Renewable Energy

Great to see you again. Hopefully you came through Blue Monday this week without incident. Isn’t it strange that we should have a day dedicated to negativity and depression? Says a lot about our national psyche. Maybe we should campaign for this Monday to be Sunshine Day and let’s fill it with positive, uplifting thoughts.

Given the comments that flooded back in response to last week’s musings, it is good to know that there are people out there reading and reflecting on these dribbles. And thanks for the encouragement to obtain a man bag and to go all metrosexual. Not sure quite ready for it yet but your support is appreciated.

Now those of you who are regular readers of these musings, and surely that must mean all of you, will no doubt be aware that we have long supported and advocated renewable energy as a panacea for much of today’s ills. And recent readings, learnings and deliberations have only reinforced that view.

A while back Cicero got the opportunity to visit the high performance training centre at Loughborough University watching top 2012 hopeful Jockstraps going their paces in the gym. It was exhausting work. But it was interesting to see that these Jockstraps spent more time sitting around gassing than using the exercise machinery but when they did, boy did they burn the carbs. Cicero on the other hand when he visits a gym moves seamlessly and relentlessly from machine to machine barely pausing to catch breath. And this set Cicero thinking.

You must be aware that in today’s society it is all about more, bigger, faster. In our workplace more information than ever is available to us and the rate at which we work is accelerating exponentially, prompting a sense of permanent urgency and endless distraction. Those older readers will no doubt recall the pre-email days when letters and memos were drafted by hand, typed by a typist, checked and then sent out by snail mail, if lucky, same day. And then a week later you would get a response. Now we send e-mails out all day to our hearts content and expect on line real time response.

And yet this relentless urgency must undermine creativity, quality, engagement, thoughtful deliberation, and ultimately performance. And they call this progress.
Surely we are at our most productive when we move just like the Jockstraps at Loughborough Uni between periods of high focus and intermittent rest. We cannot be productive if we are constantly juggling activities and not fully engaged in any of them. We are not like computers who operate most productively continuously, at high speeds, for long periods of time, running multiple programmes concurrently.

To back this up a study has been conducted in the power of deliberate practice among violinists. This suggests that great performers work more intensely than most of us do but also recover more deeply. Solo practice, undertaken with high concentration, is especially exhausting. The best violinists generated the highest value by working intensely, without interruption, for no more than ninety minutes at a time and no more than four hours a day. They also recognised that it was essential to take time, intermittently, to rest and refuel.

Now an interesting new study builds on this and suggests that whereas a computer just needs to be plugged into the wall socket, a human being has four energy needs to be met to operate at their best: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. By moving rhythmically between activity and renewal in each of these four dimensions we build our capacity to generate more and more value over time.

Our physical need is about taking care of our health and physical well being. It won’t on its own turn you into a great performer but failing to do so assures that you can’t ever perform at your best. We’re more effective at work when we regularly renew, alternating between active forms such as exercise and play and more passive forms such as meditation and sleep.

In the same vein we need to nurture our emotional needs. Feeling appreciated, secure and valued are key, and after all how we feel profoundly affects how we perform. It’s in our self-interest to cultivate positive emotions, not just because they make us feel good but also because they fuel productivity and effectiveness across all areas of our lives.

And our focus on our mental needs through self-expression and the freedom to develop one’s unique talents, ensures peak performance. A poverty of attention is the biggest hindrance in this area. In the violin study the most crucial ingredient of the most successful violinists, after motivation, was sustained, absorbed attention. The most common source of external distraction at work is e-mail. Think about how you could manage this more effectively so you are able to focus on the important project.

And lastly we must not ignore our spiritual well being. We must challenge ourselves to determine who we are and what we want, our values and our purpose. We can and will perform better if we can take actions that will serve a purpose beyond our immediate self interest.

Now is the time to think hard about how we live our lives and to help our colleagues think the same. To identify what we can to do nourish ourselves across all these four dimensions, to renew and re-energise ourselves and those around us. Always thought renewable energy was the future.

Is it only me........but is this the most pointless job out there?
In the current climate Apparatchik bashing is the new blood sport and our newspapers, well at least those not following the antics of someone called Peter Andre and Jordan, no not the country but a person seemingly, have joined in with great glee and gusto pointing out on a regular basis the cost of the Apparatchik class and the pointlessness of much of what it does.

Now while I might have smidgeon sympathy with some of these views I also realise that there are many good Apparatchiks doing worthwhile jobs who would love to be given the chance to improve the reputation of this tribe. Not all Apparatchiks are involved in engagement or stakeholder or consultation activities.

However is it only me but is this not the stupidest job title ever.....and horror of horrors it is in the private sector-Head of the Role of Bank Manager Programme? Ok it’s a bank so maybe it’s not totally in the private sector but it is still shocking and worrying to see it adopting Apparatchik thinking so readily.

Now I’m sure that the individual is a competent individual. And he, or she, is no doubt doing a good job, but does a bank really need a Head of Role of Bank Manager Programme given it must be stuffed full of bank managers who know how to do the role. Or at least they should do. And no doubt the Head of will have a bevy of senior managers, managers, assistant managers and executive officers reporting to him, or her. Whatever can they do all day?

Is this not the battiest job ever?

Methinks this needs to be brought to the attention of the shareholders to determine if such roles and functions can be justified. Sorry forgot that’s us, the taxpayer, and my answer is no.

Can anyone else come up with a pointless job?

And for those doing purposeful jobs, have a great week.

Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.