Motivated Innovation

Over the past 20-30 years, companies and other work functional groups have taken note of organizational culture.  Mission statements, visions, and values have been formalized and emphasized in new employee training and restructuring efforts.  Meanwhile, human resource departments have emerged as critical to company compliance and environmental stability.  At the same time, interpersonal communication--at varying levels of organizations--continue to shape employee attitudes and behaviors.  As companies aggressively or passively develop organizational culture, they risk the emergence of counterculture. Counterculture arises as two or more people find disagreements with company objectives, company operations, supervisory/co-worker attitudes, and other primarily internal concerns.  Specific issues include company rules, disciplinary actions, quotas, and communication (or lack thereof).  In some cases, managers and peers notice resistance developing and seek to squash it.  At other times,

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  With the American celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday comes the American retail industry's biggest day of the year: Black Friday.  In preparations for the big day, retailers have immersed consumers with multimedia communications, using online, print, and television advertisements to lure consumers to their stores. While it is clear the concept of "sales" is present on Black Friday, oftentimes "sales" is overlooked outside of traditional business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) transactions.  If a product or service is not being sold, it is regularly believed that "sales" is neither present nor needed.  However, the opposite is true: "sales" is everywhere. Workers apply for jobs.  Managers give instructions to subordinates.  Students write papers.  Journalists write articles.  Actors, musicians, and athletes perform.  There are an innumerable amount of other examples.  Regardless of the

Through school, work experience, and social life, communications skills are emphasized, taught, and learned.  We talk; we listen; we write; we gesture.  Whether spoken or not, communication is made.  Simply put, communication is everywhere.   While we communicate on a daily basis, much is said about professionalism.  With that in mind, what is 'professional communication'?  Oftentimes, professional communication is said to be conveyed by speaking in standard, non-slang, non-obscene language (verbal/written) and "dressing for success" (nonverbal).  Allegedly, by following these principles, we are professionally communicating.   Likewise, what is 'effective communication'?  Oftentimes, effective communication is said to be providing accurate words to express a message.  If people say what they mean to say, then it must be effective. To some degree, these statements about professional communication and effective communication are true.  Professional co

*Originally published on Helium.com in 2011 (c) 2011 Richard A. Fajardo Taught at an early age to fit inside the box Shown that life is linear and systematic Get up, work hard, get paid, go home Everything is so automatic Quickly, this turns out to be a dangerous path The emptiness and boredom are problematic It's amazing, all the coping mechanisms I see People fighting pain with the troubles of an addict Be a robot or a puppet, don't take the lead? Do all the dirty work, how tragic Daily survival and building towards the future Now seem impossible, where’s the wizard's magic? Follow the leader, follow, follow Isn't it so simple and pragmatic? Follow this path of least resistance The status quo is not enigmatic Gloom, gloom, gloom, gloom The sadness is emphatic Doom, doom, doom, doom The mediocrity is emblematic What seems so sure is so blurry The sound of boredom is static Gloomy skies bring forth worry The prison cell is psychosomatic

Everyday, we face challenges.  Adversity is everywhere.  There are many reasons to question and to doubt.  Yet, the road to success does not always have to be complicated.  Why believe you can't when you can?  Why believe you cannot when you can?  "Can't" is a contraction; contractions are complex.  "Cannot" is a six-letter word with two syllables; "can" is a three-letter word with one syllable.  Keep it simple; save your breath.  Believe in yourself; think 'I can'.