The Wastebroker Blog

Business as Usual.....a Hugh McLeod Perspective

I received this in an email from Hugh McLeod, @gapingvoid, www.gapingvoidgallery.com and thought his perspective on 'Business as Usual' was worthy of sharing with you. We were recently legislated out of a significant piece of business, so this hit home - nothing is guaranteed, nothing is entitled, the future can always be better.....or worse. If you think you've got it figured out, you might not be as smart as you think you are.....and you might just be getting lazy.

"The phrase “Business as usual” is funny to me, and as you can see in today’s cartoon http://www.gapingvoidgallery.com/gallerycubegrenades-oxymoron-p-2021.html?utm_source=Gapingvoid+Daily+Cartoon&utm_campaign=b8cd9a8c34-%23446+%22Oxymoron%22+November+25%2C+2011&utm_medium=email , I think it’s overplayed. Business as usual may not be a classic oxymoron in literary terms, but the idea that business is usual in any sense is laughable.

Businesses today don’t prosper on operating “as usual”. Industries are being destroyed and rebuilt in the blink of an eye. Old, reliable income streams are being legislated out of business or have been marginalized by markets that have new access to information. There is nothing usual about business today. Today, business is about reinvention, turning heads, making waves, stirring the pot and, most importantly, CREATING. Maybe what’s more unusual, perhaps, are the people who still think in terms of “business as usual”."   

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Trust - Easy to Give, Harder to Maintain

Reading from my “Great Quotes from Great Leaders” book today and had cause to pause when I read this quote attributed to Booker T. Washington http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington, “Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him.”  It made me think, do I always give responsibility and trust to my team?  I’d like to swear that I do, but I’m not sure I can, unfortunately. 

It’s not as though I don’t want to trust, I do, eh, trust me.  Most of the time, my trust is rewarded.  But trust hasn’t always worked out for me.  Over the years, people I’ve trusted have lied to me, stolen from me and taken advantage of my trust in various other ways.  It was never my fault…….I’m quite sure?  

When my trust is abused, I try to bounce back, reaffirm my belief that all human beings are essentially good and trustworthy, and give it another go.  Trust is necessary.  After all, the option – to trust no one - isn’t very appealing….and it makes for a long, miserable day as well.

Truth is that I love placing responsibility and trust with others, but I’m quicker to lose trust than I am take away the responsibility – which makes no sense.  I need to work on that.  I’m glad I had the chance to read Booker’s quote today.  It made me to take a close look at myself and my leadership.  I still have room to improve.  Do you?

We Energies Coal Pile Slides Into Lake Michigan

I'm used to seeing pictures and videos of tornados, mud slides, tsunamis and other unforeseen tragedies that make me marvel at Mother Nature's power.  Normally, they don't seem as real because they happen far from home.  Not yesterday.  Around 11AM Monday, a large portion of Lake Michigan bluff on the We Energies www.we-energies.com Oak Creek, WI Power Plant site slid into the lake.  Miraculously, no one was injured.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that coal and coal ash, and who knows what else, made their way into the water, creating a potential environmental mess.  I have no doubt this will be cleaned up properly and that the cause will be studied, blame will be assessed and endless debate will ensue.  To read more, click the link to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for the rest of the story and some cool photo's of the devastation.

 http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/authorities-investigate-bluff-collapse-at-we-energies-plant-132929538.html