It is hard to reprogram the brain to think of things in a certain way, but in the course of a day it is important to ask the right questions. When something is broken, don’t dwell on who broke it or why it is broken; the best question to ask is how you can fix it. The “who” and “why” questions don’t fix what is broken. To fix something, it doesn’t matter who or why. It is wonderfully enlightening to realize that you can choose not to be a victim.
To the manager-types, I realize that once the initial problem is addressed, it then becomes important to analyze why the issue occurred, to prevent it from happening again. That is not what I’m talking about here.
I am addressing the people who go to work and whine all day about “Who messed this up?” and “Why don’t we have the tools we need to do the job?” Stop whining and fix it. If you don’t have the right tools, figure out how to get them. If someone is doing something wrong, fix it, and then talk to that person so they are aware of the problem. Stop talking and do something.
It seems so simple, yet a very select few seem to practice this. I challenge you to catch yourself asking ineffective questions, and then ask more effective questions. See what it does for your attitude and production. Then, encourage others to do the same.
Not bad advice. Maybe a little glib. Some people probably find themselves in situations where they know what needs to be done, but are suppressed from doing it. I guess they maybe need to ask themselves a different set of questions, however - such as “what do I have to do to get out of here?”
Perhaps the idea of getting people to stop cursing the darkness, and actually lighting a candle, seemed so pointless, that your sharing it seemed a trifle mundane…
The trouble is, especially in the workplace, if it’s the same person (or persons) repeatedly causing the problem then the main focus should be on who is causing the problem and what can be done about them. So, the origin is, at least somewhat important, in the solution.
There’s always one. I repeat: To the manager-types, I realize that once the initial problem is addressed, it then becomes important to analyze why the issue occurred, to prevent it from happening again. That is not what I’m talking about here.
