Why make it so complicated?

Posted by Joseph Michelli, Ph.D. on January 8, 2011

0 comments | 1642 reads

I was recently engaged in a deeply philosophical conversation with my college-aged son. Since he has a strong interest in business and I make a living consulting in that setting, the conversation became increasingly complex as we discussed what it takes to be a success in both business and life. As I thought about that discussion, I realized a missed a golden opportunity to remind him of the foundational simplicity of all success. So I went back and reviewed a book that I read in college by Robert Fulghum entitled All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

If you haven’t read it in awhile, Robert’s poem of the same name is fairly good refresher. I provide it here for your consideration:

Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don’t hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic,
Hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.

Strangely enough in my upcoming book about Zappos (The Zappos Experience McGraw-Hill Fall 2011), I talk quite a bit about “napping” and “being aware of wonder.” Unfortunately, in that book I’ve failed to mention the importance of “flushing.” Alas…

So back to you…

How might you engage more wonder in your workplace, while holding hands and sticking together?

Joseph Michelli, Ph.D.

Joseph Michelli, Ph.D., an organizational consultant and the chief experience officer of The Michelli Experience, authored The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and the best-selling The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary.

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