The Cranky Middle Manager Show #312 The Future of the MBA Ken Starkey
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #96 Surrounded by Geniuses Alan Gregerman
Posted on 25. May, 2007 by Wayne in Podcast
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #096
Okay, so are you surrounded by geniuses? Don’t laugh, our guest Alan Gregerman says we all are if we look around and try to see them. Some days it’s hard to believe, but I’ll try to have faith….
By the way, join the growing community of CMM listeners. Invite me to join you on Linkedin… check out our Frappr map or subscribe to the newsletter.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show Middle Managers…. yes you heard me, Middle Managers. We proudly reclaim the title used with scorn to keep us down.
2:18 The Quote of the Week is from Thomas Henry Huxley who knew a thing or two about looking at the world with fresh eyes.
3:15 Welcome Alan Gregerman of Venture Works… a cool book and a cool job description. Surrounded by Geniuses- Unlocking Brilliance in Yourself, Your Colleagues and Your Organization starts with a chapter called, “White People Swimming Slowly” so it’s definitely our kind of book. The point is that innovation isn’t necessarily something new, it’s just using something that exists differently. Just ask Elvis how well that works.
8:15 Inspiration can come from anywhere. You have to look outside of where you think you should look, though. Alan tells a story about a bank and some bad benchmarking. If your industry stinks…why try to be the best of a bad lot- go benchmark who are really good at something you’re not.
13:15 Okay, so you just look at everyday things and think differently about them… it’s that simple, isn’t it? So how do we do it? If it were that simple we wouldn’t be here. Alan tells another story about a bank that gets it.
16:26 I challenge Alan for a practical approach to this- so here we go: buy pizza, rent Spiderman 1, and think about “spider sense”. Stick with us, this actually makes sense. Imagine turning your call center into an information resource.
23:00 Managers get in our own way a lot when it comes to fostering creativity. Death by meeting also kills ideas. Get out of the office, take a field trip, go somewhere that has nothing to do with work. I confess a failing of trying to get my team to be more creative…. but I do write maybe the best line I’ve come up with in 96 episodes….. “with the exception of myself, nothing worthwhile was ever conceived in a hotel room…..”
30:05 Not surprisingly, the resources he’s going to recommend are different:
- Commit to reading something that has nothing to do with work
- Subscribe to travel magazines like National Geographic Traveler, Conde Nast Travel
- Read the kid’s book, “The Phantom Toll Booth”
- And Alan’s two books, “Surrounded by Geniuses” and “Lessons From the Sandbox”
The Quest for National Middle Manager Appreciation Day
Posted on 21. May, 2007 by Wayne in General
News comes in themed bunches these days, and it all seems to indicate that Middle Managers are becoming a rarer species, and it seems to be self selected. Looks like you and I are the last people in the world who want to be managers. We’re going to change that.
 I had no just finished my latest article for Management Issues, referring to an article I’d read about how people were not applying for management jobs because promotion was more stressful than divorce or raising teenage kids. (Come on, I complain about my job but i’ve been divorced, and I have a teenager and even I’m not THAT whiney!) when along came this this article about how the US is facing a chronic shortage of Middle Managers.
The author, Josh Bersin, has already agreed to an interview, watch for it next month.
Meanwhile, this seems to be a hot topic of conversation. Check out this blog post from future guest Steve Roesler.
I have a theory (you’ll be shocked to discover). It’s the phrase; Middle Manager is a perjorative. Dilbert’s pointy-haired boss. Ricky Gervais (or Steve Carrell depending which side of the Atlantic you’re on) are middle managers. More people ask me why I refer to myself as a middle manager than why I say I’m cranky.  To too many people, Middle Manager is  not a job title, it’s a punchline.
We here at The Cranky Middle Manager henceforth reclaim the once-proud title of Middle Manager. To paraphrase James Brown, “Say it loud, I’m Middle Management and I’m proud”. Alright you can’t dance to it, but this is about work- dance on your own darned time.
Thus begins my campaign to have the US declare a National Middle Managers Appreciation Day. If anyone knows the process to get national proclamations made, let me know. Meanwhile for those of you overseas…. let’s start a movement. Wouldn’t you love to see National Middle Manager’s Appreciation day in Australia? How about Middle Managers recognized by Her Majesty in the country where Middle Management angst is something of a national symbol?
When I get the proclamation written I’ll post it and you can pass it on to your senator, MP, or whoever runs things where you live.
Let’s get one stinking day to ourselves!
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #95 Wikis and Project Management-Rich Maltzman
Posted on 18. May, 2007 by Wayne in Podcast
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #095
Welcome to the show everyone. Want to help write a book? We’ll talk about a cool project involving you, wikis and project management.
Don’t forget you can now read our newsletter on line…. you can subscribe or download lots of cool articles from our guests and me! (Including purchasing my e-book without PayPal but real credit cards, just like a grownup). Or just drop me a line and put Subscribe in the subject line.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to show 95! Project management is one of the Four Disciplines of this show. Today’s episode is dedicated to Poliorcetes or Demetrius I of Macedonia. He loved constructing big old siege engines, but there are frightening similarities between a siege and a product launch.
2:20 The quote of the week is from Roald Amundsen who knew a thing or two about planning projects… and the costs of not planning them
3:20 Welcome my guest Rich Maltzman. Rich is engaged with his partner, Ranjit Biswas in project management in the real world. They’re also writing a book on Project Management using collaboration-specifically wikis.
6:00 Wiki 101: Using wikis is something you can do…and for free. In his case he’s using Bluwiki (again, it’s free).
9:21 His project is called Fiddler on the Project. It’s based on the Broadway play and movie Fiddler on the Roof. Yeah, I rolled my eyes too but there are similarities:here it goes….
11:00 You have to have one foot on change, the other on tradition- in your company it’s what’s changing that you need, but maintain the quality of the project. The movie even covers scope creep or gold plating.
14:00 You have to protect your project from stakeholders getting their fingers on it. Rich makes it sound very simple…and if you’re feeling particularly patriarchal, the song “Tradition” is about role assignment and stakeholder management.
17:15 You can help… many parts of the book are being written from the wiki and they want YOUR INPUT. Join in…it’s really a cool idea and you can take their survey as well.
20:15 I mock the Project Management Institute a bit but it’s a dandy outfit to learn more. Then we get into a discussion of Knowledge Management.
23:45 For a great example of collaboration, check out wearesmarter.org for a very cool site.
26:04 You can also check out The Knowledge Board. Knowledge management is critical, because people leave the organization and take what they know with them.
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #94- 4 Generations In the Workplace- Diane Thielfoldt
Posted on 09. May, 2007 by Wayne in Podcast
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #094
Welcome to a new age for The Cranky Middle Manager Show. In addition to a great show, this is the first you’re hearing about our Forum Pages and all the cool Downloads on my Expert Page at Instancy.net
Check out the site for articles, e-books, my newsletter and forums where we can talk about anything you want. You’ll hear about lots more cool stuff in the coming days. Join in the fun and participate.
Show Notes
0:00 Today we’re talking to Diane Thielfoldt about the 4 generations in the Western workplace.
This episode is dedicated to the Egyptian Pharaoh Narmer. It ain’t easy creating a dynasty. Anything that involves waiting for your old man to die so you can get the job is a recipe for trouble.
2:57 The quote of the week is from George Orwell who nicely sums up what we think about the generations before and after us- no matter which generations those happen to be.
4:13 Welcome Diane Thielfoldt of The Learning Cafe who is something of an expert on the different generations we find in the modern workplace. What are the 4 generations?
- The Silent Generation (even if they won’t shut up) born 1933 and 1945
- The Baby Boomers (my wife and I) born 1946-1964
- Generation X born 1965-1976
- The Millenials My daugher, Her Serene Highness) born 1977- 1998
9:23 For the first time we have at least 4 generations in the workplace. So what? They each have different opinions of what work is, what a good work ethic is and what it all means. How does each differ from the others? Well, there’s a huge difference between your parents and your kids…. what does loyalty mean? Who should they be loyal to- the company, the team, their friends????
16:02 this is the 50th anniversary of William Whyte’s The Organization Man... a great book if you haven’t read it only for how horrifying it is now. Our kids have no desire to be like that…and why should they?
18:00 Okay, so we spoiled our kids and now they’re in the workplace getting a reality pie in the face…. these chickens are roosting in YOUR nest
20:29 These stats are for the developed world… I admit I threw her a curve ball but what do you do in a country like Iran or India where over 50% of the workplace is under 30? And in China where almost an entire generation is only children?
25:30 So it turns out, I’m a Cusper…. on the line between boomers and gen Xers…and apparently we make the best managers. I like this guest already….. My wife, my daughter and I are completely different when it comes to technology so our house lives this stuff
Diane’s Resources
Check out www.learningcafe.net
Got Game and The Kids are Alright by John Beck and Mitchell Wade
Join us on Linkedin, check out the Instancy.net site, and don’t let the weasels get you down.