By The Hour

If you've ever been on both sides of the fence, you know the differences all too well. Having been blessed with a long and interesting work life I have spent some of that career as an employee and much of it as a contractor.

When I first started, contracting was less common and the distinctions were clear. Employees were expected to be loyal to the company and contractors had their own agenda: they served their current assignment without any expectation of extended loyalty.

Contracting, or gig-working, has become so common that many people within a company will assume that they can expect the same behaviors from a contractor that they would from an employee. Some do everything they can to lock in a gig worker without actually providing any of the benefits of being committed that they have to hire lawyers to ward off lawsuits and organizing. That does not create an engaged workforce.

Expecting loyalty from a temporary worker is the silliest of assumptions. You know they aren't loyal, they know they aren't loyal, so who's pretending what?

The tradeoffs a company decides to accept when they "go temporary" with staffing are huge, high-impact, and long lasting.

Pay someone by the hour and you get an hour of work at a time, and not the best hour available.

-- doug smith

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The Games We Play

Last week I had some fun, with two different classes, in an activity to re-invent games with no losers. The only other condition was that each game also had to be fun. As it turns out, competition is not necessary in order to have fun. The creativity won the day as games developed without any losers. Imagine that. Playing a game without disappointment. Playing a game of cooperation, of collaboration, of mutually beneficial outcomes. It's possible. It's fun. And, there are no side-effects. The games we play form us in ways we may not expect. If we can invent more games, more situations, more relationships where everybody wins imagine what a world that would be. -- doug smith

Seriously

If you take your goals seriously they will take you where you need to go. -- doug smith

Personal Reminder

If you think about something that needs to be done but don't do it now, when will you do it? Now would be good. Now is the time. -- doug smith

Early Is Great

When is the best time to achieve a goal? Achieving a goal on time, on the deadline, is great. What's even better? Achieving a goal early. It's the surest way to achieve it at all. Early is great, so you're never late. -- doug smith

Of Course...

Are you on course to achieve your biggest goals? Is your plan in motion and working? Of course! Will you need to make some adjustments along the way? Of course! If your goal really matters -- to you with some intensity, you will do what you need to do in order to achieve that goal. If it doesn't really matter, there's almost nothing to be done. You need the joy. You need the spark. You need the course of action that lights you up so much that it lights up your path to success. The reason for your goal is as important as your goal. Why does your goal matter? Why now? Why you? Does that level of focus really make a difference? Of course! -- doug smith

Better Representation

The best customer service comes from products and services that work flawlessly and do not require heroics from the customer OR the service rep. -- doug smith

Competition?

I often ask my classes "What's the difference between conflict and problem solving?". The leading answer is "competition." Conflict is a problem with opposing solutions. Two opposing goals. Competition. That can still be resolved, but it may need to be managed. Recognizing what you've got is a good start. -- Doug Smith

A Touch of the Poet

Highly structured? Wildly improvised? Harmonic, or distorted? Fast or slow? Analytics help, but there's nothing quite like a touch of the poet in solving problems. The deep pondering, the pedantic piecing together, the frantic splash of passion. Whether or not they know it every problem solver has a touch of the poet. Are you in touch with your touch of the poet? -- doug smith

Up to You

Other people can help, but achieving your goals is up to you. -- doug smith

A Daily Goal

Some people take a vitamin every day. Some people read a passage from a favorite book every day. Positive daily habits support a successful life. Set a goal at least once a day and then achieve that goal. It builds the kind of momentum that leads to wonderful things. And you do want wonderful things, right? -- doug smith

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