A year later GE scrapped its notorious rank and yank review system as implemented by then-CEO Jack Welch. A year after that Amazon followed suit. There are still plenty of companies that use the system — whether they admit it or just change the name. Individual managers are also guilty of it no matter their company’s attitude. Be it company wide or individually the effect is the same — higher turnover, lower productivity, decreased engagement, and increasing recruiting costs.
Years ago I wrote about how to make annual reviews painless and effective — more a review of the year’s accomplishments and setting goals for the coming year than a critique of work past.
It worked because mini-reviews, coaching and conversations during the year were frequent.
Typical annual reviews were fraught with fear and loathing.
For decades, General Electric practiced (and proselytized) a rigid system, championed by then-CEO Jack Welch, of ranking employees. Formally known as the “vitality curve” but frequently called “rank and yank,” the system hinged on the annual performance review, and boiled the employees’ performance down to a number on which they were judged and ranked against peers. A bottom percentage (10% in GE’s case) of underperformers were then fired.
Jack Welch championed a lot of very bad stuff (e.g., work/life balance, HR), but the negativity of rank and yank is near the top, if not number one.
(As for GE’s stellar results keep under Welch keep in mind that businesses like GE Financial practically printed money until it all blew up.)
But times are changing.
According to Raghu Krishnamoorthy, the longtime GE exec in charge of Crotonville (GE’s in-house management school) “Command and control is what Jack was famous for. Now it’s about connection and inspiration.”
And to that end, GE has developed a new in-house app that basically does what I and others evangelized a decade and more ago.
The new app is called “PD@GE” for “performance development at GE” There’s an emphasis on coaching throughout, and the tone is unrelentingly positive. The app forces users to categorize feedback in one of two forms: To continue doing something, or to consider changing something.
If you don’t have the luxury of an app you can simplify it even further.
Care about your people.
Interact with your people.
Talk with your people.
Challenge your people.
Help them grow and advance — even when that means they leave for a better opportunity that you can’t provide.
Read what GE is doing and adapt it to your own group — whether your company does of not.
At my work we recently had an abrupt leave of absence for an employee that I have great respect for. Our CEO pushed out a statement asking that we respect that employee’s privacy during this time and that we look forward to the person coming back to work.
If I am judging the email correctly it seems our CEO was being genuine in his hope that the employee comes back soon and on better ground.
I do not know the details of the abrupt leave of absence, however, I know the employee well enough to suspect something went on personally that needed to be prioritized.
For some reason, that person’s story made me think of new beginnings.
Essentially, our company is hoping for a new beginning for that employee.
Of course we hope for new beginnings in our own lives as well. We set up goals for the new year, pin up vision boards or welcome new additions.
My wife and I did the latter. We welcomed a baby boy this past month with the hopes and dreams of a future generation.
I have four children now, he is our grand finale baby, and I never tire of my hope and love for them.
I struggled when I first had children on how I would divide my love with more than just my wife.
The good news is there does not seem to be any shortage, it just multiplies with each child.
The hope you feel with a new beginning multiplies as well.
Why do we look at newness with such hope? Is it because it is a fresh page to write a future on? Are we free of mistakes and faults when new? Does the potential of things to come inspire us?
For me. I love the choice that is laid out.
My children have a choice to shape their life as they see fit.
And they may be in a position to one day to grant an abrupt leave of absence to an employee in need.
They will hope for new beginnings as well and I cannot wait to see what happens.
It is the beginning of the
year and beginnings are when people tend to reflect and choose.
And maybe change direction.
Not just at the beginning of a
new year, but any beginning — new month, new home, new relationship, new pet,
new job, new boss, new colleague(s), new outfit, new [you name it].
I’m as prone to this as
anyone, although my internal editor, who provides constant commentary — mostly
irreverent, rarely complimentary — on my actions, ideas and thoughts, thinks
requiring a beginning to start something is pretty silly.
When we start something has
little to do with whether we finish it, let alone if it’s a success.
We all know that starting is
easy, especially in comparison to sustaining the effort.
Instead of spending all your energy on the planning, save a good deal for sustaining what you started and staying flexible, so you can address challenges quickly.
Poking through 11+ years of posts I find information that’s as useful now as when it was written.
Golden Oldies is a collection of the most relevant and timeless posts during that time.
Last Wednesday I noted with the year three quarters over people were likely to start obsessing and stressing about accomplishing the goals they set last January. I also said I would discuss goals further today.
Topping the list of choosing goals is the need to identify whose goals are — as explained in this post from 2009. Next Monday I’ll share one more bit of insight about goals from way back in 2006.
This might come as a shock, but there is no Eleventh Commandment stating, “Thou shalt place thy career above all things in thy life and draw all sustenance, mental and spiritual, as well as economic, from it.”
“The issue of work-life balance is about what kind of a life you want to have. Work plays a part in that. Decisions that you make about life determine how much work and what kind of work you do. Spending time getting clear about who you are and how you are talented is time well-spent. You may not even like the answer at first. It may conflict with expectations from you, your family, the community, and even society at large.
Maybe that’s the place to start. For those who work best with a label, perhaps Life Integration would offer a better target than Work-Life Balance.”
I like that—Life Integration.
Very few people choose how to die, but too many don’t choose how to live.
They allow the expectations of parents, educators, friends, colleagues, movies, society-in-general and the ever ubiquitous ‘they’ to choose for them.
Most will deny this publicly, but anyone who honestly remembers the power of peer pressure in school will privately admit that it doesn’t cease to exist upon graduation; in fact the pressures increase dramatically while becoming more covert.
Few successful people care to admit that the goals for which they are working and even how they spend their non-work time are more about fitting in than personal desire.
They chase the goals and do the things that ‘everybody’ is doing in the name of being ‘with it’. And that includes “work/life balance” and “having it all right now.”
So the net time you are ready to tear your hair out STOP; stop, take a step back and honestly determine whose goals you are trying to reach.
Unbelievable. Third quarter ends Sunday, which means the year is almost over.
After that there’s really only seven more weeks of fully productive work.
Then comes Thanksgiving and the run-up to all the holidays.
Usually, about a week before thanksgiving is when people start freaking out over all the stuff they haven’t done, especially the goals set last January.
Yeah, the goals that you were going to work on — tomorrow.
Oops.
Suddenly there are very few tomorrows in which to accomplish them.
Missing or just being short isn’t the real problem.
The real problem is that people start putting extraordinary pressure on themselves to achieve them
Not just some of them, but all of them — which is totally crazy.
Worse, on top of that pressure comes all the expectations, pressures and stress of the holidays.
And they wonder why people get so cranky.
I read the following somewhere and it’s stayed with me.
Unrealistic goals lead people to think less of themselves.
The good news is that, as always, it’s your choice.
Join me Monday for more on doing goals right. It may not help this year, but it will keep you from going through it next year.
I mentioned last week that I was in Vegas for a sales kickoff. The event was strong and left me feeling both pumped and ready to move towards my goals for the year.
It also left me wanting. There are certain categories within the sales ecosystem and each category has an award winner for the year. In my category I was not the winner this year and it left me wanting to step up to the challenge.
Something I truly believe is “competition breeds success.” It could be sports or academics or work. When you have someone to compete with it can take you out of your comfort zone and pushes you to be your best.
In my current role I work pretty much alone. I am on a team but we are all remote and I don’t receive a ton of feedback from my management. As a result I sometimes feel lost or drifting.
However, last week changed that. I realized there is an end goal in mind and I do have a way to achieve it.
Today I took some steps towards that. I have a whiteboard in my office and I wrote my goal for the year along with what steps I can take to get there. It’s the first and last thing I see everyday. In addition, anyone else that comes by can see it too. It creates accountability and responsibility.
I am also making sure the items I work on are getting me to my goal. Am I using my time wisely? Am I working on high value tasks? These will all add up over time.
Finally I am making it a point to document my wins and losses so I can improve.
How do you work at it when you’re going towards a goal?
This week I have the privilege of spending time in Vegas for the BMC Sales Kickoff for 2018. (I work for BMC.) It is a lot of excess and excitement, as are most things in Vegas.
However, there is a profound impact being made as well when it comes to how we go to market and create true value for our customers.
What I have found about being at these events is that energy matters. How you think and act will impact your outcome.
I had the opportunity to hear from leaders in tech that all said one thing.
Your mentality will determine your outcome.
If you don’t believe, you won’t get to your goals. It sounds simple, but it’s profound.
Our belief shapes our desired state.
What is your desired state and how do you get there?
I am reading a book right now called “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. The book was written in 1937 and has stood the test of time. The premise of it is simple. The author spent time with the titans of his time and observed what separated those that amassed great wealth from those that didn’t. I am still reading the book, but what it boils down to is not education, physical abilities, or even intelligence that will grant you success.
It’s mindset and being able to focus your energies towards a goal without stopping.
I am not sure how I stumbled across the book, but I figure if a book from the 1930’s was still being discussed, I should read it.
In my own life I want to attain a certain amount of wealth, but not for wealth alone. In fact, I find the single minded pursuit of money to have an emptiness to it. However, I have found that those who create wealth in a just way can also create an ecosystem around them that can be almost self-sustaining.
Mentorship can be offered to others. Ideas that require capital can be pursued. Innovations can be perfected and causes can be embraced.
If you look at a man like Bill Gates you see a savvy businessman that has spawned an industry and can now use his great wealth to promote positive actions around the world. However, he would never be in that position if he had not been single-minded with his company in the beginning.
I doubt myself constantly or tell myself no when I should say yes.
Abundance comes not from being timid, but by being bold and honest with what you want.
Think of the possibilities you could pursue should you truly embrace who you are. It would be better for everyone!
And without making this seem like a rah rah post about positive thoughts, consider the fact that we have nothing to lose by pursing a better version of ourselves.
I am still working on the book, but I encourage you to try it. Is it going to make you think in a new way? Perhaps, but that can be a positive. The author has some insight and he is genuine with his writing.
It’s been 10 years since Joe switched from New Year resolutions to New Year goals. He recently shared the ones for 2018 and said he’s still crushing them every year.
He also said that his 15-yr-old son, “Kevin,” doesn’t believe he is “Joe” and asked me to reprint the original. OK, Joe, here it is, along with a shout out to Kevin that yes, your dad really is “Joe.”
“Joe” an executive I know, sent me his list of New Year’s resolutions and it reminded me of a cartoon I recently saw, and the written counterpart that’s been around for ages:
Person 1: “Would you like to see my New Year’s resolutions?”
Person 2: “Aren’t they the same ones you show me every year?”
He sends the list every year, as kind of an informal accountability function. He keeps it short, just a few things that he really wants to do, but, sadly, they are too often variations of the same things that were on previous lists.
Sure, we’ve all been there, but this is from a guy who is famous for hitting his goals at the 95 to 100% level.
Why do people so often miss on resolutions, yet rarely blow their goals in a similar manner? What’s the difference?
Let’s take a look at Joe’s list. He wants to
stop micromanaging;
communicate better;
workout daily;
lose 20 pounds.
Other than the first item, the list probably duplicates thousands of others. What is the problem?
Have you ever noticed that resolutions are
phrased in an absolute manner that leaves no room for incremental improvement—an all-or-nothing approach;
short and not quantified;
rarely have a viable plan by which to achieve them; and
often aren’t realistic when measured by the resources (time and/or mental/physical energy) required to accomplish them.
If you set your company or department goals this way do you believe that they would be achieved?
If they aren’t achieved, did you really fail? Not if you believe in ering, as I do.
This year, why not do what Joe’s finally doing? Learn about ering (use the link!), reformulate your resolutions as goals, do a reality test on them to see if they hold up, and show them to someone (feel free to send them to me) for both support and a few accountability nudges during the year.
Do this and see how far you can really go, as well as the difference it makes to your esteem and peace of mind.
My best wishes to Joe, Kevin and all my visitors. May crushing your 2018 New Year goals this coming year be as sweet as the deserts you indulged in during your 2017 Christmas.
After every seven years of service, employees become eligible for a six-to-eight week paid sabbatical, which they can use to spend time with their families, travel, and accomplish longstanding personal goals — no strings attached.
Aarstol believes that a shortened workday could motivate employees to work more efficiently. And he is proving to be right through his own company, Tower Paddle Boards, which continues to expand, even after a year of rolling out the five-hour workday. Last year, it was named the fastest-growing private company in San Diego. Aarstol even published a book titled “The Five Hour Workday” this month.
REI, for example, gives its employees two paid days off a year, called “Yay Days,” to enjoy their favorite outside activity. The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) takes every other Friday off, coining those “Panda Fridays.” We also give our employees every other Friday off — and we pay them for it. We call it the “18-Day Work Month,” and we truly believe it’s the key to a more productive workforce.
Gusto, a startup with 300 employees in San Francisco and Denver, just became the first midsize company in the US to cover fertility treatments in a way that will help single women and same-sex couples, according to Cigna.
However, some of the best perks cost the company nothing.
SEI made Forbes’ 2016 Best Small Companies list earlier this year, in part because of its unusual employee goal-setting policy. Twice a year managers meet with reports who lay out goals, including compensation, and SEI pledges to support employees’ wishes.
The main point: this is not a high-profile kind of job at Facebook, not a developer building a feature that will be used by millions, nor an engineer working on some of Facebook’s moonshot projects like its solar-powered drone or Internet.org.
“At Facebook we believe that ‘Nothing at Facebook is somebody else’s problem’ — it’s yours,” she writes. “I’m tasked with finding creative, innovative and realistic solutions for my clients, even if it has never been done before.”
In other words, she feels a sense of empowerment.
In fact, academic research shows that there’s a strong correlation between job satisfaction and employee empowerment. People who are given the freedom to solve problems in their own creative ways simply like their jobs and their companies better.
In fact, it’s the willingness of management to help their people function at their highest level, grow and succeed, i.e., a manager who cares, that is worth more than most tangible perks.
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,
