The most recent act of executive ultra-stupidity brought down not only Brian Dunn, Best Buy’s CEO, but also Richard Schulze, its founder who was CEO for 40 years and Chairman for ten.

All over what was, according to Dunn and the 29-year-old woman subordinate, a platonic friendship, albeit one with some very tasty perks for the gal.

Schulze is out because he learned about it last December, but didn’t mention it to his board, HR or ethics officer. (Hell of a way to cap 50-plus years of amazing success.)

The report cited the effects of the relationship, including disruption in the workplace, damaged employee morale and perceived favoritism that undermined the employee’s supervisor’s attempts to manage her.

“Further, the C.E.O.’s relationship with this employee led some employees to question senior management’s commitment to company policy and the ethical principles the company champions,” the report said. “During interviews, some employees said that they felt that the rules appeared to apply to every employee except the C.E.O.,” it said.

When will they learn?

When will ‘but me’ be exorcised from executive/management thinking?

When will management learn the importance of walking their talk and that the higher the position the more important that becomes?

Three questions, but just one five-letter answer—never.

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I never heard of Robert W. Service until I came across something he said and looked him up.

The quote that caught my interest was this, “It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out; it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.” You have to admit that along with the obvious accuracy of the statement there is a good deal of wisdom there also.

I certainly didn’t connect Service with his main claim to fame, but if you are old enough you, too, have probably heard this line from his most famous poem, “Pitched on his head, and pumped full of lead, was Dangerous Dan McGrew, While the man from the creeks lay clutched to the breast of the lady that’s known as Lou.” For those of you unfamiliar it’s called The Shooting of Dan McGrew and you can read it here.

Service believed in the value of shutting up or, to use his more polite wording, “Be sure your wisest words are those you do not say.”

Lastly, a bit of wisdom that is well worth adding to your life guidance principles, “A promise made is a debt unpaid.”

See you all tomorrow; have a wonderful day.

Image credit: Wikipedia

Facebook’s IPO is all over the news and who am I to ignore a topic of obvious interest? Suffice it to say that IMHO valuing Facebook above McDonald’s, Citigroup and Amazon is totally ridiculous—but what do I know?

However, I’m not alone.

A survey done by WhisperNumber.com polled 1,100 registered traders and investors, found that 71% do not consider Facebook a long-term investment and will not be buying share after Facebook’s initial public offering.

And comparing Facebook to Google isn’t a no brainer; it’s a no brains-er.

But when Facebook amended its S-1 on Monday…the company reported a season decline in revenues hitting $1.058 billion compared to $1.131 billion in the quarter before — the questions started cropping up about whether it was too much to ask that Facebook soar in the markets like Google had. Just prior to Google’s IPO, on the other hand was gearing up quarter after quarter pre-IPO and experienced sequential revenue growth of 27.2% from Q4 to Q1 before its IPO.

Bottom line is that for garden-variety investors (that us) making a profit from Facebook isn’t likely (unless, IMHO again, the market crashes and you still have spare change to invest. And even if you there would probably be better places to use it.)

But if history offers any lesson, average investors face steep odds if they hope to make big money in a much-hyped stock like Facebook.

The IPO should create at least 1000 new millionaires, but it’s unlikely that wealth will be ostentatiously displayed; the exception being when funding another startup—or buying a bicycle.

The hand-painted Italian bicycles that flash across Silicon Valley on Saturday mornings have become the new Ferrari — and only the cognoscenti could imagine that they cost more than $20,000.

My favorite bit of IPO wisdom addressed to all those newbie Facebook millionaires comes from Seattle-based entrepreneur and investor Jonathan Sposato, who earned his first taste of wealth at Microsoft 20 years ago, then founded Picnik, which was bought be Google, and is currently GeekWire’s chairman.

For some, stock wealth launched entrepreneurship and philanthropy. For others, materialism and conspicuous consumption. It was a lottery ticket, plain and simple. And statistically, 90% of all lottery ticket winners go broke after 3 years. And while people seldom talk about money in our culture, avoiding the topic makes history repeat itself, and stigmatizes issues around money.

Thus, I offer some very candid advice for my younger colleagues at Facebook, who are about to have a life-changing event.

Finally, here is some useful advice in the form of what to consider when offered equity in lieu of cash.

The shares-versus-dollars decision presents a common dilemma for startup staffers and consultants. Early-stage companies often don’t have the ready money to just write a cheque, so they have to lure talent with the promise of stock. (…) If you are in the fortunate position of weighing a juicy stock offer, what issues should colour your decision?

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A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

After reading Alexander Haislip’s post, I scurried around and removed the “CEO” from as many profiles as I could find/remember.

Back in 1999 I started RampUp Solutions I called myself “founder” and I was happy with that, but I kept being told I should use ‘CEO’, so I did. (Hey, even smart people can give poor advice.)

However, I was never comfortable with the title because I’ve worked with dozens of CEOs and knew that I didn’t/couldn‘t do what they do.

Not only did not, but could not.

Now, thirteen years later, my gut reaction has been confirmed; not only the reaction, but the reasons.

Ask yourself: would you still be CEO if it were a $100 billion business or would you require what’s euphemistically called “adult supervision?”

Considering what passes for a $100 billion business these days you may want to add ‘sustainable’ to the description.

There is nothing wrong with bringing in a “real” CEO and learning the ropes—think Larry Page and Google—but assuming a title of which you aren’t really capable smacks of a five-year-old dressing up in mommy’s/daddy’s clothes.

Actually, I’m surprised I didn’t delete those three letters years ago when I shared some of the things I’ve heard CEO really means. Call it a major case of disconnect.

I hope Haislip’s and my post inspires you to find the time to expunge CEO from your social profiles and other places, including your business cards.

You might also want to take a hard look at other company titles, especialy on the executive level.

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Marty Zwilling wrote a great essay detailing exactly what to do to guarantee your team’s DEmotivation.

It’s great because in addition to being oh-so-true it’s tongue-in-cheek sarcastic enough that it might even penetrate the minds of those guilty of what it says.

Zwilling writes for entrepreneurs, but most of the actions he describes apply equally well to any manager at any level, as well as parents and pretty much any human interaction.

Call it universal DEmotivation.

Here are the headings, but you should really read the article to know for sure if you are guilty of some more covert version.

1. Be sure your team doesn’t know what is important to you.
2. Never explain your actions.
3. Hire team members who will follow your instructions.
4. Keep people on their toes with a threat of consequences.
5. Team meetings are for delivering the latest decisions.
6. Agree to milestones and then accelerate them.
7. Thank your employees for the little extras.
8. Be careful not to get too involved in your employees own goals.

In the decades I worked as a recruiter and those since starting RampUp Solutions I’ve heard these or variations of them listed as reasons people left their company.

Because when you get right down to it, people quit managers, not companies, and that is especially true when a manager is also a founder.

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An excellent article on loyalty citing research from various Wharton professors on the subject of worker loyalty is a valuable read.

It’s good for bosses and employees alike; the former can use it to analyze and improve their approach, while the latter can give a printout (anonymously, if necessary) to their boss.

One of the most valuable findings is that in some ways nothing has changed on the employee retention front over the years.

Human nature, Harter adds, “doesn’t change when the economy changes. It might take on a different dynamic” during a recession, but what remains constant is “the need to be connected — to a manager, a co-worker and/or a purpose, and also the need to be recognized.” People’s perceptions of their own standards of living “did drop as the economy dropped,” he says. But that same drop was not registered in workplaces where employees said they have “someone who encourages their development. There is something about having a mentor, or someone in your life who helps you see the future in the midst of chaos, that can make a difference.”

Wharton marketing professor Deborah Small cites a body of research on what is called “procedural fairness,” indicating that much of what employees feel about an organization “is not the outcomes they get, but the processes. If people feel like processes are handled fairly in the organization, even if they don’t get the best for themselves,” that would tend to encourage loyalty.

Recognition, fairness, being valued and encouraged to grow are still the most powerful intangibles when it comes to retention and their source is still the immediate boss and maybe their boss.

As I wrote last year, caring begets caring and the actions that show you care aren’t found in compensation packages.

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Back in January I provided a link to The Mix (Management Information Exchange) and recommended that you register and read hacks of interest to you.

If I hadn’t done so it’s doubtful I would have heard about Ricardo Semler and Semco Group.

Since the mid-80s when Semler arrived on the scene, that has meant an ever-evolving experiment in upending the organizational status quo: no organizational chart, no fixed offices or working hours, no fixed CEO, no HR department, no five-year plan (or two- or one-year-plan), no job descriptions or permanent positions, no approvals necessary—and an endless array of clever practices and initiatives to increase individual autonomy and agency, participation at every level, trust, and informality.

The result? Market success—Semco is private but Semler reports average annual revenue growth at 40% and profitability. (…)

“We constantly talk about passion—serving customers passionately, filling in forms passionately—but what if we created the conditions for people to feel exhilaration, to get involved to the point they shout ‘yes!’ and give each other high fives because they did it their way and it worked?”

Would your people thrive in a going concern that functions more like a startup than most startups?

If yes, why? If not, why not?

Knowing why it would/does work is useful because you can share the knowledge and lessons learned with others.

If you don’t believe similar actions, tweaked for your organization, would work you need to ask why not.

You can ask your peers or, better yet your people, but first ask the mirror.

You may need to look no farther.

Flickr image credit: Cea

Back when I worked for other companies I was considered “difficult.”

When I was young I was fired from one job for not taking my 15 minute breaks twice a day and from another for being too honest with a customer.

I spent 12 years working for a manager who never understood that all I wanted was acknowledgment and/or appreciation—without having to ask for it.

“Good job;” “congratulations, hell of a deal;” “good to see you back, we missed you.”

I was one of the top producers in his office, but the only time he said anything was when I brought whatever to his attention.

As most anyone will tell you, positive feedback or compliments are worthless when you need to prompt the source for them.

Often small efforts yield large results. My boss wanted me to move to the next level, but gave me no reason to put out the effort—the money wasn’t enough, I wanted to matter.

I recently told this story to a manager with high turnover in his department. He responded that he didn’t have time to “babysit” and expected his people to act like adults.

I told him he was a fool.

Stock.xchng image credit: arte_ram

Of course today is about mom, but most of the quotes are so saccharine I couldn’t make myself use them, so I decided to focus is on the thing without which there would be no moms—kids.

Right away I want to say that “mom” is a concept, not the female half of a marriage or, as Oprah Winfrey said, “Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.”

An anonymous quote makes clear something else about mothers that is frequently ignored, “All mothers are working mothers.”

Aristotle’s words not only predate DNA testing, but the attitude of many modern males, “Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own.”

Peter De Vries makes a nice point that is equally true for urban and rural moms as it is for those who live in suburbia, “A suburban mother’s role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car forever after.”

I heard Sam Levenson’s comment many years ago and find it just as amusing (and true) now as then if not more so, “Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children.”

John J. Plomp noticed something that every parent, especially new ones, is very cognizant of, “The one thing children wear out faster than shoes is parents.”

And while we’re on that subject, we’ll let Lionel Kauffman have the final word today, “Children are a great comfort in your old age – and they help you reach it faster, too.”

Image credit: Elvert Barnes

Maybe because it is finally spring where I live, but my mind is skipping around topics like a butterfly (although I haven’t seen any yet).

Everywhere you go the tech world, especially startups, are scrambling to hire and moaning over the perceived lack of candidates. But finding talented engineers is a snap in comparison to finding women willing to commit to a convent. Being that it’s 2012, both groups have turned to social media to solve the problem.

Rather than leave the future of the convents to prayer and chance, Sister Elaine Lachance has turned to the Internet. She’s using social media and blogging to attract women who feel the calling to serve God and their community. “But I knew I had to go there, that I had to do it,” said Lachance, who turned 70 on Sunday. “You have to go where the young people are. And that’s where they are.”

Bend, Oregon is the backdrop of an encouraging story on jobs thanks to Gary Fish, who founded Deschutes Brewery in 1988.

With 80,000 people surrounded by not much of anything — with no Interstate, no university, and the closest major city 160 miles away across steep and snowy mountains — beer has had room to make a difference. (…) “You have to thank Gary Fish for kind of creating that culture,” said Larry Sidor, a former brew master at Deschutes who left last year to open a brewery of his own this summer, CRUX Fermentation Project. “It’s been kind of a training ground, a spawning ground for the craft movement.”

I have to admit I don’t understand the willingness of people to hire strangers to do both everyday and more exotic “life stuff” for them, but doing so is more tsunami than trend.

We’ve put a self-perpetuating cycle in motion. The more anxious, isolated and time-deprived we are, the more likely we are to turn to paid personal services. To finance these extra services, we work longer hours. This leaves less time to spend with family, friends and neighbors; we become less likely to call on them for help, and they on us.

Finally, I was reminded that short-term thinking always comes back to bite when I read in January that teens were “showing their love” by sharing everything, including passwords; actions guaranteed to create mayhem as teen feelings shift.

Young couples have long signaled their devotion to each other by various means — the gift of a letterman jacket, or an exchange of class rings or ID bracelets. (…) It has become fashionable for young people to express their affection for each other by sharing their passwords to e-mail, Facebook and other accounts.

Fast forward to adulthood and that tell-the-world social sharing is still creating mayhem, although not because of changing affections.

After a few relationship-testing episodes, some spouses have started insisting that their partners ask for approval before posting comments and photographs that include them. Couples also are talking through rules as early as the first date (a kind of social media prenup) about what is O.K. to share. Even tweeting about something as seemingly innocent as a house repair can become a lesson in boundary-setting.

Enjoy today and have a memorable Mother’s Day tomorrow.

Flickr image credit: pedroelcarvalho