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Friday 5 September 2014

Terrific!

I am trying an experiment at work.  The climate is, it is fair to say, fairly down at the moment.  I speak to someone every day who is either considering or actively looking for jobs outside Starfleet.  I don't think that they have necessarily fully thought it through, but it is enough that they are considering it and so provide a sense of their state of mind.

This means that, if two or more people are gathered together, once they have worked through the Parrot Sketch*, they then move on to talking about all the bad things about Starfleet.

So, it is against this backdrop that, on my return from Tuscany, I decided to try an experiment.  It is an NLP-type thing, and something that was discussed on my favourite learning cassette**, and it is very simple. 

Whenever anyone asks how I am, I answer "terrific".  This has, to date, had two interesting effects:
  1. There is a pause when the person asking thinks "this guy is slightly unhinged"
  2. From that point on, they then themselves tend to be more upbeat, to the point that the parrot lives, and Starfleet does not get a kicking.


It is early days, but an Indian colleague was rather taken by the idea, and I suspect he is now similarly baffling colleagues.

The Maggots are both back to school today, and it is a bit of a shock.  Looking back, we have had a fantastic Summer, which is nice to have experienced, but makes getting used to real life all the more difficult.


Anyhow, tide and time waits for no man, so onwards and upwards.  This weekend we are out Saturday night, for a couple of hours, with A&E at a mutual friend's house, then back to ours to end the evening. 

In the daytime, I will be doing DIY, finishing off the outside painting.

Have a great weekend, and speak next week.

===============
* an old joke, that ages me, and that is most likely not really true any more
** and the word "cassette" immediately ages this learning device

1 comment:

a bad man said...

Hmmm! Interesting but I am guessing that your approach may only "paper over the cracks". You get a slightly more upbeat conversation but your colleague's issues are not removed.

Mind you there is a massive difference between those who say they are looking for another job and those who actually do. Take it from one who has left … it is the quiet ones you want to watch out for.

Cheers
bm