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William D. Randall's Blog (of no particular interest to no one in particular)
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"We Have Just Begun to Fight...." Winston Churchill "Audentes Fortuna Juvat" - "Fortune Favors the Bold"
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Thursday, June 01, 2006
Flexibility Flexibility. It prevents injuries before workouts, it keeps you sane when deadlines and schedules keep changing, and it is the quintessential trait in an employee. Employees are asked to be flexible and adapt and adjust to the changing conditions. A rigid employee when dealing with customers and even fellow employees can seem robotic and uncaring. It is also a mainstay of the law. If the laws were not flexible, everyone would get a speeding ticket for exceeding the speed limit. Without flexibility, even the innocents are guilty. Hourly employees are asked to "be flexible." "Thanks for coming in early Bob" or "Thanks for covering the second shift" or even, "thanks for moving those crates." But unfortunately in the rigid world of management, flexibility is not a two way street. It is a word that is avoided, because they would have a lot of explaining to do to their bosses. In "Collateral" Jamie Foxx's character is told to "roll with it" after the plans for Tom Cruise's character suddenly change. While reluctant to stick to the plan, Foxx and Cruise have an understanding that flexibility is a two way street. If Foxx refused to drive the Taxi, Cruise's job would be finished. I add the element of pop culture for a reason. First, in Southern California, rigidity is impossible. Getting on a freeway onramp is like a pull on the cosmic slot machine. A five-minute trip in the morning can become a thirty-minute trip in the afternoon. Recent traffic accidents have turned twenty-five minute trips into four-hour hell trips. Anyone who has ever traveled on the 91, 5, 10, etc............ Knows this quite well. Second, to attract talented people, employers have to be flexible. I have seen many great and talented people leave only to be replaced by those who love the company, but have no local knowledge whatsoever. And third, when the staff can adapt management looks good, but when management adapts to the staff, they look like pushovers. This post is not intended to critique anyone or anything in particular, but it is intended to show how mediocrity is rewarded and exceptionalism is disregarded. Great people are forced to leave, while good people stay. Eventually, I was going to move on but I preferred for the departure to be amicable, but I kind of knew this was coming. Many of those who I have worked with were in the process of obtaining graduate degrees. They were the first to be shown the door. Others where in the process of obtaining bachelors degrees, they are on thin ice. The warning signs were present when a co-worker mentioned how he missed a final exam in order to go to work and that he would "just repeat the class." When good companies wonder why they are unable to retain talented people, it all comes down to lack of flexibility. WDR (JD in Progress)
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