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Archive for January, 2008

What leaders DO: cut through the BS

Friday, January 25th, 2008

Don’t you just love it when a CEO charts a course that proves his belief in the intelligence and common sense of his employees? I’m not talking about atirbune.jpg small company with a couple of people, but media powerhouse Tribune Co. with its 20,000 employees.

Sam Zell did just that.

Everyone who works knows what a typical employee handbook is like—a dense morass of legalese, incomprehensible to almost anyone without a law degree. But not at the Tribune.

The handbook is a mix of corporate earnestness, surprising folksiness and common-sense rules, free of the antiseptic training-module language that has become a part of corporate human resources culture…He wanted the handbook to “reflect our new culture, one that is more direct than its predecessor.”

I love it. Randy Michaels, the new head of Tribune broadcasting, was the primary author, but it couldn’t have happened without the Zell’s full backing. Here are some of the choice contents

“Rule #1: Use your best judgment.

“Rule #2: See Rule 1.

“That’s it. That is the one hard and fast rule. Unless a serious mistake was made when you were hired, you have pretty good judgment.”

“4.2. Working at Tribune means accepting that sometimes you might hear a word that you, personally, might not use. You might experience an attitude that you don’t share. You might hear a joke that you might not consider funny. That is because a loose, fun, nonlinear atmosphere is important to the creative process.

“4.3. This should be understood, should not be a surprise and is not considered harassment.”

“7.1. If you use or abuse alcohol or drugs and fail to perform the duties required by your job acceptably, you are likely to be terminated. See Rule 1. Coming to work drunk is bad judgment.”

“18.1.1. Under normal circumstances, Tribune will not snoop in your e-mail or track your internet usage.

“18.1.2. Remember that cyber-slacking is not good judgment.”

The lawyers interviewed for the article predict dire consequences—not surprising considering what they’re paid to produce the unreadable versions.

I especially like rules one and two. Want more? Check out the Tribune’s core values.

Do you think that Sam Zell’s approach will be duplicated by other CEOs?

Your comments—priceless

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The Vision Thing

Friday, January 25th, 2008

spectacles.jpgWhether you head a company, run a department, or lead a team, you are responsible for that ‘vision thing’ as it applies to those subordinate to you.It’s your responsibility to clearly identify (if you are the CEO/Prez/Owner) or articulate (at all other levels) the goals of the company.

Then it’s up to you to involve your people, working with them to turn those goals into specific actions for which they are responsible.

Most people are vaguely aware that work isn’t done in a vacuum, but often individuals, teams, or even departments, fail to understand truly the domino effect created by allowing their schedule to slip.

You can minimize this problem, and improve the quality of your workforce, by making certain that they understand how their own goals, those of the company, and others’, both internal and external (customers and vendors), interact.

The biggest rewards at all levels (using whatever incentives are available) should go to those who understand the company’s goals, and ethically do whatever is necessary to achieve them—especially when they put the company’s goals ahead of their own!

Corporate culture stupidity

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

Whether actively or by facilitating employee input culture starts at the top; departmental subcultures exist as a result of the CEO’s encouragement, benign neglect or stupidity as the case may be. And such cases often end up in court.

paddle.jpgTake Alarm One, a 300-employee company based in Anaheim, CA. It took more than one executive turning a blind eye to allow the incredible stupidity of spanking as a team exercise to provide motivation to the sales force with the males adding their own moronic comments such as “Spank that bitch. Slap that ho”

I’m not just thinking about the legal implications, although they are substantial, …the company has since gone into bankruptcy and its insurance was exhausted battling Orlando’s claim and settling with three other co-worker…

I’m wondering about the sheer, total stupidity exhibited by the management/leadership of the department, the company, and the salesmen.

What do you think?

What stupid things have you experienced or heard about in the workplace?

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Leading factors: Chez Panisse

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

Image: ian_ransley

Being at the forefront and engaging the minds and hearts of others isn’t limited to people, companies and ideas themselves can lead, whether long-term or in the instance.

chez_panisse.jpgThree cheers for Alice Waters and her restaurant Chez Panisse.

The leader in all things sustainable, organic and environmental has stopped selling bottled water.

It’s about time a high profile business took the lead on this.

The restaurant used to sell about 25,000 bottles a year. Now Chez Panisse filters and serves tap, flat or carbonated, in a glass carafe for free.

Alice Waters isn’t the only one, but she carries a lot of weight among foodies and water buyers

A New York Times editorial last August contributed to objections. San Francisco in July banned spending of public funds on the product, and New York City is encouraging people to refill containers. Chicago this month imposed a 5-cents-a- bottle tax. Many restaurants in the U.S. still serve tap to guests, which is unusual in Europe.

I’ve never been a bottled water person, especially considering how much of it is plain old tap water.

Nestle, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola control 60 percent of the U.S. bottled water market, and use municipal supplies for three of the four biggest brands, Aquafina, Dasani and the Swiss company’s Pure Life.

So take a hint from Alice Waters, who’s forgotten more about food and drink than most of us will ever know and switch to a refillable container filter your own water.

Stay healthy!
Check the number
in the triangle on the bottom of water bottles and
all plastic containers.
Keep if the number is
1 or 7 and
send numbers
2, 4 and 5 to recycle heaven.

Your comments—priceless

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Wordless Wednesday: war, social security, healthcare, election, Super Bowl…

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

reality-ahead.jpg

Wordless Wednesday: staying connected

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

exec_toilet.jpg

MAP, vendors and economic slowdown (part two)

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

Vendor Retention in a Downturn (cont’d)

Frankly, I believe this is stupid and immature. Just because executives find their company in difficulty is no reason to clam up and try to pretend everything is all right. Vendors aren’t dumb, and they know what’s happening. It’s happening to everyone. So why refuse to communicate? Do you think if a vendor’s bills are 30 days overdue the vendor won’t notice it if you keep silent and don’t mention the subject? Come on; get real!

No one likes to be stiffed, but after all, if a vendor’s been a partner in good times, they’ll be one in bad times, too, if you keep the lines of communication open. So instead of retreating to your office and refusing to take their calls, why don’t you take the initiative? ‘Hi, Bob, this is Amelia at Acme. You know that the business slump is really hitting us hard. Our volumes are off and cash flow is really slow. Can you help us out? I know it’s hard, but can we work out a delayed payment schedule for the amount we owe you?’

Bob won’t like it, but the alternatives are worse, so he will try to work out a plan.

And what are the alternatives for you? If you don’t tell him what’s going on, he may be sore enough to take legal action. He may put you on C.O.D. And when times get better (and they will), you’ll be at the bottom of Bob’s list when it comes to getting his product. ‘Hi, Bob this is Amelia at Acme. I wonder if we can get 5,000 of your MCX3118’s in two weeks?’

Guess what Bob’s answer will be?

How you treat people, whether vendors, employees, friends or family, is a function of your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) as is susceptibility to outside pressure.

If your basic MAP is one of ‘every company for itself’ then you’re more likely to shaft your vendors when problems arise—and suffer the consequences down the road.

But even MAP that understands and believes in the importance of team effort can be pressured into the wrong actions by outside forces in the form of investors, media,shaking-hands.jpg etc.

Although wise MAP knows that no good comes from mushroom management it still needs to be strong enough to stand up to the short-term, fast buck attitudes so rife in today’s business world.

What have you done to successfully negotiate an economic slowdown path?

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American idiocy: Carmen Kontur-Gronquist

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

You’ve probably already read this or seen the various rants around the blogsphere, but in a nutshell here’s what happened.
carmen_kontur-gronquist.jpg

  • Kontur-Gronquist is the unpaid mayor of a tiny town of 600.
  • She’s also a single mom, buff and attractive.
  • Long before she was elected a female friend took some photos of her in black underwear on the local fire truck.
  • With her permission a relative made her a MySpace page to jumpstart her social life.
  • Then all Hell broke loose.
  • She’s been asked to resign and has refused.

The photos show no more than if she had on a bikini—actually less.

The photos date back to August 2004, well before she ever imagined becoming mayor. Kontur-Gronquist says they were taken after a day at the beach with a friend who was a volunteer firefighter…she had been considering entering a “contest about fitness and women” for Sports Illustrated magazine…”Did I send them in? No. I didn’t think they were good enough!”

If Kontur-Gronquist had been wearing shorts and a halter this would have been a non-event, but it was <gasp> underwear.

What I think shows in the post title, but what I’d really like to know is what do you think?

Your comments—priceless

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MAP, vendors and economic slowdown (part one)

Monday, January 21st, 2008

All the talk of an economic slowdown reminded me of an article written by Al Negrin for RampUp Solutions‘ newsletter the last time this happened. It’s excellent information and worth republishing, so here is the first of two parts.

Vendor Retention in a Downturn

One of the significant advances in modern business practice has been “partnership procurement.” Instead of the style of the fifties, sixties, and seventies, where vendors were treated as indistinguishably as if they all sold so many sacks of potatoes, partnership procurement tries to foster a symbiotic relationship between customer and vendor. “Just in time” delivery schedules, cooperative design efforts, and on-site vendor quality assurance are just some of the manifestations of partnership procurement which have improved quality and cut procurement costs over the last ten years.

Partnership procurement takes as its basic premise that bringing a vendor into a customer’s manufacturing processes and keeping the vendor well informed as to how his products are being utilized will improve efficiency of both vendor and customer. The success of partnership procurement has validated the correctness of this basic premise.

Most of the period during which partnership procurement has flourished has been one of prosperity, strong economic growth, and good profits. Partnership procurement in this country has not had to suffer through hard times such as high tech industries are now facing. Yet, just because times are difficult is no reason to suspect that partnership procurement would be any less effective.

mushrooms.jpgHowever, many companies are starting to act as if a fundamental change needs to take place in customer-vendor relationships, and vendors suddenly need to be treated according to the mushroom theory of management: “Keep them in the dark, heap fertilizer on them, and cut off their heads when they stick out above the ground.”

Just because a company is starting to experience hard times is no reason to communicate less effectively to vendors. Yet, suddenly many vendors aren’t being given timely information about postponements and reallocations of purchases, aren’t being involved in cost-saving design changes and, worst of all, aren’t being paid on time. When frantic vendors call, they are either told “she’s in a meeting and will call back later” (which doesn’t happen) or are diverted to subordinates, who “can’t approve these invoices.” Suddenly, the once active lines of communication go dark.

(Continued tomorrow)

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Can youth lead?

Monday, January 21st, 2008

Kelly, our esteemed editor, loves to challenge us in order to keep us relevant and interesting for you, our readers. Her latest effort involves teaming disparate blogs up for posts on a common topic. I was paired with Eric over at Common Sense PR and our topic is youth and the upcoming election. Check out his specific ideas on getting out the youth vote, as well as mine on whether it will happen this time.

youth_survey.gif

No one can predict with certainty how much influence this cohort will have on the coming election. After all, youth-backed candidates have faltered before. (Ask Howard Dean.) But the so-called echo baby boom has size on its side: nearly 43 million people aged 18 to 29, according to the Census Bureau, or 20% of registered voters. That and this group’s hyperconnectedness (all those Facebook friends and MySpace pages) have convinced many pundits and economists that something seismic could be coming.

Youth has numbers. Youth has opinions. Youth has passion and enthusiasm. But the real question is does youth have follow-through?

The Boomers marched, protested and rioted, but they didn’t pull together and vote—if they had they might have changed the course of history.

They could have done it again in 2004—the numbers, opinions, passion and enthusiasm were all there—it just didn’t show up at the voting booth.

3 out of 5 (59%) report that they will “definitely be voting” in the 2004 general election for president.

In the last election [2004], evangelicals made up 26 percent of the electorate, and 78 percent of them voted for Bush—not just voted for, but elected.

Did millions skip voting because they didn’t like the choice? If you don’t vote you can’t complain, that’s the rule.

I think that young voters need to understand that there are two kinds of voting—

  • for a candidate

or

  • against a candidate.

In the first, you not only vote, but also add an active voice, formally or not, to your candidate’s campaign.

In the second you cast your vote for the person most likely to keep the candidate you detest from winning.

Getting people in general to actually vote is much like herding cats and young people don’t seem to be much different.

Are they? How much do you think the youth vote will impact the Presidential election?

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