Tag Archives: Leadership Resources

Not all User Generated Content (UGC) is Valuable – Exhibit A: Mixtent.com

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If you have more than a few connections on LinkedIn, then you’ve surely been exposed to the most asinine website dedicated to UGC since CompanyNameSucks.com: mixtent.com. (You’ll have to learn why CompanyNameSucks.com is asinine all on your own, I’m going to use the rest of this blog to tell you why I think you should opt out of mixtent.com – and opt out quickly.)

I’m not the first to write it, but the Internet really is just one big bathroom wall. Often it’s just a place where anyone can express any opinion at any time with little or no recourse. The difference, as I see it, is the Internet is filled with small-minded billionaire wannabes who will gladly stomp on your privacy and dignity while they construct a new enormous bathroom wall and then encourage others to step up with their Sharpies and write whatever the hell they want without any regard to the veracity or value of their opinions.

This, my friend, is the essence of most sites 100% driven by user generated content. The rub for those of us who just want to live our lives in honest and ethical fashions is that without users generating content (any content) these sites will not be able to be flipped for the billions the founders expect. We, you see, get included in this content whether we deserve or even want to be included.

Enter mixtent.com

I doubt there has ever been a more ridiculous, misguided or pointless effort allegedly directed at professionals and cloaked in some misstated mission about helping sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to which person is better at what skillset. This site is nothing more than a HotOrNot.com for professionals, only this one ranks you without your permission.

The primary problems with mixtent, as I see them, are two-fold: 1) You are ranked as hot or not on a multitude of skillsets by those in your LinkedIn network – whether you want to be or not, and regardless of whether or not this particular contact has seen you demonstrate this particular skill; and 2) Like all ranking, rating and review sites, this one can be gamed. In fact, mixtent (in my opinion) seems to be actively participating in and encouraging the gaming by helping you send messages to everyone in your network that you’ve just ranked them… now will they please go and rank you.

Here is one such auto-generated message: “My Entrepreneurship percentile is 89%. Help me increase it and find out where you rank…” This is followed by a link to join mixtent so you can start ranking others.

The ranking process is really a joke because you are presented with two of your LinkedIn contacts (who may not have opted in to mixtent, but have certainly not opted out) and you are asked which of these two is better at __________. The tendency for most human beings is to give the nod to the person they like or know the best, not necessarily the person most deserving of the honor.

This means a well-liked dufus is likely to rank higher on most skills than a hard-charging doer. (My guess is that most hardened, yet accomplished women executives will be butchered on sites like this, as they generally had to step on one or two toes on their way through the glass ceiling.)

Okay, How Do I Opt Out of mixtent.com?

The greatest part about all of this nonsense is that you cannot opt out of mixtent.com without first granting them access to your LinkedIn profile. That’s right, you have to first let them suck all of the personal and other information from your LinkedIn profile before you can tell them you don’t want to play their shitty little game.

That, my friends, is ballsy. Of course, once you’ve opted in, you can (as of this writing) fairly easily opt out by clicking on the tiny “opt-out” link at the very bottom of the homepage.

Interested in mixtent.com’s About Us page?

I thought it would be fun to read between the lines of mixtent.com’s About Us page (the bold text in parentheses is mine):

About Us

Our goal is to help you connect with the most talented people. We want to help you hire, get hired and find talent to do amazing things. (We just don’t think you’ll be able to do that by using this website.)

Mixtent is building a professional reputation graph on top of the main social and professional networks. We believe we can become a driving force in making online recruitment and talent management materially more efficient. (Or, at the very least, we can help companies find unqualified people who have the most friends or don’t rock any boats… ever.)

Mixtent is built on the core notion that collective intelligence gathered through engaging experience can provide the right data to solve the hardest problems online. (That is, are they hot or not?)

Our mission is to reduce structural unemployment driving down asymmetries of information and increasing liquidity on the labor market. (What the fuck?)

We are looking for crazy talented engineers. Take a look at our jobs page (Why do they need to have anyone apply? Don’t they already know who the crazy talented engineers are by just looking at the ratings on their own website?)

We are located in Redwood City, CA. (Okay, finally something I can believe here.)

How about the geniuses behind this monstrosity?

Here are the links to the LinkedIn profiles of two guys listed as Founders at mixtent.com (in case you are a crazy talented engineer in Redwood City looking for work):

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=6037432

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=23979582

Oh, and if they’re already in your network and haven’t opted out of mixtent just yet, be sure to rank them appropriately.

Kain and Stauning Release Comprehensive Study – Lots of Leadership Lessons Throughout

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After nearly a year of studying the inner workings of successful automotive dealerships’ Internet sales efforts, David Kain from Kain Automotive and Steve Stauning from pladoogle.com have released their groundbreaking study showing the activities and actions that truly drive Internet sales success for today’s automotive dealers. Their conclusions are expected to shape the structure and content of automotive dealership sales efforts for years to come.

Kain and Stauning, industry veterans in the automotive digital marketing space, spent countless hours evaluating successful Internet sales operations and reviewing the data from nearly 4.3 million sales leads to uncover the fifteen most impactful activities car dealers can undertake to ensure they are successful with their Internet sales efforts.

“With so much being written about the relative impacts of social media, David I felt like it was time to take a deep dive into what was truly driving sales for successful dealers,” shared Stauning. “In fact, the automotive blogs were so gaga over social that it seemed no traditional online marketing source had any value.”

To the contrary, reveals the study (which began with case studies involving third-party leads and evolved into a deeper study into what drives Internet sales success for today’s dealers). Both Kain and Stauning felt that their consulting clients were benefiting from a robust lead mix (including third-party leads), but they had no way to disprove the theories being bandied about by the most vocal on the industry blogs.  The boisterous few on most automotive marketing websites were shouting that dealers should abandon these tried and true leads in favor of focusing 100% on first-party leads and social media.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” piped Kain. “Our study results are clear: Dealers who want to be truly successful with their Internet sales efforts need to cast a wide net… and that net includes traditional third-party leads.”

Among the most impactful activities that separate successful Internet dealers from their middling competitors are the obvious factors like quality of lead response and the adherence to a written process; though the study revealed a higher level of importance for some not so obvious factors like middle management support and level of accountability.

“We were a bit surprised that sales, desk and F&I mangers had such an impact on a store’s Internet sales success,” added Kain, “we knew there were dealerships where these managers can be roadblocks to Internet growth, we just didn’t realize the extent to which their honest support and buy-in would catapult a store’s Internet sales.”

The study, available at KainAutomotive.com and on the Kain Automotive Idea Exchange, provides dealers and their managers a compelling and comprehensive overview of the model Internet dealership by providing real world examples of successful dealerships. Moreover, Kain and Stauning weave their own industry knowledge into the study where appropriate to help dealers learn how they can leverage all fifteen of the factors/activities identified.

 

TheManager’s Leadership Book Review

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Don’t Bring It to Work – Breaking the Family Patterns That Limit Success, by Sylvia Lafair, PhD

I absolutely love it when an expert in a non-business field brings their knowledge to the business world. Whether it’s a former all-star athlete turned successful businessman (ala Julius Erving), or a rehabbed musician turned stock trader (ala Guns N’ Roses’ bassist Duff McKagan), they almost always provide interesting and important perspectives on how we conduct business, and how we lead and manage others.

One of the biggest problems in business today is that we already have all of the answers and we feel don’t need any new blood changing the way we do things. I’ve always been fascinated by the closed minded who fail to embrace or even believe that someone from the outside – armed with a fresh perspective – can make a positive impact. The fact that so many continue believe this despite the myriad of examples of outsiders who successfully bring change is nothing short of astounding. Dr. Sylvia Lafair is one such example of an outsider successfully delivering change.

Lafair, a former family therapist who now serves as the president of Creative Energy Options, Inc., brought her expertise to the business world and with it a unique point of view about office politics, leadership and workplace roles and relationships. From working with dysfunctional families to years of providing leadership training and insights into workplace behavior and relationships for corporations like Microsoft, Dr. Lafair operated in the greatest leadership laboratory of all time: The real world. In the process, she also penned a great read that captures the very essence of what’s holding so many leaders back: Their reliance on destructive family patterns. Her book, Don’t Bring It to Work, shows us that our behavior cannot exist independently from our interpersonal relationships, despite the facade we think we portray.

Charity Isn’t All That Begins At Home

If you buy in to Lafair’s premise, then virtually everything that’s holding you back at work is closely related to the role(s) you play at home. Whether you are a persecutor or pleaser at work, chances are you play this role in your personal life, as well. In fact, according to Lafair, you are basically compelled to play the same role at work that you do at home – you are simply more comfortable this way – unless you can be made aware of your behavior, understand it and then transform yourself by taking appropriate actions. (By the way, if you don’t buy in to this premise, then you’re likely a rebel at both work and at home; which means, of course, that Lafair is still right.)


Certainly, it’s not that uncomplicated; and bravo to Lafair for not trying to insinuate that we simply live in these roles and those are our only issues. Equally important to the role you play are the roles of those around you. If you are not aware that you are a slave to your personal patterns, then you are likely to have conflict with those who do not fit into your “ideal.” As Dr. Lafair puts it: “When our colleagues and bosses don’t match our expectations, we realize this in a matter of seconds, and just like that, the seeds of conflict are sewn.”

Unlike the typical easy-read coping tomes such as The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Who Moved My Cheese, this book requires real dedication from the reader. In other words, it is not for the casual passerby who just wants to polish this or that about their behavior at the office. Just like real change, this book requires work.

The Recommendation

There is no doubt that I recommend this book, I do. My dilemma is whether it is more leadership, self-help or team dynamics. The truth is that Don’t Bring It to Work can help your personal and professional development much in the same way as Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits does. Just as 7 Habits applies as much to your home life as it does to your work life, so does Don’t Bring It to Work. And, just as Covey’s work is as much about leadership as it is about personal improvement, so is Lafair’s.

The mix of real world examples with a sometimes textbook feel (likely from the massive amount of footnoting early on) is actually very well done. I especially applaud Lafair for her inclusion of a recap called “Takeaways” at the end of each chapter. Because the concepts are sometimes very deep and the material sometimes very new to the reader, having this brief recap at the end of the chapters is very helpful.

While many can benefit from this book, I especially recommend if for two specific people: First, for the young manager who is tiring of seeing his colleagues promoted at greater frequency; and second, for the self-actualized leader who cannot seem to find anything wrong with her style or approach, yet her team is still a mess.

(To order Don’t Bring It to Work, visit Amazon.com.)

The Ten Best Decision Making Books of All Time

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The Ten Best Business Decision Making Books Ever Written

Gaining insight into how the editors of AskTheManager.com chose the Ten Best Decision Making Books Ever can itself be a lesson in decision making. While the list of qualified books on this subject is quite long, we decided early on to exclude any and all that read like an encyclopedia, dictionary or college textbook. While many of these types of books do provide useful decision making information, we decided we wouldn’t feel right sending our readers in search of dull or boring reads.

And just as we did with our popular Ten Best Leadership Books Ever, we struggled more with where to place each of the Top Ten on our list than we did deciding which titles actually made our Top Ten. After several heated discussions and lots of backroom deal making, we decided on the following order for the terrific tomes topping our list of The Ten Best Business Decision Making Books Ever Written:

10. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions; by Dan Ariely – A mostly fun read that details why we decide what we decide and when, Predictably Irrational immediately grabs your attention through a very strong and entertaining start. While this tome won’t necessarily turn you into a top decision maker overnight, it does offer insight into some of the most common and odd choices we make. From a purely social or behavioral economics standpoint, this book is nowhere near the read of Freakonomics, though its explanation and application of these economic principles detailing why people make irrational decisions easily earns it a spot on our Top Ten.


9. How We Decide; by Jonah Lehrer – Very much like Number 10 on our list, How We Decide introduces the reader to many concepts surrounding behavioral psychology and economics, and how these affect our decision making. Also like Number 10, this tome is loaded with entertaining information that will stimulate your thoughts about how we think and make decisions in response to the complex situations we face. While slightly more enjoyable than Predictably Irrational, this book still falls a little short at helping the reader uncover clear rules for making better decisions; and although both are very, very good and deserve their mention on this list, you only need to read one (you make the decision).

8. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; by Stephen R. Covey – Number One on our list of the Ten Best Leadership Books of All Time, Covey’s coverage of Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind, earns him the right to crack this Top Ten list, as well. While not a primer on avoiding analysis paralysis or helping teams makes better decisions, the chapters covering Habit 2 in this book do provide a great lesson for anyone who’s known for making bad decisions. The best part about this title is it also provides the reader with a clear plan of attack for making and executing better decisions.

7. Blunder: Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions; by Zachary Shore – Using examples of some of the biggest blunders in history, Shore provides an entertaining, historical and hard-hitting examination of bad decisions. Probably due to Shore’s fantastic ability to tell a story, we fear we may have been too easily swayed by style and not substance in including this title in our Top Ten. That said, Shore provides enough practical thought (and some very concise causation theories) to carry this read.

6. Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions; by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney, and Howard Raiffa – One of the truest books ever to its title, Smart Choices is indeed a practical guide to making better decisions. Unlike some of the novel-like reads on this list, this book clearly outlines steps readers can take when faced with both minor and major decisions in their work and personal lives – and because the authors do so without sounding like academicians, it was an easy decision to add this to our Top Ten list. 

5. Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average; by Joseph T. Hallinan – As much as a title this long may make you want to skip to the last page just see how it ends, we advise against this because you’d miss a great read. Although Why We Make Mistakes takes us in a slightly different direction than many of the books on this list, it strikes a cord with us by proving that we are flawed and that internal changes aren’t enough to repair these flaws. (If nothing else, this read provides a classic example as to why so many books published in the last two years made this list: We are just now becoming aware of how we make decisions and what we can do to improve them.)

4. Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior; by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman – Probably the quickest 224 pages you’ll ever read, Brothers Brafman deliver some very compelling arguments regarding our innate irrationality. Though very similar in content to Predictably Irrational, Sway stands on its own by never bogging the reader down in too much detail (while delivering enjoyable detailed analysis throughout). Overall, Sway does an excellent job of showing us how to make better decisions by understanding the irrational forces that want to sway us otherwise.

3. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement; by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox – A business classroom classic that was originally published in 1984 as part organizational management and part production operations management; this novel was one of the very first to use fiction to illustrate a business point. While the decision making lessons delivered here are often veiled in other concepts, the fictional factory turnaround that is engineered by the book’s protagonist provides a step-by-step plan for managers in crisis to follow when faced with difficult decisions. A must read for anyone in business. (Editor’s Note: We’re often asked which book would rank at Number 11 on our list of the best leadership books ever, and The Goal is clearly the favorite for that spot.)

2. Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers, and Facilitators; by Patrick M. Lencioni – It’s one thing to rant about what’s wrong, it’s quite another to detail how to make things right. In Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, the master at team dynamics Lencioni offers specific, practical advice for overcoming the five dysfunctions he details in his earlier book. And while many will argue this is strictly a book about leadership or team dynamics, we say then you’ve never really read it. Among other things, Lencioni’s advice expertly helps teams become more effective by making better decisions. Clearly the best book for improving team decision making and effectiveness ever published; earning it our Number 2 spot.

1. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking; by Malcolm Gladwell – You either love this book or you hate it; there is no middle ground with Blink. By naming this the Best Decision Making Book Ever, we know we’ve probably lost half our readership – of course, had we not named it Number One, we would have lost the other half. (Because we read Blink, we went with our gut and named it Number One.) On a serious note, Blink is one of those “must reads” for anyone in business… end of story. Not only because it explains the power and accuracy of first impressions, but because it also provides data and examples to prove that over-thinking our problems is often the problem. Analysis paralysis and self doubt are the greatest enemies of management decision making today and Gladwell cuts to the quick better than anyone ever has (or likely ever will). Read Blink, it will be the best decision you ever made.

…

On the bubble: Tipping Point; Freakonomics; Execution; and Gut Feelings.

Never even in the consideration set: Nudge and The Paradox of Choice.

Save Your Money: It’s Time to Stop Trying to Improve Time Management

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Time Management Tools That Work – No Such Thing

If you’re a regular reader to this blog, you know we don’t put much stock in time management tips, tricks or techniques. We believe, like Stephen Covey, that you cannot manage time, you can only manage self. Any attempts, in fact, to manage time are just fruitless efforts that get you no closer to your goals.

Time management is about execution, organization and personal efficiencies. Sadly, you will not begin to execute simply by following a few time management tips; organization will not suddenly become second nature because you learned to use the calendar feature on Microsoft Outlook; and just because you can efficiently complete tasks doesn’t mean you are completing the correct ones or in the proper order.

True Time Management is about Effectiveness

Prior to the technological onslaught of time management tools, managers could be divided into two distinct groups: effective and ineffective. In the 1980s, a business leader who needed something done – and done right – knew which of his executives could handle the task. Back then we described this person as organized.

So what’s changed? As we examine our fellow managers today – those armed with a PDA synced to their Outlook, their CardScan machine, a CRM tool and their computer desktop – we notice very quickly that we can divide them into two distinct groups: effective and ineffective.

In the 1980s, truly effective salespeople – those who seemed to always win Salesperson of the Month – used index cards to keep track of their customers and prospects. This was their CRM tool; this was their version of Salesforce.com. They were slaves to their paper planners (yesterday’s Microsoft Outlook) and they never missed a meeting. Why were these salespeople so much more successful than their peers? Didn’t everyone have access to index cards and paper planners?

Why Technology Hasn’t Moved the Effectiveness Needle

While the tools technology has provided have slightly shifted the bell curve of effective leadership to the right, it’s no surprise to us that these tools have done little in the way of narrowing the curve. We are no more effective as leaders today than we were twenty, thirty or forty years ago.


To stick with the salespeople analogy: we find it almost criminal that today’s technological tools (whether CRM software or a CardScan machine) go largely underutilized by the unsuccessful salespeople people, while being exploited to their fullest by the Salesperson of the Month.

Salespeople, you see, more than any other group, stand to gain the most from employing technology in their daily work. So why don’t more of them embrace the very technology that has been proven to help them make more money?

People are Lazy, Procrastinating Do-Nothings

While we can think of a few choice descriptively redundant terms for the ineffective salesperson or manager, the truth is that personal effectiveness is not something that can be burned onto a CD and loaded on your laptop. Effectiveness – the essence of time management – must become part of your DNA.

The effective salesperson in 1984 who mastered the use of index cards had the desire and DNA to be successful. It’s likely he was not a “natural born salesman” and therefore had to work at it. Knowing this, he strived to add anything to his arsenal that would give him a leg up – even if it meant more work.

This element of human nature is still present twenty-five years later – we see it in the successful salespeople who learn every nook and cranny of the company’s CRM tool and go out of their way to master new technologies – but we still see these qualities in just a few salespeople on any given sales team. Technology has done nothing to move the effectiveness needle.

So it’s Hopeless to Attempt to Improve My Time Management?

Well, yes and no. Would you describe yourself the way Waffle House describes hash browns? That is, are you scattered, smothered, covered, chunked, topped, diced and peppered? If so, then you need a lot more just than technology to improve your time management (something you should start calling your “effectiveness”). May we recommend you internalize (that means read until you fully understand and live) 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey? (There’s a reason this book was voted the best leadership book ever written by the editors of AskTheManager.)

Alternatively, would you say that you’re generally effective; that you do a good job of cleaning your inbox; that people can count on you to get things done and that you’re only looking for something to help you recover a few minutes a day? If this describes you, congratulations, you are one of the lucky few who are either hardwired to perform or you’ve worked hard to achieve effectiveness. For you, we’d like to recommend something that’s helped us organize our contacts: the CardScan Personal v8 Card Scanner. This tool is great for the already organized and worthless to the lazy, procrastinating do-nothings.

The first step is recognizing you are a lazy, procrastinating do-nothing – this could save you a lot of money.

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You: Freakonomics, The Movie

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Freakonomics: The Movie

During my extended time off between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I sat down with accomplished entrepreneur and filmmaker Chad Troutwine to discuss the most ambitious documentary ever to pique the interest of the editors of AskTheManager.com.

For those of you unfamiliar with Chad’s work, he is a founder (along with Markus Moberg) of Veritas Prep, one the finest and most prestigious GMAT preparation and graduate school admissions consulting companies in the world. In addition to his business interests, Chad has served as a producer or executive producer for many wonderful films.

His latest project involves taking one of the most interesting and controversial business books ever written and turning it into a feature length documentary. Freakonomics, for the few of you who’ve not yet read it, is likely one of the five best business books ever written. Although not a leadership development or management training book, Freakonomics is both a fun read and an eye-opener into real world economics. More social commentary than Economics 101, Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, is one of those rare books that provides something for everyone, especially for those outside the field of economics.

While the editors are not seeking to turn AskTheManager.com into a blog about Freakonomics – the book’s authors Levitt and Dubner already maintain a terrific one at NYTimes.com that (like the book) is both an economics lesson and a quirky look at humanity – we are very interested in the upcoming documentary and we do highly recommend the book.


To satisfy some of my own curiosity around the Freakonomics documentary, I cornered producer Chad Troutwine – keeping him from his Holiday shopping – and peppered him with ten tough questions:

TheManager (TM): What made you think that Freakonomics would make a good film?

Chad Troutwine (CT): The real answer is that I thought it deserved to be a film, more than I was convinced it would be a good one. I’m pretty evangelical when it comes to this subject. I want as many people as possible to learn about Freakonomics. Film is a remarkable medium to reach a mass audience. It gives people who don’t really read much the chance to enjoy the material, but it also offers the three million readers a way to enjoy Freakonomics in a brand new way. Besides, I really wanted to meet some of the amazing characters that Levitt and Dubner found for the book.

TM: Have there been any other projects that made you feel this way?

CT: Yes, but none as strongly as Freakonomics. I’d still like to adapt Liar’s Poker, the brilliant Michael Lewis autobiography about 1980s Wall Street excess. It seems particularly timely today. Brush With the Law would make a spectacular film. It’s the joint memoir of a Harvard Law School student who became addicted to gambling and a Stanford Law School student who occasionally smoked crack during his third year. It’s Fight Club and Trainspotting meet The Paper Chase, but it’s a true story. 

TM: Freakonomics is such a great read with many desirable topics, how did you select the main topics for the film?

CT: I let the prospective directors pitch me. First, I had to get them to agree to join the project. I described my cinematic vision with as much clarity as possible, and shared my passion for the material with them. I suggested several possible topics – including ideas that emerged after the book was published. Morgan Spurlock was great. He said something like, “As long as it doesn’t have anything to do with food or terrorism, I’m in, man.” Because Morgan was willing to commit to the project so early, it gave me instant credibility when I approached Academy Award winner Alex Gibney and the other accomplished filmmakers.   

TM: What influence, if any, did the directors play in selecting the topics?

CT: The directors chose their own topics, but I retained a veto position. I required each director to submit a treatment. If I approved, that was the topic. I rejected a couple of ideas, actually.

TM: What influence, if any, did the authors play in selecting the topics?

CT: That’s a good question. Co-authors Dubner and Levitt have shown interest throughout, particularly Dubner. They trusted me to oversee that part of the process, so our contract gives me sole responsibility. One director team pitched a story idea that required a lot of participation from Levitt. He graciously agreed, and I think it will turn out to be one of the most engaging segments.

TM: Was there a topic covered in the book that you felt was too taboo for film or too hard to deliver to a traditional audience?

CT: No. Abortion, racism, cheating, classicism, crime, terrorism, and myths about child safety were all fair game. The main premise was enough of a hindrance: taking economic analysis and making it entertaining. Fortunately, Levitt and Dubner already conquered that challenge in grand style. We’re simply emulating the model that they created. One subject was off-limits. Because Sudhir Venkatesh was writing his own book, “Gang Leader for a Day,” we were contractually obligated to avoid using material in the chapter “Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms?”

TM: What is the most important thing you hope audiences take away from this film?

CT: Running regression analyses and mining rich data sets are extraordinarily valuable endeavors for brilliant people like Professor Levitt because the results offer so much utility for everyday life. He can interpret the data and impart findings – often directly contradicting widely held beliefs – that can help us all be wiser parents, more informed voters, savvier business people, and better decision-makers. If we succeed, our film will inspire audiences to see the merit in challenging conventional wisdom. I’m not sure I can turn economists and sociologists into rock stars, but I hope that “thinking freakonomically” becomes synonymous with sound judgment and high intelligence. That’s pretty sexy to me.

TM: What has been the most rewarding thing for you (personally) about working on this project?

CT: We’re not done yet, but I feel a real sense of satisfaction that I was able to orchestrate what is already being hailed as the greatest collection of documentary filmmakers ever assembled. Moreover, this is, ostensibly, my first film as a lead producer. If Freakonomics can permeate the popular culture and inspire people to think more like Levitt and Dubner, and then act accordingly, that would be the ultimate.   

TM: If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

CT: I would be a deciduous tree in autumn. Is there any other answer?

TM: No, not really… As a producer, where do you get both your motivation and your inspiration?

CT: I’ve never fully understood where I get my motivation or my inspiration.  Maybe that question is best left to others to interpret based on what I create and how much I accomplish.

…

Troutwine is eyeing a late summer 2009 final cut for the film, with a theatrical release possibly later in the year. For those of you (like us) who cannot wait, here is a list of the named directors, the working titles of each segment and current status for their respective segment:

  • Morgan Spurlock: “Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?” (post-production)
  • Rachel Grady & Heidi Ewing: “Applying Freakonomics to the Young and Nimble Mind” (filming)
  • Alex Gibney: “Who Cheats and How Do We Catch Them?” (pre-production, filming begins January 2009)
  • Eugene Jarecki: “Abortion and Crime” (pre-production, filming begins in January 2009)
  • Fifth Segment: TBD  

We think we know who the will direct the fifth segment (and we’re thrilled if it turns out to be correct), but we were sworn to secrecy and despite our overall lack of journalistic integrity; we do plan to keep this secret. Sorry…

…

Between now and the film’s release, may we recommend you enjoy the books Chad Troutwine mentioned in his interview. We’ve read all three and highly recommend them:

·         Freakonomics

·         Liar’s Poker

·         Brush With the Law

Additionally, if you’re looking to get a daily fix of Freakonomics, we recommend you drop in on Dubner’s and Levitt’s blog.

Bad Holiday Gifts – The Worst Gifts We Ever Received From Vendors

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Vendors Give The Darnedest Things…

 

Loyal reader Tye Mills sent us a question in response to our Leader’s Gift-Giving Guide article.

 

What are the top 10 wacky gifts you have received from vendors? – Tye Mills

 

Great question, Tye…

 

Hmm, let’s see, the unfortunate result of most truly wacky or bad gifts from vendors is that they are somewhat forgetful. A poll of the AskTheManager editors at first drew blank stares – no one could recall a wacky gift. When we expanded the request to overall bad gifts (no just wacky ones) from vendors, they still seemed a bit perplexed.


 

We all remember the great, thoughtful gifts. The wine we love, the golf balls or putter we cherished, or the thoughtful basket of our favorites. And while we really couldn’t think of ten wacky vendor gifts, we did come up with a list of ten bad ones we received over the years… in no particular order:

 

  • Mouse Pad & Pens – 8-10 years ago it seemed every vendor sent you a mouse pad emblazoned with their logo, but I actually received one as a Holiday gift (with three cheap pens) just two years ago. Two problems with this gift: First, doesn’t everyone who needs one already have a mouse pad? Second, I have exclusively used a laptop (sans mouse) for the past five years – I have no use for a mouse pad (and neither does Goodwill).
  • Bottle of Liquor – He can’t remember the brand, but one of our editors once received a very nice bottle of expensive liquor from a vendor. The problem with this gift? This editor was once a raging alcoholic. The worst thing about this was that it was well-known in the industry that he was now a recovering alcoholic and always seemed ready to fall off the wagon. Not very thoughtful.
  • iPod Shuffle – I know this will sound jaded, but last year a vendor sent me an iPod Shuffle as a holiday gift and now it ends up on this list. My problem with this particular gift was that I already carried a Video iPod, as did everyone in my immediate family, and that the vendor didn’t include a note of any kind – just the iPod. I would have been happier receiving a nice handwritten note wishing me holiday cheer and a $50 donation in my company’s name to a charity. I ended giving the iPod Shuffle to my administrative assistant in one of the most shameless acts of re-gifting known to man… She was thrilled.
  • Tie Clasp – About three years ago a vendor who had been trying to do business with my company for some time sent me a logoed tie clasp as a holiday gift. No big deal… if I was 70 years old and actually wore a tie clasp! Not to mention I had no intention of doing business with them, and didn’t need to see their logo every time I looked down at my tie.
  • Paper Weights – Over the years we’ve received dozens of these and only one – a golf-ball-snow-globe-game with a tee in the middle – ever saw the top of my desk.
  • Other Desktop Do-Dads – Not sure what to call this category, but some vendors who over-think the whole holiday gift-giving thing will send those crappy executive desktop gifts you can buy in the men’s department of most large stores. A few years ago I received a miniature dartboard that provided advice based on where the dart landed. “Go Home,” “Go Fishing,” “Play Hooky,” and “Sleep Under Your Desk” were just a few of the inspirations provided – not a good thing to have on your desk if you want to convince your boss that you’re dedicated to your job.
  • Successories – While these gifts are, on the surface, very thoughtful, one of our editors once received an unframed Successories wall poster entitled “Change.” The issue was that he was with a very successful company who had gone through a painful, major change in the past few years, and who had a very, very bright future ahead. He really didn’t want to display a “Change” message in his office at this time, and he certainly didn’t want to pay to have it framed. (Besides, who is this vendor to say he needed to change?)
  • Mixed Nuts – When I was on the vendor side, one of my salesmen once sent a client, who happen to have a severe peanut allergy, a tin of mixed nuts. From what we hear, the ride to the emergency room was not pretty. He survived, though we never got another dollar of his business.
  • Live Plants – One of the editors once received an expensive fern for her office from a vendor who felt this particular leader needed to “green up” her surroundings. The fern lived for five weeks, laid dead in her office another ten and was unceremoniously dumped before Memorial Day. There was a reason she didn’t have any live plants in her office.
  • Chia Pet – Ch, Ch, Cha Chia… The undisputed king of wacky, bad gifts; the dreaded Chia Pet has appeared as a vendor gift for one of our editors in back-to-back holiday seasons. The first year, the sender sincerely believed that he would enjoy such an exotic and fun gift. The next year, a vendor who was also a close friend, sent him the same Tasmanian Devil model Chia Pet he had received a year earlier – this time as a well-received joke.

 

It was a great exercise for the editors to try and remember the worst of the worst. As leaders, more often than not, we find we can learn great things from bad examples. If we learned nothing else from these ten bad/wacky gifts, let’s all at least agree that you should know your customer before sending anything.

 

Of course, this doesn’t just apply during the Holidays.  

The Wiki-Manager – Leadership Resources From Wikipedia.org

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The Wiki-Leader

 

Often on this blog, TheManager will deliver links to other great leadership and management blogs who post relevant articles covering Leadership Development and Management Training. For this post, TheManager scoured the seemingly infinite resources at Wikipedia.org to provide you with some great leadership links – enjoy.

 

Leadership – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leadership has a formal aspect (as in most political or business leadership) or an informal one (as in most friendships). Speaking of “leadership” …

 

Leadership development – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leadership development refers to any activity that enhances the quality of leadership within an individual or organization. These activities have ranged …

 

Situational leadership theory – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Situational leadership theories in organizational studies are a type of leadership theory, leadership style, and leadership model that presumes that …

 

Youth leadership – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Youth leadership has been eleborated upon as a theory of youth development in which young people gain skills and knowledge necessary to lead civic …

 

Servant leadership – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Servant leadership is an approach to leadership development, coined and defined by Robert Greenleaf and advanced by several authors such as Stephen Covey, …

 

Transformational leadership – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Transformational leadership is a leadership style where one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to …

 

Thought leader – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thought leadership is an increasingly vital driver of business success. Its aim is to engage people with companies through innovative ideas. …

 

Functional leadership model – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the functional leadership model, one conceives of leadership not as a person but rather as a set of behaviors that help a group perform their task or …

 

Design leadership – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The term design leadership has attracted attention in recent years in combination with the field of design management. In practice design managers within …

 

Anti-leadership – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anti-Leadership is a term used in the Ideal leadership model to describe an excess or deficiency of leadership capital elements. …

 

Transactional leadership – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Transactional leaders accept the goals, structure and culture of the existing organization. They must do so because this type of leadership is ineffective …

 

Opinion leadership – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Opinion leadership is a concept that arose out of the theory of two-step flow of communication propounded by Paul Lazarsfeld and Elihu Katz. …

 

Ideal leadership – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Inter-Disciplinary Leadership — or IDEAL Leadership — is a scientific leadership theory developed in 2001 by Larry Stout, a professor at the Stockholm …

 

Leadership Capital – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leadership Capital is the term given in the Ideal leadership model for the six competencies that constitute the leader’s ability to direct an organization …

 

Leadership conditions – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leadership Conditions are defined in the Ideal leadership model as the elements that give a leader the opportunity to lead. Basically, a person must be in …

 

The Myth of Leadership – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Myth of Leadership is a business book written by former Brigham Young University lecturer Jeffrey Nielsen, who is a teacher of philosophy at Westminster …

 

Leadership accountability – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leadership accountability describes the personalization of protest and questioning concerning “up system” responsibility for political violence; corruption; …

 

Leadership management – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You don’t have to follow the market or market leaders, but your direction must be consistent. This is the essence of leadership management. …

 

Modes of Leadership – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Modes of Leadership were postulated in David Wilkinson’s 2006 book ‘The Ambiguity Advantage’. See below for a description of the modes and what a mode is. …