Business as un-usual

Have you got these kind of feelings lately: dragging your way to work, feel lost in your routine, wish to have different types of routine, or just like to sleep off from everything. Well, those symptoms show that you might be bored. 

Boredom at work is normal for everyone. Sometime all you have to do is take a break, break your routine cycle, take a hype action or other things you have not done before. 

For most organization, business as usual is good. But what most people not realize, workforce these days need a more dynamic work atmosphere, which quite contradicts with business as usual. Workers now easily get bored with routines. A long term boredom can lead to decline of performance, and can lead to a negative business not usual.

As workers, we can change that, to turn the boredom atmosphere of business as usual, into a (positive) business as un-usual. Here's a few tips:

1. Cubicle Displays

Most people working in the office, will look at their cubicle walls most of the time. Try to decorate your cubicle so that you have some sweet distractions to do or look at whenever you bored, such as family pictures, pin board, black/white board, or some simple board games such as scrabble. Bring a PlayStation will be too much though...

2. Candies or Snacks

Put a jar, or a box of candies, chocolates, or snack on your cubicle. Not just any jar or box, but the business un-usual jar or box, the kind that will make people ask and start conversation with you when they come to your cube.

3. Something to Grab

Can either be a tennis ball, or stress ball, or even just a scrap paper to squeeze and throw away. As an addition, place your bin at sight so you can toss the squeezed paper into it. An additional small size basketball hoop would be nice, so you can grab a friend and make a 3-point shoot out contest.

4. Distant Printing

You have your own printer on your cubicle? That's just too boring. If you have networked printers, ask your IT department to connect your computer to printers on other division (or even other floor). That way you will occassionally have different sights aside from your ow cubicle.

5. Origami

Or other art and craft stuff will do. Not only they will release you from boredom, but will spark your creativity and sense of innovation.

So are you ready to run your (positive) Business as un-usual?

DeddyMK02042014

Feel BIG In The World So small...

When you sit on the 56th floor of one of the tallest building in Jakarta, what do you see? I see a glass of Iced Cappuccino to refresh my sweaty day, a plate of chicken wings to accompany me in writing my blog, a wallet that I pull out from my back pocket so I can sit comfortably, a laptop where I write this blog, a book "Human Resources Champions" by Dave Ulrich that I haven't finished reading since ages, my Nike running watch that I take out from my wrist because I can't write comfortably with my watch on, my iPhone charged to my Laptop, and some dining utensils. Wait... I must have look at the wrong direction...

OK, behind me, I can see hundreds of skyscrappers of Jakarta's main business district. small houses just among those skyscrappers, a river that doesn't seem to flow, a block of land that prepared to be build just behind this building, cars parking on the parking lots of surrounding buildings, trains that occassionally passes by, and the sky which mixed between the sundown, and also dark and light clouds covering a foggy afternoon in Jakarta.

So, if you are happened to be in a tall building like me, looking your surrounding, what do you feel? Do you feel big because you see everything else surrounds you as a small objects? Or do you feel small because none of the people downstair able to see you?

Feeling is a matter of perspective. Some says that in a certain situation, you can either feel happy or sad, right or wrong, big or small, all at the same moment. If that so, why do some people feel happy or some people feel sad? Is it an option? Is it a norm? Or is it simply a reaction from your heart?

No one really know for sure. But experiences taught me that it is a mix of all. So, don't be surprised if some people doesn't respond the way you expect them in a certain situation. For example, when someone dies, do you automatically feel sad? Maybe yes, maybe no. But if you go to a funeral, there's no way that you want to look happy. You will appear sad, however your feeling is at that moment. That is one example of how you can divert your feeling from a regular situation.

Now, back to the 56th floor. Do you feel big or you feel small among those lights that start to shine on the buildings around you?

Let me tell you something. Building and the world can be measured. Whether they are big or small, they will always be in that same size. But your feeling? I will leave it up to you....

-muchadoaboutnothing16082013-

Quick Fix.. an option, not THE option...

We all may faced various difficult situation at work, or perhaps at home, or school... at those times, we often wished for a quick solution, or what we generally call as a quick fix. There's nothing wrong with that. Even in several consultant firms, quick fix has become an option. They usually ask you, with this limited time you have, do you prefer to have a quick fix, or a full blown solution. Tempting offer, especially when you're career is on the line....

What's actually wrong with a quick fix? Nothing. But you must remember that a quick solution have a price. It may come with a cheaper price, due to shorter mandays and project period, but you must be aware of the consequences which might arise from it.

An example. An organization was running smoothly without any problems, although they haven't had any review on their policies and structures for more than 3 years. Suddenly the Director received a news that two months from now there will be an audit from one of the biggest shareholder, which play an important role in setting the direction of the company. What should the management do?

Ideally, organizational review will take months. Depends on whether the company have issues or not despite that they haven't done a periodical review on their policies and structures. First thing on my mind was to conduct a full Organizational Audit, which was done whether internally or by third party. From the result, there always been two options, a full blown recommendation, or a quick fix recommendation. Based on my experiences, quick fix has always been a favorite option, because the initial cost is somehow lower, and the period is shorter. In this case, a quick fix will be to engineer or re-engineer current policies and structure to address the ongoing issues. For most cases, this will work, but not for long.

For this case, perhaps, the organization will have a good assessment result from the shareholder's audit. But, the organization should not stop right there. Remember, it was a quick fix. Which means a further course of action must be taken. What usually happened during quick fix was that, they failed to interpret the Vision, Mission and Values of the organization completely. Which is why afterward, organization must re-check which element of VMV that need to be aligned with the quick fix recommendation, what are the gaps, and set a timeline to close it. It can also be done internally, by forming a committee, or independently with a Consultant Firm. The risk of using Consultant Firm different from the one that the organization used to create a quick fix solution, is that they might will give you a completely different solution, and will cost the organization time and money to achieve the expected outcome.

So, remember, that quick fix might be a perfect way to solve your problem, for a while...

Turtle 08032012

A Cup for Everyone...

There's nothing better to do in the morning except sipping that Hot Earl Grey Tea, well, at least for me. While others may prefer an espresso, latte, or perhaps just water. Doesn't matter what you take, you just had to have it at least a cup a day.

A Cup A Day will never take the place of those delicious sips, but when you missed a sip one day, hopefully it will give you a sense of enlightment, enrichment, or lightly refreshed your awesome day...

What will we share? Just about everything... Everything related to dream, and dream achievement(s). Dream that just pop out of your head, you're planning to realize, on progress in achieving it, or dreams that come true intentionally or not.

So, just sit back, relax, and enjoy those sips of dreams...