The Cranky Middle Manager Show #316 The Final Cranky Show and the Future of Work with John Blackwell
Interview on Life Beyond Code
Posted on 10. Jul, 2008 by Wayne in General
In the first year of the show I met a truly smart and generous guy, Rajesh Setty. He is a serial CEO in Silicon Valley, and we have stayed in touch over the years. The other day he interviewed me for his blog, Life Beyond Code. Yes, this is a shameless plug for Greatwebmeetings.com but it’s a good excuse to direct you to his blog. A lot of wisdom there, I just don’t know how he fits that much in so few hours in a day.
Hear my conversation with Raj here. (Yes, another one is long overdue)
Thank you, as always, Rajesh for the support and the great advice!
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #151 The State of Training 2008 with Josh Bersin
Posted on 09. Jul, 2008 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel speaks to Josh Bersin about the new best practices in training and what some companies know that others don’t. Plus we salute an Arab translator and why HR and OD are the worst possible names for their departments.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show. One of the reasons training doesn’t work as well as it should is who is in charge. Human Resources and Organizational Development are horrible names. Why are Humans to be used and Organizations developed? Human Capital is not a better term either. We dedicate the show to Hunayn Ibn Ishaq. Context has everything to do with successful training, gang.
3:15 The quote of the week is from Edward Bulwer Lytton, known as one of the worst writers ever, but even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while…..
4:32 Welcome Josh Bersin from Bersin and Associates. He has just put out a High Impact Learning Organization Study of best practices from the corporate world. What are the high performing companies focusing on? It’s not just skills it’s how they operate. It’s about learning as much as training….. there’s a difference
8:54 The difference between training and learning- performance-driven learning (how to do your job- good training) and talent-driven learning programs which is where the biggest impact is if the culture is there. A learning culture is critical and Josh gives us some examples
13:25 What part does the budgeting process play in this… if it’s up to line managers, training won’t happen voluntarily as a rule
20:30 How does a manager work with her team to help them learn and grow? It’s a coaching job, not a management job per se.
23:30 How would Josh organize training and development in a perfect world? It’s a strongly centralized, federated model. Dangerous ground comparing a good organization to the US government, but there’s a point to be made here.
Josh’s Resources
The Trusted Advisor by David Maister ( who has been on this show too… take a listen to show 41 and show 127) Training and HR has to learn how to serve their clients
Peter Drucker’s The Effective Executive
Social Networking is a crucial component of learning… www.techcrunch.com
Don’t let the weasels get you down….
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #150 Lighten the Heck Up- Adrian Gostick
Posted on 02. Jul, 2008 by Wayne in Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel discusses the need to lighten up at work using humor and energy with author Adrian Gostick, co-author of The Levity Effect-Why It Pays To Lighten Up.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to our 150th Episode. Yeah you heard it, 150… I think the reason we are still here is people want to lighten up while still learning and getting better at what they do. We dedicate this episode to the Muslim Mullah Nasrudin. It’s hard to learn anything while being miserable….. whether it’s life or just how to do a decenjt performance review.
3:43 George Bernard Shaw has our quote of the week. If you’re going to tell people the truth, make them laugh or they’ll kill you.
5:18 Welcome Adrian Gostick. Why are we so darned serious at work and why should we lighten the #$%@% up? Research shows people stick around at companies where it’s fun to go to work. So why are companies so afraid of humor in the workplace?
9:21 Can you suddenly turn on fun in places that weren’t fun til now? Adrian’s research says fun is critical and it’s never too late. You can start with some goofy contests or Academy Awards ballots. People really are eager for fun.
11:51 People can be cynical…. programs like FISH can backfire on you… how do you avoid cynicism and the “flavor of the month”? Plus, let’s face it…. some people are fun and some don’t want fun thrust upon them.
16:47 Is fun cultural? How do you create fun when people are so spread out all over the planet? It IS doable. Tie the fun to work and celebration.
21:07 Don’t laugh, there’s evidence and lots of data that this works. Fun is a major factor in retention oh, and it’s your responsibility, middle managers.
More Resources
The Back of the Napkin- Dan Roam
The Speed of Trust- Stephen M R Covey
Don’t let the weasels get you down
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