At break someone said, "Supervisor said we have a morale problem."
I said:
We don't have a morale problem. Morale problems are a symptom. It's never the problem. The problem is attention. People value what is noticed. The first Toyota Prius looked like a normal car. It wasn't noticed. People want to do good things for the environment, but they want to be noticed for it. When Toyota changed the design to the distinctive look it has now people were noticed for being green and they sold like crazy. Being noticed counts.
When a press is making bad product and the mechanic notices, it's not the press' fault. It's the mechanic's fault. If an employee is on their cell phone or not doing their quality checks, or is charging their phone out in plain sight and the supervisor doesn't say anything it's not the employee's fault when it keeps happening. When a supervisor spends more time hanging out and shooting the shit with employees and trying to be their friend and their boss notices and does nothing it's not the supervisor's fault. It's the plant manager's fault.
We all see these things. We all know who the employees are who are slacking and and we know the supervisors that know it. We see them. They see us see them, and they don't care. They don't care that we don't call them on doing their job. (wrong pronoun... I still self-identify as management - oops)
I get it. It's hard to tell someone "do your job" but that IS their job. If they're not going to do it that attitude, that laziness, that "well, maybe it'll fix itself" attitude spreads like oil on water and it's a problem.
So, people notice bosses not noticing. They assume they don't care, that the supervisors aren't invested, that it isn't important, that the work THEY do, the good employees do, isn't important, and they feel devalued. They feel like they don't matter. And they feel it because those higher than them, those who are supposed to notice the value of the employees, to reward good behavior and punish bad behavior aren't doing their job, they aren't noticing.
You can't train a puppy to not piss or shit on the floor by hugging it and cuddling it and hoping it'll figure it out. That's not how it works. You get a very friendly, very messy puppy, and a floor you can't walk across. That's where we are now. There are piles of shit everywhere and the supervisors and bosses just put on taller boots and look at those below them, us, and wonder why we're so grumpy and smell like shit.
Well, look up and around for the problem, not down. Looking down isn't the answer. Looking down is about blaming and not fixing.
No, morale isn't a problem. This ship has no captain and forty-seven stewards bringing us fresh towels as we careen wildly around the Atlantic hoping we don't hit anything.
I stopped, realized I'd gotten a little erm... passionate, and said, "Well, that or we're just a grumpy bunch of bitches. Sorry."
"Dude. You should be a supervisor."
"I was for like fifteen years."
"I mean here."
"Hell no. Y'all are a bunch of grumpy bitches."
Everyone laughed... but money says what I said is repeated.
Sometimes it's frustrating to see a job that I've done and know I'm good at, be done badly by people who are afraid if they try and DO the job that people won't like them. No, asshat. People will like and respect a boss more who IS a boss than one who is their buddy and doesn't do anything to fix things but joins in the gripefests. Sometimes I miss management. I was good at it. Part of the problem is the skill set that gets trained and tested for to be management is to be good with the machines, but the supervisors don't supervise machines. They supervise people.
Showing posts with label Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Management. Show all posts
Monday, September 11, 2017
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Different managers/Different types
In the many years I've worked for other people:
- I've had managers I respected so I did what they asked because I knew it was the right thing to do. I trusted them and knew if I did what they asked something positive would come out of it that would help us all.
- I've had managers I liked and I did what they asked because I hoped they'd like me back. That whole weird striving for approval through hard work thing. Yeah, I grew out of that. I mean I still work hard. I just mean I don't do it hoping they'll like me for it. I could give two figs if they like me, just appreciate that I work hard and am a good worker. Like me? Don't care.
and finally
- I've had managers I did what they asked to get them to STOP TALKING TO ME. I'll do it. Please, just shut up. I can't stand hearing your voice. Every word you say is like a nail through my ears. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SHUT UP! I'm doing it. See, working. Now, go away, bother someone else! Oh God, my ears are bleeding. Make them stop talking to me!!!
Some management styles are more effective than others, and some I think are more sought after than others. But I still think the respect one is the best one. Sure, they all get the job done, but the respect one gets it done more consistently.
So, now people I've worked with and for are all going to try and figure out where they are on the list. Obviously I didn't include every type of manager on here, and not everybody is purely one of the three here, and some of them aren't at my longest job so don't think they're all you. They probably aren't. Well, unless you're the one that prompted me to kick the bathroom door. You, I just wanted to STOP TALKING!!!
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Why don't they see it?
Hypothetically speaking let's lay out a crew & a situation. There's a boss and two employees.
Boss tells employees to do something and then goes to do something else. Through out the shift she will bark other things for them to do at them when she sees them, voice always just below a yell. As the shift goes on she will see a task that isn't completed and demand to know why not. That's the interaction she instigates. The two employees will wander away, out of sight and complain about what a bitch she is and that they can't stand her. They won't get work done. Often they will, just to torment her, call her to the front with a question they could answer themselves and technically they're okay calling her... it's annoying to her, but not something they can get in trouble for. This goes on all shift. She gets progressively angrier. They get nothing done. She doesn't get much done. Everybody's on the edge of fighting all night long. HORRIBLE.
Now let's see how would I handle the same crew? First I'd write down a list for them to do and ask them how long it was going to take them and have THEM write down the times and keep that list on them with a pen. I'd have a list as well. Since I'm a boss and they're the ones who typically are doing the things on my list I'd get their input in how long it should take. Whoever comes in LOWEST under time-budget I buy a drink, but it's got to be done right. No corner cutting. Total time of making list and agreeing on times that they choose & write down? About 10 minutes at start of shift. Now as the shift goes on my list is shorter than their lists. I have other things to do after all. And through out the shift I touch base with them. Find out where they are on the list. I help them with their work while we talk about the list and how the night's going. Total time with each of them at each stop? Maybe two minutes. I help, we talk WHILE I'm helping, and if they stop work I point out that I can work and talk so they should to, and then I go to the next one. "Gotta be fair, can't help one of you get more under time-budget than the other. Only fair right?" A reminder of the time constraints they'd put on themselves. If we see a job is going to take longer I may stay a bit to help more. My goal isn't for them to fail. It's for them both to succeed.
Periodically we'll all be in between tasks. We gather up, compare notes & see where we are and if there's been anything noticed that needs to be added to a list "to make sure our store looks good" etc.
Now, which way is the most effective? In almost EVERY case the second way gets about three times as much done as the first way. AND we're all getting along the whole time AND they have some buy-in on the decisions being made AND they feel like they're more important than just a flunky to be ordered about and no matter what they do they'll never make the manager happy, AND I have to buy the winner a soda. If it's been a hard night, extra busy, or the end of my days to work with them for whatever reason, I get everybody a round of soda.
Am I working harder than the first manager? No. I'm working less but THEY are working harder and are happier about it. I'm the manager. I give them the lists, they pick the times. In all the times I've done this THAT has worked. Only once have I had someone tell me the list I gave them would take them more time than there was in a shift. And I asked them to do it anyway and see how far we could get and I'd help him and thank you (to him) for pointing out I didn't know how long something would take and maybe with both of us doing it we could find a better work flow. We got it done, BARELY, in the shift. It really was too much but with me helping he was willing to try and we got it. And I never did THAT list again. I was exhausted.
I love management. I love working with people and I really am pretty good at it. I wish managers who didn't love it would stop doing it. They're really making their employees miserable when they do it wrong.
Boss tells employees to do something and then goes to do something else. Through out the shift she will bark other things for them to do at them when she sees them, voice always just below a yell. As the shift goes on she will see a task that isn't completed and demand to know why not. That's the interaction she instigates. The two employees will wander away, out of sight and complain about what a bitch she is and that they can't stand her. They won't get work done. Often they will, just to torment her, call her to the front with a question they could answer themselves and technically they're okay calling her... it's annoying to her, but not something they can get in trouble for. This goes on all shift. She gets progressively angrier. They get nothing done. She doesn't get much done. Everybody's on the edge of fighting all night long. HORRIBLE.
Now let's see how would I handle the same crew? First I'd write down a list for them to do and ask them how long it was going to take them and have THEM write down the times and keep that list on them with a pen. I'd have a list as well. Since I'm a boss and they're the ones who typically are doing the things on my list I'd get their input in how long it should take. Whoever comes in LOWEST under time-budget I buy a drink, but it's got to be done right. No corner cutting. Total time of making list and agreeing on times that they choose & write down? About 10 minutes at start of shift. Now as the shift goes on my list is shorter than their lists. I have other things to do after all. And through out the shift I touch base with them. Find out where they are on the list. I help them with their work while we talk about the list and how the night's going. Total time with each of them at each stop? Maybe two minutes. I help, we talk WHILE I'm helping, and if they stop work I point out that I can work and talk so they should to, and then I go to the next one. "Gotta be fair, can't help one of you get more under time-budget than the other. Only fair right?" A reminder of the time constraints they'd put on themselves. If we see a job is going to take longer I may stay a bit to help more. My goal isn't for them to fail. It's for them both to succeed.
Periodically we'll all be in between tasks. We gather up, compare notes & see where we are and if there's been anything noticed that needs to be added to a list "to make sure our store looks good" etc.
Now, which way is the most effective? In almost EVERY case the second way gets about three times as much done as the first way. AND we're all getting along the whole time AND they have some buy-in on the decisions being made AND they feel like they're more important than just a flunky to be ordered about and no matter what they do they'll never make the manager happy, AND I have to buy the winner a soda. If it's been a hard night, extra busy, or the end of my days to work with them for whatever reason, I get everybody a round of soda.
Am I working harder than the first manager? No. I'm working less but THEY are working harder and are happier about it. I'm the manager. I give them the lists, they pick the times. In all the times I've done this THAT has worked. Only once have I had someone tell me the list I gave them would take them more time than there was in a shift. And I asked them to do it anyway and see how far we could get and I'd help him and thank you (to him) for pointing out I didn't know how long something would take and maybe with both of us doing it we could find a better work flow. We got it done, BARELY, in the shift. It really was too much but with me helping he was willing to try and we got it. And I never did THAT list again. I was exhausted.
I love management. I love working with people and I really am pretty good at it. I wish managers who didn't love it would stop doing it. They're really making their employees miserable when they do it wrong.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Me on management as a manager of managers
(tl;dr: A manager position is opening and I've got ppl interested. This is my letter to those who are interested in the position.)
It's not a secret that (manager) is going to step down in some fashion in the near future, leaving a management position open at (a) store. She and I have talked about it and I completely understand and support her decision and respect her reasons for doing so. I've done the same thing in the past.
I'm taking applications from outside the store and will be doing interviews of those applicants as well as interested employees over the next couple weeks.
If you're currently employed at the store and are interested in the position there are several requirements that have to be met to be considered for the position. These requirements are the same ones I will have of a new hire hired right off the street as well and I think it fair that you have a heads up on what they are.
1) Must be able to drive for the company as determined by the insurance company we run our drivers through. This is not easy. It means clean record, like really clean.
2) Must be able to work well with others in the store and NOT cause drama. If anybody is currently interested in the job and is considering a Klingon method of promotion either by assassination, or tearing other employees down I will work it myself before giving it to someone who doesn't build up those around them. A manager must cultivate the best in their employees and co-workers at all times. This isn't negotiable.
3) Must be able to think on their feet and call me with solutions to problems. I appreciate that managers call their managers when they aren't SURE of something, but posing a question and having a possible answer (or answers) is indicative of someone who is a problem solver and who is able to take care of things themselves. If the first instinct is for me to do all the thinking then there's no real advantage to having a manager there is there? I know there's a belief out there that frequent calls indicate an interest in the store and someone who cares about the store and that's great. I'm looking for someone who is independent and a problem solver. Not someone who needs their hand held. I don't want that to sound harsh but there it is. This is a big store and it does high volume and has a large crew. There are going to be issues that come up daily. I need a person who is able to handle those issues themselves and contact me for the big ones. The little ones can wait and you can let me know what you did to handle it. Every decision should not mean I get a call.
4) The job requires a lot of hours and a lot of dedication. It means, sometimes, missed family events, missed concerts, canceled vacations. It means coming in on your days off sometimes to take care of issues that have cropped up unexpectedly. It's a LOT of work. You've seen the amount of work (manager) does. Sometimes when it hits the fan I'm out of state and can only lend support on the phone and those times are rough. If I can be here to help I will. But I rely, the store relies, the company relies, on the manager to be the first in and last out kind of thing. If you're not willing to give the level of commitment to the job that you've seen (manager) put into it then the job is not for you.
5) This is a tough store. It requires a tough person who is not just tough, but is also understanding, thoughtful, and aware of their employees needs and wants and is able to balance all those things in a way that is fair to everybody. It doesn't mean the employee always gets their way as the manager's job is to make sure the store is best served at all times by the employees who are there. That may mean, at times, writing up people with whom you've become close. It may mean firing those people as well. It may mean following and enforcing rules that you may disagree with because they're for the betterment of the company as a whole. Sometimes what is best for the entire company is NOT what is best for the individual. It's unfortunate when that happens but in such a scenario it's my job to make sure the company wins and the hammer I use to pound that nail is the manager of the store.
All that being said I don't want to sound like I'm talking anybody out of this job. I want you to go into it with your eyes open. Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. grin
Management has been the most challenging and rewarding job I have ever taken on. Store manager is, without a doubt, my favorite job in the company. I've had all of them from part time overnight sales associate to regional manager with a third of the country working for me. Of all of those, store manager was, and is my favorite. It's a chance to shine, a chance to watch employees develop from newbies who don't know how to ring up anything to experienced sales people who are able to help customers find product with the vaguest of descriptions, talk first time customers into add-on sales, and re-work a wall as a matter of course. It's a chance to have the owner of the company come in and look at your store, white-glove & black light it and come out smiling saying "Very nice job. Store looks great. Keep it up!" I can tell you from experience there's no other feeling like it. It's knowing your crew is working well together, that the work is getting done, and that the customers are happy and coming back. It's a thousand things that all come together to click and everything just runs like a well-oiled machine. It happens, and when it does it's awesome to be a part of. It's awesome not just as a manager but the staff loves it as well. But that won't happen because you want it to real, real bad. It happens because you work hard and make sure your employees are working hard too. It happens, but not by chance. It takes time and dedication and a lot of coffee.
I hope if you're interested in the job, that you are interested in it because of those reasons and not just because you want a bigger check. I'm not interested in someone who is only in it for the money. Money as a motivator is not all that great after your second double in a week. I've done them. I know what I'm talking about. Personal pride in your crew and store. Personal pride in meeting the challenge and overcoming it, something that has to start over each day and is never "finished." Personal pride in developing a crew that is full of people, all of whom want your job and are able to do it, that you can promote up to other stores in other towns and states. That's what interests me in a manager. That's what I'm looking for. Those are the buttons that work on me, and it's what I'm looking for in a manager of one of my premier stores. If that's not you it's okay to recuse yourself from the consideration because it's better to say "no thank you" than to take it and have it not work out.
What it takes to be a great sales associate isn't at all the same as what it takes to be a great manager, or even a good manager, truth be told. They're entirely different skill sets. It's like being a District Manager. Being a great manager is no indication of whether or not that person will be a great District Manager. I think I'm a heckuva manager but I don't think I'm a great District Manager. I'm very good, and trying to get better, but I'm not great yet. There's no shame to admitting you're great at one thing but not another. It's a sign of honesty and maturity. Both of those things are key ingredients needed for this job.
If you want to set up a meeting with me give me a call before Friday night. If you've got questions about the position ask me. If you want to ask (manager) about specifics of the job feel free to ask her WHILE SHE'S AT WORK. Don't call her at home about this. Also, she's your manager right up until the day she isn't and she, like all my managers, speaks with my voice as always, and I support her completely. I'm on vacation next week and will be collecting apps and setting up interviews with people from outside the store for the week I get back. I won't be making any decision at all until I've interviewed other people and it's possible I'll ask (my boss) for his opinion on some of them. It's a certainty that I'll ask (a big boss) his opinion. This store is too big, too important, for the decision to be made lightly. I assure you I'll consider any of you who have the qualifications listed above and I'll do so fairly with the best interest of the store as my guidon. It's what I do.
It's not a secret that (manager) is going to step down in some fashion in the near future, leaving a management position open at (a) store. She and I have talked about it and I completely understand and support her decision and respect her reasons for doing so. I've done the same thing in the past.
I'm taking applications from outside the store and will be doing interviews of those applicants as well as interested employees over the next couple weeks.
If you're currently employed at the store and are interested in the position there are several requirements that have to be met to be considered for the position. These requirements are the same ones I will have of a new hire hired right off the street as well and I think it fair that you have a heads up on what they are.
1) Must be able to drive for the company as determined by the insurance company we run our drivers through. This is not easy. It means clean record, like really clean.
2) Must be able to work well with others in the store and NOT cause drama. If anybody is currently interested in the job and is considering a Klingon method of promotion either by assassination, or tearing other employees down I will work it myself before giving it to someone who doesn't build up those around them. A manager must cultivate the best in their employees and co-workers at all times. This isn't negotiable.
3) Must be able to think on their feet and call me with solutions to problems. I appreciate that managers call their managers when they aren't SURE of something, but posing a question and having a possible answer (or answers) is indicative of someone who is a problem solver and who is able to take care of things themselves. If the first instinct is for me to do all the thinking then there's no real advantage to having a manager there is there? I know there's a belief out there that frequent calls indicate an interest in the store and someone who cares about the store and that's great. I'm looking for someone who is independent and a problem solver. Not someone who needs their hand held. I don't want that to sound harsh but there it is. This is a big store and it does high volume and has a large crew. There are going to be issues that come up daily. I need a person who is able to handle those issues themselves and contact me for the big ones. The little ones can wait and you can let me know what you did to handle it. Every decision should not mean I get a call.
4) The job requires a lot of hours and a lot of dedication. It means, sometimes, missed family events, missed concerts, canceled vacations. It means coming in on your days off sometimes to take care of issues that have cropped up unexpectedly. It's a LOT of work. You've seen the amount of work (manager) does. Sometimes when it hits the fan I'm out of state and can only lend support on the phone and those times are rough. If I can be here to help I will. But I rely, the store relies, the company relies, on the manager to be the first in and last out kind of thing. If you're not willing to give the level of commitment to the job that you've seen (manager) put into it then the job is not for you.
5) This is a tough store. It requires a tough person who is not just tough, but is also understanding, thoughtful, and aware of their employees needs and wants and is able to balance all those things in a way that is fair to everybody. It doesn't mean the employee always gets their way as the manager's job is to make sure the store is best served at all times by the employees who are there. That may mean, at times, writing up people with whom you've become close. It may mean firing those people as well. It may mean following and enforcing rules that you may disagree with because they're for the betterment of the company as a whole. Sometimes what is best for the entire company is NOT what is best for the individual. It's unfortunate when that happens but in such a scenario it's my job to make sure the company wins and the hammer I use to pound that nail is the manager of the store.
All that being said I don't want to sound like I'm talking anybody out of this job. I want you to go into it with your eyes open. Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. grin
Management has been the most challenging and rewarding job I have ever taken on. Store manager is, without a doubt, my favorite job in the company. I've had all of them from part time overnight sales associate to regional manager with a third of the country working for me. Of all of those, store manager was, and is my favorite. It's a chance to shine, a chance to watch employees develop from newbies who don't know how to ring up anything to experienced sales people who are able to help customers find product with the vaguest of descriptions, talk first time customers into add-on sales, and re-work a wall as a matter of course. It's a chance to have the owner of the company come in and look at your store, white-glove & black light it and come out smiling saying "Very nice job. Store looks great. Keep it up!" I can tell you from experience there's no other feeling like it. It's knowing your crew is working well together, that the work is getting done, and that the customers are happy and coming back. It's a thousand things that all come together to click and everything just runs like a well-oiled machine. It happens, and when it does it's awesome to be a part of. It's awesome not just as a manager but the staff loves it as well. But that won't happen because you want it to real, real bad. It happens because you work hard and make sure your employees are working hard too. It happens, but not by chance. It takes time and dedication and a lot of coffee.
I hope if you're interested in the job, that you are interested in it because of those reasons and not just because you want a bigger check. I'm not interested in someone who is only in it for the money. Money as a motivator is not all that great after your second double in a week. I've done them. I know what I'm talking about. Personal pride in your crew and store. Personal pride in meeting the challenge and overcoming it, something that has to start over each day and is never "finished." Personal pride in developing a crew that is full of people, all of whom want your job and are able to do it, that you can promote up to other stores in other towns and states. That's what interests me in a manager. That's what I'm looking for. Those are the buttons that work on me, and it's what I'm looking for in a manager of one of my premier stores. If that's not you it's okay to recuse yourself from the consideration because it's better to say "no thank you" than to take it and have it not work out.
What it takes to be a great sales associate isn't at all the same as what it takes to be a great manager, or even a good manager, truth be told. They're entirely different skill sets. It's like being a District Manager. Being a great manager is no indication of whether or not that person will be a great District Manager. I think I'm a heckuva manager but I don't think I'm a great District Manager. I'm very good, and trying to get better, but I'm not great yet. There's no shame to admitting you're great at one thing but not another. It's a sign of honesty and maturity. Both of those things are key ingredients needed for this job.
If you want to set up a meeting with me give me a call before Friday night. If you've got questions about the position ask me. If you want to ask (manager) about specifics of the job feel free to ask her WHILE SHE'S AT WORK. Don't call her at home about this. Also, she's your manager right up until the day she isn't and she, like all my managers, speaks with my voice as always, and I support her completely. I'm on vacation next week and will be collecting apps and setting up interviews with people from outside the store for the week I get back. I won't be making any decision at all until I've interviewed other people and it's possible I'll ask (my boss) for his opinion on some of them. It's a certainty that I'll ask (a big boss) his opinion. This store is too big, too important, for the decision to be made lightly. I assure you I'll consider any of you who have the qualifications listed above and I'll do so fairly with the best interest of the store as my guidon. It's what I do.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
An Apology
I've been a District Manager of one sort or another since 2000. Yeah, 12 years with a year where I demoted myself to Store Manager (I didn't think of it as a demotion -- it remains my favorite job, but the cut in pay and responsibilities mean it must have been a demotion.), at the same job. In that time I've learned a lot but I still have a lot to learn. The thing about that, or perhaps more correctly this level of management is that I don't believe I'll ever really know it all.
Sadly, when I started at the position I thought I did. And that's what I'd like to apologize for. To all the employees I had when I first started the job, I'm sorry. In retrospect my direct reports, the store managers directly under me on the org chart all handled me a little differently.
My favorite was Al who, getting tired of me one day, sent me to get lunch when I volunteered to buy, at a restaurant about a million miles away. He later confessed he'd done it specifically to get me out of the store and out of his hair for as long as possible because I was being annoying that day. We laughed about that (after I got over myself and he told me about it) right up until he passed away. He was one of my favorite managers/employees. He taught me the most about my current job when I shut up and listened instead of talking all the time.
Another person, who felt I'd only gotten the job by kissing the ass of my boss at the time and also felt that he should have gotten the job, was less fun in the way he dealt with me. He mostly didn't like anything I did and I could tell... I would, instead of paying attention to him or giving him any credit at all, dig in my heels and be more obstinate and officious and annoying. He, to be honest, put up with my attitude better than I would have in his shoes. It was a situation where in real life had we not been in the work relationship we were, had we just met on the street I think we'd have been friends. He's a good guy. I was just green, and an ass and he's right... he could have done my job and while I, of course still think I should have gotten it... if I hadn't been in his way I'm sure it would have been his and he'd have deserved it.
Sadly, when I started at the position I thought I did. And that's what I'd like to apologize for. To all the employees I had when I first started the job, I'm sorry. In retrospect my direct reports, the store managers directly under me on the org chart all handled me a little differently.
My favorite was Al who, getting tired of me one day, sent me to get lunch when I volunteered to buy, at a restaurant about a million miles away. He later confessed he'd done it specifically to get me out of the store and out of his hair for as long as possible because I was being annoying that day. We laughed about that (after I got over myself and he told me about it) right up until he passed away. He was one of my favorite managers/employees. He taught me the most about my current job when I shut up and listened instead of talking all the time.
Another person, who felt I'd only gotten the job by kissing the ass of my boss at the time and also felt that he should have gotten the job, was less fun in the way he dealt with me. He mostly didn't like anything I did and I could tell... I would, instead of paying attention to him or giving him any credit at all, dig in my heels and be more obstinate and officious and annoying. He, to be honest, put up with my attitude better than I would have in his shoes. It was a situation where in real life had we not been in the work relationship we were, had we just met on the street I think we'd have been friends. He's a good guy. I was just green, and an ass and he's right... he could have done my job and while I, of course still think I should have gotten it... if I hadn't been in his way I'm sure it would have been his and he'd have deserved it.
At one point during my training as a supervisor of supervisors my trainer said to me, "You know what your problem is?" This was NOT an encouraging way to start a drive that would take us in a giant loop around Texas over the next week. He went on, "You talk too much." Later that night we both called the chief of operations for the company, the person who promoted me and delegated my training to him and we both complained that neither of us could work with the other. "He's arrogant, condescending, and you can't tell him anything!" We both said. It was years later, after we'd both became friends that we found out we'd both made the same call and we laughed. I'd said "I'm not arrogant. I'm right." He later agreed that while it was true I was often right I was too smug about it, too insistent on those around me knowing it and that was the problem. He agreed I was as good as I thought I was, but the way I handled it was what was so annoying to everybody around me. I took what he said to heart because I thought he too was good and I really respected his opinion.
So, here we are, years later, and I feel like I'm better at it than I was then. I hope I am at least, and to all those who suffered through the years I was learning, I'm sorry. Thank you for putting up with my being an ass.
So, here we are, years later, and I feel like I'm better at it than I was then. I hope I am at least, and to all those who suffered through the years I was learning, I'm sorry. Thank you for putting up with my being an ass.
Monday, October 03, 2011
Blogger Recommendation: Rosa Say
Back to work after a week of vacation and I think, I know, I could have done with another week and still not wanted to go back. Mostly that's because the weather is absolutely beautiful right now and I don't want to be inside because I know Old Man Winter is shuffling his way this direction.
If any of you manage anything/anybody I want to recommend a friend of mine, a super nice lady from Hawaii Rosa Say. As the economy does what it's doing and seems to steadily ignore what we want it to do Rosa's post are encouraging. (When I say nice in this context I mean that as a compliment. She's been encouraging and friendly to people all over the Internet and takes time from what I know is a busy schedule to encourage people whether she'll ever meet them or not. This is a hugely good character trait in my book.)
http://talkingstory.org/2011/10/3-job-options-of-m
I am in favor of encouragement in the face of adversity for a couple reasons.
1) If looking down the barrel of a bad situation being defeatist or negative won't help at all. Just the opposite, hope, optimism, and mutual encouragement can make the going smoother even if they don't address the problem at hand. Attitude is everything.
b) Sometimes weathering bad times isn't a function of anything we do at all... sometimes big giant things happen to us, hurricanes for example, that we can't really do anything about and we just have to wait for it to go away and there are times when being open to new ideas, optimistic, and encouraging foster and create an atmosphere where the community going through it all comes out the other side stronger because of the relationships or ideas formed during the hardship. It may be that sitting around a campfire in the devastation of a tornado brings up conversations that "When this is over we should..." and those things, those building blocks actually come to pass.
iii) Encouraging small behavioral changes, things we CAN do helps build things in areas we can change. I can't personally impact the nation's economy. What I can do is help my employees with savings and maybe with opportunities to increase their pay with sales incentives and bonus programs. I can't help everybody, but I can help those I can help and just because it doesn't stem the tide it does start a ripple that can add to other ripples and maybe that will be enough to change things... or at least moderate things a bit.
There are a lot of opportunities out there to tear people down for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's just fun to be an ass. I've met people who sincerely believe that by bullying or threatening they can help a situation. Can all situations be dealt with by applying a healthy dose of Pollyanna-juice? Not all, not all the time. But I can't think of a situation where being a jerk was more helpful than being supportive or helpful or encouraging. Maybe it's time to start a random act of kindness campaign if nothing else.
Take a minute, go check out Rosa's blog and http://talkingstory.org/2011/10/3-job-options-of-m
If any of you manage anything/anybody I want to recommend a friend of mine, a super nice lady from Hawaii Rosa Say. As the economy does what it's doing and seems to steadily ignore what we want it to do Rosa's post are encouraging. (When I say nice in this context I mean that as a compliment. She's been encouraging and friendly to people all over the Internet and takes time from what I know is a busy schedule to encourage people whether she'll ever meet them or not. This is a hugely good character trait in my book.)
http://talkingstory.org/2011/10/3-job-options-of-m
I am in favor of encouragement in the face of adversity for a couple reasons.
1) If looking down the barrel of a bad situation being defeatist or negative won't help at all. Just the opposite, hope, optimism, and mutual encouragement can make the going smoother even if they don't address the problem at hand. Attitude is everything.
b) Sometimes weathering bad times isn't a function of anything we do at all... sometimes big giant things happen to us, hurricanes for example, that we can't really do anything about and we just have to wait for it to go away and there are times when being open to new ideas, optimistic, and encouraging foster and create an atmosphere where the community going through it all comes out the other side stronger because of the relationships or ideas formed during the hardship. It may be that sitting around a campfire in the devastation of a tornado brings up conversations that "When this is over we should..." and those things, those building blocks actually come to pass.
iii) Encouraging small behavioral changes, things we CAN do helps build things in areas we can change. I can't personally impact the nation's economy. What I can do is help my employees with savings and maybe with opportunities to increase their pay with sales incentives and bonus programs. I can't help everybody, but I can help those I can help and just because it doesn't stem the tide it does start a ripple that can add to other ripples and maybe that will be enough to change things... or at least moderate things a bit.
There are a lot of opportunities out there to tear people down for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's just fun to be an ass. I've met people who sincerely believe that by bullying or threatening they can help a situation. Can all situations be dealt with by applying a healthy dose of Pollyanna-juice? Not all, not all the time. But I can't think of a situation where being a jerk was more helpful than being supportive or helpful or encouraging. Maybe it's time to start a random act of kindness campaign if nothing else.
Take a minute, go check out Rosa's blog and http://talkingstory.org/2011/10/3-job-options-of-m
Saturday, July 16, 2011
...aaaaand I'm back.
I got a lot of blog food while I was there. I'll leave some of the notes here in this post and flesh them out more later. Some will be on simplerich.com and some will be here.
- "It's good that she had a weak assistant manager. She didn't have to worry about her job that way. I've told her more than once, never hire an employee better than you." That's a direct quote from an employee talking about their manager. (Not present here, but I know them.)
- "What do you want to get done today?" "I don't know." "Then how will you know if you're a success or not at the end of the day?"
- "You know that feeling you're feeling right now? At this minute? One day you're going to make one of your employees feel like you feel right now and you're going to remember me saying this but it'll be too late. As soon as you realize it try like hell to fix it. You don't like feeling this way and neither will they." (This was about a payroll error that was being fixed but the employee was stressing about it in the meantime.)
- "But Rich, I've been waiting for it for 2 days!" "You should have told me! I'll get it." "How?" "I'll ask them to send it to me and they will." "Whatever." (They did... in 10 minutes.)
- "Bossman. Am I as grumpy and negative as Mongo is?" "Sometimes." "I'm sorry. They're impossible to be around. It's exhausting! I'll be much less grumpy from now on!" "You sure?" "I'm positive!"
Those are the quick things I jotted down memory minders to remind me to blog about. I wanted to get them here so I'd remember them and to make myself accountable and help remind me not to back-burner them!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Good Managers from good gamers?
I was listening to NPR on my commute today and there was a program on talking about museums struggling to be relevant and how they’re working to attract a new generation of guests/visitors through the use of some of the ideas that they believe have been behind the success of online games. Jane McGonigal from the Institute For The Future in Palo Alto, California is the person hosting the seminars talked about in the radio program on All Things Considered.
McGonigal says games make people happy — and she takes happiness very seriously. She's come up with four elements she believes we all need to be happy: satisfying work, the experience of being good at something, time spent with people we like, and the chance to be a part of something bigger. Games, she says, do all of these things.
The four elements she says are needed for a person to be happy that she believes are available in a successful game are hugely important for a good manager to be aware of and try and address on the job.
- Satisfying work (with set goals the player/employee is aware of)
- The experience of being good at something (with feedback on progress)
- Being with people we like
- Being part of something bigger than ourselves.
All of this really is important in a good online game and in a job. So, I’d be interested in knowing how many good managers have ever played any online games and if they find these truths to be true for them as well. I would guess quite a few managers would say that games are something they don’t have time for.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Interview Tips
I flew out to LA this week to help do interviews for several higher management positions in my company. We wanted to see what we got off the street for the position and see how that worked out in today’s market.
I’ve never seen so many out of work mortgage people. I should point out I never shook any of them and asked “What were you THINKING?!?” I get points for that.
OK. The tips.
You’re interviewing for a position at a retail store. If I ask you “Have you ever been to one of our stores before?” Don’t say “Nope. But I’m a fast learner.” We set up the interview a week ago. You had plenty of time to find out who we were, we sent you links to our site, and addresses of the stores you’d be over. Why didn’t you go. You got no second interview.
When I ask you the names of three of your most key people at your last position where you had 17 employees. If you can’t name ANY of them, make something up. There’s no way I’ll know you’re lying. If you can’t think of two I won’t hire you.
Don’t say “synergy” or claim that you’re “good with people,” or say that you “believe in good customer service.” I’m sorry. Do you also believe in Santa Claus? It’s not a belief bucko… it’s a passion. Synergy was not a word that was used correctly by any of the six people (of the 24 I interviewed over 3 days) who used it. I kept a count.
Trash talking your entire crew when you were their manager at your previous job will not inspire me to believe you won’t turn this crew sour. Sorry, no chance for you to wreck our folks. Thanks for playing though. Oh, and when you said “I get that sometimes I”ll have to do minion work until I get another one hired.” You pretty much turned my boss off completely, and he was across the room. Minions? Who are you? Dr. Moderately-bad?
My most fun question to ask was, “You’ve been in the position where hiring and firing were part of your job responsibilities before. Which did you find most difficult?” I got a huge range of answers. My least favorite? “Oh, neither’s hard. I’m good with people.”
My favorite was, “Hiring is the most difficult. Even Charles Manson could interview well, long term is hard to tell at an interview. Firing though… By the time I’m to the point where it’s time to fire an employee I’ve given them all the coaching and training and chances I can. I’ve given them every opportunity to succeed and they just don’t want to at that point so firing is a decision they make for me by their actions. Hiring is much more difficult. I probably shouldn’t have said ‘Manson,’ should I?”
Fun fact: When I asked what one of them did to unwind, decompress after a hard week with long hours, outside hobbies, etc, she said “you’ll not know what it is or think I’m a dork but there’s this thing called ‘geocaching’.” I let her keep talking as I reached down and grabbed my backpack and pulled out my GPS and showed her. We talked caching for a bit and I suggested she listen to Sonny and Sandy’s podcacher podcast. I was amazed she didn’t know about them already. They’re practically local.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
I broke down and read something by Seth Godin
Back in the 80s and early 90s you couldn't swing a cat without hitting a movie or tv show that Christian Slater was in. Somehow I managed to miss everything he was in for years. The first time I saw him was in Pump up the Volume and it was on video. I don't know what year it was, but back then videos didn't come out as fast as they do now after theatrical release so it was late in his career.
Enter Seth Godin on the Internet. Every business, managerial, productivity, marketing blogger out there mentioned Seth Godin with the same breathy enthusiasm as a Beatles fan at one of their concerts back in the day... with much squealing, waving of hands, and tearful adulation of all things Sethy. He was so popular I wouldn't go near him. "Purple Cow?" Yeah... I don't think so. I'm sure it's yet another manager book full of trite crap that's easy to say, incredibly obvious, but so hard to do in real life outside the confines of the trade-paperback sized hard-cover book with over-sized type that makes up 98% of all those business books that airports are full of. I was sure he had all the buzz words and said them in a great way with stunningly exciting anecdotes so everybody was sure they could go right out and do it. He built an empire out of that sort of stuff. I assiduously avoided everthing he wrote. If a blogger quoted him I'd mark the post read and move on. He was too popular to be that good. If he WERE that good, and what he wrote WERE that great then everybody should be up to their eyeballs in money. Banks would all be full, and everybody would be in business for themselves crapping hundred dollar bills and taking six month vacation to the islands. I wasn't seeing anybody crapping hundreds except Seth from his book sales. I had him pinned as a modern day snake-oil salesman milking the business men for all they were worth.
You get my feelings right? Here's the best part. I'd never read anything he wrote. Not a word. Maybe a quote of his made it across the Quote of the Day and I didn't notice it w†as him that said it until it was too late but honestly. Never read anything he wrote.
Then he gave away his newest book, Tribes, on itunes for less than a buck. Crap! How's he milking people at under a dollar? What snake-oil salesman GIVES his snake oil away?!? I decided to see if he was worth a damn after all. I'd made up my mind about him so let's see what he had going for him. He was certainly worth what was it? Eighty-five cents? I was willing to spend that much for trite crap that would be completely forgetable like most of all the rest of the business feel-good garbage out there. (You may notice a certain disdain for much of the stuff out there right now for business readers. That doesn't apply to all business books at all. I will only link to and recommend stuff I like. If I mention a book and don't link to it that means I don't recommend it.)
Some personal background. I've been fatigued with my job lately. I don't remember much of last month. I was going through the motions, performing check-lists, and making an appearance and punching a time clock. I was NOT excited about it. There was no passion in it. I didn't love it, hell, many days I didn't even like it any more. I was waiting to be down-sized and looking forward to it. Waiting for it... hoping for it to end the misery that my job had become. I was NOT in a good place. It's a lot of why my last blog didn't come back. I felt like a fraud writing about management when I wasn't managing at all but just sort of putting in time. So, when I read Tribes it was really going to be a hard-sell. I was fed up with management, I disliked Seth Godin precisely because everybody else in the world seemed to worship the water he walked on, and I was considering looking for jobs as a bag-boy at a grocery store because I didn't want responsibility, creativity, authority, or calls after my shift was done. I was completely checked out.
And the book didn't give me any secrets. It really didn't. There was no top five action items to do every day or magic checkbox format to use to guarantee success. No secret hand-shake, mesh the thumb webs, tilt to the left and down with firm squeeze, nope, not in here. There wasn't a formula to find and apply to every situation that would guarantee me anything. What it DID do was remind me what I had loved about my job. Back in the day I was a manager of a store and I built the store and customers into a community. Everybody knew everybody else, and everybody knew me. I loved hearing them saying things like "I'll come back when you're here and I'll bring a friend..." That's my passion. Not because they loved me, but because they loved what I was doing and so did I. I built a community and built a place people liked to come. Customers would visit with each other, and if I was visiting with some I'd bring others into the conversation and we'd all talk and that I loved. That's what I was great at. Seth reminded me of that.
I can still do that. It may well be that I will at some point be downsized. I may lose my job and I might get demoted. I have no way of knowing. What I do know though is that I loved building community and I am good at it so I'm going to do that again... some more. I can do it within the confines of my job description as well as the tedious parts of my job (I'm sorry, but there's no exciting way to verify proper inventory is on hand in the stores and notify buyers' etc that I need more. There's no love for that and that's what my job had become at the expense of the part of the job that I'd loved.).
Now, I have no intention of going back to read anything else Seth has written. The odds of him cranking out two books that will hit me in the sweet spot in a row are pretty slim. Not to mention my November is busy enough already. I want to go about making my job something I like again rather than reading about jobs. So If you like community building. If you're part of a community or want to start one either in your workplace, family, town, city, state, world, internet... Tribes is the book you need to read now. I can't recommend it highly enough. If you've never heard of Seth Godin this is a good introduction to him. I can't recommend any of his other stuff because I've never read it. I'm sure it's fine.
Just as songs we grew up listening to in High School are better because of where we are then in our lives... this book is hitting me at the perfect time for it to have an impact on me. I don't know if it would have been as great a year or two years ago. But at this time in this place it's a great book and I recommend it whole-heartedly.
Oh... after loving his book and looking up his blog to link to him here... I STILL won't subscribe to his feed. I'm a fan but can't be a fanboi. I'll give you the links. I'll let you follow his blog if you like. He's really a good writer and probably a great and charming guy. I'm sure there's a zillion people out there who would swear he is. I've been avoiding him too long to start subscribing now. :)
Enter Seth Godin on the Internet. Every business, managerial, productivity, marketing blogger out there mentioned Seth Godin with the same breathy enthusiasm as a Beatles fan at one of their concerts back in the day... with much squealing, waving of hands, and tearful adulation of all things Sethy. He was so popular I wouldn't go near him. "Purple Cow?" Yeah... I don't think so. I'm sure it's yet another manager book full of trite crap that's easy to say, incredibly obvious, but so hard to do in real life outside the confines of the trade-paperback sized hard-cover book with over-sized type that makes up 98% of all those business books that airports are full of. I was sure he had all the buzz words and said them in a great way with stunningly exciting anecdotes so everybody was sure they could go right out and do it. He built an empire out of that sort of stuff. I assiduously avoided everthing he wrote. If a blogger quoted him I'd mark the post read and move on. He was too popular to be that good. If he WERE that good, and what he wrote WERE that great then everybody should be up to their eyeballs in money. Banks would all be full, and everybody would be in business for themselves crapping hundred dollar bills and taking six month vacation to the islands. I wasn't seeing anybody crapping hundreds except Seth from his book sales. I had him pinned as a modern day snake-oil salesman milking the business men for all they were worth.
You get my feelings right? Here's the best part. I'd never read anything he wrote. Not a word. Maybe a quote of his made it across the Quote of the Day and I didn't notice it w†as him that said it until it was too late but honestly. Never read anything he wrote.
Then he gave away his newest book, Tribes, on itunes for less than a buck. Crap! How's he milking people at under a dollar? What snake-oil salesman GIVES his snake oil away?!? I decided to see if he was worth a damn after all. I'd made up my mind about him so let's see what he had going for him. He was certainly worth what was it? Eighty-five cents? I was willing to spend that much for trite crap that would be completely forgetable like most of all the rest of the business feel-good garbage out there. (You may notice a certain disdain for much of the stuff out there right now for business readers. That doesn't apply to all business books at all. I will only link to and recommend stuff I like. If I mention a book and don't link to it that means I don't recommend it.)
, on itunes for less than a buck. Crap! How's he milking people at under a dollar? What snake-oil salesman GIVES his snake oil away?!? I decided to see if he was worth a damn after all. I'd made up my mind about him so let's see what he had going for him. He was certainly worth what was it? Eighty-five cents? I was willing to spend that much for trite crap that would be completely forgetable like most of all the rest of the business feel-good garbage out there. (You may notice a certain disdain for much of the stuff out there right now for business readers. That doesn't apply to all business books at all. I will only link to and recommend stuff I like. If I mention a book and don't link to it that means I don't recommend it.)Some personal background. I've been fatigued with my job lately. I don't remember much of last month. I was going through the motions, performing check-lists, and making an appearance and punching a time clock. I was NOT excited about it. There was no passion in it. I didn't love it, hell, many days I didn't even like it any more. I was waiting to be down-sized and looking forward to it. Waiting for it... hoping for it to end the misery that my job had become. I was NOT in a good place. It's a lot of why my last blog didn't come back. I felt like a fraud writing about management when I wasn't managing at all but just sort of putting in time. So, when I read Tribes it was really going to be a hard-sell. I was fed up with management, I disliked Seth Godin precisely because everybody else in the world seemed to worship the water he walked on, and I was considering looking for jobs as a bag-boy at a grocery store because I didn't want responsibility, creativity, authority, or calls after my shift was done. I was completely checked out.
And the book didn't give me any secrets. It really didn't. There was no top five action items to do every day or magic checkbox format to use to guarantee success. No secret hand-shake, mesh the thumb webs, tilt to the left and down with firm squeeze, nope, not in here. There wasn't a formula to find and apply to every situation that would guarantee me anything. What it DID do was remind me what I had loved about my job. Back in the day I was a manager of a store and I built the store and customers into a community. Everybody knew everybody else, and everybody knew me. I loved hearing them saying things like "I'll come back when you're here and I'll bring a friend..." That's my passion. Not because they loved me, but because they loved what I was doing and so did I. I built a community and built a place people liked to come. Customers would visit with each other, and if I was visiting with some I'd bring others into the conversation and we'd all talk and that I loved. That's what I was great at. Seth reminded me of that.
I can still do that. It may well be that I will at some point be downsized. I may lose my job and I might get demoted. I have no way of knowing. What I do know though is that I loved building community and I am good at it so I'm going to do that again... some more. I can do it within the confines of my job description as well as the tedious parts of my job (I'm sorry, but there's no exciting way to verify proper inventory is on hand in the stores and notify buyers' etc that I need more. There's no love for that and that's what my job had become at the expense of the part of the job that I'd loved.).
Now, I have no intention of going back to read anything else Seth has written. The odds of him cranking out two books that will hit me in the sweet spot in a row are pretty slim. Not to mention my November is busy enough already. I want to go about making my job something I like again rather than reading about jobs. So If you like community building. If you're part of a community or want to start one either in your workplace, family, town, city, state, world, internet... Tribes is the book you need to read now. I can't recommend it highly enough. If you've never heard of Seth Godin this is a good introduction to him. I can't recommend any of his other stuff because I've never read it. I'm sure it's fine.
Just as songs we grew up listening to in High School are better because of where we are then in our lives... this book is hitting me at the perfect time for it to have an impact on me. I don't know if it would have been as great a year or two years ago. But at this time in this place it's a great book and I recommend it whole-heartedly.
Oh... after loving his book and looking up his blog to link to him here... I STILL won't subscribe to his feed. I'm a fan but can't be a fanboi. I'll give you the links. I'll let you follow his blog if you like. He's really a good writer and probably a great and charming guy. I'm sure there's a zillion people out there who would swear he is. I've been avoiding him too long to start subscribing now. :)
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Day 3: Trust no one
This looks like an x-files post but it isn't. While training today I kept telling the trainee that he didn't know his employees yet he was going to be relying on them to get things for him and do things for him and that his name would ultimately be on lots of things that he hadn't actually done himself. He'd be standing on their shoulders. He was a supervisor now, and as a member of management he had to work hard on making sure his employees gave him reliable information, reliable results, trustworthy results.
The only way he could do this was to check what they do. He had to give assignments, ask questions, and follow up on both. If an assignment was important enough to assign it was important enough to follow up on. If you're not going to follow up on an assignment you shouldn't give it. Your employees' time is valuable to them. Don't waste it on things you're not going to follow up on.
So. When an assignment is given, a project assigned, follow up on it. Call the next day. Check on the thing next time you go through and comment on how nicely it was done or what could be done differently etc. Let the employee know that their work is/was important to you and that you appreciate it. The constant checking up on it and them. The follow up on assignments and positive reinforcement when they do it right will create a situation where if you're out of town or away and can't get there you know they're doing it to your expectations.
Until they get to that point though follow up... check up... and make sure that your expectations are explained, made clear, and followed up on. Don't just give the assignment and walk away without checking up or following up. Don't just trust it was done. Not because you don't trust them... but because you want to make sure they can learn to trust you. Trust you as the new supervisor/manager to only give assignments that are valuable. Trust you to not waste their time with busy work. Trust you to appreciate the work they do.
The only way he could do this was to check what they do. He had to give assignments, ask questions, and follow up on both. If an assignment was important enough to assign it was important enough to follow up on. If you're not going to follow up on an assignment you shouldn't give it. Your employees' time is valuable to them. Don't waste it on things you're not going to follow up on.
So. When an assignment is given, a project assigned, follow up on it. Call the next day. Check on the thing next time you go through and comment on how nicely it was done or what could be done differently etc. Let the employee know that their work is/was important to you and that you appreciate it. The constant checking up on it and them. The follow up on assignments and positive reinforcement when they do it right will create a situation where if you're out of town or away and can't get there you know they're doing it to your expectations.
Until they get to that point though follow up... check up... and make sure that your expectations are explained, made clear, and followed up on. Don't just give the assignment and walk away without checking up or following up. Don't just trust it was done. Not because you don't trust them... but because you want to make sure they can learn to trust you. Trust you as the new supervisor/manager to only give assignments that are valuable. Trust you to not waste their time with busy work. Trust you to appreciate the work they do.
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