Service Announcement from TPN

Posted on 31. Dec, 2005 by Wayne in General

Hey Gang…. a quick note from my keepers at The Podcast Network…

TPN would like to advise that we are doing some important server maintenance on from Dec 31 – Jan 2 and our comments system will be down during that period. Regular access to podcasts and blog posts should not be affected during this time. Thanks for your patience.

This is good news since the first podcast of the new year will be with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done. Be sure to tune in the first of the year.

Happy New Year…..

Wayne

The Cranky Middle Manager Manifesto

Posted on 28. Dec, 2005 by Wayne in General

“… the firmest and most general ideas I have are those which have been born with me. They are naturally and wholly mine…since then I have established and fortified them by the authority of others and the sound arguments of the ancients with whom I found my judgment in agreement. These men have given me a firmer grip on my ideas and a fuller enjoyment and possession of them” Michel de Montaigne

Three Core Beliefs of the Cranky Middle Manager Show:

1) Like any walk of life, management can be a satisfying endeavour. You just can’t let the weasels get you down. Sometimes you need reminding of how to do it…and that there are others who feel the same way you do. Thousands of you, in fact. And bless you for listening and telling others.
2) You can’t manage to get out of bed in the morning, let alone a team of people, without a mission. One guest after the other has talked about it… do you know your mission? I’m beginning to feel that this is mine…
3) There is nothing new under the sun, and the universal truths are as true now as they ever were. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of them. That’s what I learned while doing my book, and it’s why I love to revisit tales of ancient history- the tenets of leadership and management aren’t much different than they were for the Greeks or Egyptians. Imhotep would still kick tail whether he was the Pharaoh’s Grand Vizier or a high-potential at GE. Skills are skills.

Four Disciplines of Management:

Whether you’re an individual contributor facing that first management job, or an old-timer, there are 4 disciplines to master if you want to be a complete asset to your company and your team:

1) Business Acumen- do you know how a business operates and how every department in the company contributes to it? What’s happening in your industry? Nothing senior management does makes a darned bit of sense without this view. Sadly, much of it still won’t, but at least you’ll know why.
2) Leadership- Can you influence people constructively? Can you embody your mission and values in how you work with your customers, your team and those above you on the food chain? Are you an ethical leader while still doing the right things for your career and mental health?
3) Project and Process Management- understanding how to get things done, seeing the connections and finding ways to improve them are critical to your progress as an employee and sanity. Step one is learning the basics. Step 2 is knowing you don’t have to know the rest of the steps by yourself- just help your people identify them. We always reserve the right to get smarter.
4) Communication Skills. Nothing is more critical to your career than your ability to communicate. We only do it 4 ways, we read, we write, we speak and we listen. That’s it, no short cuts, no other way around it. How well do we do these things dictates how we’re viewed by everyone from our employees to our bosses to our spouses. You’ll usually get immediate feedback from only one of those, and it’s usually the person who we spend the least amount of time and conscious thought communicating with.

In 6 months of doing this show, I’ve had a chance to hear a lot of people smarter than myself. It’s allowed me to distill the core beliefs about what it means to be a modern middle manager. Please post your thoughts..this is a work in progress. I look forward to more conversation about what we do and how we do it.

Meanwhile, I’ll continue to try and support the 3 key beliefs, and help myself-and you along with me- develop in the 4 disciplines of management.

Best wishes for a joyous new year.

Wayne

The Cranky Middle Manager Show #28- The Next Big Thing

Posted on 24. Dec, 2005 by Wayne in Podcast

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The Cranky Middle Manager Show #028

Greetings everyone. Welcome to another Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today we talk technology, specifically what’s barrelling down on us in the next year or two and what it means to our jobs. For you techies, you’ll do just fine…for those of us who aren’t from the tech world I try to get him to use small words and simple sentences. Either way, our jobs are changing….again.

Charlie Bess is a Fellow (yes that’s a job description) at EDS. He writes their Next Big Thing Blog.

SHOW NOTES

0:00 Welcome to the show…. you know you’re getting old and cranky when you’re nostalgic for times you thought sucked even then.

3:00 I stage a humbling plea for subscribers and let those of you who are new to the show know that there’s a whole archive of shows you may not have heard yet….check them out. We’re still hunting Tom Peters. If you know how to get through to him, EMAIL ME or leave me a Skype voicemail. My skype address is wayneturmel. Heck, even ifyou don’t know how to reach him, drop me a line anyway and let me know what you think of the show or what you’d like to hear on it.

5:15 Welcome Charlie Bess from EDS. He’s one of those people who are paid to figure out what’s coming down the pipe (or the barrel depending on your attitude towards technology). We scoop his own blog on predictions for the next year or so.

8:15 The big job opportunity for the next years… Business Analyst. Start filling out those Tuition Assistance forms now.

11:45 75% of IT spending is on legacy equipment and systems…. this too shall pass.

14:15 Okay, so here’s an example. Try not to get a “big brother” shiver up your spine as he describes it. I get it…. it scares me a little but I get it.

18:00 Okay, so who really decides this stuff? Where do these predictions come from? My favorite quote of the show: “The future is out there, it’s just not widely distributed“.

24:10 How does a company like EDS develop people and create managers?

27:00 What does a guy like Charlie read?

Wired Magazine
Popular Science
Dr Dobbs

28:36 He talks about blogs and the Hrair Limit, which is our ability to process incoming information. Watch out, I may have a new buzz word to fixate on. More on this in future shows.

That’s it gang, don’t let the weasels get ya down.

The Cranky Middle Manager Show #27 Disciplinary Xenophobia

Posted on 18. Dec, 2005 by Wayne in Podcast

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The Cranky Middle Manager Show #027

Okay, so we’ve been talking for a long time on this show about the various departments in your company not playing well together. Well there’s a term for that… Disciplinary Xenophobia. I have worked that term into my work lately, tugging on it like a dog with a sock, but the guy who invented the term is Dr Dennis Benson, who was a guest on my second show.

I thought we’d revisit the idea and chat some more about why the kids don’t play nice in the sandbox.

Oh, don’t forget we’re stalking Tom Peters. Well, not really stalking (that would be just wrong and slightly creepy) but we are trying to interview him. I keep hearing how much you’d like to hear him on the show, so let’s do this….. Here’s a link to where you can send information to him… drop him a line and tell him you’d like to hear him on the show. If nothing else at least I’ll hear from them and I’ll post their reply.

Show #27 Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show. Please subscribe to the show and post to our blog. We have had a lot of our guests or topics come from convesations I’ve had with you. Moreover, I can’t prove it, but I suspect that the folks at TPN decide how they treat me based on my subscription numbers. Right now I’m less popular than the NBA and more popular than Tablet PCs. If you like what you hear, subscribe. If you don’t like what you hear, subscribe someone you hate.

2:45 This episode is dedicated to Thomas Becket. When you get a new job, don’t forget who got you the job or it could cost you more than a bad performance review!

4:25 The quote of the week is from Joseph Joubert, a French priest who knew a thing or two about strong opinions, and when to rein them in.

5:00 Welcome Dennis Benson. Dennis was the guest on one of our very early shows (check it out here). So what is Disciplinary Xenophobia and why do we care?

8:00 If you hear “that’s not my job”, “not invented here” or “But we’ve always done it this way”… you’re probably seeing DX in action.

11:30 What’s the big deal? Are there real numbers?

19:00 How does this happen to us? We’re smarter than this….right?

23:00 A real-world example of DX and how to handle it.

27:00 Is there a movement to be started here? How do we get people talking and dealing with this?

As always, Dennis recommends www.walkthetalk.com.

Check out all the shows on www.thepodcastnetwork.com, and don’t forget to subscribe.