I love when my readers call with questions, situations or just to chat (you can reach me at 866.265.7267), so when Tony called I was delighted.

At one point he asked why I harped so much on the psych stuff that I refer to as MAP.

I told him that all coaches/consultants/mentors bring their own philosophy/approach/spin to a subject and I’m no different. My focus has always been on what I call MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™), because we are and do as we think.

I believe that how you think sets the stage for what you do.

In other words, if your thoughts and the actions aren’t in sync then you lose authenticity—and you can’t win success at any level if you’re not authentic.

Further, there’s no way you can implement the best advice on the globe if it’s not at least synergistic with your MAP.

A great example I’ve seen of this was a district sales manager we’ll call “Jim.”

Jim’s office was known for its individualistic salespeople and somewhat erratic production. It never won high office sales awards in spite of having several of the company’s top individual producers, while “Brad’s” office won top honors year after year without any stars.

On one hand, Jim craved an office like Brad’s, but on the other, he belittled the “rah-rah” tactics that Brad believed in and used to motivate his team.

Jim tended to hire people like himself (a common managerial tendency)—gregarious loners who also didn’t respond to team tactics and motivation.

When Jim paid for a professional, day long, team-building program it fell flat. His people thought it was corny and knew that Jim didn’t believe in it either; beyond that, Jim didn’t change his own style of benign neglect.

Simply stated, Jim felt that he could go through the motions; say the correct words and his people would join in. He had no interest in changing his MAP, so there was no authenticity in his actions.

But people aren’t stupid; proceeding as if they are is a recipe for disaster, whatever the size of your organization and no matter what you are trying to do.

Image credit: justinsomnia on flickr

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There are way too many stupid bosses out there, but now and then one of them goes to extremes.

This is the first of an occasional series based on finding or receiving examples of extreme managerial stupidity. If you have a good one please send it to me at miki@rampupsolutions.com, subject “extreme stupidity” (so it misses the filters).

In her annual goal-setting meeting with her boss a woman with a track record building relationships across departments said that one of her goals was to increase her knowledge so she could help the company juice innovation by breaking down silos.

Her boss said, “This place doesn’t work that way. No place does. I think you’re confusing knowledge with ability and I wouldn’t recommend that you build a career based on knowledge. Do yourself a favor, don’t set yourself up for failure.

Focus on something you can really do. Work on your Powerpoint skills. Learn to manage your time better so you don’t have to work so many hours.

Let me explain something to you with an example, I believe in taking care of the customer and the shareholder. I don’t give a sh** about the employee. So I’d never put into my goals ‘build stronger relationships with my team members’ because I don’t care about them. I’d hate doing it and I wouldn’t be any good at it because I don’t want to be any good at it. See what I mean?”

There are multiple stupidities in his comments, so I’ll take them individually.

1. Obviously this manager doesn’t read the business news. There isn’t a CEO out there who isn’t looking for ways to break down walls and reduce silo mentality; there’s too much proof that doing so sparks innovation and raises the bottom line.
2. Skills are knowledge in action; knowledge is transferable between industries; in the 21st Century there is nothing else on which to build a career except knowledge.
3. A company is like a three legged stool with investors, customers and employees being the legs. If one leg is longer or more robust than another the stool will tip over. This type MAP guarantees sky-high costs due to extremely low productivity and excessively high turnover, since employees vote for their bosses with their feet.
4. Managers are not the front line in most companies—especially those large enough to have silos. This manager’s customers are interfacing with the employees about which he doesn’t give a sh**, so there’s not much reason for them to give much of a sh** about the customers.
5. Managerial raises and promotions are based on the accomplishments of the manager’s team; there is nothing a manager can do as an individual that will offset a non-performing group. However, how long it takes him to fall on his ass depends on how many levels above him have the same MAP.

If you find yourself in a similar situation here are some ideas on what to do

If possible change jobs; set your own goals and pursue them as openly as is safe and covertly when it isn’t; continue to build both knowledge and associated skills.

And what not to do

Don’t bother reporting him—unless he’s a very recent hire HR and his manager already know; don’t try sabotage—it’s likely to backfire; put it out of your mind—don’t allow it to eat at you or gnaw on it like an old bone; make a screen saver, sign, etc. that says, “This To Shall Pass” and get on with your life.

Image credit: b0r1s on flickr

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More sage wisdom from our friend Anon(ymous). I have to say, she (he?) really has a way with words—and a certain subtlety of thought.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals. (Just before you trip and fall!)

Education is what you get from reading the fine print. Experience is what you get from not reading it. (Assuming you know how to read.)

THINK—it gives you something to do while the computer is down. (It’s really quite fun, worth turning everything off on purpose.)

My Reality Check bounced. (Damn! I am so tired of that happening.)

Everyone has a right to be stupid. Some just abuse the privilege. (But they shouldn’t work on Wall Street or run for office.)

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Considering what’s going on in the world I thought I’d republish a guest post by Kevin Dwyer (I added some formatting) that really resonates with today’s headlines.So, without more ado, here it is…

“Since When Did I Become a Grumpy Old Man?”
By Kevin Dwyer

Something insidious seems to have happened as I have got older. The world as seen through the prism of popular culture continues to be dumbed down. Stupid seems to have become mainstream. This appears to have occurred both in general and business society.

Now, it may well be that I am just becoming one of the grumpy old men from The Muppet Show. I offer the following for you to judge.

• CEOs and their executive teams who preside over share prices which fall, are involved in scandals, or are sold on to private equity firms because the executive team cannot get sufficient value out of the assets are given bonuses on top of extremely high salaries.

• Politicians not only get away with plausible deniability, but seem to believe that it is a legitimate tactic in executing their responsibility to spend our individual money to build a collective future society for our children, better than the one we were born into. Promises become core promises and non-core promises. The truth becomes what people believe is the truth, not necessarily what is the truth.

• People who would be lucky to have a serious following of friends at their local pub, gain national and international notoriety based on actions within a voyeur’s house that would have had them arrested or ostracised from a society with reasonable morals.

• Buzz words dominate business. “Going forward” is used as a phrase relating to time used instead of next month or next year, a minimum of ten times in a morning television business news report. If they can do the opposite of going forward in time, then I’d really be listening. Phrases which confuse rather than inform become the norm, for example, “People” becomes “Human capital”, “Employees” becomes “Associates” and organisations “Push the envelope”.

• Athletes who can perform their particular skill at a higher level than most others and are paid astronomical salaries to do so, become a protected species if they lose their way and succumb to repeated use of drugs, both legal and illegal. Compared with the “man in the street” they get repeated chances for redemption before the law is applied.

• Leaders do not lead. They prefer to pretend that they are like us; so as not to scare us and possibly lose our support. They do not see their role as envisioning and building a better future, persuading us along the way by the force and logic of their idea. Rather they want us to see them as their mates, liking them and supporting them as evidenced by opinion polls.

What about it? Do you relate?

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