https://ChacoCanyon.com Tips, techniques, insights and inspiration on topics like person-to-person communications, project management, workplace politics, and workplace conflict. http://ChacoCanyon.com/images/life-at-work-logo.gif https://ChacoCanyon.com Tips, techniques, insights and inspiration on topics like person-to-person communications, project management, workplace politics, and workplace conflict. 72 141 en-us Business/Management Copyright 2025 Richard Brenner http://backend.userland.com/rss Wed, 09 Jul 2025 00:00:00 EDT Humor is such a valuable tool at work that it ought to be recognized as an official contribution by team members who provide the laughs that keep some teams from auto-destructing. Even if you're not known for bringing the funny, there are a few simple techniques that can change your image.]]> https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250709.shtml https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250709.shtml rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com (Rick Brenner) Life at Work: People, Projects, Politics and Pressure Wed, 09 Jul 2025 04:30:00 EDT Among the more commonly cited reasons for hiring contractors instead of direct employees is cost savings. But are these savings real? Direct compensation, including perks and benefits, might favor the contractor arrangement, but indirect costs tell another story.]]> https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250702.shtml https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250702.shtml rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com (Rick Brenner) Life at Work: People, Projects, Politics and Pressure Wed, 02 Jul 2025 04:30:00 EDT In meetings, a meandering monologue has taken over when someone speaks at length with no sign of coming to a clear point, and little content of evident value. This behavior reduces engagement on the part of other attendees, thereby limiting the meeting's value to the organization.]]> https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250625.shtml https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250625.shtml rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com (Rick Brenner) Life at Work: People, Projects, Politics and Pressure Wed, 25 Jun 2025 04:30:00 EDT In a meeting, a meandering monologue has taken over when someone speaks at length with no sign of coming to a clear point, with no clear direction, and with little evidence of relevance to the topic at hand. This behavior wastes time, reduces engagement, and delays decisions.]]> https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250618.shtml https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250618.shtml rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com (Rick Brenner) Life at Work: People, Projects, Politics and Pressure Wed, 18 Jun 2025 04:30:00 EDT When I gain an important insight, or when I learn a lesson, I make a note. Example: If you're interested in changing how a social construct operates, knowing how it came to be the way it is can be much less useful than knowing what keeps it the way it is.]]> https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250611.shtml https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250611.shtml rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com (Rick Brenner) Life at Work: People, Projects, Politics and Pressure Wed, 11 Jun 2025 04:30:00 EDT Modern firms in competitive, dynamic markets draw on many types of employer/employee relationships, including contractors. By providing privileges and perks preferentially among these different types, they risk creating a caldron of resentments that can reduce organizational effectiveness.]]> https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250604.shtml https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250604.shtml rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com (Rick Brenner) Life at Work: People, Projects, Politics and Pressure Wed, 04 Jun 2025 04:30:00 EDT Most organizations hold project managers accountable for project performance. But they don't hold Project Sponsors or other Senior Managers accountable for the consequences of their actions when they interfere with the project manager's ability to lead the project team.]]> https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250528.shtml https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250528.shtml rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com (Rick Brenner) Life at Work: People, Projects, Politics and Pressure Wed, 28 May 2025 04:30:00 EDT Most organizations hold project managers accountable for project performance. But they don't grant those project managers control of resources. And some Senior Managers escape accountability for their actions when they interfere with project work. Here's a catalog of behaviors worth looking at.]]> https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250521.shtml https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250521.shtml rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com (Rick Brenner) Life at Work: People, Projects, Politics and Pressure Wed, 21 May 2025 04:30:00 EDT A cognitive bias known as the Overconfidence Effect causes us to overestimate the reliability of our judgments. Decisions we make based on those judgments are therefore suspect. But there are steps we can take to make our confidence levels more realistic, and thus make our decisions more reliable.]]> https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250514.shtml https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250514.shtml rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com (Rick Brenner) Life at Work: People, Projects, Politics and Pressure Wed, 14 May 2025 04:30:00 EDT Most workplace bullying tactics have analogs in the schoolyard -- isolation, physical attacks, name-calling, and extortion are common examples. Subject matter bullying might be an exception, because it requires expertise in a sophisticated knowledge domain. And that's where trouble begins.]]> https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250507.shtml https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/250507.shtml rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com (Rick Brenner) Life at Work: People, Projects, Politics and Pressure Wed, 07 May 2025 04:30:00 EDT Links to articles from Point Lookout that touch on Writing and Managing Email. https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/email.shtml https://ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout/email.shtml Business/Human_Resources/Employee_Relations/Conflict_Resolution Business/Human_Resources Business/Management/Ethics Business/Human Resources/Employee Relations Business/Management/Organizational_Change Business/Management/Project_and_Program_Management Computers/Software/Project_Management/Risk_Analysis Science/Social_Sciences/Communication/Rhetoric/ Business/Management/Communication_Skills Computers/Internet/E-mail Computers/Internet/Etiquette/E-mail Reference/Knowledge_Management/Knowledge_Creation/Problem_Solving Science/Science_in_Society/Skeptical_Inquiry/Critical_Thinking rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com (Rick Brenner) Life at Work: People, Projects, Politics and Pressure Wed, 09 Jul 2025 04:30:00 EDT