Does your office have a water cooler? Is it toxic?
Now, don’t go calling Erin Brockovich. I am not talking about the water itself. I am talking about the conversations, gossip and general aura of the area around the water cooler…or coffee pot…our cubicle are…or lunch room in your work spaces.
It seems almost certain that if you’re looking for some positive news about real estate, the economy or life in general, that looking to “the news” for “positive news” isn’t the right place.
“For most folks, no news is good news; for the press, good news is not news.”
Gloria Borger
Gloria Borger
The next time you need that cool drink of water maybe hang out the “I’ll be right back” sign on the office door and drive (or walk if the weather allows) to the nearest convenience store and purchase a bottle of water. That way, you’ll be able to control what you hear…or choose to listen to. Maybe it’s your iPod with some oldies, maybe it’s Margaritaville Radio or The Grateful Dead channel on Sirius Satellite Radio or perhaps you prefer silence. Either way, you control what you hear.
“If you can’t change the people, you must change the people”
Take control of your environment and only choose to listen to the input that will allow you to deliver the levels of service and reach the levels of success your business deserves. As the following parable shows, your mind will believe whatever you choose to tell it.
A native American boy was talking with his grandfather. “What do you think about the world situation?” he asked. The grandfather replied, “I feel like wolves are fighting in my heart. One is full of anger and hatred; the other is full of love, forgiveness, and peace.”
“Which one will win?” asked the boy, to which the grandfather replied, “The one I feed.”
How do you control the conversations around your “water cooler”?
2 thoughts on “Stay Away From the Water Cooler”
Patrick Guanciale ·
Good post! You have to protect your positive thinking from the people who do not know how to start postive thinking.
Sean M. Carpenter ·
Patrick – You are so right. You are a great example of someone who always finds a way to make things seem better than they may be. In this career, or any for that matter, if you want to find the bad you can and if you want to find the good you can. It just depends on how hard you want to look.