Effort that is neither fish nor fowl

The idiom "neither fish nor fowl" refers to something that is no one recognizable thing. Are some of your efforts neither fish nor fowl? Could outsiders review your activities and easily recognize your objectives? Or would they be left scratching their heads or worse yet shaking them in confusion?

The idiom often comes to mind when we encounter a project that seems stalled in research, never quite making it to bonified product development. Mid-stage programs usually have a higher risk of becoming neither fish nor fowl through drift, lack of a cohesive, "earnest" effort, or loss of perspective. Prompting one to ask, "Just what are you hoping to accomplish from this?"

It can happen when new questions develop based on the ongoing line of investigation, new information or opportunities suggest greener grass, or the tasks needed to advance the program to the next step mount. There is a fear of committing (or lack of urge to commit) too firmly to one path. After all, what if you're wrong?!

Of course the problem is not unique to R&D and can develop just a well in business development and general management. What do you (the company) really want to be when you grow up? Could we tell based on a review of your deals and activities? How well do the deals and activities connect with your ultimate objective? Is there a fear to commit fully to a single strategy?

The lack of a firm commitment to clear, strategic objectives leaves the door open for inefficiencies and worse yet, disarray. It is OK to change paths when you discover a good reason to, but not committing in earnest to a path, well, leads to be becoming neither fish nor fowl; neither a failure nor a success. Eeuw!

TIP: Don't let fear of committing to a specific path or objective turn your efforts or company into the unrecognizable!  It is OK to change paths, but not committing to one leads to nowhere.  Get the PDF of this issue»

The zen of being an employed professional

With today's economy, keeping your current job is a vital necessity for most, and unfortunately a source of anxiety for too many. Because of the situation, even more, we have to be careful that the focus on being or remaining employed doesn't squelch talent, motivation and potential, because every company needs the best effort it can get to do more with less.

There was a saying I used to use, "We're not here to be employed!" It meant the responsibility of a knowledge worker went beyond pushing paper or punching a time card.

It was both a rallying cry as well as a reminder to the professional staff that, as professional knowledge workers, we appreciated that there were also careers at stake. Performance was personal as well as for the company.

Top-tier professionals don't slog through the advanced training merely to "be employed." They want to do something great with their skills and intellect; have something to show for it. Take that zen away and you will gain much less than you could or need to from that individual! Don't think that just because you're less likely to lose a person in this economy that you can't lose them in other ways. Watch it in yourself as well!

Be sure now, more than ever, you rally your professional troops and find a way to maintain job satisfaction by respecting career ambitions/motivations, yours included. When corporate objectives and career ambitions meet, they can make for a personally satisfying and productive environment no matter how challenging the situation. Ohmmm.

TIP: Even in an employer's market, don't treat your professional staff as head count. Be sure to maintain motivation by showing them you respect their career  within the framework of your corporate objectives to maintain personal satisfaction and productivity. Get the PDF of this issue»