“White Rabbit” Behaviour

55090611e4ef2-0112-woman-hanging-on-clock-xl

According to a recent and widely acclaimed behavioural study, one of the biggest killers of innovation in the corporate office is the effect known as “White Rabbit” disease. Once a business is infested with this potent virus, it quickly spreads, and is difficult to exterminate without the introduction of a brutal change management regime.

The “White Rabbit” disease gets its name from the fictional character in the book “Alice in Wonderland” (Lewis Carroll), where a large white rabbit is seen to be in a continual state of panic, whilst shouting the words “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!”

Those employees exhibiting “White Rabbit” behaviour are easily identifiable. They will be the visibly stressed people rushing from meeting to meeting, always running late, and will be constantly letting you know just how busy they are with strong verbal flagellation sighs of self-importance.

If your organisation is deemed to have too many “White Rabbit” sufferers, and should an appropriate course of corrective action not be immediately implemented by a suitably qualified corporate physician, a stock market directive of absolute quarantine may be imposed. A short time later, a quick financial business vaporization will then prevail with irreversible effect.

But there is a simple and effective treatment that can be easily applied to those afflicted with the “White Rabbit” disease, and one which also acts as a long term inoculation for those that don’t yet exhibit any of the symptoms.

The treatment is called “time”. Not just any “time”, but “thinking time”, where the psychological stress and strain of those affected, who believe they have a need to rush in the corporate office, is eliminated from their daily ritual. The habitual application of “thinking time” leads to the development of a creative thought which tends to free the poor sufferer from all anxiety, which apparently has a direct causal link with the onset of “White Rabbit” disease.

Repeated applications of the treatment also appears to fortify the organization’s resistance to the affliction with lasting effect, as their employee’s ability to think creatively is reinforced, and in due course, may even lead to the encouraging signs of innovation.

So the answer is clear. When the first indications of “White Rabbit” disease become apparent, be swift with the copious application of “thinking time”, before it is too late!

 

It’s all about Passion!

Passion Lives Here ...

That “P-word” is so obvious in some companies that when you walk into their corporate office foyer, you don’t need a dictionary to understand how to spell it, nor a thesaurus to interpret what it means, you can just sense and feel it. Yes, that “P-word” is “Passion”.

No, I’m not talking that form of “passion” where you see employees drooling over each other in lustful scenarios that may embarrass the observer. I’m referring to that enthusiastic and contagious behaviour that permeates within an organization that has that right mix of employee engagement and a personal and committed belief in the future growth of the business.

In the September 2014 edition of The Australian Financial Review “Boss” Magazine, there is an article that lists “The Best Places to Work”. As you read about each of these top 25 companies, the word “passion” is very apparent and is a consistent underlying theme in all of them.

So, how does one achieve “passion” in business? To me, it’s quite simple. Forget all your HR and other detailed analyses of employee engagement strategy pontification, let’s just focus on the basics.

According to the Free Dictionary (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/passion):
Passion: A powerful emotion, such as love, joy, hatred, or anger

The key in this definition are the words “powerful emotion”. When you are really passionate about someone, your have an intense and powerful desire to be with them, to see them, to have them continually in your life. The experience benefits you and you want more and more of the encounter. It is a bit like a drug that you want to continually consume.

Unfortunately, many employees don’t have any passion in their jobs and want to get out of the office as quickly as possible. So who is the blame for this passion abstinence? No, in the majority of cases it’s not the employee, but the employer.

Most corporate organizations have the best intentions in trying to motivate and inspire their employees. However, employees seem to have an inbuilt “Bollocks Meter” that measures whether the senior management team are sincere, walking the talk, or just going through the motions with yet another passing fad that will soon diminish with time.

Corporate passion can’t be bought. It needs to be lived and exemplified in all activities of the business. The passion crux is when employees want to be at work as they believe that it benefits their own well-being, those around them, and their customers. If the business is just transactional, then passion has minimal hope in succeeding.

Yes…..it’s all about the passion!