Page 45 - Make Work Great

It Starts with You

intentionally) create the negative environment that “we” are stuck
tolerating.
Others might be inclined toward self-blame. Saying to yourself, “If
only I were , but I’m not,” instills hopelessness and suggests
unsolvable inadequacy on your part. This may seem like the opposite
of blaming “them,” but in reality, it’s just an alternative path to the
same destination—avoidance of responsibility for fi nding an answer.
Whatever the problem, whatever its cause, you are the solution. You
are going to teach others, by example, to use some new patterns of
activity. To do that, you need to get comfortable with them yourself.

The Critical Ratio
Working is about . . . work! An organization is simply a group of
people and resources put together in a way that is designed to produce
value. In most cases, a big part of the plan is to convert that value
to fi nancial profi t. But even organizations that don’t seek fi nancial
profi ts, such as governments and charitable entities, attempt to pro-
duce value of some kind. If you want to effect a change in the culture
of your workplace, you must demonstrate a set of patterns that, at
a minimum, produces the output your organization requires. Better
yet, you should endeavor with your patterns to improve upon what
has been possible in the past. Either way, output is the starting point.
Arguments for morale and satisfaction only hold water when they’re
tied to practical results; you get a paycheck in return for the work you
do, not for the happiness you engender around you.
At the same time, your output must not come at too high a human
cost. We all burn midnight oil and cut corners on workplace relation-
ships occasionally, such as when we’re on a tight deadline or an emer-
gency arises. But if your normal method of producing output involves
working endless hours or stepping on those around you, in addition
to some ethical concerns, you have serious problems from a culture-
change perspective. First, the patterns you’re demonstrating are not
scalable; there are only so many hours to use and so many colleagues

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