Tag Archives: typical manager

Google is Just Like Everyone Else…

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Leadership Lessons from Google – When a Giant Makes a Giant Mistake

Google announced last week that they would close three offices and lay off 100 full-time recruiters. Even though these are the first Google-hired employees ever to lose their jobs in a workforce reduction, it’s not news… not in this economy. In fact, 100 employees is nothing, right?

Wrong. How big could it have been for Google if they would have announced they were not going to lay anyone off, ever? Instead of layoffs, they were going to find new jobs for these 100 people at Google?

100 employees is nothing, right?

With a ninety-billion dollar market capitalization and over 20,000 worldwide positions, Google could have easily absorbed these 100 humans in other areas of the company. They could have used the non-event of not laying off 100 employees as a chance to score a coup with the American media. They would have been the darling of the new administration: An American company; devoted to full employment despite the economic downturn.


We’re not naïve. We’re not suggesting Google not lose the 100 jobs, just not the 100 humans. Through attrition and everyday hiring, Google will surely add these positions in the next two weeks. With some on-the-job training and evening classes, these 100 recruiters could easily be ready to tackle many other jobs at the search giant. It would take a little work, but everything worthwhile does.

Google Could Have Been Someone; They Could Have Been a Contender…

Google could have been different. Google could have been the only giant American company to never, ever lay off a full-time employee. In the process, they would enjoy a more loyal workforce and great press. The positive feelings created by this move in this economy would have been worth 100 times more than Google would pay those 100 employees this year. They really could have played this to the hilt.

To be fair, Google has technically cut jobs before. In 2008 they laid off over 300 employees at their Double-Click subsidiary. This is somehow different; these were Google employees, hired as Google employees.

As my buddy Niall puts it, “in reality, Google is just like everyone else.”

Niall’s right; and it’s sad when you think about it. Google had a chance to make a statement, and instead chose to take the easy way out. Google is just like everyone else.

This begs the question: When will Google fall? If they’re not different, then they must be susceptible to the same market forces as every other business. Inevitably, they will be overtaken in their own field, and then they will be acquired. Then, the layoffs will really flow.

 

The Death of Data-Based Decision Making

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Why Does My Industry Refuse to Use Data?

True story – of course, whenever anyone says or writes this it generally means that everything else they’ve ever told you is BS – anyway, true story: a highly compensated colleague wrote to a group of fellow highly compensated colleagues and asked “does anyone have any data on whether this widget produces results?”

The emailed responses from two of his highly compensated colleagues were shocking:

  • “I understand they’ve shown good results in Orlando and Tampa.”
  • “This widget really moves the needle in Dallas.”

These were their complete responses. Did I miss something? Where is the data?

This brief exchange of emails is merely a sample of what’s happening in my industry (and probably happening in other industries, though I don’t have any data to back up this claim): We’ve decided that actual data is unimportant.

This is sad, especially as technology has provided us easy, quick and painless avenues to gather data about nearly every aspect of our business. Gathering data and making data-based decisions (AKA: using business intelligence reports) should be one of the greatest benefits of technology we enjoy, yet we still rely heavily on gut feelings and opinions to determine where we spend our money, whom we hire, and what initiatives we pursue.

Data vs. Opinion

Having had my fill of opinion-based decision making where good data is available, I challenged the two highly compensated colleagues to send me some proof to back up their claims about the effectiveness of this particular widget:

“Sounds great, can you send me the data to back this up?” I replied, and waited.

And waited, and waited, and waited. After two days of waiting, I sent a follow-up email copying their direct supervisors:

“I know the Northeast Region really wants to get moving on this widget, and they’re excited to hear about the results you’re seeing in your markets. Can you send me some data that can prove the ROI? We’re struggling to show good numbers everywhere else with this widget and some good results would help save the project.” I wrote, and waited.

Amazingly, with their bosses copied and everyone on high alert to justify expenses, I received the following two messages from the highly compensated colleagues within 30 minutes:

  • “When we looked at the data, it seems it was inconclusive in Dallas. We’re thinking of canceling it.”
  • “Nobody in Orlando or Tampa could prove it works, but they’re sure it was helping sales. They’re going to measure the results this month and then make a decision.”




One claimed they examined the data (Dallas) and one still relied on opinion for now (Tampa/Orlando), but promised to examine the data next month. In the meantime, we’ve potentially wasted more than $100,000 over the past year because no one bothered to look at the data. This was just one product covering a small part of our business. What would we find if we stopped allowing opinions and held everyone to a “just the facts” dictum? Scary…

Data-Based Decisions are Easy

Our industry is one that has had to be pulled (kicking and screaming) into accepting that the Web is an important marketing channel. Now that we’re there, we refuse to demand data, information or business intelligence to help us make decisions. We rely on our collective gut, because our gut was good enough ten years ago, so it’s good enough today.

It’s a shame, really, because using only your gut to make decisions might appear to save you time. While using your gut to make a decision keeps you from having to gather data, it also requires that you continually reconsider the decision: using additional time to determine if you made the correct assessment. When you use your gut, you spend additional time second-, third- and fourth-guessing yourself. You are never certain you made the best decision.

When you use data, like an ROI report, you can quickly and easily decide to eliminate the low ROI widgets and increase your usage of the high ROI widgets. Then, you can put the data away until the next set of numbers (quarterly, monthly, weekly) becomes available. Give these new numbers a “once over” to validate you made a great decision last time or use these numbers to tweak your earlier decision, and move on. Nothing could be easier.

You Were Hired for Your Gut

The best part about using data to help you make decisions is that the data will never care if you also sneak in your opinion here and there. In fact, if not for your gut, your company could just hire a computer to do your job. It is precisely your experiences, history and opinions that make you a valuable commodity. You begin to lose your value, however, as soon as you fail to utilize all the tools (including data) made available to you to do your job.

 

Leadership Lessons From Circuit City – Ho Hum, Another Bankrupt Retailer

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Circuit City – Another One Bites the Dust

In what might be the least surprising business announcement of 2008, Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.

Wow, really? Color us shocked.

To be honest, we’re a little shocked it took this long. We’re also a little surprised that their creditors aren’t forcing them into Chapter 7 liquidation – though that may come sooner rather than later. (Lest we forget, fellow specialty retailer Linens ‘N Things initially filed under Chapter 11 and is now in Chapter 7.)

Like Linens ‘N Things, Circuit City cannot blame their bankruptcy on the credit crisis, housing downturn or the growth of online retailing. No. Circuit City can only blame themselves. Specifically, they can only blame their leadership.

Leadership is More Than Directing Traffic

The Circuit City executives deserve to join Lehman’s Richard Fuld in the business Hall of Shame. Like Fuld, Circuit City leaders made misstep after misstep that effectively condemned their company. However, unlike Fuld, Circuit City’s leadership failed to take enough risks; deciding instead to ride out a doomed strategy for the past several years while their competition ate away at their market share.

What is Circuit City? At what do they excel? What is their niche? Can you identify one thing they do better than anyone else? The short answer: No. Circuit City is a vacuum; they are the epitome of nothingness; they lack an identity.

You must be the Best “Something”

Who’s the best online bookseller? Which hotel company provides the best customer service? Which rental car company is the undisputed king? Where can you go to get the best sushi in Las Vegas? (It’s important to note that 3 of these 4 command a premium for their products.)




The answers to these questions are not relevant to this discussion, though being the best and/or carving out a niche is critical in business – good economy or bad. Circuit City had no such niche. They were not the best at anything. They were known for nothing.

Of chains offering electronics, Wal-Mart is the low cost provider and Best Buy provides the largest selection and the most knowledgeable salespeople. Circuit City has long been known for poor service, poor selection and product shortages of loss leaders. This is not the niche you want to carve out for yourself. (Did Circuit City executives ever understand their goal?)

Circuit City chose to compete with Wal-Mart and Best Buy by duplicating pieces of these companies’ strategies – something they could never hope to do well – and they never bothered to create a unique business model that would provide something of value to consumers and provide them their piece of the pie.

While there is certainly room for additional bricks and mortar electronics retailers, Circuit City executives never understood what it took to be the best at something… anything.

That’s Not Fair – They Never Saw This Coming

If your argument is that the credit crisis is really what took Circuit City down you’re sadly mistaken. Perhaps you’re unaware that Circuit City executives burned through more than half a billion dollars in the last four years.

What about creating an aggressive online strategy? Doesn’t it seem like $500+ million would have been enough to develop a competitive online business model? With that kind of cash in 2004, true leaders would have developed a sustainable business. Instead, Circuit City chose to watch the cash reserves decline quarter-after-quarter until they were forced in bankruptcy. Were they negligent, incompetent or just suffering from analysis paralysis?

The End is Near

Don’t be fooled by their reorganization plans, Circuit City is down for the count and not getting up. Lousy leadership is lousy leadership, and court protections will change nothing.

While Chapter 11 might provide a short-term reprieve and allow them to stock their stores for Black Friday 2008, they’ll not be around for Black Friday 2009. (Heck, they probably won’t make it to Good Friday.)

….

(Just in case you were wondering, the answers to our questions about who are the best ___________ are Amazon, Ritz Carlton, Hertz and Nobu.)

 

The 25 Most Annoying Business Phrases

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The 25 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Use

From the overused to the clichéd, we are inundated on a daily basis with annoying and ridiculous business phrases from the lips of well-meaning managers.

Why so many of us, present company included, rely on the latest catch phrases or tired business jargon to relay a particular message is unclear. Whether lazy, blocked or we really think it makes us sound important, we too often reach for the prepackaged word grouping instead of constructing an original sentence.

Tired of the constant use and misuse of worthless wordings, we decided to assemble a list of formulaic business phrases still in (over)use today. Of course, simply compiling a list of the worst or most annoying business phrases was too easy – narrowing that list to just twenty-five proved to be the hard part.

To add a little complexity to this project, we decided to author a single speech using all twenty-five of the most annoying business phrases. That speech, which you are encouraged to deliver at your company’s holiday party this year, is located at the bottom of this article.

After countless hours of debate, here is our list of the 25 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Use. For those wishing to sound more like true leaders, we included very simple replacement expressions for each.


  1. Think Outside of the Box – We cringe even writing this one. Inarguably the very worst, most annoying business phrase of all time, Think Outside of the Box has become such an overused cliché that Taco Bell coined their own version for a national ad campaign: Think Outside the Bun. Once the likes of Taco Bell, Sears, General Motors or 7-11 latch onto a popular phrase and add it to their lexicon, that phrase has officially become a caricature of its former self. The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Think Creatively.
  2. Give 110% – Our problems with this phrase are both the impossibility of giving 110% and the sheer belief that somehow, if you could actually give 110%, that this would be good enough. Why stop at 110%? What are you, a slacker? We know Nigel Tufnel would give 111%, anyway. The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Do Your Best.
  3. Hit the Ground Running – Meant to energize a team to start work on a project immediately, this overused idiom generally has the opposite effect. Usually the person telling their team to “hit the ground running” is some do-nothing who only hits the ground running when five o’clock rolls around. The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Get Started Immediately.
  4. The 30,000-Foot View – Though not the only use or misuse of this phrase, “the 30,000-foot view” is often uttered by pompous managers who believe they see the big picture that the rest of us are somehow missing. We get it, okay, you want us to believe you’re considering every outcome of a particular decision. The origins of this phrase, which is meant to describe the view from a commercial airplane (flying at 30,000 feet), have become so misunderstood that we often hear our colleagues refer to everything from the 5,000-foot view to the 100,000-foot view – clearly different views. The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: The Big Picture (we know this is also clichéd, but at least everyone will understand the meaning).
  5. FYI – The overused acronym meaning For Your Information, has become such an annoyance to hear uttered (writing FYI is sometimes useful) that one of our editors believes FYI actually means Fornicate You, Idiot. (Of course, he replaces “fornicate” with a common expletive.) He claims that it becomes a little more palatable to hear someone say “FYI” when you think of it in his context. Like putting the words “in bed” after your read the saying from a fortune cookie, this immature habit of his works well and is quite funny. The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: nothing (uttering “FYI” adds no value and does not need to be replaced – just stop saying it).
  6. Blocking and Tackling – Whenever someone in your business skips the basics and fails, managers will often say “it’s just blocking and tackling” to signify that the simplest of tasks were not completed. Of all the overused sports analogies applied to business, this is the most annoying because it implies that blocking and tackling are easy tasks. In football blocking and tackling are the most important tasks, and not necessarily the easiest. Without blocking, the offense cannot score. Without tackling, the defense cannot stop the offense. Since we don’t actually block or tackle at work, let’s drop this silly misuse. The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Primary Tasks or Basic Tasks.
  7. 800-Pound Gorilla – Used in business to mean some entity so dominating or uncontrollable (because of their power or size) that others must show respect/consideration, the term “800-pound gorilla” is so overused we feel like throwing poop. Given that the average gorilla weighs about 400 pounds (and usually likes to throw poop at zoo visitors), you can imagine the damage that an 800-pound gorilla would cause. Annoying because it is unnecessary, this phrase is so often misused (like 30,000-foot view) that we once heard “200-pound gorilla” and “1,000-pound gorilla” uttered in the same meeting – ugh! The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Industry Leader.
  8. Throw Under the Bus – Often correctly used to describe acts of betrayal in the workplace that provide a minor advantage to the one doing the throwing: “he really threw him under the bus,” this relatively new business phrase has quickly become an annoyance by its watered-down overuse. The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Sacrifice.
  9. Rightsizing – This politically correct term for “cutting expenses” vaults into our top ten by virtue of a recent explosion in usage. The current economic climate has forced businesses to make tough decisions, and these decisions most often include expense reductions and layoffs. Managers who feel uneasy using real world terminology to describe their actions take the coward’s course and declare they are rightsizing their organizations. If it was truly “rightsizing” we were doing, then we’d be doing it during good times too, wouldn’t we? The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Downsizing (that’s if you’re afraid of the word “layoff”).
  10. Reaching Out – This phrase is probably most annoying because it seems no one calls or emails anymore, they just reach out – its usage has certainly exploded. The image of someone reaching out to us is more than a little creepy, and yet more and more of our colleagues tell us they are “reaching out” to us – we’d prefer they just email. The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Contact.
  11. Low-Hanging Fruit – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Easy.
  12. Incremental Improvement – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Improvement.
  13. My Two Cents – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: My Opinion.
  14. Solutions Provider – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Vendor.
  15. Bring Your “A” Game – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Arrive Prepared.
  16. Tear Down the Silos – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Remove Barriers.
  17. Paradigm Shift – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Fundamental Change.
  18. Take it to the Next Level – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Improve.
  19. Light a Fire Under Him/Her – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Motivate.
  20. Client Engagement – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Meeting.
  21. Take it Offline – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Discuss it Later.
  22. At This Point in Time – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Now, Currently or Today.
  23. Give You a Heads Up – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Provide Notice.
  24. Synergy – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Collaboration.
  25. Action Item – The AskTheManager replacement phrase leaders should use: Task.

As promised, here is a speech you can deliver at your holiday party this year that will surely make you sound like either the most intelligent or most pompous person in the room. Intelligence is in the ear of the receiver.

I’m reaching out to you today to thank you for helping us make 2008 a solid year for our business. Despite the economic turmoil we face at this point in time, your dedication to synergy and out of the box thinking has allowed us to make incremental improvement in our rightsizing efforts. FYI, In order for us to take it to the next level, we need everyone to hit the ground running on their ‘09 action items and give 110%. As I take a 30,000-foot view of our industry, I see competitive solutions providers who must light a fire under their teams, tear down their silos and make significant paradigm shifts if they expect to catch us, the 800-Pound Gorilla. To these companies I say, “let me give you a heads up, you’d better bring your ‘A’ game if you want to beat us.” We are the industry’s best because we are superior in every way. We are better at blocking and tackling, we are better at gathering the low hanging fruit and we are better at exceeding expectations during client engagements. If we have disagreements, we take it offline – we never throw each other under the bus. If you want my two cents, I would rather work with this group than with the finest people on earth.

Now sit back and bask in the applause.

Managing Up When Your Boss Refuses to Lead

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Managing Up – Overcoming the Fear of Leading the Dullards Above You

Explaining to your boss or your boss’ boss that he/she is an idiot is never a good idea, though everyday in American business we are faced with substandard leadership and a mission at hand. How can we help move the business forward when we work for the dumbest person alive? How can we, as lower or middle level managers, effectively and efficiently help our company succeed in today’s tough economic times?

Overcoming the fear of managing up is a primary way middle managers or rank and file employees can effectively drive results through the entire organization. Of course, it’s important that these middle managers stop being a victim of their supervisor’s inadequacies. If you’re too busy crying “woe is me,” then you have your own issues to overcome before you should feel comfortable tackling those of your boss.

Your Boss Has Some Strengths, Doesn’t She?

After you grow up and quit blaming your boss for the failings of your business, understanding your supervisor’s strengths and weaknesses is the first key to unlocking the door to a more productive workplace. Clearly, you have a good handle on their weaknesses or you would have never stumbled upon this management training article. Employing a little insight and putting your personal feelings aside you’ll certainly discover that this idiot has a few strengths, as well.

Playing to their weaknesses (or trying to exploit these) will not get you from point A to point B in an expeditious manner. Rather, you need to understand their strengths – and especially what they believe they’re good at – and use these to your company’s advantage.

Perhaps your boss fancies himself a tremendously cost-conscious leader, adept at recognizing and cutting fat before it ever hits the bottom line. Perfect – you have an “in” for all the good you wish to accomplish. Manipulating (I know this word sounds bad, but it’s necessary) your speech to this person in a way that angles everything toward the bottom line will allow you to make an impact you’ve missed in the past.

Priorities are King

Your supervisor’s priorities are probably tied very closely to their strengths. That is, if they’re good at something, that “something” generally becomes the highest priority for the company. Unfortunately, when a manager is good at something, especially a senior manager, they tend to use and overuse this at every turn. You’ve heard it said that “he’s good with a hammer, so he thinks everything is a nail.”

Work to document the priorities of your boss and especially what key issues exist (in their mind). Next, determine ways to address these issues within your sphere of influence. (Your sphere of influence encompasses those precious few priorities or duties you actually control.) Working to help your boss reach some of their goals (and allowing them to be the hero) will bring you into their inner circle faster than a sycophantically-adept sprinter.

Without being obvious, it’s important to ensure your supervisors see and appreciate your involvement in helping them solve their issues. When you assist your superiors, they are more likely to reciprocate in similar ways when you need help.

Take Charge

Taking charge when your boss does not is also an ideal way to positively influence a company’s direction. Generally speaking, when a team is in need of leadership, it’s due to a lack of involvement by the top guy/gal on the team. Taking charge and delivering quality direction to the rest of the team – and even to your boss – provides the much needed vision every human worker seeks.

By taking charge in a constructive way you will become a bit of a role model to others on the team. Ensuring your style is fair and void of ego will help the team members to rally around you, and should draw praise from those above.

But, My Boss is an Egomaniacal Weeble!

We’ve all worked for the do-nothing supervisor who smacks down every attempt at independence from any of his subordinates. In these instances, you must strive to balance pleasing your boss and the driving results of the team.

Nothing will appeal more to your supervisors than anticipating their needs. Instead of providing this no-load manager with a dose of passive-aggressive production (as others do), try delivering something above and beyond.

Of course, if your boss is truly an egomaniac, it will take more than a few “great jobs” for them to include you in their master plan. Here are few steps to help you achieve the unachievable with an egomaniac do-nothing:

  • Perform well on every task – never assume that something you completed for your boss is “good enough:”
  • Be visible – this smacks against the conventional wisdom that you should keep your head down for fear of having it shot off;
  • Go above and beyond – if your boss asks for last week’s numbers, deliver them with a chart showing the trends for the past several weeks; and
  • Drop the attitude – nothing kills a management career more than a passive-aggressive approach to doing one’s job.

Are you saying I Should Kiss His Ass?

No … and, well, sort of – after all, he is the boss.

On a serious note, all managers want people who work with them, not against them. Even great leaders prefer to work with those who create the minimum amount of drama at work. We all have enough drama in our family life that we would prefer to live without it in our work life. That said, great leaders do want to be challenged.

If you were working for a great leader, you wouldn’t be reading this blog.

By providing more than your boss asks for and acting consistently, you will quickly gain a reputation for being a reliable person of integrity who can execute. In business, there is nothing more important than execution.

Once your boss identifies that you are the “go to” person in the organization, your ideas and vision will begin to permeate the organization.

It’s All About “The Boss”

Throughout your quest to manage up, never forget that in your supervisor’s mind, it might be all about him/her. Great leaders check their ego at the door, but your boss is far from becoming a great leader. Accepting this part of your position – that is, to make your boss look good – will help both your management career and your company.  

By providing cover for your supervisor and taking blame when it’s not yours to take will allow you to grow in importance and influence. Over-communicating and frequently over-communicating will show most managers that you care about them and their priorities. Understand how your boss likes to communicate (via phone, email, in-person) and deliver what they want via the medium they prefer.


I Don’t Want to be a Pest

Careful, you’re slipping into the victim role here…

If you deliver value and you make sure your boss looks good while you deliver this value, you will never become a pest. However, it is important that your boss never look at you as weak or as a sycophant. A few quick tips to keep you from appearing weak or ineffective to the do-nothing boss:

  • Don’t waste their time – be prepared and understand their issues and the possible resolutions before you meet with your boss;
  • Have an opinion on everything important – recommendations, especially solid recommendations, are appreciated by the do-nothings; and
  • Provide adequate data – nothing moves a do-nothing off the fence more than data-based decision making.

Some Final Thoughts…

Although we may have already touched on some of these, it is vital that you think strategically, over-communicate with the underperforming manager and remain humble in the presence of your boss (especially when he/she is meeting with their boss).

As someone who thinks about the long-term, you will often be looked upon to deliver forecasts and opinions about the state of your industry. All managers want to succeed in the short-term, but great companies maximize their future. Strategic thinkers will always win above those who live only in the here and now.

Don’t be afraid of delivering too much information to the do-nothing manager in your life. In fact, there is no way to truly manage up unless you ensure they have all the data necessary to make an informed decision. Over-communication is the most underutilized techniques in middle management today. Don’t be shy and don’t be intimidated by the large corner office with a view. Businesses need information to succeed and your company needs someone like you to deliver that information.

Humility is often the most underused leadership trait today. Think about it in your life. Likely everyone you really like is humble; while you tend to tolerate those effective folks with overactive egos and you absolutely despise the blowhards who deliver nothing. Humility breeds respect, and respect is the key to managing up and managing across.

 

Management Decision Making – How Do Managers Make Decisions?

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Questions from Our Readers – Empowering Your Team to Make Decisions

In response to our recent post regarding empowering your team to make decisions (to read that post, follow this link), Olzhas writes:

How do managers make decisions? How might they make better decisions? How do job satisfaction and organizational commitment affect an individual’s behavior at work? And how can these attitudes be changed by effective managers?

Olzhas has posed some of the toughest questions facing both new and seasoned leaders, so we think it’s best if we attack these one at a time…

How Do Managers Make Decisions?

The quick answer: leaders just do. Managers who’ve yet to achieve true leadership have a tough time making decisions for a number of reasons including: analysis paralysis; fear of failure; fear of success; fear of ridicule; and others.

Leaders, on the other hand, have no problem making decisions. They would prefer that their subordinates made the bulk of the decisions, but they’re ready to step up and make decisions when warranted.

True leaders do not worry about how their decisions – right or wrong – might reflect upon themselves; they are only concerned with the welfare of the organization and their team. The bottom line on decisions: leaders stand behind their decisions and the decisions of their subordinates.

How Might They Make Better Decisions?

This is the Holy Grail of management: how to make better decisions. There really is no better change a struggling manager can make than one that affects their ability to make sound decisions. So how does a manager begin making better decisions? To answer this, let’s look briefly at why managers make bad decisions.

While selfishness, pride and an overactive ego all lead to bad decisions by sub-par managers, well-meaning managers most often make poor decisions because they consider too much input; too much data.

The best decisions I’ve ever made as a leader were those decisions where I considered just one outcome: how does this decision affect the goal?

What is the goal? If your company is a for-profit entity, then the goal is simple: make money for the owners. When you weigh every decision against this goal, the choices become easy. Does doing “A” take me closer to the goal? If so, then do “A;” if not, then don’t.


I understand this may sound too simple to most managers. The argument I often hear is that decisions aren’t always black and white – they aren’t always this easy. I challenge you to consider the last ten decisions you were faced with at work. I would be shocked if fewer than nine of these decisions could not have been weighed against the goal to deliver a desirable outcome. In fact, if even one of these decisions was too complicated to be weighed against the goal, then you probably over thought it.

Remember the goal and you’ll always make sound decisions.

How do Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment Affect an Individual’s Behavior at Work?

Thanks for the softball, Olzhas. Let’s look at Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment separately.

What makes a job satisfying to one individual could be vastly different than what makes it satisfying to another. That said, true job satisfaction for any employee can be influenced greatly by just a few factors. These factors include how well they like and respect their direct supervisor, how much they believe in their company’s mission, how much impact they feel they have on the company’s success, and (to a much lesser extent) how well they are compensated.

Obviously, those with high job satisfaction are also more productive and they exhibit more desirable behavior. Providing your charges a sense of worth, coupled with respect, can greatly increase both their individual job satisfaction as well as their behavior.

While they don’t have to go hand-in-hand, job satisfaction and organizational commitment are generally closely aligned. (I’m going to assume that Olzhas asked about organizational commitment from the viewpoint of individual commitment to one’s company.)

An employee can have high job satisfaction, yet not be committed to their organization – this is especially true when their sense of satisfaction comes from a higher than deserved salary or a lack of management oversight. Likewise, someone truly committed to their company could have very low job satisfaction if they happen to love what they do, but they hate their direct supervisor. In either of these examples, the individual’s overall behavior would tend to be less than desirable.

How Can These Attitudes be Changed by Effective Managers?

Effective is the key word in this question. Effective managers are called leaders, and leaders naturally work toward changing the attitudes of their teams through their words and their actions.

By first empowering your team to make decisions (and this means letting them fail) and then making sound decisions where necessary, leaders have a significant impact on the attitude, culture and effectiveness of any organization. It doesn’t matter if you’re leading a group of executives or assembly line workers, everyone needs to feel respected and appreciated. Allowing those closest to the issues (and customers) make the decisions can positively impact any organization.

Given the current economic meltdown, I wonder how Lehman and others in trouble would have fared if the front-line employees, and not Richard Fuld and the other egomaniacal CEOs, had made the bulk of the decisions. Would we be facing the kind of calamity we face today?

 

Considering a Job Change? Watch Out For Red Flags in the Interview

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Potential Employer With Great Promises and a Lowball Offer

 

I am faced with a dilemma and I need some advice. Although I am currently employed, I had a meeting with a prospective employer and things went (mostly) great. Although they knew my salary restrictions going in, they balked at guaranteeing anything near that amount and they made me a lowball offer. Of course, they talked about numerous opportunities for merit increases and discretionary bonuses at the end of the year that could get me close to what I need. What do you think? Jerry in Indiana

 

What do I think? I think this is what we call a red flag.

 

Regardless of the side of the desk you’re sitting on during an interview, red flags are called red flags in an interview for a reason. More than one red flag, and you need to go in a different direction.

 

As an interviewer, I like to allow the candidate to screw up just once in the process. Two red flags and they are simply not a good fit for my company. While this may seem harsh to some, it’s important to remember that candidates are on their best behavior during an interview – it’s not going to get any better after you’ve hired them.

 

But, I’m The Interviewee

 

Sorry Jerry, back to your question. Just as prospective employees are on their best behavior during an interview, so too are those conducting the interviews. They are trying to sell you on their company, and they’re not about to blow it buying displaying their warts.

 




If they are unwilling to guarantee a suitable salary in writing, then you may want to look elsewhere. As my father always said, verbal promises are not worth the paper they’re printed on.

 

I would be concerned if a prospective employer wanted me accept an initial compensation package below what I felt the position and I deserve. I can tell you from experience that it never, ever gets any better once you’re employed with them.

 

You Can’t Feed Your Family On Promises

 

The bottom line is that you can’t deposit promises in your bank. If the employer is unwilling to fully compensate the position today, what makes you think they’ll ever deliver fair compensation for what you deliver?

 

Unless you’re just absolutely desperate, I would thank the prospective employer for the consideration, but that you simply cannot justify making the job change without X dollars year in guaranteed compensation. Who knows, they may come around. If they don’t, you’ve lost nothing.

 

Help! My Boss is a Jerk!

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Q. Every time my coworkers or I ask my manager a question, he snaps at us and tries to make us feel stupid for not already knowing the answer. What should we do? Lisa in Raleigh, NC

 

Well, as my teachers always said: there are no stupid questions. Of course, it sounds like there are some stupid managers out there.

 

Your Boss is a Jerk

 

It’s painful enough to work with a jerk, but when the jerk is also your boss, your life can become a living hell. Jerks with power are the worst kinds of jerks.

 

There are various reasons that a given team even requires supervision at all.  Often, there is a need for accountability, leadership and/or training. Even if your manager’s sole responsibility is accountability – that is, he is there to just keep the rest of you in line – there is still no excuse for his lack of maturity.

 

The most important duty of a manager is to develop his or her team to excel for the company; and when the manager himself impedes this development, the employees often have nowhere to turn.

 

Who knows why your supervisor is failing at his most important job function; the fact is, his actions are hurting morale and, ultimately, the company’s performance.

 

I Love Questions

 

I love when subordinates ask me questions. I look at all questions as invitations to develop the person doing the asking. Because the employee asked for the assistance, they are more open to the answers – the employee development becomes a mutually beneficial occurrence. Conversely, whenever I unilaterally work to develop someone, I am at the mercy of the receiver who may or may not be open to receiving my terrific guidance and tremendous wisdom.

 

Okay, enough about me…

 

What should you and your coworkers do? I can only speak from my experience here, but if I ran this company I would want to know about this jerk and how he is treating others. While I’ve never given credence to any mutiny, I actually recommend you and your coworkers move up the organizational chart to your boss’ boss and explain the situation.

 

Strength In Numbers

 

There is strength in numbers, and the entire team should deliver this message as a group. Be careful not give ultimatums (e.g., “it’s either him or us”), just try to explain the situation (without emotion or opinions) and let the company know how this is effecting your work.

 

Be prepared for your boss’ boss to go into leadership development mode and retain the jerk for the near-term. If your company cares about people, they will investigate the situation and then provide some management training for your boss – giving him a chance to redeem himself.

 

As crappy as this sounds for you and your team, you really wouldn’t want to work for a company that didn’t provide second chances in cases like these. (Who knows, you might be the manager someday and you wouldn’t want a few disgruntled employees to get you fired without due process.)

 

We All Have Choices

 

While most companies would make an adjustment in this situation, there is the chance that nothing changes. If this happens, you are left with four choices:

 

  1. You can look for another position within your company;
  2. You can look for something at another company;
  3. You can give the “it’s him or us” ultimatum (and be prepared to possibly be fired); or
  4. You can live with it.

For me, choice number 4 is not a choice. The satisfaction I receive from my work is too important to me to let someone drain me of it. Life’s too short to work for a jerk – that leaves you with choices 1, 2, or 3. Of course, these depend on the opportunities available to you, and your stomach for confrontation and change.

 

I’m hopeful your company will make a change – as I wrote, most companies would – but whatever happens, please keep us posted.