If work sucks ...

There is a new book called: Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It. Main message: shift your attention from hours to results. Interesting thought which - at least partly - seems to fit with the solution-focused approach (see here). Here is a description of the book (from amazon.com):

"Do you hate cramming all of your errands into the weekend? Do you resent having to beg permission to watch your kid’s weekday soccer game? Are you tired of seeing people who aren’t very good at their jobs get promoted because they arrive early and stay late? There’s got to be a better way—and there is! Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson show that everyone benefits when we change the focus from hours to outcomes. It’s just that our traditional definition of work—Monday through Friday, nine to five—doesn’t make sense in the always-on global economy. So, Ressler and Thompson created the Results-Only Work Environment. In a ROWE, you control when, where, and how long you work. As long as you meet your objectives, the way you spend your time is entirely up to you. Suddenly, work isn’t a place you go, it’s a thing you do. In a ROWE, there are no mandatory meetings or fixed schedules. You stop doing any activity that wastes time, and no one criticizes you for “leaving early” or “coming in late.” If you do your best work at midnight or on Sundays, go for it! ROWE sounds like a fantasy, but Ressler and Thompson have already made it a reality at Best Buy, a Fortune 100 company. They have proven that ROWE not only makes employees happier but also delivers better results. And now the authors are helping companies implement ROWE nationwide. Infused with passion and common sense, Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It will change the way you think about your job, your company, and your quality of life. Read it and join the revolution!"

Also read: Visualizing progress: expect fluctuation and watch...

Self-directed neuroplasticity

The book I mentioned yesterday is about neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to the process of how the brain continuously changes as a consequence of experiences. Neuroplasticity goes so far that it is possible for the brain to relocate brain activity associated to a certain function from one area to another, for instance in the case of brain damage. Read the book if you want to know more. Neuroplasticity is not something on which we have no influence. On the contrary, we can consciously influence it. The possibilities are inspiring. Whatever we focus our attention on has its consequences in terms of how the brain changes. That is why it may be wise to make deliberate choices about what you focus your attention on. Read more about this process of so-called self-directed neuroplasticity in THIS POST by Stephanie West Allen at Idealawg.

Also read: What is DELIBERATE PRACTICE?

Recommended book: The Brain That Changes Itself

I am reading this book now: The Brain That Changes Itself. It has got a five star rating on amazon from dozens of customers and not for nothing. The books is fascinating. It provides great support for the growth mindset about which I have written so often and it deepens our understanding of it.

Also read: How the brain rewires itself during learning

Help wanted - 2003 national study on therapy innovations

A few years ago I read somewhere, I forgot where, about a National government funded US study on innovations in psychotherapy, which was done in 2003 in which Solution-Focused Brief Therapy was named the (or one of the) most important breakthroughs in psychotherapy of the last few decades. I can't find where I read that. Who knows that study? Please let me know.

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France

Tomorrow, I'll be off to France for a week or so. The photo shows where we'll be staying.

Outliers - new Malcolm Gladwell book coming up

On Stephanie West Allen's blog idealawg I just read that Malcolm Glawell's new book OUTLIERS will be coming out soon. I preordered it right away because I think Gladwell is a very interesting author. His first bestseller, The Tipping Point was fascinating. It showed how big changes in societies often happen unexpectedly and suddenly and can be caused by small events. The explanation is: if circumstances are right, ideas, behavior and products can, with the help of the right kinds of people, spread throughout a society like an epidemic. When that happens, a critical point, the tipping point, can be reached at which the behavior and features of the system itself suddenly change. I really liked the optimistic tone and message: change is possible and it can happen non-linearly, which means that small events can lead to major changes. Gladwell's second bestseller, Blink, was also a fascinating read although slightly disappointing in one respect. The topic choice was fascinating, as were the countless anecdotes and references to research. What disappointed me slightly was that I thought the book did not really deliver what it promised. To be specific I thought the book lacked an integrating chapter in which the author could have answered the following three questions explicitly: 1) Can Blink-decisions be as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately? 2) When should we trust our instincts and when should we be wary of them? 3) (how) can our snap judgments and first impressions be educated and controlled? Now comes OUTLIERS and I am very curious. The book promises to present a new view on the origins of success. Madwell says: "I want to convince you that the way we think about success is all wrong." Gladwell's answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. In the book Gladwell claims to explain the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band." This book promises to be the third highly thought-provoking book by Gladwell. Can't wait to read it!

Also read: Quote by Malcolm Gladwell

Help wanted - share what you know

About half a year ago, I made a page about solution-focused terms and their first mentions in publications. My goal on this page is to make a list of the most important terms and concepts which originated from within the solution-focused approach. In the table on that page important solution-focused terms are listed in the left column. The right column shows the first book or article in which the term was mentioned for the first time (as far as I know). This is still a work in progress. It is quite possible there are some mistakes and ommissions here. So will you help me develop this list further?

HERE IS THE PAGE.

Also read: How did they do it ? (2)

Indirect compliments

In 1994, INSOO KIM BERG introduced the concept of the indirect compliment. Complimenting indirectly means that you invite the other person through a question to describe what was good about what he or she has done and what has worked well. An example of an indirect compliment is: “Wow, how did you manage to finish that task so quickly?"). I like to call such kinds of questions AFFIRMING QUESTIONS. It is also possible to include the perspective of other people in compliments. An example may be: “What do your colleagues appreciate in how you work?” An advantage of complimenting through questions is that you activate the other person. Also, there is less chance that he or she will feel embarrassed or will turn down the compliment ("It was nothing special"). Instead you challenge the other person and make him or her reflect (“Actually, how did I do that.... let's see.....?”).

Also read: Learning to compliment effectively

The observation task

In solution-focused coaching what has worked well before is used to generate ideas about steps forward in the direction of the desired situation. Coaches ask their clients questions like: ‘When have you been able to solve such a problem before?' or: ‘When were things a bit better? Through questions like these the coach helps the client to remember situations in which he or she has behaved effectively. In most coaching conversations clients succeed in finding examples of these kinds of earlier successes or 'exceptions to the problem'. But every now and then they don't. Sometimes clients say things like: "I just don't know when things were better", or: "Things have never been better". What can you do as a coach when something like that happens? You can apply the solution-focused technique of the observation task (De Shazer, 1988; nowadays often referred to as the 'observation suggestion'). Here is an example of how the observation task can be formulated:

"Could you, between now and our next conversation, pay attention to situations in which things are a bit better? When you notice that things are better, could pay close attention to what is different in that situation and to what you do different yourself? If you try to remember what is different when things are better we can talk about it next time we meet".

The observation task often has a surprisingly strong effect. The question makes them notice more consciously what goes right in their lives. Usually, this helps them become more optimistic and gain more confidence.

Also read: The usefulness question

SOL conference Germany

It's nice to notice how popular the solution-focused approach is now becoming. Here is a link to the international SOL conference in Köln, Germany dedicated to the application of solution-focused techniques in organizations.

Also read: Moving FORWARD with solution-focused change

The ability to function

I'm not sure I really care whether the people are happier or not. It's their ability to function that really matters.

~ Angus Deaton, Source

Also read: How happy is happy enough?