The Cranky Middle Manager Show #316 The Final Cranky Show and the Future of Work with John Blackwell
The Cranky Middle Manager #23 Beating Bullies at Work
Posted on 19. Nov, 2005 by Wayne in Podcast
The Cranky Middle Manager Show # 023
Battling Bullies
Hello everyone. As you know, we’re on the hunt for the Worst Manager on the Planet. Many of the entries include people who are just flat out bullies, and that’s why we’re talking to author and Workplace Bullying expert Gary Namie this week.
Just as an aside, if you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe to the RSS feed. If you really enjoy the show, why not let your podcast aggregator know…. Podcasts.yahoo.com doesn’t seem to know I”m alive and iTunes hasn’t exactly done the show any favors since it conveniently “forgets” to pick up new shows some times…which would be a shame because this is a good one…..
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome gang. Today’s tip of the manager cap is to Imhotep…. the grand Vizier and the Jack Welch of the Pharaoh set. It was 2600 B. C.E – there’s no truth to the rumor that Peter Drucker knew him personally.
3:36 The quote of the week…yup Samuel Johnson again
4:15 Welcome Gary Namie, author of “The Bully at Work“ He has some pretty startling statistics… how big’s the problem really?
7:45 The majority of bullies at work are women…does Mrs Namie know about this?
11:38 What does bullying look like, and how’s it different than just being a hard-ass?
19:30 So what do you do if you’re being bullied?
23:00 If you’re bullied, there’s a 70% chance you’ll leave your job. That’s the GOOD news
29:00 The role of manager codifies bullying…
31:00 a couple of resources…
Senior Managers Make Good Decisions- It’s “Them”
Posted on 19. Nov, 2005 by Wayne in General
Here’s a quick Weasel Alert for you… according to a recent study by the Chartered Management Institute in the UK, most Senior Managers (read your bosses, gang) are completely confident in their abilities to make good decisions. They blame bureaucracy, peer pressure and a lack of resources for poor choices. While they’re at it, they’re probably talking trash about you too, but the article is too polite to say so.
You can read the whole article here…..
Show #23 goes up on the weekend- it’s “Dealing With Bullies At Work” and it’s a doozy.
Did your former boss place the blame on subordinates? Were they a bully? Don’t forget we still have 2 weeks to find the “Worst Manager on the Planet”. EMAIL ME WITH THE STORY and win great prizes. We want to share your pain!!! Read the full details here….
Peter Drucker 1909-2005
Posted on 13. Nov, 2005 by Wayne in General
The Weasels’ jobs just got easier.
Peter Drucker died yesterday at the age of 96, with a new book coming out and a legacy of change in the management and leadership world unrivalled by anyone since Machiavelli- and to infinitely more positive results.
Here are some of the most important things I’ve learned from Peter Drucker:
- Even though radio hadn’t even been invented when he was born, he was one of the first to recognize how computers would forever change the way companies worked and the rise of the Japanese corporations. At 96 he wrote his 31st book which comes out in January. You’re never too old to have a fresh take on the world and challenge common wisdom
- He thumped on companies big and small with a trademark question: “What business are you in?” Then told them they were probably wrong- they were in the business of developing people. Think about what organizations that know that have done…now think about where you work and how you develop the people in your charge
- The modern job evaluation process- for good or evil- is largely founded on his belief that you can’t measure results ifyou didn’t have concrete goals to start with. Every time you ask one of your employees to set SMART goals or define outcomes, you’re marching to a tune Drucker popularized, even if he didn’t write it by himself
- That didn’t mean you tolerated underperformance for long. He’s also the guy who said, “Executives owe it to the organization and to their fellow workers not to tolerate nonperforming individuals in important jobs.”
- He coined the term “Knowledge Worker”, which helped explain how the workplace had become more dependent on what people knew than what they did
-It also helped explain to the Old Man that I was busting my hump and doing “real work” even though I didn’t actually make anything myself or could point to what I did today. A lot of us have had THAT conversation
Most importantly, Drucker helped change thinking about the role of manager- from militaristic “command and control” to an inclusive, strategic model that most of us are still aspiring to.
Peter Drucker didn’t want the weasels to get you down either. He’d just say it in a more professional way , with hard science behind him and with that Austrian accent.
Wayne
The Cranky Middle Manager Show # 22 Rene Da Costa
Posted on 11. Nov, 2005 by Wayne in Podcast
The Cranky Middle Manager Show # 022
Welcome to an international edition of the Cranky Middle Manager Show. Ever wonder what the differences are between managing in the US and managing on the other side of the pond in the UK or Europe? We talk to Manager, Writer and Cyber-coach Rene Da Costa. Oh, and another cool Aussie Motorola commercial.
First I have to vent. I just spent 24 hours at Day Job World Headquarters where I attended my least favorite meeting of the year- the planning meeting for the Annual Sales Meeting. One of the following 4 things did NOT occur there- take a guess:
a) We spent hours planning a sales meeting in a warm, luxurious resort- and no one from my department is invited
b) We found out we’re going to miss this year’s budget number- by exactly the cost of last year’s sales meeting
c) My boss actually kicked me under the table for asking a question
d) The lunch we brought in actually contained a recognizable vegetable
So how’s YOUR week been?
This week’s show is dedicated to Nicolai Ivanovitch Nebogatov. When you think you’re under appreciated, think of this guy. You’ll have to listen to find out why, though. I’m not giving away ALL the good stuff on this show.
Show Notes
0:00 I vent, I salute Admiral Nebogatov, I move on. It’s just what we do here
0:500 Don’t forget the Worst Manager on the Planet Contest. Email me with your horror stories or you can send me a voicemail via SKYPE at wayneturmel.
05:44 The quote of the week from Fyodor Dostoyevsky, just to keep with the Russian theme. Why are no Russian proverbs happy?
Welcome Rene Da Costa. The last “e” is supposed to have an accent but these darned American keyboards…no wonder everyone hates us, we can’t even spell their names. ANYWAY, Rene is the owner and brains behind Renecents.com.
06:40 What are the main differences in managing in the US and in the UK/Europe?
11:30 How do you find the common ground between the two? That’s what Rene does after all helps teams use “social innovation”.
15:10 Do people really understand the political and social implications of their workplace?
19:00 How do you get people to “think differently”… it sounds easy enough doesn’t it?
22:00 What is Cybercoaching, and how do managers respond to it?
25:24 Rene is one of the Thought Leaders on Management Issues…. a darned fine website.
29:00 That’s it for this week. Folks please don’t forget to subscribe if you like the show. Also, the folks at TPN are holding an audience survey- check out the posting below and help a brother out, will ya?
Don’t let the weasels get ya down.