Company Limits Bathroom Breaks To Six Minutes a Day

Yes, you heard right. Here’s the reference: Company Limits Bathroom Breaks To Six Minutes a Day

No doubt there was some employee shenanigans (think: excessive Facebooking and texting on mobile devices in the bathroom) that brought this on. And perhaps management did some things that contributed to this outcome as well.

But would the ‘Six Minute Rule’ have been invoked if management genuinely viewed their staff as professionals? Not likely!

Invariably, self-management practices go way up when management treats the staff as professionals. The staff’s ‘best-self’ gets proudly displayed. They’re motivated to do the right thing, and they’ll do it more often. Of course there’s always going to be a few knuckle-heads, but still…..

Who doesn’t want to work in an environment in which ‘professional’ is the organization’s aspiration. And who doesn’t want to work with colleagues who are professionals? Of course, the questions are rhetorical. An organization that centers its organization on professional ideals wouldn’t stoop to this.

A Better Me

Many of you are aware that the West Coast Ultrasound Institute has immersed their students in ‘professional values’ and the mind-sets associated with those values. See my post from Jan 28, 2013.

As part of the student’s learning they were asked to write a 1,800 word essay about professionalism and its impact—current and future. I’m told over 200 papers were produced. I have read over 50 of them, they were fascinating. Several students mentioned how the mind-sets had not only impacted their work-life, but their personal life as well.

Many students at West Coast are transitioning from their current vocation to another (e.g. medical imaging) —they work at their ‘day job’ and attend school at night and on the weekends. Jennifer Fruin is one such student. She’s currently a hair stylist. In her words, Jennifer was hired to, ‘wash, cut, style, repeat’. I was impressed with her paper and thought you would be too.

Jennifer has gone through some remarkable changes, the type that one would reasonably be called transformational. Here are a few snippets from Jennifer’s paper:

Catalyst For Self-Improvement: “…I sure didn’t feel the fulfillment. I felt as though I was just clocking in and cutting hair [as my] complacent role dragged on. I let it seep into my personal life and I did not notice a problem until I read The Power of Professionalism. Cover to cover, the book spoke to me. I made myself a cheat sheet, to show me what I learned in each chapter and how I would apply it to my own life.”

About Mind-Set #7: “This mind-set did away with my secret stash of anxiety, distrust and negativity. It gave me the comfort I so desperately sought out, and helped me lend my trust to other employees and helped me place trust in my family.”

Transformation: “Today my world is different. I’m listening to my clients like they require me to. I am spending quality time with my kids. I’ve released the anger I was holding on to …”

The Book: “The Power of Professionalism to me was more than a book teaching me how to act ‘professional’. This book showed me how to be a better me. It showed me how to succeed in any given area…..Bill Wiersma really broke the mold when he wrote this book.”

It was really gratifying to learn of Jennifer’s growth and how she became a ‘better me’. Gratefully, Jennifer has student colleagues who experienced similar outcomes.

To read Jennifer’s full paper, click here.

Enjoy.

Honoring An Amazing Men’s Room Attendant

I love hearing of stories about people in non-tradition jobs or situations that really put an  exclamation point on what it means to be a professional.  Lorenzo Robinson, a men’s room attendant at the posh 21 restaurant in Manhattan, is one such person.

To most, his work wasn’t glamorous.  In fact, some might consider his work demeaning. Not Lorenzo.  He glorified his work. Those he served loved him.

Lorenzo’s story reinforces that it isn’t what we do but how we do it that determines whether we are a professional or not. There should be no doubt, Lorenzo was a professional.

Lorenzo Robinson passed away prematurely in late October.  Even though we never met, I’m honored to share his inspiring story.  Here’s a nice article from the New York Times about him.

   

Hard Unemployment Truths About ‘Soft’ Skills

A recent article by Nick Schulz of the American Enterprise Institute in the Wall Street Journal reveals some inconvenient truths about the difficulty the manufacturing sector currently faces in filling jobs.  There’s a lot of jobs that need filling, the problem is finding qualified people.

In many instances the difficulty stems around the lack of ‘soft’ skills—not necessarily the technical stuff. It’s skills that employers not-so-long-ago took for granted:  being on time for work, properly answering the telephone,  passing the drug test.

Others sectors have reported similar findings.  The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has reported ‘that “professionalism” or “work ethic” is the top “applied” skill that younger workers lack’.

This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to many of you. Here’s the full article—Hard Unemployment Truths About ‘Soft’ Skills.

To me the skill-gap that Schulz has identified is really not a skill at all, it’s the lack of a professional’s mind-set.  Yet, let’s look beyond the semantics for now.  The problem Schulz is illuminating is symptomatic of a declining culture…one that hits the business community smack upside the head!

Seven Myths About Blue-Collar Workers

My colleague-friend Bill Tomei provided me with great insight and perspective that has helped shape this post.  Thanks Bill.

Myth #1—Blue-collar workers are ‘less than’ than their management brethren.

‘Less-sophisticated’…’less-responsible’…’less-committed’ …these are three of many inaccurate perceptions held about blue-collar workers.  These perceptions are unfortunate—because they’re typically turn out to be self-fulfilling prophesies.  The vast majority of blue-collar workers are intelligent, capable, and responsible.

Myth #2—The core values of blue-collar workers are vastly different than those in management.

People are people. Blue-collar workers want many of the same types of things everyone else wants in their work-life—-competence in a field that they can continue to excel in, work that holds meaning, respect, etc.  There are few major differences in values between blue-collar workers and ‘management types’.

Myth #3—Blue-collar workers are either unable or are unwilling to understand (let alone accept) the truth about the business.

This perception is particularly troublesome—largely because it suggests that blue-collar workers are somehow incapable of understanding the (so- called) complexities of the business.  That’s disrespectful on any number of levels. Through various applications of self-management ,any number of companies have shown the fallacy of this perception.

Myth #4—Blue-collar workers’ self- interests will always take precedent over the interest of the business.

The implication is that blue-collar workers are just in it for the pay check.  This hasn’t been my experience nor the experience of my colleagues.  There endless numbers of examples that put a stake in the heart of this myth.

Myth #5—Blue-collar workers will lose respect for management if managers don’t have all the answers.

This is a common misconception. A manager being unaware of something is OK (assuming ‘being unaware’ hasn’t become a pattern) as long as the situation is looked into and communicated back to the troops.

A manager who, when faced with a serious issue ,says to the troops “I don’t have all the answers” will not be disrespected by the troops as long as that same manager also commits to finding a solution to the issue.  Blue-collar workers (at least reasonable ones) aren’t expecting their manager to be Superman.

Myth #6—The risks associated with blue-collar workers too-frequently out-weigh the benefits.

In many ways, the United States was built by working people—what we might refer to today as blue-collar employees. It’s a disservice to hold the mind-set that the glass is half-empty when it comes to blue-collar folks.

Myth #7—Blue-collar workers aren’t really professionals.

Sorry, I don’t buy it.  Being a professional is an equal opportunity aspiration.  This myth is de-bunked in chapter two of The Power of Professionalism.   As I mention in the book, “being a professional has little to do with the color of one’s collar”.

There are a lot of misconceptions about blue-collar workers.  That’s really  unfortunate—especially since companies like Morning Star, the Contra Costa Times, and (at one time) Saturn have demonstrated first-hand (through various self-managed practices) just what a fallacy these myths are.

It’s been said that, “how we see the problem, is the problem.”   For those holding any of these myths, that couldn’t be more true.