The Busyness Paradox

Live from the Southern Management Association conference in St. Pete Beach, FL, Frank and Paul interview Cornel University's Dr. Mike Lynn, arguably the world's foremost researcher on service tipping. We discuss the pros and cons of tipping as a form of compensation, demographic differences in tipping rates and, of course, the sudden proliferation of tipping into seemingly every facet of our lives. If you're tired of tipping at self-service cash registers, you'll enjoy this one. And if you're a management researcher, listen up! Stunningly, with the exception of Dr. Lynn, this dramatic shift in service work compensation has flown almost completely under our radar so far. Let's get cracking folks. Links to People and Publications Mentioned in This Episode:- Dr. Michael Lynn - Michael D. Johnson and Family Professor of Services Marketing, Cornell University- The moral imperative of tipping- A Traveler’s Guide to Tipping in a Changed World- Danny Meyer’s Restaurants Will End Their No-Tipping Policy- Service sweethearting: An effective way to increase tips?- Giving vs. Giving InCome visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!

Fans of American College Football were recently treated to a baffling display of heroic determination. Needing only to touch a kneecap to a blade of grass to secure a hard fought victory, the University of Miami's gridiron team bravely stole defeat from the jaws of victory. How? With unnecessary busywork, of course.  Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!

Larry Thornton and Dave Ketchen join us to discuss their award-winning graphic novel, "You Have to Live, Why Not Win?" and Larry's journey from racial segregation to success as an entrepreneur, author, teacher and artist. This is our most inspirational interview yet and will make you question your perceptions of yourself and others. In a good way. We promise. If you listen to one episode of the Busyness Paradox, make sure it's this one.As Frank summarized in his review of the book (in press, Academy of Management Learning & Education):Ultimately, indeed, you have to live, and with generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, becoming more prevalent in the work- place, the characteristics of communication skills, relationship skills, disposition, deportment, and demeanor introduced in this book are certain to help students differentiate themselves through their ability to relate to others, thus giving them a greater opportunity to win.Links to People, Places, and Books Mentioned in this Episode:- You Have to Live…Why Not Win? A Graphic Novel- Why Not Win? Reflections on a fifty-year journey from the segregated South to America's boardrooms - and what it can teach us all- Why Not Win Institute- Larry Thornton- Dave KetchenCome visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!

We humans have a love/hate relationship with change. Many of us are probably alive today because some cave-dwelling ancestor said “on second thought, let’s not try that new shortcut through viper country cousin Erg suggested before he mysteriously disappeared.” Yet we also fear the consequences of NOT changing with the times: obsolescence, boredom and generally getting left behind as the world moves on. And so we cling to the familiar, instinctively pushing back against the mere suggestion that there are new and better ways to do our jobs or live our lives. All while harboring a dread fear of what would almost certainly happen if we don’t embrace the very changes we are afraid of. Join us as we ponder this paradox of paralysis, where the only thing we fear more than change is the consequences of not changing.  Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!

Have you ever gotten a pay raise and then, looking back, sort of wished you hadn't? It's become a surprisingly common phenomenon as employees have found hidden strings attached to the Covid-era generosity shown by employers. To discuss this unusual predicament, we sought out someone with a usual perspective on the workplace: meet Dr. Caleb Sanchez, a former police officer turned business psychologist. Join us as Dr. Sanchez, founder of Executive Equilibrium, shares his advice for adjusting to the shifting realities of the post-Covid workplace.Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!

With all the fanfare about artificial intelligence these past few months, listeners have asked us: "Will ChatGPT put an end to busywork?" Like all self-appointed experts, we took the question straight to ChatGPT. It tells us that "ChatGPT is designed to provide automated assistance and support...helping employees perform tasks more efficiently and effectively, reducing the amount of busywork they need to do." We’re…cautiously optimistic. Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!

It’s that time of year when endless news reports about March Madness-related “time theft” bubble up to the surface (get it? like teams on the bubble? anyone?) They all bemoan the incalculable dollar amount, which dozens of studies nonetheless claim to calculate, lost to employees watching basketball instead of working. Our take: if your employees are doing what you pay them to do and you’re furious that they didn’t do more because they were watching basketball, you’re the time thief.Mentioned in this episode:Who’s The Real Time Thief?March Madness Underscores Cost of Workplace Time Theft Stealing time at work: Attitudes, social pressure, and perceived control as predictors of time theft. Journal of Business Ethics, 94, 53-67.Employee time theft: Conceptualization, measure development, and validation. Personnel Psychology, 75, 347-382.Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!

Join us as we pat ourselves on the back for reaching the fabled 52-episode milestone. Because 52 is way more exciting than 50. Not because we had already passed 50 episodes without realizing it. Why would you even think that? Anyways, publishing 52 episodes has taught us that podcasting shares a (wait for it…) paradox with many seemingly simple jobs: the more skill and effort you put into it, the less skill and effort the average consumer thinks it requires. This is a frustration well-known to car mechanics, tailors, and football kickers whose reward for making hard jobs look easy is to be told "anyone can do that!" by observers who endeavor to make easy jobs look hard.  And so we dedicate this 52nd episode spectacular to them and to all of you who appreciate the value of legitimately “hard" work, even if your customers do not.Links to resources mentioned in this episode:07:20 Alabama football recruiting: Nick Saban turns down huge NIL request14:43 Electric Vehicles Battery Problem16:16 Leno: Appreciation for hard work is fading, and old cars aren’t easy29:50 Are You Entertained—Or Addicted?41:25 Episode #7: BS Jobs56:50 Bone Valley podcastCome visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!

We all know the story. After worshipping at the altar of "lean" for decades, we spent two years wondering where all the toilet paper and pickup trucks went. Covid reminded us that too much efficiency could be colossally inefficient, slack was back, hooray. Then you tried to board that Southwest flight a couple months ago and you realized the germ-like aversion to slack had taken root far beyond the manufacturing sector. In this episode, we discuss how keeping "slack in the system" in all aspects of our lives helps us stay happy, productive, and safe from the horrifying dystopia foretold by Garfield In Paradise. (chrome, chrome, chrome…bop bop a re-bop)Mentioned in this episode:1:40 - Episode #50: Unions, Strikes, and Your Rights with Dan Gilmore3:20 - FTC Holds Public Forum on Proposed Rule Banning Use of Non-Compete Agreements10:20 - The Employment Situation - December 202210:50 - Episode #48: Let’s Get Down(sized)!11:05 - The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy14:20 - Billionaire Charlie Munger says to stop complaining everyone is five times better off than they used to be15:00 - The 15-Hour Workweek15:40 - Episode #41: Time For Niksen (not that Nixon)20:15 - Why 2023 Could Finally Be the Year of the 4-Day Workweek20:15 - Episode #44: Charlotte Lockhart and the 4-Day Week25:20 - Southwest Airlines Has Fallen Apart39:00 - Garfield in Paradise Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!

If you're like us, you grew up being told that American labor unions were a fading relic of the past. After a string of successful organizing drives and a stunning 406 strikes in 2022, we're beginning to question that assumption. Reflecting on the ongoing labor strife in the American railroad industry, we decided it was time to bring in an expert to discuss the current state of organized labor in the U.S. In this episode, Dan Gilmore, Attorney at Law and Founder of Squire Strategies, joins us to not only discuss the ins and outs of modern labor unions but he also teaches us about the rights of non-unionized workers that very few Americans are aware of.  If you have a job - any job - you're going to want to listen to this episode.Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!