Back in the 1990’s, one of the most popular singers of that time was Shania Twain.  One of her top songs was titled, “That Don’t Impress Me Much.”  The premise of the song is that there are some things that people do that are just the opposite of impressive — they actually become repulsive.  The song was fun, but the message of the song carries forward to us even today.  Let’s take a look at some things that are not impressive.  And, hopefully, if you are tempted to engage in these behaviors, you’ll be dissuaded.

Things that are not impressive:

1. Individuals that assume that form is more important that content – Many individuals are far more concerned with how things look – how they look – than with the work product they produce.  Their first question for nearly every situation is, “How will this affect me or what will others think?”  It can get so bad that this kind of individual might even do what is not best for the company rather than do something that might impact them.
2. Individuals that create problems simply to be the hero that solves that same problem – We have probably all seen examples of this… the person that created the crisis is eventually rewarded for “saving the day.” It is too bad that this kind of behavior likely continues because it is often rewarded and encouraged.
3. Individuals that become good at “fighting fires” instead of “preventing fires” – Wouldn’t you rather be known as the person that was always able to avoid a crisis than be good at navigating out of those you created?
4. Individuals that feel their own time is more valuable than anyone else’s – Some individuals are always five minutes late to everything.  Then, they want everyone else to wait again while “they get caught up.”  This is simply disrespectful.
5. Individuals that make everything “all about me” or “what’s in it for me” – Some individuals turn every conversation back to themselves or their own situation or their own desires.  Most often, you make others feel better about being around you or engaging with you when you encourage them to talk about subjects of interest to them.
6. Individuals that are not kind or that disrespect others – I have seen this quote many times recently, “You can tell a lot about a person that treats the cleaning crew the same way they would treat the CEO.”  Showing respect to others is just the right thing to do rather than treat only those well that might someday be able to do something for you.

Rather than focus on things not impressive, let’s consider how we can do what’s right, treat others right, and live in a way to models integrity.  Doing anything else is… well, in Shania’s words… not impressive. Thanks for making our company a terrific place to be.  Have an awesome day!