Philip writes about how small cost saving policies at Microsoft irritated him as an employee: We used to get Dove Bars and beers all the time. It felt like free food was on offer at least once a week, usually with a pretense of some small milestone to celebrate. Why did we cut stuff like this? (I know the boring fiscal reasons why. I’m asking the deeper why, as in, “Was it worth the savings? Is Microsoft better now that we’ve cut these costs?”) ...
After reading this post from Lara, I finally understand why I’ve been feeling strangely uncomfortable whenever my work desks have been moved in the past. Here are humans’ core needs in the BICEPS model: Belonging Community: A feeling of friendship and closeness with a group, or being part of a tight community of any size. Community well-being: People are cared for, the whole group feels happy and healthy. Connection: Feeling kinship and understanding with Improvement/Progress Progress towards purpose: You are helping make progress towards an important goal for the company, your team or your own career/life. Improving the lives of others: You see how your work helps improve things for others Personal growth: Learning/seeing fast growth in yourself in skills that matter to you. Choice Choice: Having flexibility, the chance to have more control over key parts of your world Autonomy: Having clear ownership over a domain where you can do as you wish, without asking for permission Decision-making: The ability to have make decisions about the things that matter to you Equality/Fairness Access to resources (money, time, space, etc) feels fair/equitable Access to information is fair: All groups/people have access to information that is relevant to them Equal reciprocity: You support each other equally Decisions are fair and everyone is treated as equally important Predictability Resources: There’s enough certainty about resources (money, personnel hours, space) so you can focus on your job Time: There’s certainty about when things will occur/when you can prepare for them. Future challenges: You can anticipate and thus can prepare for future challenges Direction: Goals, strategy, and direction stay consistent and don’t change too often/fast Status Status: You hold a title/role that honors your worth among your peers/your industry Visibility: Your work is highly visible to people that matter Recognition: Your work is recognized and appreciated in ways that feel good. source ...
If you need another reason to hate office politics, Dave Anderson shares some awful advice on how to join office politics, one of them is: Slow down other teams If other teams move quickly, your team can become a bottleneck. That never looks good. When a wild animal is chasing you, you need to not be the slowest. Slow down your peer teams by asking for info, or starting processes. As a bonus, you look as if you’re holding a high bar. ...