The Cranky Middle Manager Show #316 The Final Cranky Show and the Future of Work with John Blackwell
The Cranky Middle Manager #98 All Things Workplace- Steve Roesler
Posted on 09. Jun, 2007 by Wayne in General, Podcast
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #098
Greetings everyone. I just want to say thank you for listening and being part of the fun. Whether it’s our Newsletter, our Frappr Map or just dropping me an email, it’s amazing how many of you are involved. Tons of you (assuming 150 pounds per person, it’s not a judgment call) have invited me to join you on Linkedin .
Our guest this week is Steve Roesler of the All Things Workplace blog. Talk about six degrees of separation, both Wally (Dinosaur Eggs) Bock and Dr Ellen Weber posted to his blog that he should talk to me…and since they’re smarter than I am and I listen to them, here we are.
0:00 Welcome to the show and thanks for being part of the conversation. This show is dedicated to Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman to be specific, and he really did exist). Trust me to find the connection between orchards and Linux. You try living with this brain for a while….
2:36 The quote of the week is from that big credit hog Samuel Johnson, but he’s right. You can know something or you can know where to find it when you have to…. help others by telling them about this show… let me know if you get us up on corporate intranets anywhere…. it happens.
3:45 Welcome to Steve Roesler. One of his articles asks: Can you be productive successful and satisfied 9 to 5? Well, what do YOU think? Is it the workplace’s job to fill our spiritual needs or do we just need to get over ourselves and be our own best friend?
7:45 People in their 40s are thinking about career switches…can companies afford to lose all these 40-ish brains. Do companies have the foggiest clue what to do about it? Should they?
13:06 What are our expectations of leaders? The quest to create “leaders” may be sucking resources out of training middle managers. Everyone wants to be a leader, no one wants to be a manager and people aren’t applying for the jobs. You think?
20:00 Bringing in icons like authors or coaches don’t have long-term effect. (Of course I”m still happy to speak to your organization…)
23:26 Steve has a very impressive blog roll (no, that’s not a euphemism). Here’s some of what he reads:
You can start with past CMM episodes with Wally Bock and Ellen Weber.
For written communication, try Copy Blogger
For presentations, check out Presentation Zen
Check out Jim Straup at Managing Leadership (yes there’s an invitation going out to him)
And of course, our old friend Adrian Savage at Slow Leadership . You can also check out our conversations in episode 54 and episode 73.
The Cranky Middle Manager #97 Real Life Manager Andy Pawlowski
Posted on 02. Jun, 2007 by Wayne in Podcast
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #097
One of the big lessons that came out of my listener survey a few months ago was that you enjoy hearing about what other managers do and how they get it done, day in and day out- what are their best practices? (Don’t you just love when I use consultant talk?)
A few episodes ago we spoke to Vince Thompson about his book “Ignited” . In it, he spoke about real Middle Managers (we’re not cringing at that title any more, remember?) who really did great, inspiring work and he mentioned Andy Pawlowski of Rawlings Sporting Goods. Well, i thought we’d just chat with Andy about some of the cool things he’s done. I want to work for him when I grow up!
By the way, have you subscribed to our newsletter yet? You can read past copies here or drop me an email with Subscribe in the subject line and get the next one.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show, Campaign Headquarters for the Drive to Proclaim National Middle Manager Appreciation Day. A lot of you tell me the things you find most valuable is to hear from other real-life managers and lay off the consultants. So there you go.
Today’s show is dedicated to Maui- the demi-god not the island.
2:45 A real life quote from Confucius, although he probably said it in Chinese. It’s kind of what this show is all about.
4:25 Welcome Andy Pawlowski of Rawlings Sporting Goods. What made him stand out from the throng of us just doing it? Andy claims it’s willing to look at things differently- it’s all about attitude and we’ll hear some of the things he’s doing that are out of the box. Make notes.
6:15 One of the things Andy does well is influence up…here’s a case study that also involves EA Sports (hear our interview with Matt Manuel at EA here…) Taking a staid, proud brand and involving it in video games is really cool.
12:50 How did he prepare for that one shot he was going to get at pitching this idea? The trick is to prepare, make it personal but not take it personally.
15:23 Andy is big about connections- and he talks about a couple of things. The most fun is the office Ultimate Fighting Contest. No VPs were harmed during the exercise but it was fun. Check out his internal blog here to learn more.
21:30 And for the more nobly minded- he’s doing a lot of community service through self-empowered teams. Sometimes it’s for community (like the Race For the Cure), sometimes it’s for the environment. check out his internal blog here.
25:41 Andy’s Resources:
He checks out other companies with cool cultures like
And what blog roll would be complete without Seth Godin
Books include Marketing Outrageously
Thanks for joining us…check out the Expert Page on instancy.net