I'm frequently asked for free advice. You know the whole “can I pick your brain” routine. To which I typically answer, “If you pick my brain, it will never heal.”
In a number of other business and personal situations, I formulate pieces of advice that are either never requested or never volunteered.
7 Pieces of Advice - Only Some of Which I Passed Along
Thinking back over recent weeks, there was some decent pieces advice (both for others and for me) that I both passed along and kept to myself without saying anything. Here are seven that come to mind:
- Your health is more important than a job. If your job is making you sick, you have to get out as soon as you can.
- Don't send an email when you're dumping a load of crap in someone's lap that they did nothing to deserve it. Pick up the phone and be an adult about it. And maybe figure out several possible alternatives while you're at it.
- Simple, great ideas might only be great ideas in a vacuum. Once you introduce them into an organization's culture, that same simple, great idea can create lots of complexity and hassles.
- Print the whole report out, single-sided. Then start throwing out pages and rearranging it until it looks like the report you need.
- When you read an email that makes you mad or confused initially, close it. Come back to it fifteen minutes later, read it slowly and thoroughly, and see if you have the same sentiments about it.
- In many situations, it doesn’t matter who does it, but SOMEBODY has to be in charge.
- Today has hardly any impact relative to eternity. Get over it. Things will be fine no matter what it feels like right this minute.
If any of these apply to you, feel free to borrow them - for free. - Mike Brown
