The Busyness Paradox

Do you work for a company or a cult? The idea is simple: attract energetic, young college graduates with the promise of fulfilling their wildest dreams and desires. Grown-up playgrounds for offices. Free food! The opportunity to change the world while playing beer-pong! Kind of low pay. Heaps of reassuring praise. Very long hours. Office keg parties: that are mandatory! Brilliant managers! Whose w...

Task lists, calendars, passwords, email, webcams...have they made your job more efficient or have they BECOME your job? In this episode, Stephen Robles from Apple Insider joins us to discuss strategies for using our digital devices as the productivity tools they're meant to be. Tune in to hear his expert advice on apps, books, project management strategies, workplace communication, an ingenio...

Frank and Paul have a special guest on this episode. Dr. Bento Lobo, department head of the Finance and Economics department and First Tennessee Bank Distinguished Professor of Finance, shares his input on our Masters of Busyness Administration episode. After our interview with Dr. Lobo, we discuss the widespread problem of financial illiteracy and steps we should all be taking to protect the mone...

Five days on, two days off. Repeat. But why?  Please rate and subscribe/follow our podcast. Join the Busybody family and share your ideas or workplace experiences with us. If you have a topic you would like for us to cover, email us at input@busynessparadox.com or tweet us @busynessparadox.  Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts,   blog posts and other content while you’r...

Email is one of the most efficient forms of communication ever created.  Email is almost universally viewed as a threat to efficiency, on and off the job.  How can both of these statements be true? By being the most paradoxical paradox we've tackled yet, that's how! In the first part of this two-part episode, we discussed the challenges associated with email overload and the annoying tru...

Email is one of the most efficient forms of communication ever created.  Email is almost universally viewed as a threat to efficiency, on and off the job.  How can both of these statements be true? By being the most paradoxical paradox we've tackled yet, that's how! In the first part of this two-part episode, we discuss the challenges associated with email overload and the annoying truth...

Bologna Sandwich maker? Barber Shop singer? Nah, not those BS jobs. In this episode we dive into what the late David Graeber defined as jobs that are "so completely pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious that even the employee cannot justify its existence [but] feels obliged to pretend that this is not the case." If your job that fits that description, you're not alone. Some say the...

What happens when you ask the wrong questions? You get the wrong answers. Then you make the wrong decisions. Then you look silly. Whether you’re a pollster predicting elections or a manager deciding who to hire, judgement calls like these are only as good as the data they’re based on. But how do you know if you’re asking the wrong questions? Do you know if your employees are telling you the truth...

JPMorgan Chase has observed reduced productivity and creativity among employees working from home (WFH). CEO Jamie Dimon notes that younger employees are disproportionally affected, particularly on Mondays and Fridays. This leads us to question how productivity is measured at companies like JP Morgan: are they measuring output or are they measuring busyness? In this episode we unpack Dimon's...

Elon Musk bemoans the modern corporation's obsession with busywork. We bemoan the modern corporation's obsession with busywork. Elon Musk blames the over MBA-ification of the business world for this obsession. We teach MBA students. We attempt to untangle this paradox, discuss the current state of MBA programs and answer the question on the minds of many listeners: is an MBA a good choic...

Are you the “go to” person for help with some tasks at work? The one everyone hunts for when they need help dealing with a tough customer, setting up a spreadsheet, or navigating the ever-changing inventory management system? Does it sometimes drive you nuts? In this episode, we explore being “too good” at some aspect of your job and strategies for turning this mixed blessing into less of a time-d...

Ask anyone at work how busy they are and you’ll probably hear some variant of “super busy!” You’ve probably said it yourself. Does that mean the standard 40-hour work week isn’t long enough? Or are we really as busy as we say we are? Like George Costanza’s tactic of acting annoyed in order to appear overwhelmed with work, acting “busy” is an impression management tactic and a mindset that many of...

This episode introduces you to what The Busyness Paradox podcast is all about. We focus on business topics, especially relating to people in the workplace. We converse about current events that impact organizations. We also introduce ourselves, the hosts of this podcast, Frank Butler and Paul Harvey. We are 2 management professors who just enjoy talking about how businesses can do and be better. ...