It’s amazing to me, but looking back over more than a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written.
Golden Oldies is a collection of what I consider some of the best posts during that time.
I hate bullies. The biggest changes in the decade since I wrote this post are that there are more bullies, many using the anonymity of the internet to morph into trolls, more hand-wringing, that accomplishes nothing, and a rising tide less willing to be bullied that responds loudly and displays its disgust actively with its wit and its feet. Hopefully that tide will turn into a tsunami.
Does your newspaper carry The Born Loser by Chip Sansom? Actually, I don’t find Brutus, the main character, to be a loser—just a slightly naive guy who works for an arrogant bully who constantly belittles him.
In the July 26 panel the dialog is as follows:
Boss: I am looking for a unique spin to put on our new ad campaign—do you have any ideas?
Brutus: Gee, Chief, I’m not sure—are there any ideas you think I should think of?
Boss: Brutus Thornapple, master of thinking inside the box.
It reminded me of managers I’ve known, who, no matter what happened or what feedback they received, never could understand that it was theirMAP and their actions, not their people’s, that was the root cause of their under-performing groups.
After all, if you
ask for input and ridicule those who offer it, why be surprised when you stop receiving input;
claim that you want to solve problems while they’re still molehills, yet kill the messengers who bring the news, you should expect to grapple with mountainous problems requiring substantially more resources;
tell people their ideas are stupid, whether directly or circumspectly, or, worse, that they are for thinking of them, why should they offer themselves up for another smack with the verbal two-by-four?
So, before you start ranting or whining about your group’s lack of initiative and innovation, try really listening to yourself and the feedback you get and then look in the mirror—chances are the real culprit will be looking straight back at you.
It’s amazing to me, but looking back over nearly a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written. Golden Oldies is a collection of what I consider some of the best posts during that time. Read other Golden Oldies here
A [2006] survey (no longer online) done by ICR yielded interesting, but certainly not surprising, results.
The survey asked the question, “How often does your boss ask for your advice on solving a problem at work?” The result? Those at lower levels were asked substantially less.
Heck, that wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s had the experience of watching their management bring in high-priced consultants who end up telling them the same thing their own workers had been saying knows the frustration.
It’s been 25 years and I still remember an IT buddy from Bechtel saying that the only difference between the solutions his group presented to management and what the consultants presented was the quality of the report’s paper and the dog and pony show that went with it—oh, yeah, and the more than $100K that it cost.
But I understand. Can you imagine how embarrassing it is for a senior executive, or a Harvard/Sanford/etc. MBA, to have to ask questions of people who barely finished high school? After all, why ask the grunts who actually do the work when it’s much more pleasant to have lunch with someone on one’s own level to discuss the situation and brainstorm solutions in a civilized setting?
Of course, not every manager or MBA thinks that way, but enough do that, “…45.7% of employees earning less than $25,000 annually reported never or seldom being consulted, compared with just 24.7% of those earning more than $75,000.” (Makes me wonder what the 24% who don’t get asked did to alienate their bosses.)
Interestingly, age has no effect on who’s asked.
It’s much easier for management to tell their investors and the media how much they value (asking = valuing to most employees) their people than to actually listen to them—that would mean walking their talk and probably changing their MAP.
And everybody knows that’s it’s far easier to talk, than it is to walk, let alone change.
Today is a new holiday and one that’s been a long time coming.
We already have a day dedicated to bosses and admin/secretaries and now Solar Winds has proposed making September IT Professional Day in honor of one of the most ignored, when things are working, and maligned, when things go wrong, departments. Bare i 2016 ble det lansert over 100 nye casinoer for det norske markedet https://www.casinonorske.com/spilleautomater-på-nett.
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.
Be sure your team doesn’t know what is important to you.
Never explain your actions.
Hire team members who will follow your instructions.
Keep people on their toes with a threat of consequences.
Team meetings are for delivering the latest decisions.
Agree to milestones and then accelerate them.
Thank your employees for the little extras.
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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John Greathouse is a VC at Rincon Venture Partners and he offers up some great advice about celebrating successes, both large and small.
I pretty much agree with all his ideas.
What I don’t agree with is that they are primarily for use in what he calls AdVentures (internet startups) and not in Big Dumb Companies (BDCs), which, he says, use newsletters.
While BDCs may indeed use newsletters, although due to expense I’m pretty sure they are mostly digital now, you don’t have to be a net startup to implement tweaked versions of Greathouse’s ideas in your organization—you just need people.
First, let’s restate the acronym and make it SSMLDC for Startup, Small, Medium, Large Dumb Company (yes, there are startup DCs), the key word is dumb, so we’ll call them DCs for short.
Some DCs don’t value their people (which make them happy hunting grounds for recruiters), while others just don’t show it.
But the real problem is one of individual managers, since they have the option of appreciating and caring whether those above them do or not.
No one says you have to manage like your boss or her boss or the company’s big boss.
I have seen many managers who are anything from a few degrees to 180 off from their company’s stated and/or de facto approach.
The good ones leave DCs for good companies and the bad ones leave for DCs.
If your goal is to be a great manager in any environment take the ideas that Greatehouse describes and tweak them to fit your group—whether you’re a VP or a team leader
After all, just because you work for a dumb jerk (DJ) doesn’t mean you have to be one.
Thanksgiving is about excess. Excessive food, excessive drink and excessive appreciation.
We give loud and exuberant thanks for all sorts of things at work and at home—people, actions, happenings, things, stuff—a lot of which we take for granted the rest of the year.
Why not take a different path this year and give your loud and exuberant thanks every day starting Thursday (or today if you are ready).
Offer thanks for the little things as well as those that loom large and make sure the thanks are sincere.
Appreciate the good stuff and the not so good, since our best personal growth often springs from how we handle the negatives.
Reach out, instead of waiting to be approached.
Give the people in your world the benefit of the doubt as well as the benefit of your experience.
Give others the spotlight and be thankful when they rise to the occasion—even if it takes some prodding.
Put away your thoughts of quid pro quo and what’s in it for me.
Do it for the next 365 days and I guarantee that your 2011 Thanksgiving will be the most amazing one of your life.
Although “money can’t buy happiness” may be debatable, it’s a fact that it can’t buy a strong, motivated workforce. For over 30 years I’ve been telling managers that people who join [the company] for money, will leave for more money.
Having listened to thousands of candidates during more than 20 years of headhunting, about 85% have the same top three desires—although not necessarily in the same order:
To make a difference.
To be treated fairly.
To matter [to boss and colleagues].
And there are lots of tangible ways to show appreciation, reward effort, lighten the deadline-induced stress and just have fun
What do you do to motivate your people without killing the budget?
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
It’s amazing to me, but looking back over more than a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written. 
Marty Zwilling wrote a great essay detailing exactly 
John Greathouse is a VC at Rincon Venture Partners and he offers up some great advice about 
Although “money can’t buy happiness” may be debatable, it’s a fact that it can’t buy a strong, motivated workforce. For over 30 years I’ve been telling managers that people who join [the company] for money, will leave for more money.
