Management Craft

Relationships, Evaluations, Airplanes, Priorities, and Books

Here are a few posts from other bloggers that I think you will enjoy.

First up is a post called Life's Too Short to Do Business With People You Don't REALLY Want To from Crossroads Dispatches. It's a great post on the importance and VALUE of building genuine relationships. Evelyn also shares the benefits of blogging relative to this. Managers and marketers can benefit from this topic, too. Consider: 1. How easy and pleasant (or difficult and unpleasant) your employees, peers, and customers find it to work with you. 2. The extent that you openly relate to people you come in contact with (in person or virtually). 3. How evocative your messages are - can people see them selves in the conversation, do they get caught up in your product or service?

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Creating Passionate Users offers this funny but tragic post on the uselessness of performance appraisals. My regular readers know that I was nodding affirmatively the whole time while reading this. Managers, please read this post a couple times. I know that many of you work for corporations that impose forced curves and restrictions on performance ratings. Fight them if you can. I have been a Director of HR and I know the reasons these practices get put in place. 1. The assumption that many managers will rate people higher than they deserve (this it true, BTW, but forced ratings is not the solution). 2. The belief in a behaviorially based model of work that reinforces that forced distributions are a good thing. 3. The belief that forced ranking weeds out poor performers and motivates those who do not make it into the top 10%. Whatever, it's all bunk. It's all just so stupid and the managers and employees subjected to this type of system know it (I am betting the HR folks know it too). So managers, do what you can to avoid this nonsense.

Point #2, which may sound like a contradiction but isn't: Managers, please do not be gutless when it comes to being honest with an employee about their weaknesses or ways in which their work is only average. I have seen many managers use the "I was told I could not give you an outstanding rating" excuse because they did not have the courage to say why the employee DESERVES a lower rating. You should assert yourself to change the system for the better, but then take ownership of making the appraisal conversation as productive as possible. The "my hands are tied" conversation does not portray you in the positive light you think it does (it basically says, my manager is powerless). Also it is never appropriate to discuss the ratings of others. I know, employees find out about them anyway, but they should not from you.

I live for the day when we can blow up the typical performance evaluation system for good!

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I really like this post from Matt over at Ideas, Leadership, and Vision called, Priorities... Matt shares a recent leadership seminar learning take-away about the difference between what we know our priorities to be and how we spend our time. This is a topic I have written on a few times and I agree with Matt that these are important questions to ask often:

"What activity or activities could you do at the office that would produce the best, most desired results?" 

"What is it that you spend most of your time doing?"

Often what we spend the most time doing is not what would make the greatest difference.

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Don, over at Leadership. Now. shares and builds upon a great post by Bren at Slacker Manager about how to read business books. I was intending on sharing Bren's post anyway, and I like what Don has added to it. In partiucular, I like Don's suggestion that we need to read or get off the pot. In other words, instead of letting our "to read someday" pile get enormous and become clutter, we should pick what we are going to read and get rid of the stuff we will not likely ever get to. The piles (however well intended we are) will get in the way of our peace of mind and mental clarity. Bren offers a plethora of great tips for getting the most out of what you read - meaning that you can easily refer to the salient points later (something I am admittedly not very good at).

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I wanted to point you to the last Business Blog Book Tour. The touring book was Category Killers by Robert Spector. I had the pleasure of meeting Robert recently - very interesting guy! Each stop on the tour explored the book in unique ways. Great reading. Here are all the links:

A penny for... - The Launch

Day 1 - A Penny For...

Day 2 - 1800CEOREAD Blog

Day 3 - Brand Autopsy

Day 4 - Brand Experience Lab

Day 5 - Learned on Women

Most of the sites have multiple posts about Robert's book, so once you get to the site, click forward and backward a bit to get all the good stuff.

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And last but not least, I'd like to share this great post from Writelife about how how flying generally stinks these days called, Come fly with me? No thanks. I can totally relate. I wonder if jobs with lots of required travel are harder to fill these days....I would think so. You'd have to pay me MUCH more to take a job that had lots of travel by plane, and even then I might not do it.

Perhaps we will see a resurgence of RV travel? Airstream anyone?

Space Transporters at the Library?

I went to the new, state-of-the-art, 10 story library in downtown Seattle for the first time today. I know, it's been open for almost a year now and I should be ashamed it took this long for me to go..... Would you believe I was waiting for the crowds to die down? :-)

The place is an inspiration. At first I was totally intimidated - how was I going to find the books I needed? But within about 5 minutes I figured out the system and began to see how very easy it was going to be to find what I was looking for. The book call numbers are EVERYWHERE - on the racks, on the walls, even on the floor.

The only odd thing is the neon yellow/green that is the library's only accent color to it's modern glass and metal design. Getting into an elevator that has neon yellow/green walls, ceiling, and floor is a bit shocking. I was alone in the elevator and I could not help but think that I was about to be transported into a spaceship (I have a higher than average number of such fears because my father has been telling me we are from outer space all my life).

I found so many books I wanted to check out! My purpose was to get research books for my More Space essay called Anatomy of a Breakthrough. I had done a search online before going and created a 3 page list of books to evaluate. By the time I finished on the 8th floor, I had 12 books in my arms.

The check out desk is on the first floor. Wondering how many books I can check out, I began rehearsing my plea should I get to the check out desk and find that I have exceeded their definition of reasonable use. So many angles to try:

I am an author researching a book (How pompous! But would it work? Librarians love authors, right?)

My project is due in a couple days and I will get them right back. (seems lame)

I called yesterday and was told that I could make a special request to exceed the limit. (slimy)

Pleeaassee! (This is the one I will likely go with)

My mind was racing, practicing, posturing all the way down. What an idiot! The check out lady let me have all the books I wanted, no questions asked. She even offered me a bag, which I declined out of guilt and shame.

Dale Carnegie was right in his classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, 99% of our worries never come true.

Sliding through downtown Seattle on my way home, I felt like I had a cool and fun experience at the library. I wonder if that color would work in my house?

Business Poem #16 - Time on My Side

I have not offered a business poem for a while!

In addition to the written poem, I have recorded it so you can hear me read it. This is my first attempt at this, so cut me some slack on the quality. I have also included readings of a few of my older poems. Hope you like them and have a great weekend!

Time on My Side

I’d give a raspberry for just a bit more time
To think through my ideas before you hear them
To organize my day before it plunges into me
To recognize problems before they nip me in the rear
What would a raspberry get me?

I’d give two favors if I could get just this one
To have a day where nothing and no one needed me
To to be able to create the day from moment to moment
To drown in the decadence of quiet solitude
Would two favors be enough?

I’d give my undivided attention tomorrow to not think today
To set aside the barrage of concerns for just a moment
To park my projects and ideas in a safe and accessible spot
To see each day as a new opportunity, not a carry over from yesterday‘s undone
Can I attend to all this tomorrow without harming today?

Can I finish that tomorrow?
Will it wait until next week?
I will have more time next week, I’m sure
We’ll have fun next weekend
Oh, who and I kidding!

Download time_on_my_side.mp3

And these poems from the past:

Stuck (Read poem here):

Download Stuck.mp3

We Need a New Way (Read poem here):

Download we_need_a_new_way.mp3

And on a lighter note....

Ode to Lattes (Read poem here):

Download ode_to_lattes.mp3

An Alternate View of Management vs. Leadership

The Small Business CEO Blog linked to an article called, Leading vs. Managing -- They're Two Different Animals.

The article has some good points, but I also want to bring up a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Perhaps I am just a trouble maker, but I don’t agree with a few of the points this article is making.

The author paints a picture of managers and leaders as being fundamentally different people with different views. Here is a portion of the article:

“First of all, let's take a look at the difference in personality styles between a manager and a leader.

Managers - emphasize rationality and control; are problem-solvers (focusing on goals, resources, organization structures, or people); often ask question, "What problems have to be solved, and what are the best ways to achieve results so that people will continue to contribute to this organization?"; are persistent, tough-minded, hard working, intelligent, analytical, tolerant and have goodwill toward others.

Leaders - are perceived as brilliant, but sometimes lonely; achieve control of themselves before they try to control others; can visualize a purpose and generate value in work; are imaginative, passionate, non-conforming risk-takers.

Managers and leaders have very different attitudes toward goals.

Managers - adopt impersonal, almost passive, attitudes toward goals; decide upon goals based on necessity instead of desire and are therefore deeply tied to their organization's culture; tend to be reactive since they focus on current information.

Leaders - tend to be active since they envision and promote their ideas instead of reacting to current situations; shape ideas instead of responding to them; have a personal orientation toward goals; provide a vision that alters the way people think about what is desirable, possible, and necessary.“

Here’s what does not ring true for me:

1. I don’t see managers and leaders as different people. We can all demonstrate management and leadership. We are leaders some of the time and we need to be managers some of the time. To do our jobs well and to be successful we must be great managers AND leaders. We might have natural tendencies toward management or leading, but we can learn and develop both capabilities. I know some people think leadership cannot be taught, but I have seen people learn leadership and I have helped professionals develop both management and leadership skills.

2. I think there is good management and poor management. Good leadership and poor leadership. This article seems to be saying that management is old school and leadership is hip and now. Management can be hip and leadership can be old school.

For example, they say “managers adopt impersonal, almost passive, attitudes toward goals.” They also say managers tend to be more reactive than proactive. Poor managers do this, but great managers take great care and interest in goals and are very proactive. Showing interest and being proactive does not make one a leader.

What’s the difference between leadership and management?

To me, management refers to the responsibilities we have that are about taking care of business processes, planning, assignments, quality, productivity, and the alignment of the organization. Management is the practice of tending to regular and emerging business needs. Management is the craft of tending to the details of the business in an engaged, proactive and results oriented manner.

Leadership refers to the responsibilities we have that are about influencing, inspiring, and enlivening our employees, peers, and customers. We demonstrate leadership when we communicate in a compelling manner, encourage productive dialogue, and when we role model excellence.

There is a shortage of great management in many of today’s corporations. Perhaps the management vs. leadership mindset is one reason for this. Leadership is certainly the “sexier” of the two and I wonder if some have abandoned developing excellent management skills because they want to be a leader.

The best and most successful business people will practice effective and contemporary management and will provide the leadership that their organizations need.

Oh, and one more thing: Neither great leaders nor great managers try to control other people.

This article does not go into this, but I have heard others say that whether someone is a manager or leader is a function of how high they are up the corporate food-chain. While the needs of each position are different and the mix of management and leadership might differ, I reject the notion that as you move up you no longer need the ability to manage well.

The article has its strong points too, and does acknowledge some of the important skills that managers need. My concern is the overarching message which seems incomplete and not quite right.

I love finding articles like these, though, as they provide an opportunity for open dialogue and debate.

What’s your perspective?

This is your brain. This is your brain on...

I write a lot about motivation, and specifically the power of intrinsic motivation at work. Here is a great post from Creating Passionate Users called Most Classroom Learning Sucks.

While the examples come from schools, they also could be used to emphasize the kind of work environment that encourages people to do their best work.

Here are a couple choice quotes from the post:

"The important thing was that they took the time to discover what the kids were passionate about, and used that as a vehicle for motivation."

"One of the biggest mistakes adult learning programs and learners can make, in my opinion, is to use traditional school as the model. It doesn't work for kids, and it doesn't work for adults. Because it doesn't work for the brain. I know there are enormous challenges and pressures for delivering public school learning (that so many teachers don't have the option or power to change), but most adult education programs that follow the same poor model don't have those excuses."

I agree.

I should produce one of those "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs." commercials. Here's what it would look like:

This is your brain.

This is your brain on extrinsic motivation.

Any questions?

Tip of the Day - #10

Collaborate Better and More

Susan Lucia Annunzio, author of Contagious Success, offered this post on the 1800CEOREAD Blog about how she helps groups collaborate better.

Her steps are: "vent; reverse negative assumptions; generate ideas; identify what’s smart about each idea, watch for the recurring themes, and make sure all the themes are included when you blend the ideas into a solution; pinpoint the dangers; and develop an action plan."

I like the way Susan's process encourages the initial splattering and venting of ideas and then productively structures the conversation. The questions that arise from this process are the right ones to be asking:

What does everyone think?
What are everyone's fears and concerns?
Why do people like and dislike ideas?
What's the devil's advocate position?
How might each approach work and what barriers would we face? How would we deal with these barriers?
What are people's intentions?
What ties these ideas and intentions together?

Results = Relationships
Relationships reflect the quality of dialogue.
The quality of dialogue determines the quality of thinking.
The quality of thinking determines the quality of decisions and actions.
The quality of decisions and actions determine results.
Results = Relationships

Dumb Stuff

The B2Day Blog (for Business 2.0) has a link to a Business 2.0 article on the 101 Dumbest Moments in Business.

Very entertaining!

Debunking Buzzwords

Here's a post from the 1800CEOREAD blog about all the annoying buzzwords we use, particularly those of us who write about management, leadership, and business trends. It's funny, you should check it out!

I would like to come clean about my favorite buzzwords (that I likely overuse):

Optimize - I know, it's an annoying word, but it there a less annoying word that says the same thing?

Peak performance - No excuse for this one

Breakthrough - You're gonna have to put up with this one because it is the subject of my More Space Essay.

High value added - I am getting ill just think about how many times I have used this

Paradigm, mindset, and Definition of Success - Don't know what I would substitute....

High impact - Yeah, it might be annoying, but it is part of the title to my book, so I'm stickin' with it

Alignment - if I had a nickel every time I used this word, I'd be blogging from Belize!

And last, but not least, Capacity. My demand for witty commentary has exceeded my capacity.

I invite you to cleanse yourself of the annoying buzzwords you use by leaving them in the comments section - or share the ones your boss uses that drives you nuts!

Tip of the Day - #9

Talk more, and more openly, with your customers.

There's been quite a bit of blog buzz about the new GM Blog. In this post, they acknowledge apparent customer concerns. Seems like GM is making a good effort, particularly for such a large company. Time will tell if the GM Blog ends up being perceived by customers as being open, helpful, and genuine.

It may not always be easy, but the more real conversation we engage in with our customers, the better.

Think about your business. Are there effective and user friendly vehicles that internal and external customers can use to reach you and speak their mind? Do you have a way of respondng to questions and concerns quickly and effectively (and I don't mean taking weeks to answer a mailed letter)?

Tip of the Day - #8

Use Time Blocks

I can’t wait for my writer’s block!

I have always thought that I use time effectively and generally resist getting distracted. In the last couple weeks, I have found that my productivity has suffered. I have several writing projects that are not getting the attention they deserve. Why? Because I am allowing myself to get distracted by email and internet stuff. I am a typical type-A person, anxious, impulsive, and expeditious. I don’t like letting email build up and prefer to take care of small things right away. This is a good practice, but I need to moderate it a bit to get my mind into my projects.

This weekend I re-instituted a practice that has worked for me in the past - using blocks of time to focus on important work. Each weekend, I will take a look at my schedule and block out some time EACH day to work on writing. During this time, the email program and browser will be shut down. I call these my writer’s blocks.

I don’t schedule blocks out by more than one week. Why? If I block the time out for the week after next, I will more likely have to eat into the blocks as meetings get scheduled. By establishing the blocks on the weekend for the next week, I can put the block where they will work best and I reduce the chances of the time getting bumped.

I also take into account my personal energy fluctuations. My brain seems most able to write in late morning, right after lunch (up to 3pm), and again from 8-11pm. Upon wake up, and late afternoon into early evening are the best times for me to do email and internet stuff.

In addition, I use the alarm feature on the appointment to remind me that it is time for my writer’s block and to shut down Mail and Safari.

For example, for this coming week, my writer’s blocks are:

Monday - 10am-noon, 1pm-2pm
Tuesday - No block - This is a day of major PR for my book, 20 radio interviews
Wednesday - 10am-noon, 1pm-3pm
Thursday - 9am-noon
Friday - 1pm-3:30pm
Saturday - 9am-noon
Sunday - No blocks, schedule blocks for next week

Some of this might change, of course, but if I stick to even half of what I have here, I will have over 8 focused hours of writing.

This practice of using blocks works for me now that I work from my home office and worked well in a corporate environment. I blocked time to focus on important projects or to generate new ideas.

Try using blocks this week!