Point Lookout: a free weekly publication of Chaco Canyon Consulting
Volume 7, Issue 24;   June 13, 2007: Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True

Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True

by

Maxims and rules make life simpler by eliminating decisions. And they have a price: they sometimes foreclose options that would have worked better than anything else. Here are some things we believe in maybe a little too much.
An old-fashioned punch clock

An old-fashioned punch clock, described by Halbert Powers Gillette (1869-1958), an American engineer, in a 1909 book. The distinction between personal time and work time is still debated. In a recent case before the US Supreme Court, IBP v. Alvarez, workers won the right to be paid for "donning and doffing" time — the time spent putting on and removing special garments required by the employer. IBP had claimed that they needn't pay workers for this time, nor for time spent walking from the locker room to their workstations. Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

General rules are usually helpful, because they simplify life. But when we accept them uncritically, and apply them unquestioningly, we risk eliminating valuable choices that, if exercised, could transform our lives for the better. Here's a small collection of workplace maxims that too many of us are a little too willing to accept as true.

  • If it worked there, it will work here.
  • If it didn't work here, we did something wrong when we tried it.
  • If you read it in a book, it must be true.
  • The value of a consultant's advice is proportional to the consultant's fee.
  • If it's logical, and internally consistent, it will work.
  • People always pad their estimates. Never give them what they ask for.
  • Working smarter is easy. That's why we tell people to work smarter not harder.
  • Managers are people who couldn't hack it doing real work.
  • Executives are people who couldn't hack it as managers.
  • The cure for our financial problems isn't better products, or more revenue, or new investment, or training people, or listening to customers — it's reducing expenses.
  • Making people compete for bonuses, raises, perks, honors, or promotions won't hurt our efforts to create high-performance teams.
  • How we dress is at least as important as what we do.
  • Anyone's total output is proportional to the hours they work.
  • To increase productivity, don't let people use company facilities for private purposes.
  • Much of what we accept
    uncritically as true,
    just isn't
    I have a right to appropriate company resources for my own ends.
  • With the right technology, we can go paperless.
  • We don't need people to deliver training — computer based training works just fine.
  • The cause of our problems is (pick your favorite): incompetent managers, overpaid consultants, government regulation, foreign competition, unions, lazy workforce, …
  • Eliminating theft is so important that the cost of controlling it doesn't matter.
  • The typical female executive and the typical male executive manage altogether differently.
  • Male (female) executives are more ruthless than female (male) executives.
  • Workplace violence will never happen here.
  • People who play politics don't really have anything of value to offer.
  • The best person to hire for this job is someone who has done it before.
  • People can get so angry that they "snap," like twigs bent too far.
  • Meetings are almost always a waste.
  • The only way to keep us all up to date is a weekly meeting.
  • Organized people are more effective.
  • Messy desk, messy mind.
  • Share price is a valid measure of the company's health.
  • Significant innovation always requires a visionary champion.

If you have some more like these, write them down on a piece of paper and tear it up. Go to top Top  Next issue: More Stuff and Nonsense  Next Issue

52 Tips for Leaders of Project-Oriented OrganizationsAre your projects always (or almost always) late and over budget? Are your project teams plagued by turnover, burnout, and high defect rates? Turn your culture around. Read 52 Tips for Leaders of Project-Oriented Organizations, filled with tips and techniques for organizational leaders. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.

About Point Lookout

This article in its entirety was written by a 
          human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Workplace Politics:

Donald Trump, a candidate for the nomination of the Republican Party for President in 2016Allocating Airtime: I
The problem of people who dominate meetings is so serious that we've even devised processes intended to more fairly allocate speaking time. What's happening here?
A shark of unspecified speciesNarcissistic Behavior at Work: VII
Narcissistic behavior at work prevents trusting relationships from developing. It also disrupts existing relationships, and generates toxic conflict. One class of behaviors that's especially threatening to relationships is disregard for the feelings of others. In this part of our series we examine the effects of that disregard.
Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)Full Disclosure
The term "full disclosure" is now a fairly common phrase, especially in news interviews and in film and fiction thrillers involving government employees or attorneys. It also has relevance in the knowledge workplace, and nuances associated with it can affect your credibility.
New York Fire Department Deputy Chief Joseph Curry calls for rescue teams at Ground Zero three days after the 9/11 terrorist attacksJoint Leadership Teams: Risks
Some teams, business units, or enterprises are led not by individuals, but by joint leadership teams of two or more. They face special risks that arise from the organizations that host them, from the teams they lead, or from within the joint leadership team itself.
The Arc de Triomphe in ParisExploitation and Conversational Narcissism at Work: II
Exploitation of others is one of four themes of conversational narcissism. Knowing how to recognize the patterns of conversational narcissism is a fundamental skill needed for controlling it. Here are six examples that emphasize exploitation of others.

See also Workplace Politics, Critical Thinking at Work and Managing Your Boss for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

A close-up view of a chipseal road surfaceComing July 3: Additive bias…or Not: II
Additive bias is a cognitive bias that many believe contributes to bloat of commercial products. When we change products to make them more capable, additive bias might not play a role, because economic considerations sometimes favor additive approaches. Available here and by RSS on July 3.
The standard conception of delegationAnd on July 10: On Delegating Accountability: I
As the saying goes, "You can't delegate your own accountability." Despite wide knowledge of this aphorism, people try it from time to time, especially when overcome by the temptation of a high-risk decision. What can you delegate, and how can you do it? Available here and by RSS on July 10.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

Reprinting this article

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Follow Rick

Send email or subscribe to one of my newsletters Follow me at LinkedIn Follow me at X, or share a post Subscribe to RSS feeds Subscribe to RSS feeds
Please donate!The message of Point Lookout is unique. Help get the message out. Please donate to help keep Point Lookout available for free to everyone.
Technical Debt for Policymakers BlogMy blog, Technical Debt for Policymakers, offers resources, insights, and conversations of interest to policymakers who are concerned with managing technical debt within their organizations. Get the millstone of technical debt off the neck of your organization!

Beware any resource that speaks of "winning" at workplace politics or "defeating" it. You can benefit or not, but there is no score-keeping, and it isn't a game.

303 Secrets of Workplace PoliticsIs every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics!
303 Tips for Virtual and Global TeamsLearn how to make your virtual global team sing.
My free weekly email newsletter gives concrete tips and suggestions for dealing with the challenging but everyday situations we all face.
A Tip A DayA Tip a Day arrives by email, or by RSS Feed, each business day. It's 20 to 30 words at most, and gives you a new perspective on the hassles and rewards of work life. Most tips also contain links to related articles. Free!
101 Tips for Effective MeetingsLearn how to make meetings more productive — and more rare.
Exchange your "personal trade secrets" — the tips, tricks and techniques that make you an ace — with other aces, anonymously. Visit the Library of Personal Trade Secrets.
If your teams don't yet consistently achieve state-of-the-art teamwork, check out this catalog. Help is just a few clicks/taps away!
Ebooks, booklets and tip books on project management, conflict, writing email, effective meetings and more.