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Lily Tomlin on stress

"Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it. "

Forbes.com just published ten ways for CEO's to cut back on stress. See if you can detect the obvious problem with this list:

  1. Find An Outlet - A hobby, like fishing
  2. Get A Massage - And light a candle
  3. Get Your Zs - Sleep helps
  4. Have A Sense Of Humor - Lighten up, dude
  5. Lead A Healthy Lifestyle - Exercise and eat well
  6. Have An Understanding Spouse Or Partner - Manage the situation
  7. Learn How To Delegate - Let it go
  8. Make Money - Money calms many worries
  9. Meditate - It's not just for Buddhist monks
  10. Schedule Vacations - And then take them

Do you see the problem?  Exactly!  It doesn't deal with what's causing the stress. Here's my list (and Forbes? Perhaps you folks should switch from business to alternative medicine.):

  1. Be passionate - About how your work improves people's lives
  2. Be clear - About precisely how you provide that value
  3. Stay focused - On what customers truly care about
  4. Communicate unceasingly - Your passion, vision and strategy
  5. Stay tuned in - To the rapid and endless changes in today's marketplace
  6. Be kind - If you want your people to be kind
  7. Stop lying - To your people, shareholders, customers and, especially, yourself
  8. Trust others - Which is not the same as telling them what to do (see #7 above)
  9. Give back - To customers, employees, the needy, and the environment
  10. Take risks - Brand is a verb, not a noun

Posted March 29, 2006
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Comments

Nice work, Tom! The root cause is the one to go after to address stress.

Posted by: Steve Sherlock | March 29, 2006 at 07:34 PM

Wise post. Thank you adding your insight. Always worth visiting acleareye!

Posted by: Michael Wagner | March 29, 2006 at 11:10 PM

Hi Tom

Ironically enough I posted this yesterday onm my Simplicity Blog.

Do you know where your wells are?

Last Sunday at church we heard some interesting thoughts from our Minister about the need for taking time to rest and let the world ‘stop a while.’ Helen talked metaphorically about how, on a long journey, we need the sustenance of water to carry on.


She said "We all need to know where our wells are."

I liked that metaphor and it made me think about work, management and leadership.

Do you know where your wells are? OR .....

Are you one of those all too typical A-Plus managers who;

*Works endless hours?
*Sacrifices your home life for work?
*Doesn’t have time to rest?
*Doesn’t know when you are tired?
*Believes you will have plenty of time to relax once you are well off?

Maybe it’s time to identify your wells to make sure you don’t metaphorically 'die' of thirst on your journey to the top.

Posted by: Trevor Gay | March 30, 2006 at 02:19 AM

Thanks Steve and thank you Michael. Trevor, you are indeed a very wise man. Floyd Dell said, "Idleness is not doing nothing. Idleness is being free to do anything."

Posted by: Tom Asacker | March 30, 2006 at 11:10 AM

I think you are spot-on.
The most important thing in work is passion - as long as you are passionate your are willing to go the extra-mile.

Should it be passion for your company, work, customer - IMHO what matters is passion...

Posted by: Jacques Duquesne | March 30, 2006 at 08:06 PM

Tom,

Thanks for a great top ten list of stress handlers. Wouldn't it be great if all of us practiced these ideals. Not only would we be much happier doing our work, but those people who have to work with or for us, would benefit as well.

Posted by: Glenn Davies | April 03, 2006 at 04:32 PM

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