people blame each other,
I flee for safety.
You don't understand
the complexities we face.
That's why I'm yelling.
When compromise fails,
I strengthen my position
by finding allies.
When we don't agree,
I try everything I know
to bring you around.
When I ask myself,
"Why can't we all get along?"
the answer is them.
We get in trouble
whenever we're together.
Why don't you shape up?
It would be better
for us all if only you
wouldn't question me.
My approach to this
is clearly better than yours.
Why can't you see that?
She does what she wants,
when she's ready to do it.
I must tell her boss.
Whenever I hear
an offer so generous
it just can't be true.
Things look very bleak.
We may never resolve this.
Tell me what's for lunch.
We warned them again,
and they tried it anyway.
Now it's their problem.
I'll never forget
the pain you caused me back then.
And now you will pay.
I might hurt myself
by trying to destroy you,
but you deserve it.
She is pure evil.
We must do all we can do
to keep her contained.
Listening to you
explain the way you see things
would make me seem weak.
If you respect me
you'll agree with me on this.
If you don't — you don't.
You remind me of
someone who once did me wrong.
I see him not you.
I want what I want.
What you want does not matter.
Just do as I say.
I am everything.
Everyone must bow to me.
Especially you.
I must divide you,
because you both threaten me.
Dividing, I conquer.
She saved us last year.
Whatever she says is true.
We follow her lead.
If you say we can,
success is a certainty.
We believe in you.
He rarely attends
but we schedule it for him
in case he breaks free.
Whatever you say,
however you insult me,
I always stay cool.
He hasn't a clue
how impossible that is,
but we must do it.
Writing haiku can be a relaxing, meditative exercise. The act can clear your mind. Try it. More about haiku Top
Next Issue
Are you fed up with tense, explosive meetings? Are you or a colleague the target of a bully? Destructive conflict can ruin organizations. But if we believe that all conflict is destructive, and that we can somehow eliminate conflict, or that conflict is an enemy of productivity, then we're in conflict with Conflict itself. Read 101 Tips for Managing Conflict to learn how to make peace with conflict and make it an organizational asset. Order Now!
Reader Comments
- Naomi Karten (www.nkarten.com)
- Haiku that describe
Communication stances —
What a great idea!
Your comments are welcome
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Related articles
More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:
Are You Micromanaging Yourself?
- Feeling distrusted and undervalued, we often attribute the problem to the behavior of others —
to the micromanager who might be mistreating us. We tend not to examine our own contributions to the
difficulty. Are you micromanaging yourself?
Asking Brilliant Questions
- Your team is fortunate if you have even one teammate who regularly asks the questions that immediately
halt discussions and save months of wasted effort. But even if you don't have someone like that, everyone
can learn how to generate brilliant questions more often. Here's how.
Finding Work in Tough Times: Communications
- Finding work in tough times entails presenting yourself to many people. You'll be conversing, interviewing,
writing, presenting, and when you're finally successful, negotiating.
The Deck Chairs of the Titanic: Strategy
- Much of what we call work is about as effective and relevant as rearranging the deck chairs
of the Titanic. We continue our exploration of futile and irrelevant work, this time emphasizing
behaviors related to strategy.
Time to Go to Plan B
- We had a plan, and it was a good one. Plan A actually seemed to work for a while, but then troubles
began. And now things look very bleak. We have a Plan B, but people don't want to go to it. Why not?
See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness and Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming February 12: On Substituting for a Star
- Newcomers to work groups have three tasks: to meet and get to know incumbent group members; to gain their trust; and to learn about the group's task and how to contribute to accomplishing it. All can be difficult; all are made even more difficult when the newcomer is substituting for a star. Available here and by RSS on February 12.
And on February 19: Yet More Ways to Waste a Meeting
- Experts have discovered that people have been complaining about meetings since the Bronze Age (3300-1200 BCE). Just kidding. But I'm probably right. As an aid to future archaeologists I offer this compilation of methods people use today to eliminate any possibility that a meeting might produce results worth the time spent. Available here and by RSS on February 19.
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