Management Craft

Boss's Day Poem Redux

Today is Boss's Day. Thousands of people have been finding my Boss's Day Poem from 2005 through Google. So here is another look for the rest of you.

I thought I would offer these poems in honor of all the bosses out there. Being a manager is not always easy. There are a few bad bosses out there, but most are hard working and caring people. Take some time to show appreciation for the work your manager does on your behalf. And if you are a boss - take half the day off and PLAY! You deserve it!

Being Boss

It is not always easy to be the one in charge
In charge of fixing the daily conundrums
That inevitably a come up at 4:30 on Friday
The Friday you have ball game tickets with a pal

Having to make the calls can cause nerves to flair
Flair with fear and raw vulnerability for what’s unknown
And the issues get more gnarly as the day wears on
Wearing patience thin and testing tired brain cells

Why would anyone want to be the boss?
The boss gets all the complaints and aggravation
Constant interruptions render plans obsolete
Obsolete and out of touch before clearing the gate

Being boss comes with these and many more challenges
Challenges roller coaster emotions and energy
These diversions don’t overshadow the reason to lead
Leading is about people, connection, and excellence

Leaders can see and develop our potential
The potential to fully express and utilize our talents
The boss cares about whether people are engaged
Engaged and unencumbered by rolling crud

Hats off to all leaders who get through the muck
The mucky muck of business to help people be great
Jobs would be unbearable without great bosses
Bosses who get what leading is really about

Boss’s Day Haiku

Context and comfort
Filtering through politics
The boss saves the day

 

Pet Peeve - "I'm a People Person"

I interview a lot of people. Many of them tell me the same thing, "I'm a people person."

What does that mean, exactly?

Does this mean that you like people?
That people like you?
That you are a homo sapien?
That you can't stop talking to people?
That you don't like working alone?
That you carve people out of large blocks of marble?
That you work well with people (this is vague in and of itself)?

You might respond - come on Lisa, we all know what this means. No we don't. I have had dozens of people, who seem to have little in common, tell me they are people people. I have no clue what you think this means.

Name one famous people person.
Show me a behavioral assessment that measures whether someone is a people person.

To me, saying you are a people person during a job interview is like a beauty pageant contestant saying she wants world peace. It's lame and does not differentiate you from all the other people-people out there bragging they are people-people too (would that be people cubed?).

If you are asked to share strengths, zoom in what you really do well and share something that means something. Be specific. Being a people person is about as valuable as saying, "Hire me, I've got a pulse!"

Regards,

Lisa
Purple People Person Eater (just the chocolate covered kind)

WSJ Online Phone Tactics

I called the Wall Street Journal Online to cancel my subscription. I just don't have the time to read it. I should be able to do this online by signing into my account, but they only allow all changes EXCEPT canceling the service.

I called the 800 number. The telephone prompt said to push 1 to start getting the online WSJ and press 2 to cancel. I pressed 2.

And waited and waited. Waited and waited.

I wondered if the people adding service had to wait so long. So with my other phone I called the 800 number and this time hit 1. You guessed it, I was speaking to a human in under a minute. She took my information and transferred me to someone who tried to talk me out of canceling. She was nice, but I am an adult and know if I want to keep getting the service or I don't.

I told her "no," hung up and it was all done. In my other ear, I was still listening to the hold music for the line for people who want to cancel.

Were they hoping I would just give up and hang up?

Hmmm. Is this a good policy? Is it OK to inconvenience people who want to stop buying?

This is the WSJ, and we ought to assume that WSJ customers know something about business, and want to be treated like an intelligent professional who knows what she wants.

We have all heard the term, "don't burn your bridges," right? Well, companies ought to think about this when they design their customer service processes for various customers.

Anything is Possible - Create Your Work World Again

I was coming out of a Bed, Bath, and Beyond today and I got kind of reflective. I was looking for a new blanket because the nights are getting cold in Seattle and with four big dogs (three now, 16 year old Jet went to doggie heaven a couple weeks back), nothing stays nice for very long.

But this post is not about blankets. Well, I guess in a way it is about the feeling a nice blanket gives us on a cold night.

As I was coming out of BB&B, I let my mind wander on to thinking about my life and work. And it hit me - I have created what I always said I wanted. I work from home, do a variety of types of work (consult, speak, write, coach, etc), I get to work with lots of smart people, I have enough money to pay bills, save a wee bit and take vacations and have a second home (condo really) in my favorite place, New Mexico.

This is just what I have said I wanted for years.

What's interesting is that we often don't feel like we have arrived when we get there. I did not see a taped finish line, a checkered flag, and I did not get a certificate of completion suitable for framing.

Why is that.....?

Two reasons. First, that's just not me - I grew up in the time of the pink upturned collar izods, yuppies, and - yes, I admit it - disco. We of this time are never satisfied. Second, this is a journey - a long journey with any luck.

We express goals as end points, but they are never end points. Goals are great. Visualizing what you want is great. Staying in focused action to get to the goal is great. Seeing that you have arrived as you continue forward, like hanging out of a slow rolling car to take a picture of Mount Ranier on a clear day - well, that's extra sweet with a cherry on top.

Getting there is wonderful. Not stopping is even better.

Anything is possible, it really is. And beyond this, other things are possible too - things we cannot even list as possibilities.

Bill and I went to see Mozart's Requiem last week. It is a somber piece - for the dead - but the performance was uplifting. Just before the conductor came out, I remarked to Bill that this was going to be the first time we saw the music director Gerard Schwarz for the Seattle Symphony (OK, so we didn't do our homework) but then the conductor came out and it was a young woman named Carolyn Kuan. She looked twelve. She was great.I watched her take lead of the orchestra and chorus and it was amazing. I imagined that she must be very smart, driven, and focused and in action. Yep, yep, and yep. Here's a picture of her:

Do you air conduct (I do sometimes, it's fun)?

Anything is possible and much more than we can imagine today.

I no longer wear izods (but have three ipods) and I won't admit to doing any disco dancing. But I think that five years from now, I will again be walking out of some store or coffee shop and suddenly realize that I got where I was headed again.

Another stop on the turnpike. Time to get gas, clean the windshield, and head back out.

Light Blogging This Week

Have you noticed it's a bit quiet here at Management Craft this week? I have been traveling and have a writing deadline and so have been chunking on other tasks.

Next week will be more active, but in the mean time, here are a couple wee thoughts.

I was reading the latest Leader to Leader magazine on the plan and found this article to be very good:

Be Careful What You Reward- You Might Get It by Bob Nelson and Dean Spitzer. It's all about how we inadvertently reward what we don't want and then we get it. Pick up a copy of Leader to Leader for this article alone.

Unfortunately you cannot read this article on line. But you can read this one: No Excuses Leadership by Jeffrey Pfeffer, which is also good.

1800CEOREAD posts about the best books for small workplaces.

My pal, Seattle based Futurist Glen Hiemstra has some exciting stuff going on. Here's a snippet from the announcement on his blog (which if you don't already read, you should consider - it's great stuff):

Leading futurists Glen Hiemstra and Gerd Leonhard today announced the launch of a web-based video series called Future Talks. Future Talks, produced by Doug Kaye (founder of the Conversations Network), debuts today on the Media Conversations channel with two long-form, in-depth videos that feature each futurist individually. They are interviewed by Mobile Entertainment Forum Chairman Emeritus and renowned music industry figure Ralph Simon. The first regular episode with Leonhard, Hiemstra and Simon, entitled “Media Megatrends”, will be available next week, on October 16, 2007. Interested viewers can subscribe via RSS and receive both the video and the audio-only versions, for free.

And Finally, I find these two posts (and all the great comments) that refer two my dress code post very interesting and at times funny. Anyone else up for the white robe idea? I think they were called tupas:

From Eric Brown
From Phil Gerbyshak

Fireside Chat with Michael Stallard

Are you an unintentional disconnecter? Chat with Dr. Michael Stallard

In this 30 minute podcast, I chat with Michael Stallard, lead author of  Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team's Passion, Creativity, and Productivity. We chat about the ways that managers and leaders can create a culture of connection and Michael shares a few juicy stories about leaders from whom we can learn and be inspired. Michael is a strategist, marketer, and consultant with a long-held interest in understanding human attitudes and behaviors. He is the founder and president of E Pluribus Partners. Previously he was managing director, chief marketing and strategy officer at the U.S. Trust business of Charles Schwab and principal, chief marketing officer at the global private wealth management business of Morgan Stanley.

You can listen to my podcast with the Michael Stallard by clicking here:

You can also download an MP3 version of the podcast here: MP3 Download

And just a reminder.....

Here is the Podcast Feed for the entire Fireside Chat podcast series:

To see the complete list of podcasts in this series, select the Podcasts and Webcasts category on this blog or see the list on my main website here.

You can also find this series on iTunes (and several other podcast sites), just search under my last name for Fireside Chat.

When We're Wrong - Recovering from Bad Decisions

How do you feel when you finally see and admit to yourself that you were wrong? What if the mistake ended up being very costly? Are you haunted by mistakes past?

Human systems are chaotic - sensitive to conditions and impossible to predict with certainty. Decisions made in human systems will sometimes fail because:

• We did not do the right research
• The reactions after the decision was not what you expected
• Conditions, that are out of your control, change
• The decision was poorly communicated/supported
• You/the workplace/the team was not ready for the change in the first place

I am most pained by mistakes I make that affect people or that cause a domino affect of negative reactions.  But we have to keep swinging (informed swinging) or we will become irrelevant. Great managers make more bad decisions than do mediocre managers. Why? Because great managers approach and get active in more situations. Mediocre managers are more likely to sit back and let others make decisions or let situations linger.

Management is not an exact science and on some days it is more art than science. As much as we all hate making bad decisions, it happens to the best and brightest. What's important is the present - what, in this moment, can you do to make the greatest positive difference? How can you learn from mistakes in ways that will benefit your work more than the right decision could have?

Podcasts Down

It appears that the site where my podcasts are hosted (Hipcast) is temporarily down. So if you are trying to listen to podcasts, try back a little later.

LinkedIn and Lost?

Pal Phil posted this book blurb of I'm On LinkedIn, Now What? Here's what he offered:

"'I'm on LinkedIn - Now What???' provides a useful guide for all those looking to better utilize the power of LinkedIn. As Jason writes, LinkedIn is NOT the silver bullet of networking sites; such a site does not exist, and this book does not try to make that point. What this book does incredibly well is show how you CAN use the tool to your advantage; to make connections, to help others, and ultimately, to help yourself! 2 handshakes WAY UP for this great book!"

I must admit that I am on LinkedIn and I haven't a clue how to use it. So, I've done nothing. I respond to the occasional invite (thanks very much) and that's about it.

Can anyone tell me what I should be doing with it (beyond sending my network an occasional email)? Oh, wait, I know, read the book.

By the way, I am not looking to join any other sites, either. I get a few invites for those every week. Life is too short, you know? If I joined any more sites I would be living more in the virtual world than in the real world. I like the real world - it's th only place I can taste great chocolate, hug a dog, and feel the strength of someone's handshake and smile. Maybe one day that will change and the virtual world will be indistinguishable from the real one, but for now I need to reduce, not add to my time online.

That said, since I am already on LinkedIn, it might not be a bad idea to figure out how to use it.

What we Want from Managers

Barry from Gotta Get a Blog offers this interesting post called, For Future AND Incumbent Executives - Today where he shares he most desired management abilities for Future Executives.  Tops are:

• Motivate and engage others
• Communicate effectively, strategically, and interpersonally
• Think strategically
• Lead change
• Create a performance organization

Yes, this makes sense. I think people, intellectually, would agree. But what about their actions?

1. I wonder what would happen if we took a look at the behavioral interviewing questions being used for recruiting middle and senior managers - would see this same emphasis?
2. I wonder if the reasons managers get promoted gel with these desired abilities.
3. I wonder if salary increases and variable payments link back to these.

It would be interesting to create the list of what we actually value based on our actions, wouldn't it? Great companies would probably come up with a similar list to the one above. Many companies, however, might find capabilities like these toward the top:

• Ability to blend in
• Politically correct
• Does what he or she is told
• Works a lot of hours
• Knows the technology
• Loyal
• Knows the right people, in with the right crowd
• Resume shows longevity at each business and a logical progression of responsibilities

What would the list be at your company?