Mouse in the House

There is a mouse in my house.

As I sat in my living room talking with a friend I saw it scamper behind the bookshelf. 

Yes, I understand conventional wisdom that if I have seen one mouse there are several more in hiding.  I, however, am focused on the one mouse that showed its face in my space. 

It’s late – most stores are closed – to Amazon.com I go.

I type “mouse trap” into Amazon’s search engine and receive 2,789 results.  

It’s unlikely Hasboro’s Mousetrap game is going to be of much use in this situation, so I opt to narrow the search. 

Under “Home & Kitchen” there are 595 results for “Mouse Trap”. 

I must say, after nearly five years without spotting a single mouse or any sign of mice, I have been unaware of innovative ways people have created to catch and/or kill mice. 

Live capture traps, electronic traps, glue board traps, standard/classic snap traps as well as sonic pest chasers if you simply want them to move to the neighbor’s house.

Apparently a lot of people have taken to heart Emerson’s quote, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door”.

The traps selected have arrived.  I have set three and am hopeful this will be a short-term project. 

Why am I sharing this with you? 

A self-professed HR geek, I realize that I want to get rid of these mice in much the same manner that many managers want to get rid of “problem employees”.

• I don’t want to see them suffer.
• I don’t want others in the space (in this case, my dog) to be negatively impacted. 
• I don’t want to handle the messiness of it all and would like very much if someone else would do the dirty work.
• I really wish they would just go live somewhere else.

The thing is – while I can find a no-view, no-touch mouse trap, not getting actively involved in proactive performance management with direct reports is definitely not the way to go in the workplace!

Would love your thoughts!

May all Your Endeavors be Insightful,

Nora A Burns, SPHR

Twitter:  @NoraBurns

Nora A Burns, SPHR is founder of Insightful Endeavors International, Inc a Denver based firm specializing in team selection and development.  She has over twenty years experience in human resources and organizational development and is committed to helping organizations large and small build and develop effective teams to drive bottom-line results.  She is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) and The Center for Association Leadership (ASAE).