
The late comedian George Carlin once said: ‘My sh*t is stuff. Your stuff is sh*t.’
Ain’t that the truth?
In their book, ‘The Friction Project’, authors Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao explain how our ‘stuff’ – whether that’s meetings, emails, presentations or Justin Bieber memorabilia – feels important and vital.
But other people’s stuff? A pain in the backside.
Our 500-word email? Critical detail.
The 500-word email we see pop up in our inbox? ARGGGHHHHHH!
Sutton and Rao write how these ‘self-serving biases’ allow us to:
‘justify – indeed glorify – creating that new procedure, form or rule that makes your job easier (and everyone else’s harder) […] or calling a meeting on that pet project (even though no one else cares about it).’
So, ask yourself next time you’re communicating:
Is this really important stuff?
Or is it just my sh*t?
(Yes, I’m feeling feisty today.)
Comments