Author: alearningaday

Always Be Constructive.

Attitude => Reputation => Success

Always Be Constructive.

(Repeat as many times as necessary)

You often realize that age old wisdom like ‘Get a yearly physical check up done’ are age old and wisdom for a reason.

I’ve been having hell with United airlines trying to get my refund from them. The most amazing thing is they are two months late, apparently forgot about a pot of my money sitting with them, forgot to tell me there is a cancellation fee and of course, neglected to tell me I wouldn’t get my money back. I finally got this chased through and done yesterday evening and got a travel voucher for the remaining amount that can only be used with United. Oh, they forgot to tell me it expires in 1 year as well, until I asked.

As for credit cards, I have one credit card which is a fair bit of added complexity. I haven’t had any trouble though but found them charging me a fee for a misunderstanding. That’s cleared then.

Image by Andres Rueda

These incidents don’t change my belief system. I like believing people are not out to screw you. And I do think that’s true. But, it’s worth remembering that massive corporations are bound by so many rules and policy books that screwing you may just be the easiest option.

I hope you are tracking your refunds and checking your bills. (Yes, I know that’s my third travel related rant in two weeks. It must be the weather.. ;-))

Where were you last week? We missed your presence.

We all spoke about you at the event. It’s a pity you didn’t make it.

So many people had wonderful things to say about you in your absence.

I had an awesome time today. Thank you for being great.

If you perform at this level, you can achieve great things.

You have a wonderful sense of humour.

We couldn’t have done it without you.

You mean the world to me.

I am very proud of you.

You are a great listener.

I love working with you.

You are awesome!

I love you

Each has the power to save a bad day, a week, a year or maybe even a  life.

Maybe this will be the week we begin saving lives then?

This week’s book learning is from ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ by Daniel Kahneman.

Two groups of real estate agents were asked to value a house based on a booklet with a detailed description of the property. Half of them received a booklet which mentioned a substantially high asking price while the other half with a substantially lower asking price.

The anchoring effect observed (or roughly the difference in valuations) was a whopping 41%! And when asked as to the factors that influenced their decisions, the real estate agents vehemently denied the effect of the price on the booklet. In fact, they took pride in their ability to ignore it.

The same experiment conducted with MBA students showed a 48% anchoring index. The MBA students, however, conceded that the price on the booklet influenced their price. So, the professionals were almost as susceptible to anchoring effects as lay men!

How much would this home cost? $200,000? :)
Image by Pauline Eccles

These results show that the initial anchor has a powerful sub conscious effect on negotiations! So, what do you do when you receive an outrageous offer? Psychologists advise that the best thing to do is to make a scene and storm out, and only return if you can start all over again (i.e. with a new anchor)!

If walking out is not an option, then focus on reaching the minimum offer that could be accepted or the cost of failing to reach an agreement to the other party.

Here’s to ensuring we avoid anchoring effects in negotiations this week!

I walked past a homeless person on the street yesterday. It wasn’t a very cold evening but I am sure the evenings will get colder as winter sets in.

I stand here in my apartment typing this on my standing desk. I am blessed with food, a nice roof over my head, a computer to type this post on, and more. And I ask myself the a simple question – ‘What have I done to deserve this?’

I can argue that a lot of what I have gotten is thanks to hard work. It’s not a bad argument but it would completely ignore the fact that I started from a different point. I was fortunate to be born in a middle class family that gave me access to certain kinds of opportunities. I doubt he had that fortune. It was the luck of the draw.

Even if, thanks to a quirk of human nature, we spend most of our lives looking at people who have gotten luckier/more than us, we often tend to forget we have a lot more than we are thankful for. More resources. More power.

And with this power comes a responsibility to do more, to make this world a better place. And that’s why I welcome this thought. When I question what I have done to deserve what I have, the real answer is that you and I I got really lucky. Sure, we worked hard. But we did get lucky and without that luck, this hard work could have amounted for nothing.

It’s good to be reminded. It’s good to be thankful.

Now, we just have to make it count.

Life is all about the little hacks. A hack here,, another there, and voila! You have just solved many a problem. For example,

Smaller plates = Lesser eating = Less weight

Routine = Less decision fatigue = Higher productivity

Food at regular intervals = Higher will power

Cycle or walk 30 minutes every day and never take elevators = Better health

The common thing about most of these hacks is that they are all painful in the short term. Perhaps, we ought to define the governing principle for hacks –

Short term GROAN = Long term HELL YEAH!

In this vein, a hack that I am beginning to appreciate a lot more is paying with cash. Yes, I know this is very old school and that cashless is “in”.

Cashless transactions are painless and therein lies the problem. Take out a 100 dollar bill to pay for that additional shoe and you really “feel” the pain. You question if it is really necessary. Besides, you will have to go withdraw more cash if you plan to continue shopping (more pain!). And pain in the short term is awesome.

Image by Cliff Weathers

So, I’ve been paying in cash a lot more these days. And, as far as managing my expenses goes, it definitely is a HELL YEAH!

There’s a school of thought that believes you only get what you negotiate. And there are many websites out there with tips and tricks for negotiating your pay raise, your transfer etc.

I do not disagree entirely with the principle. But, I think there’s a little more to it. I think it’s good to negotiate and ask for things. Least of all, you walk away with a lesson on how to do it or how not to do it. That said, I’m not a fan of playing hard ball to negotiate a raise, a transfer or a benefit.

If it doesn’t come to you after asking for it a couple of times, it’s not worth pushing for it. And if it comes at the cost of losing/scarring a relationship, it is definitely not worth it. Most things tend to come back a full circle. And if you don’t want to be at the receiving end of your own behaviour, don’t do it.

The best way to ensure you get the best is to give your best. So, don’t negotiate too hard. Be so good that they can’t ignore you. And make your intentions and your requests clear to those around you.

Unless you work for really bad employers, it’s unlikely you will be ignored. And if that is the case, it’s time to start looking for a different job anyway..

I was headed to the airport yesterday morning. The trains to the airport leave every 15 minutes. I managed to pay for my ticket with a minute to go and moved forward to get into the train.

I looked at the employee on the platform and she beckoned to the train on the opposite side. I was just about the enter when I heard the “Doors Closing” sound. I had ample time to walk right in. All of a sudden, the ticket person inside the train said “Wait!”. So, I waited a couple of seconds assuming they were testing something.

The doors closed . And in a patronising tone, the lady on the platform said – “You are late. The doors are closed and they don’t open once they are closed. Please catch the next train in 15 minutes.”

I was aghast. I had ample time to walk right in. I trusted the ticket person on the other side and was let down. Instead of hearing an apology and perhaps feeling a bit of empathy, I was admonished for having been stupid enough to trust that the person inside had my best interests at heart, and for having been 10 seconds later than I should have.

The incident sparked a fair bit of thinking.

I wondered what the service gained by those extra 10 seconds. Perhaps they would argue that adding 10 seconds would set a precedent and that 10 seconds would become 20 seconds and then gradually a delayed train. Fair enough. I can see the efficiency argument.

But, that’s about the only justification that I saw. And I thought it was weak (sure, you could accuse me of bias). I was left with multiple questions instead.

At what cost do you pursue efficiency? What if I had missed my flight? What would I have taken away? What if I was an influential person who might have hurt their reputation in some way?

But perhaps what hurt me most was that I am a big fan of the Heathrow Express service. I am on it at least 2-3 times a month on average. It is the best way to get to the airport. I have always counted myself as a cheerleader of the service. But instead, I felt like a nameless, faceless person they couldn’t give a damn about.

Image by Nick Macneill

Logic might dictate that they shouldn’t care. The value of the service is speedy trains to the airport. I am not going to stop using it because someone treated me bad. In fact, it will only prompt a small change in my behaviour – next time I will know not to count on their employees. Maybe they don’t lose anything after all and maybe they are justified worshipping efficiency and treating their customers as non-human entities..

Maybe. My gut says they are wrong. I walked away with more questions than answers. And more importantly, I walked away with the feeling that the spark in the relationship was lost. How can that be good for a business?