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"It Doesn't Pay to Be Yourself at Work" or "Be the ideal, professional person at work; Don't be 100% yourself, especially if you are impulsive".

From the link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-23/it-doesnt-pay-to-be-yourself-at-work

The next time you want to speak your mind at work, it’s best to keep your mouth shut. Research by the University of Houston in Texas and the University of Greenwich in London shows that while being yourself around family, friends, and loved ones benefits well-being, being yourself at work has no bearing on life satisfaction.

The study condiucted defines authenticity as vocalizing what you’re thinking and feeling, not making things up to impress people, and feeling confident enough to be honest and open. “It’s not a problem to be authentic or inauthentic” at work, he says. “It just didn’t matter.”

People often are expected to control what they say and to bottle emotions in the workplace. “There is an awful amount of impression management at work, that is required at work,” he says. “Being yourself at work doesn’t work because of a need to put on a front.”

While authenticity may not benefit overall well-being, other studies suggest it does benefit the workplace. “Authentic self-expression at work leads to reduced turnover and increased performance and job satisfaction,”. Most employers don’t value or promote authenticity as they should. “It is rare for organizations to take an authenticity perspective to socialization,”.

“All I can say is, if you’re at work and you’re not expressing yourself—not authentic to yourself—you’re in jolly good company,” says Robinson. The bright side for all us phonies: “It’s really normal and doesn’t have an adverse relationship to quality of life,”.

(P.S: Please read the full article from the link above. This is only an extract. However, this article is VERY USEFUL for me. This answers the question: Should you be yourself? Should you be honest 100%? Should you express yourself all the time? The answer is NO!!! You are not perfect. No one is. It is possible that we may unintentionally hurt others' feelings. The answer is this: ALWAYS BE PROFESSIONAL. At your company or organization, BE WHAT THE COMPANY EXPECTS YOU TO BE - A good employee, disciplined, organized, punctual, productive, team player etc. - Gerry)

And these are my own words ---> "Do not be yourself; Be a better version of yourself!" - Gerry Som.

"Do not be yourself; Be a better version of yourself" - Gerry Som.

UK economy in double-dip recession

From the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17836624

The UK economy has returned to recession, after shrinking by 0.2% in the first three months of 2012.

A sharp fall in construction output was behind the surprise contraction, the Office for National Statistics said. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. The economy shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011. BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders says it "adds to the picture that the economy is bumping along the bottom". She said economic output was slightly smaller now than it was in the autumn of 2010. Wednesday's figure is an early estimate and is subject to at least two further revisions in the coming months. It is compiled using 40% of the data gathered for later revisions. The UK economy was last in recession in 2009.

"10 Lessons In Leadership From Don Corleone" or Management Lessons for MBAs from "THE GODFATHER"

From the link: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/2056/10-Lessons-In-Leadership-From-Don-Corleone.aspx

(Please read the full article from the link above. This was not written by me. - Gerry)

I watched The Godfather this weekend. Don Corleone was quite clever about how we was able to influence people and get things done. Here are a couple of his leadership best practices:

1. Different Strokes for Different Folks -- He was perceptive about the right way to motivate people and he used the right method with the right people. He would use fear to motivate some people (i.e. the undertaker), he was very respectful of some people (Luca Bracci), and he gave others a swift kick in the pants (i.e. Johnny Fontaine).
2. Two Ears and One Mouth -- He always listened carefully and did not do too much talking. He'd occasionally ask for clarification, but he never interrupted.
3. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions -- His role was to listen, think, and make decisions. He did not ever "do" anything in the movie, but made lots of decisions and delegated the actions efficiently. Good managers are factories for good decisions.
4. No Happy Ears -- After getting the bad news from the movie producer that Johnny Fontaine wouldn't star in his movie, the consigliere responded that he needed to leave immediately and fly home because the Don insisted on hearing bad news immediately. As an old manager of mine once said, "bad news doesn't get better with age."
5. Emotionless Decisions -- There are numerous times in the movie where emotions could have influenced his decision, but in every case he made a dispassionate business decision.
6. Only the Paranoid Survive -- Toward the end of the Godfather, the Don goes over and over how Michael (his son) will likely be targeted/assassinated. The Don was paranoid and had a high attention to detail on important matters.
7. Keep Your Word -- The Don was no saint, but when he said he was going to do something he did it, always keeping his word. That way, when he promised to do something (i.e. not take vengeance on the killing of his son Santino), it was believed by all involved without question.
8. Action Reaction -- When he thinks about what to do, he always thinks about the reaction of all the constituents in an almost system dynamics like fashion. For example, when they asked him to fund a lucrative drug practice, he said no because the judges/police who were on his payroll would no longer support him if he entered a "dirty" business like drugs, as opposed to gambling and prostitution which his constituents thought were harmless vices.
9. Quid Pro Quo -- As on old boss of mine from PTC used to say, "never do something for nothing." The Don did "favors" for folks all the time, but let them know their time would come for return a favor.
10. Good Knowledge Management -- During every meeting, he had his "consigliere" with him taking notes and action items to ensure nothing fell through the cracks.

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