Shrug Off Apathy
I used to carry around a little cartoon that said "Shrug off apathy." Working for too many decades in the corporate environment I saw a lot of apathy, pessimism and cynicism.
You know those people that see and comment about all of the problems in the company but never have a recommendation for improvement? They are quick to criticize but rarely are part of the solution.
Or worse – just don't care one way or the other.
During a meeting yesterday we were discussing the difference between business owners or sales people and those that are employees when it comes to delivering your 30-second commercial. Employees typically don't have an OWNER mentality and so don't see the need for developing and delivering a 30-second commercial.
In reality they have customers too. You don't have to BUY something to be considered a customer.
Someone working in Human Resources has employees as customers, people in the Real Estate department have employees internally and landlords externally that can be described as customers. And so on.
Developing an owner mentality regardless of your role within an organization will change how you view the company goals, brand message and profitability.
But regardless of your role, when cynicism sets in – it impacts your ability to focus and function effectively. The Sloan Brothers over at Startup Nation have a few good words on the subject. Check it out.
What do you do when cynicism sets in? How do you get out of a blue funk?
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By Sanjay Kumar, April 5, 2007 @ 8:39 am
Good topic. When cynicism sets in, it needs to be nipped in the bud immediately. This is obviously easier in smaller companies, but can be managed at the department level pretty well too. I don’t need to make the case for why cynicism is bad, but letting it foster is akin to the team not working towards the same goals — leading to productivity loss and possible failure. The only real way to nip this is to circle the wagons, build consensus on the intended goals, increase transparency so there is more trust and buy-in. Those who can’t buy into the team goals need to be managed and possibly moved on to greener pastures. In small companies, you are either on board or you’re not.
SimplifyThis.com
By Deborah, April 5, 2007 @ 1:27 pm
Sanjay,
Great comment – love how you describe the need to “manage” those on the team that aren’t really on the team. Truth be told, those companies/departments that don’t manage the nay-sayers are in for a tough road to hoe!