Don't press the wrong buttons

To succeed at the it is workplace, important to identify these incorrect trigger points and stay away from them

- HARISH BHAT

A few weeks ago, I was part of an interesting conversation themed around my new book, Office Secrets. Joining me for this discussion from his home in Sweden was best-selling author Thomas Erikson, whose book Surrounded By Idiots, has sold over three million copies already. We spoke about both our books, and it was great fun.

We did this conversation on the X Spaces (formerly Twitter Spaces) platform, as suggested by our common publisher. For both of us, it was our first time ever using this digital platform, and we underwent heavy-duty pre-session training on the subject.

Notwithstanding the training, within a few minutes of the start of the conversation, I pressed a wrong button on the X Spaces screen and the conversation came crashing down abruptly. I saw a message which said: “Your conversation has ended.” The entire audience was left hanging, while I was left red-faced.

Some quick thinking by a young colleague, who is a digital geek par excellence, rescued me from this self-inflicted mess, and we were able to put the conversation back on the road again quickly.

I heard a similar story from one of the members of the audience, who said that he had pressed a wrong button on X Spaces while wanting to ask Thomas and me a question. And he too had been immediately thrown out of the event.

Now, wrong buttons on X Spaces is not Elon Musk’s fault, much as we may wish to blame him for many of the ills of our world. Pressing the wrong button was entirely my error. And as I have reflected on this episode, it occurs to me that X Spaces is not the only place where we press wrong buttons. We do this in our workplaces too—all the time.

BOSS IN A BAD MOOD