Tag: job

Where Things Come from and Where They Go to

How much do we really think?  Here’s an example.  Toilets are a vital component of world health, yet we rarely give them a second thought.  For us, they are just there when we need them.  Just like almost everything else in our secure western world. The truth is that complex interconnected systems deliver food, energy, clothing, consumer

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An Interview Question on a Mission

If you are going for a leadership role in the Business Services section of a school district, you are probably going to be asked something like the following in an interview. If we hire you into this role, how will you advance the mission of the school district? Not Recommended: You created this position so I don’t have to tell

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Make Them Cry “Uncle!”

My boss and mentor used to chastise me.  “Pile work on your staff until they cry ‘uncle’ ” she would say. Is that really a valid management technique?  Sounds a bit draconian. “Not at all,” she would counter.  “You don’t really know if they are working at full capacity until you give them too much

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When to Say No

I recently overheard two employees chatting with their supervisor. “We want to learn Excel” they said. “Can you teach us?”  They do not need to know Excel for the work they do currently.  Much of the time they are doing data entry.  However the next position up the pay scale uses Excel extensively.  The supervisor

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