Eat the Meat and Throw Away the Bones

I recently heard the term, “eat the meat and throw away the bones.”

I gotta say, I relate to this idiom a heck of a lot better than “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

I think the meat analogy is a more effective teacher than the baby and the bath. Who knows, maybe my lack of desire to have kids has something to do with it. Just hear me out.

The baby and the bath oversimplifies things.  It focuses on keeping what is obviously  important as you get rid of what is obviously less important.

I don’t know about you, but I rarely encounter situations that are so clear-cut.

I like the implied nuance of “eat the meat and throw away the bones”:

• Sometimes what is less important will be obvious, and the reward obvious. Mmm, think T-bone steak!
• Sometimes obstacles will greatly outnumber rewards, but the little victories along the way are still worth the fight:  Yum, sticky fingers tackling a side of baby back ribs, getting every last morsel!
• Sometimes a situation might appear to be perfect while small, stubborn obstacles lay hidden below the surface. Fishy isn’t it?

The lesson may be the same:  Keep what is important and throw away the rest

But how much learning is lost in the bath water?  Maybe too much.

When was the last time you threw the meat away with the bones?

Manager Mishaps

According to a Gallup poll of more than one million employed US Workers, a bad boss is the number one reason people leave their job and 3 in 5 employees say their organizations are not well managed.

What would employees at your company say?

As today unfolds keep an eye out for some common Manager Mishaps:

1. How are you stifling autonomy?
2. Where are you micro-managing?
3. Why are you focusing more on placing blame than on solving problems?

Managers set the tone of company culture by illustrating what is acceptable and valued, by what they say, what they do, and what they don’t do.

The best managers are committed to eliminating the barriers standing in the way of their folks performing their best.

According to Daniel Pink in his book Drive, hiring employees who are the right fit and offering them opportunities for Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose will ensure an engaged workforce.

The key to retention is consistency.

People pay attention. Inconsistencies are opportunities for major dissatisfaction or disruption in the work place.

If you don’t believe that your actions have a significant impact on your staff, try doing something out of character, see how word spreads.

What is the culture of your organization? Does it use or utilize its employees?

Use Selective Hearing to Your Advantage

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” - Suzy Kassem

We’ve all heard of selective hearing...

I hope the irony of that does not pass you by.

Just because you have heard of it does not mean you are using it to your advantage:

• Ineffective application results in hiding from reality
• Effective application results in changing reality

Don’t use selective hearing on what others say to you.

Use selective hearing on what you say to you.

Allow both positive and negative feedback to come to you unfiltered. Hear it all. You can’t control the data. You can however, control how you interpret that data.

In other words:

What other people think about you can’t hurt you; what you think about you, can.

When negative self-speak tries to enter your mind, employ selective hearing. Hear the feedback of others, not the judgment that you pass about yourself.

It’s the difference between self awareness and self consciousness.

How has self awareness fed your dreams?

How has self-consciousness fed your doubts?