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

Why is it that so many who offer good professional commentary ruin it by presenting it as black and white?

Nothing that involves humans is black and white.

If I describe a manager who screams, rants, insults, and belittles his people I doubt that you would want to emulate his style.

What happens when I tell you his name is Steve Jobs?

Nothing is black and white.

A recent Inc. article listed 8 Core Beliefs of Extraordinary Bosses, they are

1. Business is an ecosystem, not a battlefield.
2. A company is a community, not a machine.
3. Management is service, not control.
4. My employees are my peers, not my children.
5. Motivation comes from vision, not from fear.
6. Change equals growth, not pain.
7. Technology offers empowerment, not automation.
8. Work should be fun, not mere toil.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the list, the concepts are good, but there is a lot wrong with the accompanying commentary starting with the adjectives.

According to the article bosses who don’t embrace these eight in the way described are average bosses.

More accurately, the descriptions of the actions and attitudes attributed to the “average boss” belong, by and large, to the toxic boss category.

Based on the categories Jobs is average, by the descriptions he’s toxic.

Tony Hsieh comes to mind as fitting the description of ‘extraordinary’, although I doubt you would hear him describe himself that way.

Apple and Zappos are both highly successful.

The take-away is nothing is black and white; things that look great at first glance need to be thought through before you embrace them.

Option Sanity™ helps think things through.

Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock allocation system.  It’s so easy a CEO can do it.

Warning.
Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.”
Use only as directed.
Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.

Flickr image credit: HikingArtist

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I’m not really a sports fan, but I read the NYT and occasionally an article that focuses on the human side as opposed to the play intrigues me. That’s how I ended up reading about Jeremy Lin and using him as an example of how easily bosses miss their real star talent.

In mid-March another Knicks story caught my eye.

[Coach] Mike D’Antoni and the Knicks parted ways Wednesday — an event that seemed fated once the franchise acquired Carmelo Anthony, an immense talent whose individual playing style clashed with D’Antoni’s spread-the-wealth offense.

At first glance you might not think this is applicable to business; obviously, no boss is going to quit when an employee disagrees with the culture, no matter how good he is.

In fact, it’s much more likely that the boss will laud him and shower him with whatever perks, bonuses, promotions and raises possible.

Anything to keep him happy; anything to keep him, period.

Not all star players have star egos; from the little I’ve read Lin is the former, while Anthony follows a more typical star profile with the ego to match.

So what really happens when a culture starts focusing on star egos?

The most obvious problem is the deep doodoo you are in if your star ego is injured or leaves.

The more subtle crisis takes place quietly over time as all the potential star players leave for more spread-the-wealth cultures and bosses who will give them a chance to shine.

Flickr image credit: Joshua Smith

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

By now, everybody knows that the Jets management turned itself into a pretzel and spent big money to acquire Tim Tebow from the Broncos.

Notice I didn’t say “add him to the team,” because from what I read there is no team, just a series of “splashy acquisitions.”

That’s the difference between the Jets and the Giants.

…championship teams are built, not bought, not bartered. … The Jets have yet to learn what the Giants already know: championship teams are built, not bought, not bartered. The Jets lacked two important elements last season: roster depth and locker room cohesion. They built their roster as if playing fantasy football, certain Coach Rex Ryan could glean character from a locker room full of characters. But when this grand chemistry experiment blew up the Jets’ laboratory, with players arguing in the huddle and on the field, Ryan acted shocked.

Last year I wrote Insanely Smart Retention and Stars (the third in a series; it contains links to the first two, Insanely Stupid Hiring and Insanely Smart Hiring) and last fall I posted the story of what happens when a founder sets out to hire a star.

In one form or another I and others have been warning that hiring stars is an iffy business and your energy is better spent building and maintaining an all-star team.

So which is your company channeling?

The Jets or the Giants?

Option Sanity™ is a team-builder.

Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock process.  It’s so easy a CEO can do it.

Warning.

Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.” Use only as directed.

Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.

Flickr image credit: HikingArtist

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

I rarely get comments, but I do receive emails; usually with questions that are too sensitive to ask publicly.

Very occasionally over the years they are commentary on what I wrote; I guess the writers assume the language used would relegate them to spam, so they email me directly.

I don’t mind, because it’s kind of cool to know my ideas can generate such explosive reactions, although sometimes I wonder why the person even reads MAPping Company Success.

I received such a response to yesterday’s post.

“James” made no bones that he doesn’t think much of my MAP concept, but his main disagreement was with the final sentence, which he said was garbage, especially in a startup.

Because just as their suggestions won’t directly change your MAP, your suggestions won’t directly change theirs [customers, employees and vendors].

James told me that

• his people followed his lead and his vision;
• running a startup was already an 80 hour-a-week job without spending additional time coddling misfits;
• he paid his vendors on time and if they didn’t cooperate he would find new ones; and
• customers wanted a quality product that did what they needed done at a price they were willing to pay and anything else was marketing hype.

I wrote back saying that everybody was entitled to their own opinion and I appreciated his taking time to share his with me.

So tell me, do you agree with James? With me? Or are you somewhere in-between?

Option Sanity™ acts as a screening tool.

Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock allocation process.  So easy a CEO can do it.

Warning.

Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.” Use only as directed.
Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.

Flickr image credit: HikingArtist

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Last Friday I cited HBS research that indicates that the best results are achieved when those in charge are both good managers and competent leaders and that the key factor is excellent communications.

Whether you think of yourself as a leader or a manager, communications is about more than talking clearly, it’s about providing all the background necessary for your people to understand why they are doing their jobs, as well as what jobs they are to do.

Think of it this way,

• operational communications provide people information on how to do their jobs, while
• management communications tell them what their jobs are and why they do them, giving form and purpose.

People need both.

Many of the problems that managers face daily stem from their own poor or inaccurate communications, often as a result of using jargon in an effort to sound sophisticated, knowledgeable and with it.

Jargon doesn’t work for several reasons.

• You may not totally understand or be comfortable with the jargon;
• your people may have their own individual understanding or be guided by their previous boss’ definitions that have nothing to do with your intended meaning. This happens often enough with words of one or two syllables, let alone multi-syllabic management-babble; or worse,
• your people may shut down when they hear jargon.

You can create a relatively jargon-less environment by

1. keeping it firmly in mind that your goal is to provide your people with all the information needed to understand how to perform their work as correctly, completely, simply, and efficiently as possible; and
2. providing clear, concise, and complete communications at all times.

Follow these two steps religiously and the results will amaze you,

• Productivity will skyrocket; which will
• make your company more successful;
• your employees happier; and
• you a more effective manager with better reviews and an enviable reputation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be sure to check out this months Leadership Development Carnival; it’s been broken up to run over several days, so I can’t repost it here.

Flickr image credit: kevinspencer

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It’s not that I actively dislike the holidays; it’s more a passive thing. More ‘here we go again’ than ‘bah humbug’. But I do early love the word ‘humbug’.

For those of you who don’t know, ‘humbug’ means

1. something intended to delude or deceive.
2. the quality of falseness or deception.
3. a person who is not what he or she claims or pretends to be; impostor.
4. something devoid of sense or meaning; nonsense: a humbug of technical jargon.

It’s an old fashioned word, but the ideas it represents with that in mind, here are some examples of usage and all of

Let’s start with Edmond de Goncourt, who offered this profound insight that’s as true now as it was when he said it more than a century ago, “People don’t like the true and simple; they like fairy tales and humbug.”

Winston Churchill weighs in with a wonderfully irreverent (and accurate) comment on “democratic freedom” that really resonates as the 2012 Presidential race starts up, “I had no idea of the enormous and unquestionably helpful part that humbug plays in the social life of great peoples dwelling in a state of democratic freedom.”

Alfred Bernhard Nobel (as in Nobel Prize) said, “Second to agriculture, humbug is the biggest industry of our age,”—whereas these days humbug is second to none.

And now, I leave you with this provocative tidbit from Norton Juster, “’How can you see something that isn’t there?’ yawned the Humbug, who wasn’t fully awake yet.

‘Sometimes it’s much simpler than seeing things that are,’ he said. ‘For instance, if something is there, you can only see it with your eyes open, but if it isn’t there, you can just as easily see it with your eyes closed.’”

Flickr image credit: Dana Lookadoo

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“There is no silver bullet that’s going to fix that. No, we are going to have to use a lot of lead bullets.”  --Bill Turpin (quote source)

Although Bill Turpin said this in reference to technical problems at Netscape, I see managers at all levels and across industries spending time looking for silver bullets with which to “fix” their people.

There are two reasons that this is a major waste of time.

First, I can categorically state that there is no such thing as a silver bullet. No matter what you are trying to do there is no tool or methodology that can be guaranteed to work in every situation and under every circumstance.

Second, No manager, past or present, has ever fixed anyone. The best that any manager can do is identify the problem, present the information and offer support, but any change or ‘fixes’ must come from the individual.

Lead bullets, however, are how most problems are solved and behaviors changed.

By some measurements lead bullets are expensive, since they cost time and effort over a longer period, but they typically have the highest ROI of anything a manager does.

So, time spent searching for a silver bullet fix or time spent chipping away at the problem with lead bullets?

As always, it’s your choice.

Flickr image credit: mdanys

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I found this great list of dumb boss quotes and thought I’d share my favorites along with my editorializing. You can check out the rest of the list here. There’s an old saying that people don’t quit companies, they quit managers and today’s quotes will tell you why.

First up is the manager who exemplifies the Peter Principle, “I’ve noticed that our ‘cost of goods sold’ rise whenever we experience greater sales. What can we do to reverse this trend?”

Then there is the obviously caring manager known for his leadership skills, “I’m getting a new company car new week. Please call the dealer and ask him to delay the delivery until after Wednesday’s layoffs. I want to appear sensitive.”

Many times what managers tell candidates in an interview isn’t exactly the way things work on the job, “I’m sorry if I ever gave you the impression your input would have any effect on my final decision.”

Other managers don’t bother to pretend, “I threw your suggestion away. Only managers can make suggestions.”

Some managers give are known for putting their people in no-win situations, “If you are on schedule, then your plan was not aggressive enough. If you are behind schedule, you must be goofing off.”

There are many managers who really don’t have a clue when it comes to motivation, “Don’t worry, give it a try. You have nothing to fear but failure, demotion and termination.”

Just in case you think that these are all fiction, the following were added by readers.

From Sophia: “You are not here to think, you are here to do.”

From dliney: Manager: “We’re going to promote you- you’ll be like a faculty member.”
Staff: “Then there will be a raise”
Manager: “Uh-no.”

From cwbailey64: “Frankly, I know I hired you, but you have to admit… you have no talent.”

Anonymous: Everyone who disagrees with me signify by saying “I resign.”

I hope enjoyed these as much as I did and will take a minute and add your own to the collection.

Image credit: HikingArtist.com

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Yesterday I said I would share ways to find employees who would be invested in your company and not just in themselves.

The best place to start is to take a look at the stupidest hiring practice I know and why it is so stupid, i.e., only hiring people who are currently working or not off more than six months.

I’ve seen this attitude before during other recessions, but to see it this rampant now, when the economy is still shaky and the job market hasn’t turned around is beyond belief.

As I told the managers who contacted me and I’m telling all of you, I have no empathy for managers who say they can’t find good people.

Pundit managers (those who share their views through articles and blogs) are constantly saying that attitude is more important than skills; add willingness and ability to learn and the value skyrockets and if the candidate is a good cultural fit the value jumps by an order of magnitude.

Manage them well and you will get additional benefits that money can’t buy—gratitude, appreciation and loyalty—all because you gave them a chance.

The wisest engineering vp I ever met once told me that he would rather have a programmer who knew multiple languages than an expert in the one he needed at the moment. He said that technology would keep changing faster and faster and he needed people who could learn on the fly and change with it. He said that a proven ability to change was more valuable than expert status.

When hiring stay focused on the fact that your next top performer won’t necessarily

• have the best grades;
• attend a prestigious school;
• work for your competitor,
• in your industry or
• even be working at all;
• be younger than X;
• have a full head of hair, with no gray; or
• fit easily into your comfort zone.

The bottom line is your success is the result of your ability to recognize jewels where others see only lumps of coal.

Flickr image credit: ZedBee | Zoë Power

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This post was published first on Technorati

For more than a decade at RampUp Solutions and for the last five years at MAPping Company Success I’ve coached and written about what managers need to do to motivate and engage their teams and what employees really want from their managers. Others have been saying similar stuff for far longer.

We’ve been telling them what is most important to employees, i.e., clear communications on everything, including where the team is going and why, support and opportunities to grow, etc.

Nothing you haven’t heard before, but mostly anecdotal—no hard science to support it, so we end up preaching to the choir, not converting the non-believers.

Like Google.

Google employees deal in facts and stats, stuff that can be munched, crunched and analyzed, and have little use for anything else.

So it’s logical that when the company decided it needed to improve its management skills it turned to analytics to provide the answers.

“So, as only a data-mining giant like Google can do, it began analyzing performance reviews, feedback surveys and nominations for top-manager awards. They correlated phrases, words, praise and complaints.”

And guess what?

The data supported the same results that those of us without data have been saying for years.

But Google took it a step further and prioritized the list based on hard numbers.

And of eight core employee preferences do you know what came in dead last?

Technical skill and technical skill had been Google’s main criteria for promotion.

This finally brings us to my main point, which, this time, is supported by statistical research.

“Technical skill” covers far more ground than most people think. It refers to any hard science (math, engineering, chemistry, etc.), but also to soft sciences (psychology, social science, etc.), sales, finance, the arts—just about anything in which humans develop expertise.

The lesson here is that technical superiority does not predict success in a management/leadership role.

Managerial success is based on a person’s ability to connect in a meaningful way to those she manages and provide what each one needs to produce and grow.

Not new information, but now that it’s backed by hard science and with Google as the role model the choir just got a whole lot larger.

Flickr image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/warrantedarrest/74688743/

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