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内容：Winona Wu 编辑：Clove Liu
Wechat ID: NativeStudy / Weibo: http://weibo.com/u/3476904471
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Part I: Speaker
Amazon Shuts Down Food Delivery Service
July 4, 2019, One of the largest companies in the world, Amazon, just shuttered its food delivery service, Amazon Restaurants. But Amazon's fails are a bit different.
Source: NPR
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/04/738724355/amazon-shuts-down-food-delivery-service [Rephrase 1, 03:41]
Part II: Speed
How to take expert advice
BY Wayne Turmel, Jul 04, 2019
[Time 2]
I have two favorite quotes about experts. The first is from Edward de Bono: “An expert is someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgements simpler through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore.” Science-fiction writer Robert A Heinlein had a rather different view: “Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it.”
So in the first instance, we’re told that experts (assuming they truly are) can offer guidance by helping identify what’s really important, and helping you focus on that. Good. Perfect. Check. Yet it remains true that every great innovation has occurred precisely because someone ignored the experts and went their own way.
If you’re reading this, you probably seek the help of “experts” to help guide your business decision making. You find what we write valuable. I know I find the words of my peers on Management Issues inspiring, informative and helpful. Sometimes. You could drive yourself crazy trying to follow every piece of advice you get. And often the experts disagree. So how is a rational, intelligent and diligent human supposed to take all this advice without their craniums imploding?
Here are a couple of filters I run all expert advice through in order to see what makes sense for me:
Does it confirm my current state of mind? When you hear something and your brain immediately says “YES. That’s what I’m talking about,” We tend to think of it as good advice. After all, when smart people confirm what we’re doing, it validates our actions and makes us feel smart. However, there’s a flip side to this…
Does it immediately put my hackles up and I dismiss it? When we hear something we think is just ridiculous, the next question we need to ask is: “Why is it ridiculous?” If you can explain why what your reading is bad advice, good. If you can’t, maybe you need to take another look at it. After all, if what you’re doing now works so well, what are you reading someone else for?
[346 words]
[Time 3]
Do I need to be “all-in” on what the experts tell me? This is where you need to take a deep breath. It’s not easy to immediately change your mind set or your behavior just because some smart person said to do so. It’s disruptive, stressful, and success is in no way guaranteed. Maybe incremental change, or dipping your toe in the water before leaping, is what’s required.
Let me give you my personal example of this last concept. We all know that email is a drain on our productivity, mental powers and limited time. It’s also (at least the way many of us work) our most important lifeline to our peers, customers and the outside world in general. So when someone says, “Only check and answer email once in the morning and once at the end of the day” our immediate response might be “YES, I will do that immediately.” Or “Are you crazy? I’ll get fired if I don’t respond in Pavlovian manner to every single ‘ding’ of my in-box.”
But here’s how I took it. The idea of not allowing constant interruptions to impact my productivity and the quality of my work is valid. So is the notion that if I don’t respond quickly to some email requests, I’ll find my coworkers have sent the police by to check if I’m alright.
I’ve struck a middle ground which (mostly) works for me: I check email every hour or so, and only respond in short bursts a couple of times a day (usually when I need a break from whatever I’m doing.) I took the expert’s advice, ran every possible scenario, and found one that works for me. I’ve also found that instead of going “cold turkey”, I was able to make a change in my behavior that wasn’t too stressful, and have even found over time I can stretch those email-less periods out even longer.
So to those of you reading this, don’t ignore good advice, but don’t swallow everything without thinking. Run it through your own filters of experience (honestly, and not just on your gut) and make it work for you.
Except that last piece of advice, of course. That’s pure gold and you should implement it immediately. Just saying….
[375 words]
Source: management-issues
https://www.management-issues.com/connected/7251/how-to-take-expert-advice/
The Icarus syndrome: flying too close to the sun
BY Manfred Kets De Vries, Jul 04, 2019
[Time 4]
David was extremely gratified when he was named businessman of the year. He felt he deserved the recognition. Many articles had portrayed him as an entrepreneur who had reframed his industry, which gave him the courage to make his boldest move yet: taking over his largest competitor. Some analysts had said that he paid far too much for the company. Then bankers became nervous and soon reporters joined in.
One wrote: “Not only was his latest takeover a mistake, but his endless side ventures - buying an upscale restaurant in London, sponsoring a football club, financing a private clinic - are too great a drain on the company’s resources.” The damage was done. David would remain famous for sinking his own company and costing thousands of people their livelihoods.
In Greek mythology, Icarus and his father, Daedalus, were imprisoned on an island by King Minos. To escape, Daedalus - a master craftsman - created two sets of wings made of wax and feathers. He warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, as the wax would melt. He also cautioned Icarus not to fly too low, as the feathers could get wet in the sea.
His warnings, however, went unheeded. Icarus was so intoxicated by the experience of flight that he went higher and higher. As the wax in his wings melted, he tumbled into the sea and drowned. The saying “don't fly too close to the sun” is a reference to Icarus’ recklessness and defiance of limitations.
In organisations, the Icarus syndrome characterises leaders who initiate overly ambitious projects that come to naught, causing harm to themselves and others in the process. Fuelled by excitement, these leaders are unable to rein in their misguided enthusiasm before it is too late. Often, these leaders have let adulation go to their heads. They display symptoms such as:
Placing excessive confidence in their own judgment
Harbouring feelings of omnipotence
Becoming reckless and restless
Displaying contempt for the advice and criticism of others
Ignoring the practicality, cost or damaging consequences of their various endeavours.
Flying the corporate jet too close to the sun
[353 words]
[Time 5]
The Icarus syndrome, with its signature lack of humility, is a pattern that every leader needs to be concerned about. It has felled many leaders who planned grandly but failed miserably by overestimating their knowledge, foresight and ability.
Mythology, folktales and even Biblical stories are full of warnings against excessive pride, in other words hubris. In literature, the figures of Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and Satan in John Milton’s Paradise Lost illustrate the dark themes of vanity, ambition, power, insolence and disdain.
We also see the Icarus syndrome among contemporary political and business leaders. Prime examples are Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Carlos Ghosn, the recently deposed CEO of the Renault-Nissan alliance, and Mark Zuckerberg, the chairman and CEO of Facebook. The imperiousness of MBS has considerably damaged his leadership brand and the image of his country. In the case of Ghosn, he stands accused of significant acts of misconduct, including the personal use of corporate assets and under-reporting his compensation. The verdict on Zuckerberg has not been reached, but his recent troubles also illustrate that there are clear limits to feeling omnipotent.
If leaders afflicted by the Icarus syndrome only sowed the seeds of their own downfall, it would be tragic enough. But they often put their entire organisation at risk. Leaders who make all their decisions without ever consulting others invariably make grave mistakes, generating corporate collateral damage.
As the subordinates of such leaders realise that any disagreements with the boss only triggers contempt, the culture becomes one where bad news is taboo. Furthermore, hubristic leaders tend to disregard company values and policies, thinking these don’t apply to them. The constant overstepping of boundaries demoralise and disempower their teams, which may contribute to psychological disengagement, making it more likely that the best employees will leave.
[305 words]
[Time 6]
Counter-measures and solutions
Diversity is among the various counter-measures that can prevent the Icarus syndrome. A diverse leadership team can be an antidote to groupthink. Although management teams with backgrounds and perspectives in common make faster decisions, new data is more likely to be ignored and alternatives worthy of consideration may be overlooked. However, for diversity to work, people must be prepared to tell their leader uncomfortable truths, without fear of reprisal.
Considering the very nature of the problem, leaders suffering from a full-fledged case of the Icarus syndrome are unlikely to seek psychological help. What may encourage them to do so, however, are the repercussions of their narcissism, such as depression, substance abuse or related family difficulties. Narcissistically oriented personality disorders are deep-rooted and difficult to deal with, but coaching may help.
Lastly, boards of directors have a role to play. By definition, in the private sector, non-executive directors (NEDs) are supposed to provide a countervailing power. When faced with a CEO showing early signs of the Icarus syndrome, these independent directors should address the issue and suggest some form of mentoring or a coaching intervention.
In the world of corporate governance, it often takes a dramatic turn of events for possible watchdogs to take any steps to neutralise the situation. Usually, action is only taken when things have already gone too far.
When leaders have floated too long in a gilded bubble, untethered from reality, it becomes difficult for them to see their own affliction. The reality is that it takes very little to erode a leader’s position of strength. There is a truism in the credo that only the paranoid survive. Leaders would do well to take nothing for granted and to do whatever it takes to avoid the fate of Icarus.
[295 words]
Source: Management-issues
https://www.management-issues.com/opinion/7353/the-icarus-syndrome-flying-too-close-to-the-sun/
Part III: Obstacle When Passion Leads to Burnout
BY Jennifer Moss, JULY 01, 2019
[Paraphrase 7]
You’ve no doubt heard the well-worn advice that “if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” It’s a nice idea but a total myth.
When we equate work we love with “not really working,” it propagates a belief that if we love it so much, we should do more of it — all of the time, actually. Who needs a day off when you’re not really working?! There’s a whole cottage industry committed to proliferating this mindset — from books, to talks, and even kitsch stores selling piles of “Work is Bliss” quotes on merchandise. This type of mentality leads to burnout, and the consequences can be both dire and hard to detect.
As an expert in workplace happiness and someone who speaks internationally about workplace well-being, it’s easy for me to be consumed by my passion for the topic. I love my work, and as such, can easily fall victim to burnout. It’s one of the ironies of my job. Yet, I would never claim that it doesn’t ever feel like work. It is more like being involved in a complicated love affair. One minute it’s thrilling, passionate, engaging. The next, it’s exhausting and overwhelming, and I feel like I need a break.
For decades, the term “burnout” has been deprioritized — wrongly accused of being some made-up, first-world crisis, most likely drummed up by millennials and Gen Zers who want more work-life balance. The truth is, the younger workforce has it right. And as they increase the demand for more meaningful work (even claiming they’ll take 32% less pay for the trade-off), burnout — specifically purpose-driven burnout — will continue to be a growing concern. In a Gallup survey of 7,500 full-time employees, 23% reported feeling burned out at work very often or always, while 63% said they experience it sometimes.
Recently, The World Health Organization (WHO) included burnout in its International Classification of Diseases, IDC-11, claiming that it “refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context…a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed…” The WHO noted that the syndrome was characterized by three dimensions: 1) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; 2) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and 3) reduced professional efficacy.
The ICD-11 was drafted in response to recommendations from global health experts with an intended goal of ending the debate over how to define burnout and whether it should be considered a medical condition. It will now be globally recognized as a syndrome, not a disease, but the clear definition from the WHO should increase the number of healthcare providers and insurers who acknowledge, treat, and cover the symptoms.
While burnout can affect anyone, at any age, in any industry, it’s important to note that there are certain sectors and roles that are at increased risk, and purpose-driven work — that is work people love and feel passionately about — is one of them. According to a study published in the Journal of Personality, this type of labor can breed obsessive — versus harmonious — passion, which predicts an increase of conflict, and thus burnout. On The Mayo Clinic’s list of burnout risks, two out of six are related to this mindset: “You identify so strongly with work that you lack balance between your work life and your personal life” and/or “You work in a helping profession”. A Canadian study analyzed responses from 3,715 employees across 12 organizations and found that employees driven by purpose are significantly more stressed and score lower for well-being, resilience, and self-efficacy than those who are not. In an interview I had with David Whiteside, who has a Ph.D. in organizational behavior and is research director at Plasticity Labs, he emphasized that “despite the clear benefits of feeling meaningfully connected to your work, our data suggests that there are often real and undiscussed complications of purpose-driven work on employees’ health that can be related to the experience of burnout long-term.”
Mission-focused executives, non-profit employees, teachers/principals, nurses, and physicians are some of the people most at-risk for burnout. Edward Ellison, a medical doctor and co-CEO of The Permanente Federation, wrote about the massive negative impacts of physician burnout in the Annals of Internal Medicine: “Beyond the anxiety, depression, insomnia, emotional and physical exhaustion, and loss of cognitive focus associated with physician burnout,” he noted, “an estimated 300 to 400 U.S. physicians take their own lives every year” — a suicide rate dramatically higher than that of the general public, 40% higher for men and 130% higher for women. A Dutch study found that female physicians experience more patient empathy and, as a consequence, higher levels and deeper experiences of burnout — one hypothesis for the alarmingly high suicide rates.
Beyond the care-giving industries, burnout can show up when leaders equate long hours with getting ahead, when there’s an implicit expectation that staff should come to work despite mental and physical illness, and when production-focused, remote, and inside sales environments tend to push relationship-building to the back burner, which has been shown to increase loneliness.
In an effort to balance harmonious versus obsessive passion, Dr. Ellison believes in leveraging new technologies, such as innovations in artificial intelligence and automation, for example, to help streamline his own organization’s medical record-keeping. But technology advancements, in any industry, can be both helpful and harmful, according to Amy Blankson, founder and CEO of Positive Digital Culture. “In our ‘always on’ culture, we struggle with digital boundaries,” especially when we feel love our work, she explained. “More than 50% of U.S. employees feel like they have to check their email after 11 pm to keep up with work. As a result, burnout is on the rise and engagement is decreasing.” One study found that health information technology increased burnout in 70% of doctors surveyed.
So, what can leaders do to prevent purpose-driven employees in their own organizations from suffering? Dr. Ellison stresses that they can mitigate this “always-on” mindset by being aware of when passion becomes a double-edged sword. “If you are so inspired to do what you do, then you’re not necessarily good at setting boundaries. We need to teach people that setting boundaries is OK. It’s not selfish. It’s actually selfless. It allows you to be more effective at what you do, and to better [help] those you wish to serve.”
Dr. Caroline Elton, a vocational psychologist and the author of Also Human, agrees that it’s the responsibility of leaders “to keep an eye on the well-being of their staff.” She suggests specific tactics that include monitoring “indirect indices,” such as employee absences and turnover, as well as having clear policies in place so that bullying, undermining, and even whistleblowing can be dealt with without people feeling that they are putting their jobs on the line. Dr. Elton was clear that, although self-awareness and -agency are important, exhausted workers should not shoulder the burden of solving this problem. She believes it’s a systemic issue and that leaders may want to “ditch the ’R’ word” — resilient — because it suggests that individuals should be able to avoid or recover from burnout on their own. Now that the WHO has put out a clear definition of burnout and acknowledged it as a legitimate threat, organizations can focus on the measurement, programming, and support tools that will sprout from the syndrome designation.
At the end of the day, everyone wants to go home to our personal lives feeling inspired and fueled by a day of passionate engagement in purposeful work. This is clearly preferable to monotony and boredom, which can also cause burnout. But we have to be careful: When it feels like your passion for work — or that of your employees —has become all-consuming, it might be time to take — or to offer — a break.
[1300 words]
Source: HBR
https://hbr.org/2019/07/when-passion-leads-to-burnout?ab=hero-subleft-3
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发表于 2019-7-5 14:57:40
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