Author: Peter North
Ask Forgiveness, Not Permission
“Ask forgiveness, not permission.” Have you heard this around your workplace? It’s basically a pithy way of saying “I’d rather you go too far than do too little.” Instead of getting bogged down in the bureaucracy, they’re telling you to move forward with your work – even if you haveRead More
Paying Your Dues As An Entry-Level Employee
“Entry-level” work often consists of the mundane, tedious tasks that managers and veterans just won’t do anymore. The term itself makes it quite clear that entry-level positions are at the bottom of the office rankings. Being the “new guy” or the “rookie” at work can seem like a raw deal,Read More
To Thrive or Survive – Working Under Pressure
Have you ever heard someone say that they “work best under pressure”? It sounds like such a positive thing to say about your work habits. But, what if instead of “working best under pressure” they mean that they work only when under pressure, or that they even require pressure toRead More
Dealing With “The Impossible” At Work
The novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is a “satirical critique of bureaucratic operation and reasoning.” The book is famous, unique and hilarious, but the term “Catch-22″ itself has become more popular than the book it came from. The phrase may seem old and obscure, but it’s still part of theRead More
Why Being A “Jack Of All Trades” Works
In the workplace of yesterday, most jobs existed as a fixed set of clear-cut, unchanging duties. Rarely did the nature of the work vary, and in many cases a worker’s ability to repeat the same exact process and produce identical results was commended. Just ask an assembly-line worker or aRead More