What is a workaround, you say? It’s a temporary fix that gets you moving again when things get stuck or broken.
In this book, Russell Bishop outlines strategies for “How to Conquer Anything That Stand in Your Way at Work.” These types of strategies are especially applicable when work situations make you feel frustrated and ineffective. In today’s work environment that is a common feeling with few solutions offered and it’s a big contributor to work stress. That is why I wanted to review “Workarounds That Work” for some fresh ideas.
Russell begins by pointing out that workarounds have varying levels of risk that are important to consider before choosing a strategy. Then, the first question to yourself should be, “What can I do to make a difference that requires no one’s permission other than my own?” Even before that you must free your mind from the blame game to get mentally prepared to focus on and create a viable solution. Russell writes,
Assume the positive. Just about all workarounds start with you and your internal attitude, intention, and determination. If you bump into something in your organization that seems like a roadblock, it may be useful to consider that what now appears to be a hindrance might have originated as something helpful (page 10).
In the beginning of the book, Russell is quick to emphasize that all workarounds begin with you and he goes on to describe three circles of your environment: control, influence, and respond. Next, he outlines the three basic elements of creating workarounds: intention, accountability, and response-ability.
In the chapter about communication, a neat distinction is made about listening vs waiting to speak vs malicious listening. The workarounds that Russell suggests are questions you can ask to move a stagnated discussion on to something useful.
Russell shares excellent strategies for workarounds in decision making, moving beyond consensus leadership, making the most of meetings (including dealing with disengaged attendees), and e-mail management that are spot on!
The last two chapters of the book were the highlight for me. In “Overcoming Criticism, Complaints, and Resistance,” Russell introduces the “minus 6″ mentality and how to turn that around. He reframed complaining by explaining three types of complainers and how to get at useful information they may provide. There were some very clever descriptions in this chapter too such as describing complainers as skilled at “one-downmanship” and that playing with gravity is what happens at the Olympics. Love it!
In the final chapter “Multitasking Our Way to Oblivion,” Russell contrasted multi-taskers with serial taskers and explained that many of us are distracted taskers and half-taskers. He pointed out that a more viable way to go is to “become a uni-tasker and supreme multi-goaler!”
I enjoyed this book and found it to be a very good professional development read with outstanding, outside-the-box, practical strategies to consider.
The book is available at Amazon.com. You can learn more at the website for the book where you can also download a free chapter — WorkaroundsThatWork.com.
Also, check out Russell’s Top Three Tips audio on e-CareerCoach.com.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of “Work Arounds That Work” by Russell Bishop. I received no other compensation for this review.
