HR and Britpop

Before Christmas I wrote a blog specifically on The Wonderstuff that turned out to be quite popular. That was unexpected.

I’m a lover of good lyrics and still have that slightly ‘teenage’ habit of listening for ‘meaning’ in lyrics. Sofor this blog I’ve run a Genius Playlist on my iPod and picked out some lyrics applicable to HR/OD and organisations.

Your challenge? Put down your guesses as to which songs they come from in the comments below….The prize for the first person to name them all without resorting to Google? A Mars bar.

I’ve had enough of lining pockets I’ve never met  – a lovely reminder on the importance of visible leadership and meaningful work. Who and what are people working for each day? The answer is almost always a little bit money, but then what…Dodgy – Staying out for the Summer

Everybody hates a tourist – if you are going to work with people then make sure you really work with people. It is never a thought experiment – it is real for them and real for their families and real for their careers – even when you move on. It is never a game (even if it is gamified).Pulp – Common People

All I ever wanted was the chance to learn from my mistakes, funny how you never learn but know them when they come around again – we all make bold statements about ‘ never making the same mistake twice’ but I guarantee every person reading this has made lots of mistakes that, on reflection, are very familiar. We like to think we learn – in truth our weaknesses tend to pop up as often as our strengths. Make peace with that or deal with that – just don’t pretend it doesn’t happen. Echobelly – Great Things

You don’t have to have the solution, you’ve got to understand the problem and don’t go hoping for a miracle – a timely reminder that if you don’t understand the problem fully you haven’t even achieved the first step of resolving it. Also that we work in a practical profession – dream big about the future by all means, but act in ways that have an impact on the here and now. The best theory is the one that actually works. The Bluetones – Slight Return

I spend so much time wondering why I’ve got an opinion… – the ability to create ideas is key to being able to create competitive advantage. Make sure you listen – make sure you value the opinions of people around you. Yours only ever counts once. Supergrass -Richard III

Don’t you think that life would be a little drab if we had the same thoughts – it’s easy to drift through your working day thinking that your role is to influence people to get them to understand your point of view. It’s more productive to blend that with understanding theirs – who knows, maybe you aren’t right 100% of the time? Cast – Finetime

No challenge should be faced without a little charm and a lot of style – it’s your choice how you approach work. I quite like the above phrase as a suggestion of how to face the working day. If anybody asks you ‘would you rather be liked or respected?’ then just explain to them it is a false choice. Explain they shouldn’t assume that their inability to be able to be both means that you face the same choice. I’m guessing they don’t feel very liked – it is only people who are disliked who ever pose this question. The Bluetones – Bluetonic

Just what is it that you want to do? We wanna be free. We wanna be free to do what we want to do – which leads me neatly onto this video…Primal Scream – Free (but all credit to Broc – see his reference to the original source in the comments)