Probably the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else
Homework 6: 1-3
Due Monday , June 5
“Listening”
1: Listening to Others:
Seeking First to Understand
First, read the Covey selections from
Monday's required readings. Next, try to "seek first to understand"
in a situation that comes up this weekend where you normally would try to be
understood -- e.g., you and your significant other have a
"disagreement," one of your parents doesn't "get it," a friend is irritated at you. (If you're
really ambitious, you might try to "seek first to understand" someone
whose political / religious views you find repugnant.)
Then briefly describe to me -- a paragraph
is fine -- what happened.
2: Listening to Yourself: the ABCD
exercise
Pick some “adverse” (A)
event, happening, “stimulus,”; then think of 2-4 “beliefs” (B) ways of “framing” what
happened, then state the consequence (C) your thoughts, behaviors,
actions. The point?
You can “dispute” (D) your “beliefs” (B) thereby exercising your choices and
responsibilities over the games that otherwise play
you! I.e., you WANT to do this exercise
on a regular basis!
Note: The ABCD exercises come from Martin Seligman, Learned Optimism, who was the recent President of the American
Psychological Association (click for example and
format).
3. Listening
to Each Other: Bitching in Public with Your Heart in the
Here’s the letter “we” wrote to President Ray about the hot, stuffy
classrooms that populate OSU along with his response two hours later! Dr. Ray
then passed the word down to OSU’s VP of Finance and
Admin. Here is Mark’s response and his request:
“The Provost and I are just beginning a long term effort to correct the
exact issue you raise.
I hope you had a good weekend and look forward to getting your list.”
Mark (Mc Cambridge)
Your Assignment: on separate piece of paper:
l Please list the worst offenders – the building and room(s)
l Include any suggestions for the short-run
Past Homeworks
Homework 1
Due Monday, April
10
"Beyond Blame
Games"
1: Briefly
describe to me a “mess” YOU are familiar with.
Then briefly teach me a stupid way to manage it, followed by a not-so-stupid way
to manage it.
2: Briefly
describe to me a “wicked problem” YOU are familiar with. Then briefly teach me
a stupid way to manage it, followed by a not-so-stupid way
to manage it.
Homework 2
Due Monday, April
24
In “The New Productivity Challenge,” Peter Drucker says: ”In knowledge and service work…the first questions in
increasing productivity – and working smarter – have to be, ‘What is the task?
What are we trying to accomplish? Why do it at all?’” And “The easiest, but perhaps also the
greatest, productivity gains in such work will come from defining the task and
especially from eliminating what does not need to be done.”
Given how good and how wise Drucker was – he died last
November at the age of 95 – it’s worth our time to better understand what he’s
advising us to do.
So, briefly explain a situation YOU are familiar with
where “defining the task” and “especially…eliminating what does not need to be
done” did or
could dramatically increase productivity.
Next Monday, groups will pick their best examples.
I’ll then collect them and put them on the BA350 website for all of us.
Homework 3
Due Monday, May 1
You are designing a college dormitory or the office spaces of a
company where you are going to work.
Take your pick.
First, briefly describe its key characteristics or features if it
were designed primarily to be efficient.
Second, briefly describe its key characteristics or features if it
were designed by Heerwagen (see “Unraveling the
Mysteries of Productivity”) who believes that offices spaces, etc. should take
into account human dimensions such as the psychological, emotional, social,
physical, and the cognitive.
Homework 4
Due Monday, May 8
Learning to Think in
Circles
Pick one of the
three "systems archetypes" (self-fulfilling prophecies, escalation,
fixes that fail) from Monday’s readings.
Briefly
describe to me a situation you are familiar with which illustrates the
archetype’s dynamics.
Then teach me a
stupid way to manage the situation followed by a not-so-stupid way to manage
the situation.
Homework 5
Due Wednesday,
May 31
“Working and
Living Smarter”
Briefly tell me a story about intrinsic motivation
(excellence, living from the inside out) that really resonates with you.