Noise

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

When I worked in recruiting, often, I worked in something even less the cubicle environment. It is more like a bullpen where I was separated from the person to my left, the person in front of me with something sound deaden by nothing.

I would describe the good features of this environment as there was “a buzz in the office,” from which I drew energy. On the other days, I saw it as a constant intrusion upon my thinking and doing.

When two people would laugh, my ears would perk up. I want to know what was so funny. When a colleague would yell at someone over the phone, I want to know what they were frustrated by and whether they won the argument.

Noise.

Noise shows up as distractions that keep you from focusing on what’s important.

After all, you know what the core of your job is. How often does noise take you away from it?

I was reminded of this by a podcast interview I listen to where Jerry Stackhouse, the collegiate basketball coach at Vanderbilt University and former NBA player, was interviewed about his experience coaching during Covid.

The interviewer asked about what it was like being a new coach dealing with players who need to get grades to stay on the team, classes were done remote, games were being canceled…