A Note from Joyce
Summer is here. As we think of summer, we think of "lightness"—we think of dressing lighter, eating lighter foods, doing fun things, breathing a sigh of relief at having completed annual evaluations, and vacationing before the hectic fall is upon us. In this frame of lightness, my message will consist of what I consider to be gems of workplace wisdom and comic quips that I have encountered in the myriad of human resources literature that crosses my desk.
Workplace Wisdom
Using e-mail for performance reviews, disciplinary actions, or other touchy matters is worse
than breaking up over the phone.
- Alex Markels, The Wall Street Journal
- You can strengthen your ability to persuade others by eliminating the word “but” from your memos,
e-mail, and phone conversations—use “and” instead.
- Source unknown
- Managers who spread the credit around look much stronger than those who take all the credit themselves.
- The Manager's Intelligence Report
- Be a trouble-shooter. When you run into a problem, try to think of at least two solutions before you
take that problem to your supervisor. It shows that you're a thinker and a problem-solver, as well as a doer.
- Source unknown
- Instead of trying to change your supervisor, change how you interact with him [or her].
- Katherine Spencer Lee
- A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.
- Dwight Eisenhower
- Remember—Your point of view is something personal to you.
- Source unknown
Comic Quips
The world is full of willing people—some willing to work hard, others willing to let them.
- Robert Frost
- The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.
- Joe Ancis
- The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not
stop until you get into the office.
- Robert Frost
- One of the most feared expressions in modern times is “The computer is down."
- Norman Augustine
- When you don't know what to do, walk fast and look worried.
- Source unknown
- Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness.
- Richard Carlson
- After any salary raise, you will have less money at the end of the month than you did before.
- Source unknown
- If you have a job without any aggravations, you don't have a job.
- Malcolm S. Forbes