I've been swamped at work. Two acquisitions have me run off my feet trying to get all the i's dotted and the t's crossed. So sorry posting hasn't been up to snuff. As you can probably tell, I'm still trying to find my focus with this blog. But I think I have it.. By George, I think he's got it!
A while ago I made a comment about sports analogies in business. Sports are big business, and both fit the spirit of competition that makes people push to be successful. The imagery sports metaphors invoke are familiar to us. If we're in trouble, we're up against the ropes, or we've got two strikes against us. We might throw in the towel, or come out swinging. The project leader is quarterbacking the effort, and need I say anything about the imagery of teams in business?
Sports metaphors also make a sexist statement. Don't rag on me about how many women are football fans, or the success of women's sports. If you say anything about women's hockey or the WNBA, I shall ridicule you publicly. Sports metaphors say "I am a man, and I'm only speaking to the men in the room." That's why they are so much a part of business-speak.
But there are many applicable analogies in sports to business. So if the women will forgive me, I'm going to take one sport and use the lessons I have learned from it to apply to leadership and teamwork issues. The sport is less sexist than baseball or basketball, and more international than American football. It's mountain climbing.
I could pause while you laugh, but fugeddaboud it. I am not a mountain climber. Never have been and never will. A little hiking maybe, but definitely not one of those who feels the need to hang by his fingernails off a sheer rock face 10,000 feet in the air. I like solid ground, and room service at midnight. But years ago I did have a chance to assist in some logistics and fundraising efforts for an Everest expedition. Never left Canada, and had a very minor role. But like the batboy who feels the pride of winning a World Series, I was thrilled to be part of a venture that saw the elation of a successful summit and the grief of lost lives.
So here's what I'm going to do. Every weekend, probably later Sunday, I'll post a lesson on something I've learned about leadership, management and team building from my personal experience and from my readings. Lately, I've picked up a couple books about other Everest climbs, and climbs of other mountains. And every Monday you can find perhaps some little piece of learning that will help you in your business life. Maybe even your personal life. Feel free to leave a comment.
I'll reserve the right to throw up the odd post between weekends as the spirit moves. But I'm going to hold myself to the weekend post.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
We Need More Slogans!
While I was away at one of our new facilities this week, an email came through from our VP Safety. He was distraught about our poor safety performance. Early in the year, we have had more than our share of accidents, and even a rollover. His email was a plea for better safety performance.
I was thinking we should name our company softball team "The Rollovers", but chances are good that senior management won't see the humor in that.
What did the email accomplish? If a company is tanking financially, will an email asking for more sales produce the requested result? Without detailed attention to the issues that are causing poor performance, and without a plan to remove the roadblocks to poor performance, nothing will change. Was it Einstein who said that the definition of mental illness was to do the same thing over and expect different results?
One of the things I find unproductive, bordering on insulting, is our use of safety slogans. We used to have a slogan a year, sort of a focus on one issue. But now, we produce a new slogan every week. And what's the result? We have a declining safety record.
Deming said that slogans are an insult to the workers. They do not produce any change in attitude or work habits. Why then do we think that some new slogan will result in improved performance? Was the old slogan flawed because because of poor rhyming scheme? Management has a responsibility to produce results. If the manager simply does the same thing over and over, then he or she is demonstrating a type of corporate mental illness - repeating a process but expecting different results.
Maybe we need a daily safety slogan since the weekly slogan has been so effective.
This week I'm off to Texas where we have acquired another company. Have a great week.
I was thinking we should name our company softball team "The Rollovers", but chances are good that senior management won't see the humor in that.
What did the email accomplish? If a company is tanking financially, will an email asking for more sales produce the requested result? Without detailed attention to the issues that are causing poor performance, and without a plan to remove the roadblocks to poor performance, nothing will change. Was it Einstein who said that the definition of mental illness was to do the same thing over and expect different results?
One of the things I find unproductive, bordering on insulting, is our use of safety slogans. We used to have a slogan a year, sort of a focus on one issue. But now, we produce a new slogan every week. And what's the result? We have a declining safety record.
Deming said that slogans are an insult to the workers. They do not produce any change in attitude or work habits. Why then do we think that some new slogan will result in improved performance? Was the old slogan flawed because because of poor rhyming scheme? Management has a responsibility to produce results. If the manager simply does the same thing over and over, then he or she is demonstrating a type of corporate mental illness - repeating a process but expecting different results.
Maybe we need a daily safety slogan since the weekly slogan has been so effective.
This week I'm off to Texas where we have acquired another company. Have a great week.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
A Goal in Jeopardy
One of my resolutions was to complete a 5 K race, the Gasparilla Classic. Not that I would burn up the field, but I just planned to complete it without embarrassing my self. Now that seems to be a goal at risk.
I've developed plantar fasciitis in my right foot. Plantar fasciitis is where the ligament that connects your heel bone to your toes gets strained or irritated. It is painful beyond belief. In the morning, it feels like a knife has been stuck into my foot. The pain shoots from my heel up into my thigh at times.
I've tried some exercise therapy to help it heal, but I think I have to admit that it isn't working. Today, was was only able to trot out one mile before it became too sore to run on. I guess I'm going to have to seek some professional help and see what can be done to get it to heal.
It's about 3 weeks to race time, and I doubt it will heal in that time. If it even eases up a bit, I might try to "woggle" the race - sort of a cross between a walk and jog. But if it hasn't improved, I probably will pass on the Gasparilla.
Which brings me back to goals and resolutions. Sometimes you have to adjust your goals when circumstances change. A football coach might go into a game with a certain game plan, but if the plan isn't producing scores, he needs to adjust the plan. In my case, I might not make the Gasparilla, but there are other 5 K races throughout the year, and I'll make another one.
I've developed plantar fasciitis in my right foot. Plantar fasciitis is where the ligament that connects your heel bone to your toes gets strained or irritated. It is painful beyond belief. In the morning, it feels like a knife has been stuck into my foot. The pain shoots from my heel up into my thigh at times.
I've tried some exercise therapy to help it heal, but I think I have to admit that it isn't working. Today, was was only able to trot out one mile before it became too sore to run on. I guess I'm going to have to seek some professional help and see what can be done to get it to heal.
It's about 3 weeks to race time, and I doubt it will heal in that time. If it even eases up a bit, I might try to "woggle" the race - sort of a cross between a walk and jog. But if it hasn't improved, I probably will pass on the Gasparilla.
Which brings me back to goals and resolutions. Sometimes you have to adjust your goals when circumstances change. A football coach might go into a game with a certain game plan, but if the plan isn't producing scores, he needs to adjust the plan. In my case, I might not make the Gasparilla, but there are other 5 K races throughout the year, and I'll make another one.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Dressing for Success
There's a strange concept about appropriate dress in a semi-tropic city like Tampa. High temperatures and humidity make people think that they can dress for work in roughly the same manner they dress to go to the beach. Not true in government offices like Hillsborough County, where the standard tie and jacket apply. Nor at the banks, where even low paid tellers are expected to dress in a business like manner. But in our office, the standard of dress sometimes slips to deplorable.
One day shortly after I arrived in Tampa, I was walking into the office and encountered a greasy haired, unkempt young man with a guitar over his shoulder. I couldn't believe that he was showing up to work dressed that way. "Heading to Woodstock?" I asked, but he was too young to know what Woodstock was.
A new CEO changed that. He enforced a dress code that had been written but not followed. There was an incredible amount of whining and wailing. No jeans? Might as well be working in the Gulag. Me, I supported the concept of a dress code. We might not be a coat and tie type of company, but I believe that when you dress sloppy, your work is sloppy. So if you're a recent grad or early in your career, here's some advice you would be smart to heed.
Clothing is more than what people see without interacting with you. It might not be "fair" for people to judge you on the basis of your attire, but facts is facts... they do. It is said that clothes make the man, or the woman. That's not true, but it does do two things: It makes the first impression on people you come into contact with, and it sets the tone for your work style and habits.
Let's look at impressions first. Remember the young man I saw going into our office? His appearance overrode any statement that his quality of work might have said. He looked like a slob, and the first reaction to anything he might have presented would be to think that his work was sloppy, too. And in fact, his work was shoddy, which makes my second point. When you dress like a slob, you do the work of a slob.
I'm not saying that you need to pop for Armani or Ralph Lauren for every day work wear. In fact, people who dress strictly to be fashionable are a bit out of balance. Your office has a dress code, written or not. If it's written that's easy - read it and use that as your minimum starting point. If there is no written code, look around to see what the standard is in the office. Then kick it up a notch. If everyone wears jeans, then make your minimum standard Dockers. And if everyone else is into Dockers, then it's dress pants or skirts. No skirts for the guys, of course.
Think you can't afford decent clothes? Nothing can be farther from the truth. You have a financial plan, right? I mean, you aren't so stupid as to be blowing every cent you make, are you? So put $50 to $100 per month into your clothing budget. And learn to buy quality. Price isn't always the best indicator of quality. Learn about the things that make a well made garment, and use it as a guide for your clothing investments. Ladies, don't dress in the office like you're going to the club. The key is professional, not sexy. Gentlemen, no polo shirts and certainly no t-shirts. Even in a casual office, dress shirts should be your standard.
So what happened to our dress code? Again, managers were afraid to enforce it. As part of our low expectations management style, managers allowed their staff to slide back into their old habits of dressing like they were going to the beach, or just finished the farm chores. In fact, we have an expression about Tampa office being "The Beach". Unfortunately, it's not a compliment or envy of Tampa's great weather. It's a slam at our work style. We dress like we're going to the beach, and we work like we're more interested in going to the beach. The people in the field see it in the results of the work we do for them. Now if we could only see it ourselves, we might motivate management to do something about it.
One day shortly after I arrived in Tampa, I was walking into the office and encountered a greasy haired, unkempt young man with a guitar over his shoulder. I couldn't believe that he was showing up to work dressed that way. "Heading to Woodstock?" I asked, but he was too young to know what Woodstock was.
A new CEO changed that. He enforced a dress code that had been written but not followed. There was an incredible amount of whining and wailing. No jeans? Might as well be working in the Gulag. Me, I supported the concept of a dress code. We might not be a coat and tie type of company, but I believe that when you dress sloppy, your work is sloppy. So if you're a recent grad or early in your career, here's some advice you would be smart to heed.
Clothing is more than what people see without interacting with you. It might not be "fair" for people to judge you on the basis of your attire, but facts is facts... they do. It is said that clothes make the man, or the woman. That's not true, but it does do two things: It makes the first impression on people you come into contact with, and it sets the tone for your work style and habits.
Let's look at impressions first. Remember the young man I saw going into our office? His appearance overrode any statement that his quality of work might have said. He looked like a slob, and the first reaction to anything he might have presented would be to think that his work was sloppy, too. And in fact, his work was shoddy, which makes my second point. When you dress like a slob, you do the work of a slob.
I'm not saying that you need to pop for Armani or Ralph Lauren for every day work wear. In fact, people who dress strictly to be fashionable are a bit out of balance. Your office has a dress code, written or not. If it's written that's easy - read it and use that as your minimum starting point. If there is no written code, look around to see what the standard is in the office. Then kick it up a notch. If everyone wears jeans, then make your minimum standard Dockers. And if everyone else is into Dockers, then it's dress pants or skirts. No skirts for the guys, of course.
Think you can't afford decent clothes? Nothing can be farther from the truth. You have a financial plan, right? I mean, you aren't so stupid as to be blowing every cent you make, are you? So put $50 to $100 per month into your clothing budget. And learn to buy quality. Price isn't always the best indicator of quality. Learn about the things that make a well made garment, and use it as a guide for your clothing investments. Ladies, don't dress in the office like you're going to the club. The key is professional, not sexy. Gentlemen, no polo shirts and certainly no t-shirts. Even in a casual office, dress shirts should be your standard.
So what happened to our dress code? Again, managers were afraid to enforce it. As part of our low expectations management style, managers allowed their staff to slide back into their old habits of dressing like they were going to the beach, or just finished the farm chores. In fact, we have an expression about Tampa office being "The Beach". Unfortunately, it's not a compliment or envy of Tampa's great weather. It's a slam at our work style. We dress like we're going to the beach, and we work like we're more interested in going to the beach. The people in the field see it in the results of the work we do for them. Now if we could only see it ourselves, we might motivate management to do something about it.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
We have a Winner
We have a winner in the Name That Quote contest. What, did you think I was pulling your leg when I said there would be a great prize for the first one to guess the originator of the "nattering nabobs of negativism" quote? Not here, baby. My word is true.
Paul Jerome, Auditing Manager at Quality Carriers in Tampa, FL correctly guessed that Spiro Agnew was the one to utter those words in public. A little unknown factoid is that the phrase was written for Agnew by the great wordsmith William Safire. It must have been for an alliteration contest. The entire rant was:
Paul wins a hardcover copy of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes. The emphasis is on the jokes, not the philosophy. But if you're caught reading it in public, you can claim it's existential reading. Of course, the giggling and guffawing might be hard to explain.
Well, I thought it was funny.
Paul Jerome, Auditing Manager at Quality Carriers in Tampa, FL correctly guessed that Spiro Agnew was the one to utter those words in public. A little unknown factoid is that the phrase was written for Agnew by the great wordsmith William Safire. It must have been for an alliteration contest. The entire rant was:
"In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism. They have formed their own 4-H Club -- the "hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history."
Paul wins a hardcover copy of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes. The emphasis is on the jokes, not the philosophy. But if you're caught reading it in public, you can claim it's existential reading. Of course, the giggling and guffawing might be hard to explain.
A Buddhist walks up to a hot-dog stand and says, "Make me one with everything". He then pays the vendor and asks for change. The vendor says, "Change comes from within".
Well, I thought it was funny.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Here’s hoping that 2008 will be a successful and prosperous year for you.
If you’re like most people, you’ve made some New Year resolutions. And if you’re like most people, by the end of this week you will have blown whatever you resolved. Studies show the 85% of resolutions are destined for failure. And you wonder why you can’t change anything in your organization?
If you want to be successful with your resolution(s), here are some tips that I have found helpful:
1. Keep it simple but well defined. You aren’t going to bring about world peace in 2008. However, you might make your little corner of Earth a better place. Be specific in your goal – not “Start my own business” but “Start a logistics consulting company in Moose Jaw, SK.” Set a goal that is attainable, but not so low it takes no effort to reach it. Maybe you’re going to keep better organized this year. So instead of trying to implement some drastic new organizing system for every minute of every day, take one part of your life and straighten it out. Email in basket overflowing? Maybe you should unsubscribe from all those newsletters you don’t read anyway. Maybe direct your friends to your personal email address instead of your work address. Small steps will help you achieve your goal, and you’ll feel better when you achieve it. And once you’ve reached your small goal…
2. Make another small goal. What’s so sacred about New Year’s for making a resolution? What stops you from making a birthday resolution? Or a President’s Day resolution? Or just a “Hey, it’s Wednesday” resolution? Once you’ve achieved one small step, plan and take another. Think of it as a Continuous Improvement for your life. In the work world, we call that Kaizen. Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning “continual improvement”. The Godfather of Quality, W. Edwards Deming, made the process popular in post-WWII Japan, and today it is the foundation of the Toyota Production System. Kaizen methodology uses scientific methods to study an issue, implement small improvements and standardize work practices. Make it your mantra – small, continual improvements.
3. Visualize the goal. Years ago, I met a brilliant young Ph. D. named Patrica Pitsel in Calgary. Not as a client, although I probably could have benefited from a few counseling sessions with her. She was a fellow lecturer at the University of Calgary. She was working with hockey player Lanny McDonald of the Calgary Flames. Lanny was stuck on career goal number 499, and seemed to be hitting a wall. Try as he might, he couldn’t get the magic number 500. So she told Lanny to visualize how he might score number 500. Slap shot from the point? Rebound? Lanny thought he would score on a wrap around – come in from the right, go behind the net and tuck it into the left side before the goalkeeper could react. Guess how Lanny scored his 500th career goal – on the wrap around. So close your eyes and visualize how you are going to achieve the goal you have set. Then put into action the steps you need to make that visualization a reality.
4. Remember the PCDA cycle. Plan – Check – Do – Act. You spent time thinking about your goal. You’ve done the reality check. You’re putting steps in place to achieve the goal. But don’t be afraid to go back and review. Maybe your target has changed. Maybe your goal needs some fine tuning. Go back and repeat the cycle. Is the goal still important to you? Does the need still exist? Don’t be afraid to change the goal as circumstances change.
5. Don’t be afraid to fail. Fear of failure often stops us from even setting a goal. But if you don’t fail, you aren’t trying hard enough. Think in sports terms – if you aren’t shooting at the net, you can’t score. In hockey, the “shots on goal” count is always higher than the goals scored. In baseball, the strikes are always higher than the hits. But if you don’t swing or shoot, you’ll never score. So don’t let fear of failure hold you back.
And what are my goals for 2008? Well, last year I realized that I wasn’t the trim, athletic hockey referee I once was, so I started on a path to get back in shape. I’m going to continue that. Healthy eating and regular workouts have really become a way of life now. I’ve decided I’m going to aim at running a 5K in February. Following my own advice, my goal is “I will run in the Gasparilla 5K Race on February 9th”. I’ll let you know how that turns out.
May your 2008 be safe, prosperous and fun.
If you’re like most people, you’ve made some New Year resolutions. And if you’re like most people, by the end of this week you will have blown whatever you resolved. Studies show the 85% of resolutions are destined for failure. And you wonder why you can’t change anything in your organization?
If you want to be successful with your resolution(s), here are some tips that I have found helpful:
1. Keep it simple but well defined. You aren’t going to bring about world peace in 2008. However, you might make your little corner of Earth a better place. Be specific in your goal – not “Start my own business” but “Start a logistics consulting company in Moose Jaw, SK.” Set a goal that is attainable, but not so low it takes no effort to reach it. Maybe you’re going to keep better organized this year. So instead of trying to implement some drastic new organizing system for every minute of every day, take one part of your life and straighten it out. Email in basket overflowing? Maybe you should unsubscribe from all those newsletters you don’t read anyway. Maybe direct your friends to your personal email address instead of your work address. Small steps will help you achieve your goal, and you’ll feel better when you achieve it. And once you’ve reached your small goal…
2. Make another small goal. What’s so sacred about New Year’s for making a resolution? What stops you from making a birthday resolution? Or a President’s Day resolution? Or just a “Hey, it’s Wednesday” resolution? Once you’ve achieved one small step, plan and take another. Think of it as a Continuous Improvement for your life. In the work world, we call that Kaizen. Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning “continual improvement”. The Godfather of Quality, W. Edwards Deming, made the process popular in post-WWII Japan, and today it is the foundation of the Toyota Production System. Kaizen methodology uses scientific methods to study an issue, implement small improvements and standardize work practices. Make it your mantra – small, continual improvements.
3. Visualize the goal. Years ago, I met a brilliant young Ph. D. named Patrica Pitsel in Calgary. Not as a client, although I probably could have benefited from a few counseling sessions with her. She was a fellow lecturer at the University of Calgary. She was working with hockey player Lanny McDonald of the Calgary Flames. Lanny was stuck on career goal number 499, and seemed to be hitting a wall. Try as he might, he couldn’t get the magic number 500. So she told Lanny to visualize how he might score number 500. Slap shot from the point? Rebound? Lanny thought he would score on a wrap around – come in from the right, go behind the net and tuck it into the left side before the goalkeeper could react. Guess how Lanny scored his 500th career goal – on the wrap around. So close your eyes and visualize how you are going to achieve the goal you have set. Then put into action the steps you need to make that visualization a reality.
4. Remember the PCDA cycle. Plan – Check – Do – Act. You spent time thinking about your goal. You’ve done the reality check. You’re putting steps in place to achieve the goal. But don’t be afraid to go back and review. Maybe your target has changed. Maybe your goal needs some fine tuning. Go back and repeat the cycle. Is the goal still important to you? Does the need still exist? Don’t be afraid to change the goal as circumstances change.
5. Don’t be afraid to fail. Fear of failure often stops us from even setting a goal. But if you don’t fail, you aren’t trying hard enough. Think in sports terms – if you aren’t shooting at the net, you can’t score. In hockey, the “shots on goal” count is always higher than the goals scored. In baseball, the strikes are always higher than the hits. But if you don’t swing or shoot, you’ll never score. So don’t let fear of failure hold you back.
And what are my goals for 2008? Well, last year I realized that I wasn’t the trim, athletic hockey referee I once was, so I started on a path to get back in shape. I’m going to continue that. Healthy eating and regular workouts have really become a way of life now. I’ve decided I’m going to aim at running a 5K in February. Following my own advice, my goal is “I will run in the Gasparilla 5K Race on February 9th”. I’ll let you know how that turns out.
May your 2008 be safe, prosperous and fun.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
The Evil of Shirking Management Responsibility
I spent nearly four weeks away from the office before the Christmas break. Three weeks in
One of the things that I discovered was that I enjoyed being away from the “nattering nabobs of negativism” in the office (a prize if you can name that quote – email me by Jan.31st). My employer is, as one customer once said, the “bastard stepchild” of the union of two large companies. And those two firms had completely different operating philosophies. One was a shirt and tie kind of place with lots of written processes and procedures. The other was a jeans and t-shirt place with an “anything goes” type of attitude. Put them together and what do you get? Chaos. Of course, egos were bruised as one side or the other had people appointed to management positions and changes were implemented. You’ve been there before.
But that was 8 years ago for crying out loud. And many of the veterans are still whining and moaning about how things used to be and how terrible their life is. We’ve had some tough financial times, and staff have lived through some layoffs and wage cuts. We even had a year where we had a mandatory day off per month without pay. I never had the day off, but the paycheck still had the deduction. Lots of people think they should be promoted and question the promotions that others get.
So I discovered that the negativism of the place has really been draining me. I heard that the temp agency we use has reported that some of the temps even comment on the negativism. In the old office, it was like bad karma. It was in the air we breathed. I think of CEO thought that moving to a new office would purge the evil, but it looks like it was packed and delivered to the new building as well.
Sigal Barsade, a Wharton management professor who studies the influence of emotions on the workplace says "We engage in emotional contagion. Emotions travel from person to person like a virus." Well duh, was my first thought. But is it important? Does it affect output if staff are negative? Barsade’s findings: Employees' moods, emotions, and overall dispositions have an impact on job performance, decision making, creativity, turnover, teamwork, negotiations and leadership. Negative emotions yield negative results.
The negativism in our place is work focused. I’m not talking about the occasional grumps or bad hair days we all have from time to time. This is people being consistently negative about their jobs and the company. And you know what I think? If you don’t like your job or the company you work for, go get another job.
Managers are shirking their responsibility by not dealing with this issue. And it’s a front line managers responsibility to handle it. Part of the problem might be that it’s managers that are the disenchanted. Still, those up the food chain need to fill their responsibility by dealing with it.
It’s not a manager’s job to make the employee feel happy and joyous. As a manager, I can’t help you feel happy about life if you’re depressed over your spouse’s fidelity or your inability to make your car payment or any of the other pressures of life. I remember a great Youtube clip about a young man and older man on a bus in
“Pressure? I got pressure. Everyone got pressure!”
When we go to work, we are on stage. We have a role to perform. And that means that if our emotions are in turmoil, we need to suck it up and put on our stage makeup and get on with the show. Everyone got pressure.
Being a manager means dealing with under performers. I find that managers fear this part of their job. It’s natural to want to avoid confrontation, but if you are a real manager, you have to deal with the issues that negatively affect performance. This attitude is toxic, and it has to be eliminated if the organization is going to grow and thrive. Positive attitudes are like oxygen. It helps things grow. Negative attitudes are like diesel exhaust. It poisons the air and kills things. And your responsibility as a manager is to make the business grow. Do your job.
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