Raven's Brain v1.0: Management

IT Professionals - 5 Do's and 5 Don'ts for managing up

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:40:00 GMT

ComputerWorld has two articles discussing ten do's and don'ts when working with your CIO. There is a common theme in each piece with a focus on transparency, honesty, solid information and the "real" picture, and both articles offer advice on managing up and working more effectively with your CIO or other IT manager.

I found the tips to be realistic and not rooted in some pie-in-the-sky fantasy world. If you look below there some solid steps you can take now to begin working better with most managers, whether in IT or not. As always, you could add more to the list, or argue about what should be in the "top 5", but take these two article for what they are - good resources to learn about communicating useful information and managing up effectively.

Five things you should never tell your boss
Here's the information he's relying on you to provide.
(note - tips below are truncated)

1. All about the technology -- and nothing about the business. Acting like the business is terra incognita is a no-no. "Never tell me you don't know what the business wants but you'll build it when they decide," says James E. Schinski...

2. There's only one solution. "People can sometimes develop a fondness for a certain technology or programming language or manufacturer into almost a religion, but it's never the case that one type of solution is the proper one for all situations,"...

3. Bad opinions about your colleagues. It's a simple rule that can get overlooked when your team is struggling with a missed deadline or a failing project, but think before you point a finger, because bosses generally don't want to hear about it -- especially if you haven't tried to work it out on your own...

4. There's no way. Robert Strickland, senior vice president and CIO of T-Mobile USA Inc. in Bellevue, Wash., makes his position very clear: Everything is possible...

5. A surprise. CIOs almost universally say they don't like surprises -- particularly unpleasant ones. Ian S. Patterson, CIO at Scottrade Inc., a St. Louis-based online brokerage firm, says he always prefers to hear news -- good and bad -- directly from his workers. So when someone comes by and starts with "I want to give you a heads up," it really catches his attention....
Five things you should always tell your boss
There are some things your CIO definitely doesn't want to hear.
(note - tips below are truncated)
1. The real story. "Sugarcoating problems, holding back information, overpromising and consistently underdelivering are all reasons why IT has a bad reputation. We do this so well, we don't even realize there is a problem," says Robert Strickland, senior vice president and CIO of T-Mobile USA Inc. in Bellevue, Wash. "To lead effectively, I need the complete picture, as do our customers and our suppliers. When information is withheld, you are protecting no one."...

2. Your ideas. "Bring me ideas to improve the business, even if they're outside of IT,"...

3. What you want. Ted Maulucci, CIO at Tridel Corp., a condominium developer in Toronto, tries to shift his workers into the jobs that they enjoy most. It helps with employee retention, office morale and productivity. He points to one employee who loves working on hardware so much, he'll come in at 3 a.m. to tackle a new project....

4. No. It takes courage to tell the boss that you don't agree, but it's better for all involved when you say no to suggested projects, timelines, budgets or technologies that just aren't going to work, says Michael F. Williams,...

5. Your successes. No one wants to spend each day hearing only about project setbacks, failed servers and unexpected downtime. Good news is welcome too. Yet IT workers seem reluctant to promote the positive, Kalia says. "The thought process doesn't take place in their heads, or maybe they think that what they're doing isn't that special," he says...

I know some will say their managers don't want the real story - this would be common if you work for a "just get it done!" manager, which probably means they don't want to hear about your ideas or successes and "NO" probably isn't in the organization's vocabulary. Hopefully you are fortunate enough to work for an organization that cares about it's people and sets everyone up for success. With transparency comes more open communications and people will learn that being honest and presenting the real picture is not only acceptable - but expected.

image courtesy: Shoebox Blog

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Managing Up, Management Tips, Management Blog, Management Resources

100 Great Management and Leadership blogs

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:45:13 GMT

Lisa Haneberg shared a list of 100 Great Management and Leadership blogs from HR World:

HR World put this impressive list of 100 management and leadership blogs together and included this humble blog. Check out all the great blogs. HR World, thanks for including Management Craft! There are lots of interesting blogs that I had never heard of. These lists are great because they help us find a few new blogs to get attached to (like puppies or Furbies or bottles of Bordeaux or iGadgets from Apple).

Read more here: http://managementcraft.typepad.com/management_craft/2008/06/100-great-blogs.html

Her blog Management Craft made the list along with several others I already subscribe to, like Tom Peters blog, Steve Farber's blog, Michael McKinney's Blog, Miki Saxon's Blog, Slow Leadership, Rosa Say's Site, Wally Bock’s site, Slacker Manager, Marshall Goldsmith's Blog, Seth Godin's Blog, David Maister's Blog, Kent Blumberg, Bob Sutton's Site and more.

A few new (to me) sites caught my attention - especially under the last section titld "Women":

The Power of the Purse: Fara Warner finesses on how companies can cater to “the world’s most important consumers”— women.

The Wild WE: This fun blog targets businesswomen.

WonderBranding: More useful information on marketing to women appears on Michele Miller’s blog.

Great Leadership: Opinions on information on leadership and leadership development by Dan McCarthy, manager of leadership and management development at an undisclosed Fortune 500 company.

Learned on Women: This blog researches female customers to help your business target them.

Boomer Women Marketing: Mary Brown, president and founder of Imago Creative — the only marketing firm in the U.S. specializes exclusively in marketing to baby boomer women — shares her beliefs about creative branding relying on human connections.

Rethink Pink: News about marketing to women can be found at this blog.

Women's Leadership Exchange Blog: Leslie Grossman threads news and politics with business basics for women.

Review the complete list of 100 Great Management and Leadership blogs here: http://www.hrworld.com/features/top-100-management-blogs-061008/

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Leadership, Leadership Blog, Management Blog, Management Resources

Women In Management: Shirts or Skirts - Who's The Better Manager?

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:07:34 GMT

I came across a post I couldn't pass up because of the title - Shirts or Skirts. I had to read it, even though I haven't worn a skirt since graduating from high school almost two decades ago. I enjoyed the discussion on the differences between men and women management styles, and how author Jay Forte tried to answer the question he posed at the beginning of the post - "Who Can Best Manage in Today’s Economy?".

This is one of several pieces I've read recently that examines the "hunter/provider" male and the "nuturing/interpersonal" female, and how your gender informs the type of manager/leader you are. Obviously, as a woman manager I'm very interested in the subject and, I have to say, I found myself nodding my head in agreement when reading the post . Forte says "Men are better with things, women are better with words.", while not always true (there are exceptions to any statement, and this isn't to say men can't be good with words), I do feel that women are better equipped for more effective communication but, then again, I am a woman so I'm (more than) slightly biased. However, before I run off on my own tangent, let me share an excerpt from the excellent post Shirts or Skirts:

Men and women do not think the same way; biology insures this. Men think in a more spatial, competitive and aggressive way – this has insured our survival for thousands of years. Women think in a more verbal, cooperative and interpersonal way – this has insured the bonding with and development of offspring for thousands of years. We still have the same brains, subjected to the same hormones that activate the switches and inspire our responses – it is our biology. This biology doesn’t change; however, our world and its formula for success changes. The competitive male mind is not as effective in inspiring results today as the engaging and interpersonal female mind. This means that a change in how we manage and who that manager is may be required.

We have moved from brawn to brain, industrial to intellectual, manufacturing to service; today, over eighty percent of all businesses in the US are service because much of manufacturing has moved off shore. As author Seth Godin states, “we used to make food (agrarian society), then we made things (industrial age), now we make ideas” (service economy). No longer do our days include the same repetitive process that hallmarked the manufacturing era. Service (intellectual age) instead, is a thinking and “human” event. To be successful in the service economy, each employee must be engaged, happy and thinking to provide the right level of customer service to build customer loyalty and long term profitability. This is encouraged and developed through a strong employee-focused culture (based on employee needs, values and interests) and supportive employee-management relationships. These relationships are required to understand employees well enough to match their roles with their talents and thinking, encourage them with consistent performance feedback and spend time discussing and defining their development and future.

Read more here: http://humanetricsllc.com/resources/articles/shirts-or-skirts/

Of course my "Girls Rule" image is (slightly) tongue-in-cheeck. I've been trying to think of a better catch phrase for the gender differences as discussed by Jay - I don't want to be tied to a "skirt", personally, and I actually wear a shirt to work myself everyday so that's not a solid distinction. Hillary got mocked for her love of ladies pant suites, but what's a gal that doesn't want to wear a skirt or dress to do? Anyway, "ties or business-slacks-and-nice-blouse - Who's the better manager?" doesn't have the same ring to it and, afterall, the original title was catchy enough to get my attention. And there I go off topic again.. So, uhm, I really liked Jay's post, and who can argue with his summation??

Never has there been a better time for women to advance in management. Gone are the industrial age “men’s clubs” – their management style is ineffective today. For years, women have had limited access to the executive suite. Previously, they were hired to clean it. Today, they are the right choice to reinvent it, staff it, manage it and turn it into a profit center. Women have the natural abilities and talents to manage this intellectual workforce. Our success is in our natural thinking, inventing and passionate performance. Whoever can best activate this in employees and encourage their great performance is the best choice for the role of manager… and it seems more likely to be a skirt than a shirt.

Not me! (Girls Rule!)

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Effective Management, Management Styles, Women In Management

Decipher and/or Generate Business Jargon

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:32:37 GMT

Seth Godin created The Encyclopedia of Business Cliches at Squidoo last summer (my post on it is here). He started with a list of ten over-used words in business that are confusing and, well, pretty annoying, and there are now close to 200 business cliches listed. There are other sources for clearing up the confusing words, acronymns and other overly complicated, "obfuscating" (as Seth says) business terms, like Cheri Baker's post A Guide To Business Jargon, where she interprets some of today's common business words and phrases. Here's a clip:

One of the things that I don't like about my chosen career field is the amount of jargon that people use. "Jargon" is when people use overly complex or sophisticated words to describe what could be said in simpler and easier to understand ways. This post contains an interpretation guide for some of the most common snooty business words out there.
The Jargon word is bolded, followed by equivalent words in plain english.
Human Capital - Human Resources, People
Talent Acquisition - Recruitment
Talent Management - Performance Management, Workforce Development
Paradigm - A way of seeing the world. Sometimes referred to as "the box" as in "We must think outside the box."

The image at left comes via Guerilla Marketing and acts as a "jargon generator." Click for the original, larger version. Here's an excerpt from the post:

The Consultant's Jargon Generator.

Use it to spice up your meetings with clients and colleagues, your proposals, or final "deliverables." Find just the right words to describe one of your consulting capabilities or your methodology, or to make a client recommendation.

From the table below, choose any word from the left-hand column, then add a word from the middle column plus any word from the final column. Ta da--instant consultant speak.

Give it a shot.

Fun stuff - read more here:

http://guerrillaconsulting.typepad.com/guerrilla_marketing_for_c/2005/09/consulting_jarg.html

Related reading (a lot found via from Seth's page):

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, Business Words, Business Cliches, Encyclopedia of Business Cliches

Tutorial: Using Pivot Tables in Excel 2007 & more

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 20:18:25 GMT

Pivot tables - either you love 'em or hate 'em. People at all levels of an organization can find them to be very useful in organizing data but you often see them used for high level views of a given data set. In project management you would likely see them used at the portfolio management level, though they can be useful to anyone looking to organize and view large amounts of data.

So what is a pivot table and what can they do for you? The good folks at lifehacker have a post on using pivot tables in Excell 2007, and they reference resources from the Productivity Portfolio blog to help you get the most out of the tool:

Tutorial: Get Started with Pivot Tables in Excel 2007
As you might have seen in our comments, our readers love them some Pivot Tables, an aggregation tool that can show your spreadsheet data any way you tell it to. If you've felt left off of the data-wrangling bandwagon, the Productivity Portfolio blog has a guide walkthrough explaining the benefits and features of the tables and setting up a simple voting analysis table for an example. Better yet, the post includes a printable PDF for your do-this-when-I-get-home convenience. For more Excel 2007 knowledge, try out PP's equally helpful guide to AutoFilter.

Learn to use Pivot Tables in Excel 2007 to Organize Data [Productivity Portfolio]

Direct link to lifehacker post: http://lifehacker.com/358104/get-started-with-pivot-tables-in-excel-2007

Bonus: check out the comments for some interesting opinions on the usefulness of pivot tables and some alternatives, like using a similar feature in Open Office Calc called DataPilot [Free OpenOffice Calc tutorials - data pilot (pivot tables)]

Related resources from lifehacker can be found at these links: excel, excel tip, microsoft excel, spreadsheets, data

Direct link to the Productivity Portfolio Tutorial on Pivot Tables: http://www.timeatlas.com/mos/5_Minute_Tips/Chunkers/Learn_to_use_Pivot_Tables_in_Excel_2007_to_Organize_Data/

Sections from the Pivot Table tutorial include:

What is a Pivot Table

Understanding the Pivot Table Structure

How to Create a Pivot Table

But wait….there’s more….and some of the same

Troubleshooting Pivot Tables

Tutorial Files:
Pivot table example spreadsheet
PDF Version of this article (includes larger screen snaps)

Related Excel Tutorials
How to use Excel Goal Seek
How to use Excel Auto Filters

And to further overload you with pivot table goodness, here are even more resources:

Hope this helps you understand the benefits of pivot tables and how to get more out of them. If you have any tips, tricks or related info - I'd love to hear from you! Email raven_young AT hotmail DOT com

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Pivot Table, Pivot table Excell 2007, Organize Data, Excell 2007 Tips

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Business & Management Humor: Mergers And Aquisitions

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:03:47 GMT

Mergers and aquisitions can be difficult -- and amusing:

"In some mergers there truly are synergies - though often times the acquirer pays too much for them - but at other times the cost and revenue benefits that are projected prove illusory. Of one thing, however, be certain: if a CEO is enthused about a particularly foolish acquisition, both his internal staff and his outside advisors will come up with whatever projections are needed to justify his stance. Only in fairy tales are emperors told that they are naked."

Warren Buffet 1930-, American investment entrepreneur

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Business Humor, Aquisitions, Mergers, Warren Buffet Quote

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Critical Team Persona's: Ten Faces of Innovation

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 04:45:29 GMT

I had saved Clark Ching's post on the Ten Faces of Innovation but Jack Vinson already beat me to the overview of the 10 different roles discussed in his post Ten Faces of Innovation:

Clarke Ching provides a link to an article / review of Tom Kelly's book, Ten Faces of innovation (and the accompanying website). It's a collection of personae that are critical to innovation in teams. I like how the personae are grouped by type. And I like the idea that no one person could fit into these roles. I also have the idea that people morph from persona to persona, depending on what is happening in the business.
Unlike Clarke, I'm going to assume you'll track down the link, if this topic is of interest. Here are the Personae as grouped in the article.

The Learning Personae

The Anthropologist
The Experimenter
The Cross-Pollinator

The Organizing Personae

The Hurdler

The Collaborator
The Director
The Building Personae

The Experience Architect
The Set Designer
The Storyteller
The Caregiver

Read more of Jack's post here: http://blog.jackvinson.com/archives/2008/01/08/ten_faces_of_innovation.html

Be sure to check out the accompanying website for more detail on each of the above roles. It's an interesting list and, like Jack, I like the idea that no single person could fit into all of the roles and believe folks can and do morph from one persona to another.

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Innovation, 10 Faces Of Innovation, Teams

Hey Management - Study Says Most Employees Don't like Workplace Parties

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 04:21:21 GMT

I don't know when it started happening, but at some point in the business/corporate world a lot of employees started dreading, loathing, hating and avoiding company events. I remember going with my dad to his company picnic when I was little, back in the '70's, and everyone seemed to be having fun. Burgers on the grill, families and yard games and everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves (considering it was the 70's -- maybe it was the alcohol fueling the smiles!). Looking back at the last few company sponsored (read: mandated) events I attended, I can't say many folks looked as if they were having fun. No matter the setting, location, theme or event most people seemed to be making small talk while sneaking glances at their watches. Their eyes screamed "how much longer before I can sneak out of here?" while the fake smiles and clock-watching continued. I had to wonder - how much did the company shell out for us to pretend to enjoy ourselves and show our gratitude for their appreciation? Maybe we want to spend more time with our family and/or away from work. Maybe we're just tired and, uhm, overworked. Cheri Baker from The Enlightened Manager offers her thoughts on the subject in a great post titled Most Employees Don't like Workplace Parties:

I've never worked at an organization that didn't insist on throwing holiday parties. There is the annual Christmas party of course (or Holiday Party for the politically correct), and usually a summer picnic. And without exception I have always hated going to these things. Apparently I'm not alone.
Research conducted by British HR Firm Croner reports that about two thirds of workers would rather be anywhere else than at a company holiday party. (As quoted in the Melcrum Blog - click here for the post.)
I admit part of my distaste for the holiday gala was because it was always assumed that because I was in HR that I would be the champion of the holiday gathering. "It's about morale!" the leadership would quip, ignoring the fact that I and a majority of my brethren would rather be celebrating the holidays with anyone in the world besides our coworkers and bosses. Think about it - you spend forty or fifty hours a week with these people, and then when holidays roll around the company assumes you'd like to give up a Friday night or Sunday afternoon with your family and friends to spend more time with these people. I've generally enjoyed my coworkers - don't get me wrong - but there is such a thing as too much togetherness. The holidays and summer weekends are a time to enjoy my family, not my acquaintance over in accounts payable.
Have you ever been on a holiday party planning committee? I have. I had a better time getting my wisdom teeth extracted. (At least during that I was drugged and semi-conscious.) The general tone of these committees is "Your presence is mandatory - and if you don't respond with overwhelming enthusiasm then you are a bad employee and a lousy human being." Moreover, these events tend to be expensive, and so there is pressure on the part of attendees to feel gratitude towards the company, while most employees whisper to each other that the only reason they came was to make their boss happy.
Read more here: http://blog.emergenceconsulting.net/2008/01/new-study-most.html

Aha - so it's not just me! But don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of some events and that some employees do appreciate the occasional company party/event. I also understand these settings can be great for networking and hobnobbing. I just don't like them. And, one last request, puhLEASE don't make me put on my fancy pants and shiny shoes to go to some "gala" type event. If we must celebrate let's keep it short and sweet - order a pizza for everyone to take home and cut them loose early -- that's sure to bring some real smiles!

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Morale, Employee Morale, Company Parties, Company Events

Kent Blumberg's list of "25 Truths About Time"

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 04:09:32 GMT

Kent Blumberg has a post with a list of 25 Truths about time. Simple, realistic and true - each item is a gem in itself on time management, whether on a personal or professional level:

Time is a limited resource - you can't make more of it. But, you have more time than you need if you use it wisely.
You choose how to spend your time.
Time is elastic - you can stretch it or compress it.
Do what matters to you.
Eliminate shoulds and coulds.
Be early always. Take along something to read or do in case you have to wait.
Plan your year, months, weeks and days to help you stay focused on those things that matter most to you.
But, don't plan your time out to the last second. Leave time for crisis, chaos, surprises. Leave time for serendipity.
Slow down.
Set goals that matter to you - that you want to achieve.
Take time away from work. 100 percent away. Phone off, Blackberry off, computer off. Take time away a bit every day, a bit every week. Get away four weeks per year.
Live in the present. The past is gone - no matter how much time you spend agonizing over it, it will not change. If you need help letting go of the past, get it. The future isn't here yet - worrying about it will not make it better or worse. Only action taken now can make a difference.
When deciding what to work on, I like to think about Return On Time Invested (ROTI). ROTI is a particularly useful concept for the entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners I work with. ROTI is simply the revenue, or profit that an activity is likely to generate divided by the time the activity will take.
If you are self-employed, set a dollar value on your time and choose to get it.
Fully handle things once. Finish them completely and permanently.
Say no often. Offer to help less often.
Under-promise.
Choose to associate with people and organizations who help you extract the most value out of each of your minutes. Choose not to associate with people and organizations who waste your time.
Solve your own problems. Let others solve their own problems.
On the other hand, don't be afraid to ask for help. (For example, men, how much time do you waste each year trying to find an address? Ask!!)
Focus. Don't multi-task. You'll get more done, and at a higher quality level.
Take a real break in the middle of the day.
Enjoy the process, not just the result.
Listen fully before responding. You'll waste less time answering the wrong question or responding to the wrong concern.
Let it be.

Good list -- Read more here: http://kentblumberg.typepad.com/kent_blumberg/2007/10/26-truths-about.html

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Time Management, How To Save Time, Managing Time, Productivity

Management Humor: Managing your workspace

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:34:00 GMT

Are you managing your workspace or is it managing you?

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

(un?)fortunately I'm too big of a control freak to work in this manner (every thing in it's place, and there's a place for every thing), but it does mirror quite a few folks I work(ed) with. All of them had their own system that worked for them in a "there's a method to their madness" kind of way. Funny the way different minds work. Whenever I work with someone that's a clutter bug I have to control my urge to straighten up and orgainize, while I get a lot of ribbing for having a desk that's too neat and clean: "Do you ever work? I never see anything on your desk besides the essentials and perhaps one perfectly placed notebook with pen on top!". I just tell them the clutter's on the inside - my brain is pretty messy ;)

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management Humor, Business Humor

Management Insights: Hiring and 30 Questions You Can't Ask

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 22:56:36 GMT

Eric Brown has a post discussing an article on 30 questions employers aren't allowed to ask: HR World - 30 Questions you can’t ask. The hiring process is difficult and hiring managers aren't always educated on what they can ask potential candidates and what is essentially off limits. The article Eric references not only outlines 30 questions you can't ask people you interview, it also poses alternative questions you can ask that will, essentially, get you the same answer.

Check out his post here: http://ericbrown.com/hr-world-30-questions-you-cant-ask.htm

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Hiring, Interview Questions, Hiring Manager, Illegal Interview Questions

Management Insights: Books List For Building A First-class Workplace

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:10:17 GMT

Regular readers know I'm a book nut. I'm always reading someting and topics range from leadership, management and business to project management, technology, innovation and more. That's why I was excited see this post from the WSJ by KELLY K. SPORS: Recommended Reading: Creating An Effective Work Culture. WSJ asked executives, business owners and managers what books they'd recommend for folks looking to build a solid, successful workplace and the list in the article is based on those results. I've read a few of these books already and the others on the list look to be equally interesting and useful. Here's the list, you'll need to read the article to get more detail on each book and the rest of the information:

"The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable" by Patrick Lencioni
"Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future" by Joel Arthur Barker
"The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America" by David Whyte
"The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It" by Michael E. Gerber
"Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don't" by Jim Collins
"The New Pay: Linking Employee and Organizational Performance" by Jay R. Schuster and Patricia K. Zingheim
"Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life" by Spencer Johnson
"First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently" by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
"Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great" by Jim Collins
"Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise" by Peter Block
"The Best of Jack Falvey on Management" by Jack Falvey
"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu
"A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age" by Daniel H. Pink
"Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done" by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan and Charles Burck
"Strategic Planning: What Every Manager Must Know" by George A. Steiner

read more here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119091489341641497.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Pretty deep list. I've read about half of the Lencioni series, including 5 dysfunctions of a team, and highly recommend it and the rest in his series. It would be hard to pick any one book to add to the list but it is missing a lot of great management, leadership, personal development and business books. I'd take these suggestions, look for some additional feedback and detail on them via Amazon.com and decide which books are right for me. If you bought every book you read a review about you'd be buried for y-e-a-r-s!

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Management Books, Leadership Books, Develop Workplace Culture, First-class Workplace, Effective Work Culture

Bad Management: Honesty as a marketing and sales gimmick

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:39:15 GMT

There's an excellent post on honesty and bad management over at Biznology: That "I Don't Know" Thing. I love the story by Mike Moran which sums up a hostile client meeting, his honesty in responding to a question with "I don't know" and his superior's glee at the "clever gimmick!". It's another sign of the bad state of business that anyone would think an honest answer of "I don't know" is some kind of gimmick. When did honesty become something you could/should shape and sell? Wait -- don't answer that, I don't want to know..

In this clip we see the honest answer:

Later that day, as I stood in front of a faintly hostile group of customers firing tough questions, I found I was able to handle them all honestly, even though some were uncomfortable. But near the end of the session, I got a question completely out of left field, one that had nothing to do with my field of expertise or the project. It wasn't a dumb question—just one I had no way to answer without a big bluff or an outright lie.
I paused for what felt like a lifetime, and then simply answered, "I don't know." I told the questioner that I would be happy to take his business card and find out the answer and get back to him. As I did this, I could see the senior manager in the back of the room doing a slow burn. If you could kill someone with a look, I'd at least have been maimed.

Ah! An honest answer: "I don't know but I'd be happy to get back to you". How shocked everyone in the room must have been! But sincere honesty can go a long way and here is why this particular honest answer worked:

Mr. Decision Maker asked me a few more questions, but then said something I will never forget. "We get a lot of so-called experts in here that can talk a blue streak but I never know when they are making it up as they go along. But when you said 'I don't know" to that one question, it made me realize that you must really know everything else you talked about. It made everything else you said credible." Then he thanked me and left the room.

Imagine, building credibility by telling the truth! But of course bad managers don't see it that way and they rather took away a different lesson:

The senior manager grabbed my hand, shaking it excitedly, and said, "That 'I Don't Know' thing was amazing! I would never have thought of such a clever gimmick! I am going to have to remember that one. I'm going to tell all the other experts we bring in here to use that, too."

Can you imagine how deflating that must have been to hear? You stood your ground in a room full of unhappy clients and performed beyond expectation - you answered honestly, though it must have been stressful, and the client thanked you for it. Wow - you rock! Then senior manager/uninformed moron latches on to the successful response and talks about misusing honesty (that I don't know thing) to the benefit of marketing and sales. You should really check out the complete post, it's worth the read and even the closing paragraph has some great insight:

...Personally, I think that we're better off working for companies (as I do) where these kinds of stories are rarities rather than everyday occurrences. But we all get to decide every day whether we will stand up for our principles, even in small ways like in this story, or whether we'll cave in to the pressure to make compromises for short-term benefit...
Read more here: http://www.mikemoran.com/biznology/archives/2007/07/that_i_dont_kno.html

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Honesty, Integrity, Bad Management Styles

Management Humor: Please Notice!!

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 04:39:28 GMT

Please Notice!!

You may have noticed the increased amount of notices for you to notice.

And, we have noticed that some of our notices have not been noticed. This is very noticeable.

It has been noticed that the responses to the notices have been noticeably unnoticeable. Therefore, this notice is to remind you to notice the notices and to respond to the notices because we do not want the notices to go unnoticed.

-From the Notice Committee for Noticing Notices

<notice>Via http://halife.com/laughs/office.html -- I had to laugh!</notice>

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management Humor, Business Humor

Aha! That's why bad employees don't get fired!

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 03:20:29 GMT

Now this is just sad from a management perspective. There's an article by Tag Goulet called Why bad employees don't get fired that outlines some pretty lame excuses for keeping, to put it politely, "under performers" around. There is at least one at everyone company, and at too many there's a veritable parade of morons and slackers holding jobs other's would die for. A few of the items on the list are actually understandable (2, 3, 10), but to me most show a lack of experience and resolve on the part of the hiring manager (2-8) or organizational politics (1, 8). If you have an employee on a team that is damaging morale, under performing, has an attitude or behavioral problems, it's time to make a move. Of course this assumes you've coached, counseled and monitored performance before reaching this point, but when it's obvious someone isn't working out (not the right fit, for whatever reason) you need to think of the health of your team and make a decision.

Here's the list of why some managers delay taking action, some are pretty lame!

1. The employee has a relationship with someone higher up.

2. The boss relies on the employee.

3. The employee brings more value to the company than he or she costs.

4. The boss thinks it could be worse.

5. The boss is afraid of the employee.

6. The boss feels sorry for the employee.

7. The boss doesn't want to go through the hiring process.

8. The employee knows something.

9. The employee has everybody fooled.

10. He or she is not really a bad employee.

If you read the article and detail on each of the above bullets it sometimes seems like they're giving the employee the benefit of the doubt. That's fine but, as I said earlier, if you've gone through performance coaching and probably have HR involved, you need to stand and deliver (fire the dud!). Too many times I've seen people with major company seniority get away with totally inappropriate behavior and too many times I've watched the slacker in the corner get ignored while the hard working folks, already working full throttle, were constantly prodded to do more, give more, stay lateeer -- bleed for the company! Instead of embracing the duds and putting them in the hall closet - out of sight, out of mind! - how about doing what's best for your team and take out the trash ;)

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Firing, Bad Employees, Bad Management Styles

What if the interviewer never calls you back?

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:51:07 GMT

I like this post and the continuing comments from the Brazen Careerist site: What if the interviewer never calls you back? It's a good read for hiring managers and HR folks to get some perspective from a potential candidates point of view. The article itself discusses why you might not get a return call (human nature, bad business practices) but the comments are more focused on how many candidates are promised a call back and never get one. Many follow up calls and emails are ignored and the core point of the article is to try to understand why this happens, not to take it personally and move on. Again, the comments - one after another - provide an interesting perspective on going through interview loops, getting details on next steps and with no follow through from the hiring company. Obviously, you don't want to bank on any one job/opportunity but, in my mind, if a HR recuriter looks you in the eye and says they'll follow up by X date and then don't, or worse they avoid you until you give up, it's not only unprofessional and bad for the company's image - it's just plain rude!. I tried to convey this in a rather lengthy comment at the site but for some reason "enter" wasn't working and I ended up with one long, rambling post that probably screams psychopath, oops! That's what getting too wordy will get ya!

Do check out the post - I was more interested in the comments and varying perspectives: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/10/23/what-if-the-interviewer-never-calls-you-back/

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Job Hunting, Interviewing, Interview Tips

Office spaces, egalitarian style

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:07:11 GMT

Cheri Baker of The Enlightened Manager has an interesting post on office spaces, egalitarian style:

When size matters: A look into the dynamics of office space
A recent article in the Puget Sound Business Journal* entitled "Firms try nontraditional style to improve culture" has some interesting things to say about how our physical space can influence us. The article talks about a law firm (Summit Law Group) that broke with traditional hierarchy to build and office in which every employee (be it Managing Partner or Assistant) has equally sized and equipped office space. They report high customer satisfaction with the layout, an incredible 50% less administrative overhead than competitors, and a team-based approach to client satisfaction.

Read more here: http://blog.emergenceconsulting.net/2007/09/when-size-matte.html

It is interesting how much office layout and workspaces can affect morale, productivity and personal satisfaction. Great points in the post from Cheri Baker too.

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Logistics, Office Space, Employee Morale

Make tough decisions more easy with a FREE Decision Making Tool

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:54:50 GMT

Lyndsay Swinton of MFTROU has released a pretty neat decision making tool that is a free .xls download. The spreadsheet contains an overview of the tool, a sample decision grid and a third tab with a sheet for you to modify and use at will. Here's a bit of info on the tool:

Make difficult decisions easily by using the mftrou.com Decision Making Tool - No Cost Download
So you've got a tough decision to make. What are your options? Which is the best option? Holding out for the perfect answer wastes time. Your time. Or if you want to get heavy, wastes your limited time on this earth. Break the procrastination habit today and learn how to make decisions. Not perfect decisions, but decisions that are right for you, right now, and made with the best information to hand at the time. (You can always change your mind later :O)

The mftrou.com Decision Making Tool is a simple process to help you think through your options and make the decision that's right for you. Although a whizzy spreadsheet tool may seem too rational, logical and structured for your difficult decision, be assured there is an equal need for your heart to make the decision as for your head.
Oh and did I mention it was no cost, (although a donation is appreciated!)? What are you waiting for? Download the mftrou.com Decision Making Tool now and make difficult decisions easily.

The mftrou.com Decision Making Tool Contents
Overview of how to make decisions
Decision Making Example
Template for Making Your Own Decision

Here are screen shots of the overview and sample sheet:

It's a pretty cool decision making tool that can probably be modified for a variety of uses. Read more about the tool and download it here: http://www.mftrou.com/decision-making-tool.html

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Decision Making, Decision Making Tool, Effective Decisions

12 Bad Business Practices that DEmotivate, 6 Tips to help!

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 03:50:53 GMT

Esterby Derby has an article over at CIO that's worth the read for managers. In Stop Demotivating Me! Derby outlines 12 negative actions and practices that might acually be demotivating your employees. We hear and read a lot about how to motivate our teams and staff but how much tbought is put into changing bad management styles, behaviors, actions and thoughts, as well as choosing people over process when researching and implementing processes, polices, strategies and other business practices? How often do you look at your own management style and honestly assess how you treat staff and interact with various employees? - are you respectful? Do you criticize publicly, apologize privately? Do you send mixed signals or give regular, timely feedback? Check out the list of 12 Bad Business Practices that DEmotivate and see if you or your org are guilty of any of these:

Bad Management Actions and Behaviors

Surprises at the annual employee review. Most people believe that annual reviews and evaluations improve performance. But people need to know where they stand and what they can do to improve all year, not just at review time. When managers wait until the review cycle to communicate the need to improve, staffers feel set up. When the manager says he wants them to succeed, they wonder if he really means it. Not very motivating.
Micromanagement.
Public criticism.
Asking for one behavior and rewarding another. One of my early managers proclaimed that a stable production environment was our first priority when we made changes to the software we worked on. But I soon noticed that the people who received praise and promotions were not the ones who were methodical about testing their code. The rewards went to the developers who found and fixed crash bugs in the middle of the night—usually crash bugs that they themselves had created. The steady Eddies of the group worked unnoticed-or started inserting a few bugs themselves to gain the limelight
Unachievable deadlines.
Asking for input and then ignoring it.
Preferential treatment.
Empty phrases. It seems like there's an unending supply of (supposedly) inspirational directives: Just do it! Failure is not an option! Think outside the box! There may be situations where these phrases actually help, though I'm challenged to think of any. When managers meet legitimate concerns with empty phrases, it communicates that the manager a) doesn't understand the issue and/or b) doesn't have a clue what to do. Plus there's a bonus effect: People who believe their manager will dismiss their concerns out of hand don't stop having problems, they just stop telling their manager about them.

Bad Organizational Environment

People are expendable.
Some people are more valued than others
Employees are not trustworthy.
Employees aren't capable of making good decisions.

In addition to the behaviors and actions you should avoid, author Derby also outlines six tips for a successful environment:

Articulate the group's mission. Make sure people know the purpose of their work and how it fits into the overall mission of the company. Instill an understanding of how the group's work affects the bottom line of the company. Knowing the big picture enables people to make better decisions, and means you, as manager, don't need to be the decision bottleneck.
Recognize and appreciate contributions.
Provide clear, congruent feedback.
Deal firmly and respectfully with performance issues.
Eliminate obstacles and be an advocate for the group. When your organization throws up roadblocks, help knock them down-or at least find a way around them for the group. Nothing is more demotivating than a manager who insists that employees meet deadlines but does nothing to help them with organizational issues.
Share company data.

Read the complete article with full detail here: http://www.cio.com/article/123406/Stop_Demotivating_Me_/2

Again, great article with info on how not to manage effectively.

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Poor Managementt, Demotivate, Effective Management, Bad Management, Bad Management Styles

Managing Ambiguity and Dealing With Uncertainty

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:40:20 GMT

Lindsay Swinton of Management For The Rest Of Us has an interesting article on working with ambiguity: Managing Ambiguity - dealing successfully with uncertain situations. It discusses how anxiety rises with the uncertainty and importance of a given situation, and also provides some tips on how to manage uncertain situations more effectively. Here's an excerpt:

Managing ambiguity or uncertainty is a key life skill...

Why is it that some of life's challenges make us, while others are destined to break us?
Does success depend on the nature of the challenge or is it more related to our personal approach?

Our ability to deal effectively with uncertain situations or “managing ambiguity” is a life skill that is gaining recognition, mostly stemming from Daniel Goleman’s work on Emotional Intelligence. Let’s take a look at what managing ambiguity is all about.
Go Ask A Fortune-Teller
Every second of every day, someone, somewhere will be moving house, switching careers, or dealing with some other significant life change. Even fortune-tellers can’t predict how things are going to turn out, so you have to get comfortable with not knowing precisely what is going to happen. That’s managing ambiguity!
Handle challenges better by keeping your thinking crystal-clear
The problem is when we get anxious our ability to think clearly gets worse. So the key is to manage anxiety levels and have loads of spare mental capacity to deal with the unexpected.
Take a moment to consider this relationship;
ANXIETY = IMPORTANCE x UNCERTAINTY
If something is very important to us, we will wish dearly for success and have some emotional attachment to the outcome of the challenge.

If something is uncertain and the outcome not guaranteed, we lose sleep worrying about what is going to happen.

Both of these are likely to give us more anxiety.
Read more here: http://www.mftrou.com/managing-ambiguity.html

Project Managers in the tech sector certainly deal with a lot of ambiguity so learning to better manage uncertain elements of a project is a great skill to build. Thanks to Lyndsay and MFTROU for sharing this great info. Note that the article is also available as a PDF here: http://www.mftrou.com/support-files/managing-ambiguity.pdf

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Project Management, Ambiguity, Effective Management, Managing Uncertainty, Managing Ambiguity

Effective Management Requires Strong Leadership Qualities

Tue, 01 May 2007 21:06:40 GMT

JustJobs has a good article titled How to Become an Effective Manager. It discusses how management is about more than telling people what to do - successful managers are effective leaders and use those skills to their advantage. From the post:

It takes a lot of hard work and skill development to become a truly effective manager. Managers possess and develop numerous skills and qualities as they progress in the workplace, but some of them fail to develop the very basic and necessary skill of leadership.
A good manager does much more than manage budgets and assign projects. He manages people and leads them in such a way to allow them to reach their highest potential and to advance on their merits through the ranks of the company.
A truly effective manager is a leader who develops people.
In order to be an effective manager, you must first develop the leadership qualities and actions that are common to great business leaders.
One of the most important things that you must do is lead by example. All too many managers are of the mindset, “do as I say, but not as I do,” instead of setting an example for their employees. If a manager demands hard work, integrity, and teamwork from the employees in his stewardship, he must first demonstrate that he works hard, is a man of integrity, and is a strong team player before he can demand those qualities from his employees.
Read more here: http://www.justjobs.com/node/216

It's an interesting read on management and leadership and provides some great insight on how they work together. The article also lists some key leadership qualities, futher details and info can be found at the JustJobs post:

One of the most important things that you must do is lead by example.
Effective leaders exude strength and confidence.
You must also have a clear vision of what your goals and objectives are, as well as a specific plan as to how you will achieve those goals and objectives.
Great managers and leaders give credit where credit is due and congratulate their employees when they do a good job.
Trust your employees and delegate responsibility to them.
Managers who successfully delegate responsibilities prioritize work, find the employees who are best suited for certain projects and assignments, and set acceptable, realistic deadlines with them.
Keep the communication channels open in the workplace and use the concerns and suggestions of employees to make the workplace better.

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Management
Tags: Management, Project Management, Leadership, Effective Management, Management Tips, Leadership Tips