Why we need more inefficiency

Why we need mora inefficiencyWhy we need more inefficiencyA few months ago, I attended an unusual conference.As an academic, Im used to conferences with the usual formula one panel after abedrngnisher where three speakers each have 20 minutes to showcase their latest publication while the audience members twiddle their thumbs and await their turn to offer opinions disguised as questions during the QA period.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreBut at this conference, there were no panels. No speakers. No QA periods. The conference consisted entirely of small breakout sessions where attendees were asked jarring questions like Whats the one thing you believe that other people think is weird?I do a lot of weird things, but when I got this question during the conference, one jumped to mind I still get Netflix DVDs in the mail.Yes, you read that correctly. The Varol household is the only one I know in streaming-obsessed America where DVDs still arrive in little red envelopes.Im a productivity nut, and I realize ur Netflix DVD subscription is spectacularly inefficient. From the moment I add a movie to our queue, it takes 2-3 days for it to arrive in the mail. If I wanted, I could rent the same movie on iTunes or Amazon in 2-3 minutes.But finding the movie on iTunes removes one crucial part of the movie rental process The anticipation.I love everything that precedes the arrival of a Netflix DVD in the mail The process of finding it online, adding it to my DVD queue, and eagerly waiting for its arrival. Spotting a red envelope in our mailbox brings an inexplicable smile to my face. I open the envelope like a new gift, pop the DVD into my DVD player (yes, I still have one of those), and enjoy the show.Heres the thing The more instantaneous the gratification, the less we value it.Anyone whos planned a vacation knows The anticipation can be more pleasurable than the exper ience. You get more joy out of daydreaming about the possibility of uninterrupted beach time, with your toes in the sand, the latest Dan Brown novel in your hand, and a frosty cocktail with an umbrella next to you- as opposed to experiencing the actuality of delayed flights, crushed expectations, and bouts of food poisoning. Pleasure disappoints, as Sren Kierkegaard said, but possibility never.This is partially why vinyl is making a comeback. Yes, you can simply say Alexa, play I Cant Get No Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones. Or you can walk over to your shelf, select the limited-edition vinyl, carefully remove it from its case, place it on your turntable, lower the tonearm just so, and let the player start spinning out its own crackly version of one of the best rock songs of all time.Dont get me wrong Efficiency has brought tremendous value to our lives. Im not about to give up Spotify, Amazon Prime, Lyft, or numerous other modern services that make my life easier.But when we take our obsession with productivity too far, the activities we enjoy lose their meaning. We end up optimizing and automating away the joyful and pleasurable moments of our lives.Its no wonder that we cant get no satisfaction.There are numerous people- most notably, Elon Musk- whore preaching the dangers of artificial intelligence. Their fears may be well-founded, but we forget the other side of the coin The danger of computers becoming like humans is not as great as the danger of humans becoming like computers, asKonrad Zuse, who built the worlds first programmable computer, purportedly said. The world may be driven by efficient microchips, but we dont have to behave like one.The remedy doesnt have to be dramatic. Dosomethings the slower, inefficient way. Get your DVDs in the mail (or better yet, go in person to a video store, if one still exists around you). Send a postcard instead of an email. Skip the Postmates order and go to a farmers market to pick the ingredients for your dinne r. Buy a book at a bookstore instead of downloading it on your Kindle. Take the longer path home the next time you walk your dog.In a world obsessed with moving faster and faster, inefficiency might be the most subversive- and fun- thing you could do.This article first appeared on OzanVarol.com.Ozan Varol is a rocket scientist turned law professor and bestselling author.Click hereto download a free copy of his e-book, The Contrarian Handbook 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, youll get the Weekly Contrarian - a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).

Army MOS 68D Operating Room Specialist

Army MOS 68D Operating Room SpecialistArmy MOS 68D Operating Room SpecialistIn the Army, an operating room specialist helps nursing staff prepare patients and the operating room for surgery. They also assist medical staffduring surgical procedures. These soldiers arent required to have medical school or nursing school training before applying to this job, but should be able to handle all aspects of working in a surgical environment. Its not for the faint of heart, but can be a rewarding job, where youre involved in life-and-death situations. The Army categorizes this job as military occupational specialty (MOS) 68D. Duties of Army Operating Room Specialists These soldiers are responsible for preparing and maintaining sterile medical supplies and special equipment for Army medical treatment facilities. In addition to prepping patients and operating rooms, which includes keeping equipment sterile and storing medical supplies, operating room specialists perform operating room scrubs , position specialized equipment and supervise subordinate personnel. Training for MOS 68D Like their fellow soldiers, Army operating room specialists spend 10 weeks in basic combat training (otherwise known as boot camp) and 19 weeks in Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at a major military hospital for residency training, which includes on-the-job instruction. Youll learn the basics of emergency medical treatment, basic nursing care and receive in-depth training of menschenwrdig anatomy and physiology. Soldiers in this job also learn the basics of minor surgical procedures, proper clinical laboratory procedures and methods for diagnosing diseases. Possible AIT locations include Fort Sam Houston, TXFort Gordon, GAMAMC, Tacoma, WATAMC, Honolulu, HIWRAMC, Washington, DCFort Bliss, TXFort Hood, TXFort Belvoir, VAFort Jackson, SCFort Leavenworth, KSFort Bragg, NCFort Campbell, KYFort Carson, COFort Stewart, GA Qualifying for MOS 68D If youre interested in this Army job, youll n eed a score of 91 or higher on the skilled technical (ST) area of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) tests. There is no Department of Defense security clearance required for this role. However, normal color vision (meaning no colorblindness) is a requirement. Prior medical training or certification is not required for soldiers seeking this job, but any such experience likely would be helpful. The most important traits for Army operating room specialists are the ability to remain calm under extreme pressure, and the ability to work in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment. For obvious reasons, you must be able to tolerate the sight of blood (and other bodily fluids) if you want this job, and you should be free from chronic or recurrent skin infections or allergies, especially when handing antiseptics, disinfectants or other cleaning agents. Similar Civilian Occupations to MOS 68D The skills youll learn in this job will serve you well in the civilian workplac e. Youll be qualified to work as a surgical technologist in a healthcare center or hospital operating room. Be sure youre up to speed on any local or state licensing required for a surgical tech job where you live. Surgical technologists are some of the highest-paid medical personnel without medical school degrees.

How to negotiate through your next performance review

How to negotiate through your next performance reviewHow to negotiate through your next performance reviewWith performance reviews around the corner, I wanted to write a how-to post on negotiating. If you think about it, were negotiating on the job all the time. Whether were asking for the big promotion, the funding to attend a training or conference, or to take a vacation during busy season, were in more bargaining situations than we realize at work. Women, in particular, need as many negotiation tools as possible, given that were still paid less than men for equal work, and dont have a critical mass. Therefore, equal decision-making authority, at the top of companies.Consider the following strategies the next time you enter a negotiation at work. And remember, real-life practice is the very best preparation for negotiatingFollow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreDo your homeworkBefore a negotiation, take the time to organize yourself from an informational standpoint. Write out why you are negotiating for whatever it is, and the reasons for it. Then begin to assemble any supporting research. The more relevant research you have, the better you will feel about your argument and the more compelling your case will be. So if you were going to ask for an assistant, for example, you might do research within your company to landsee what the standard criteria are for hiring an assistant. How many people does an assistant typically support? How senior does one have to be to have an assistant? What kind of revenue does a department have to produce in order to justify having an assistant?You can also do benchmarking outside of your company. Investigate how your competitors configure their work units and the employment of assistants. Outside of supporting research, you could think about how an assistant could help your team add or create new value for your organization. Many e mployers think of value in terms of numbers. So, is there a way for you to quantify the value and contributions of what you are negotiating for? Get familiar and well acquainted with this research, as mastering your data will help you be more creative and improvisational on the spot.Keep your coolIt is worth notlageing that walking into a negotiation without having done preparation or review of the issue at hand can be disastrous, as can spontaneous or emotion-driven negotiations. The better prepared you are in terms of the facts and your demeanor, the more successful you are likely to be. One strategy for keeping your emotions in check is to be prepared, perhaps even over-prepared, for a negotiation from an informational standpoint.I recommend striving for a composed balance between energized and relaxed. Negotiations can feel confrontational to many women. Filling yourself with positive, empowering messages in advance of the negotiation can do you a major service. Above all else, decide that you have a place at the negotiation table and a right to ask for what you want. If you become fearful, remind yourself of what prompted you to ask for the negotiation in the first place. Separate for yourself the person you will be speaking with and the problem you are trying to solve they are not the same. You can boost yourself up emotionally by dwelling on your strengths and abilities. Concentrate on several of your past successes to increase your confidence and optimism. I also encourage you to invite a trusted friend, partner, classmate, mentor, or colleague to role-play the negotiation with you in advance.Use strategic questioningWhile you are negotiating, use the technique of asking questions, preferably open-ended questions, which can be very powerful. These questions open up dialogue and can even buy you more time if you need to gather your thoughts. These questions, some examples of which are shown below, help guide and move the conversation along. Can you expl ain how you arrived at that solution? How are decisions like these determined? Are you willing to negotiate that point? What is keeping us from coming to an agreement? How could I help you feel more comfortable with this request? What is most important to you? Can you explain why? How can we move forward? How can we best . . . ? How can we make this work for both of us? Is that the best you can do? What is the cost of us not coming to an agreement?Remember that silence is your friendSilence, though not something we are well accustomed to in American culture, can be one of the greatest negotiation strategies at your disposal. When we are silent, we are not over-promising or under-selling in ways we will later regret, instead we are giving ourselves the precious gift of time and space. Silence affords us the luxury to contemplate our next move during a tricky or emotionally draining negotiation. While it can be tempting to fill in gaps in conversation, it is important to find ways to practice and get comfortable using silence.Silence can have an effect on others as well for one, it tends to make people uncomfortable. It can make your counterpart share information, restate their position, or try to guess what your position is. Each of these attempts to break the silence put you in a more favorable position. The strategy of silence is especially important for women to use since they may be tempted to accommodate their counterpart, fill a conversation void, or not want to seem difficult or withholding. The next time you are in a negotiation situation, experiment with being quiet rather than speaking up right away or thanking your counterpart. Silence can give you power, as well as valuable time to process the bargaining conversation. Using silence can feel awkward at first, so I urge you to practice this technique before a negotiationTake a win-win approachOutside of asking powerful questions and using silence well, I recommend that you look for a way for both part ies to win. One of the women executives I interviewed on this subject, Roxanne Spillett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boys and Girls Clubs of America, advised, Look for a win-win in relationships and negotiations. Every time you think theres a win-loss situation, look for ways to make it mutually beneficial. It is always better to leave something on the table in a negotiation than to walk away with everything. This is a pretty important practice as a leader. Coming up with creative solutions and concessions can certainly show your willingness to get to common ground in a negotiation.Use questions to understand your counterparts needs. Reiterate those needs and look for a way they can be met, preferably without your conceding something. If you must concede something, negotiate to get something else back. Since women are adept at reading body language and nonverbal communication, I recommend leveraging that skill to interpret cues such as discomfort or concern.This article originally appeared on Be Leaderly.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people