The Cranky Middle Manager Show #312 The Future of the MBA Ken Starkey
The New Carnival of HR
Posted on 09. Sep, 2008 by Wayne in General
Our buddy Patrick Williams over at Guerilla HR is the host of this version of the Carnival of HR. A small but tasty selection of good writing on the topic of HR. Check out this roundup.
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #159 Hug Your People- Jack Mitchell
Posted on 08. Sep, 2008 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Wayne Turmel talks to legendary retailer Jack Mitchell about his new book, “Hug Your People”. How do you keep employees engaged and wanting to come to work? How do you manage through tough times? Also we look at a Cherokee woman with a cool job title.
Author and CEO Jack Mitchell
By the way, our new book, “125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky Middle Manager Show is now available for pre order from our website. Support the show and have some laughs!
Show Notes
0:00 Today we are talking to retail legend Jack Mitchell about helping your employees feel loved and valued. Jack’s the CEO of       and knows a thing or two about motivating people. Here’s a question…are you paranoid or just daydreaming?
We also salute a Cherokee woman named Nan Ya Hi, (also known as Nancy Ward) with the coolest job title ever.
3:15 The quote of the week is once again from Cicero, and it’s words of wisdom for any trainer, teacher or manager who needs to know when to shut the hell up.
Duly noted.
4:58 Welcome Jack Mitchell, author of Hug Your PeopleThe Proven Way to Hire, Inspire and Recognize Your Employees and Achieve Remarkable Results- sounds like an HR nightmare waiting to happen but it’s just an expression. Everyone knows there’s a connection between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction scores… so why is this so hard to understand?
8:00 What’s going on in companies that don’t get it? Even Payless Shoes can turn it around when they feel valued. There are lots of things that go on that get in the way… and it falls on the Manager mostly. So what else is new? The first problem is rule books.
12:49 I confess, it’s easy to blame the system for not allowing proper reward and recognition…. but there ARE things in your scope. Jack offers some suggestions. It starts with knowing your people personally. It also helps if you understand the difference between standards and rules.
18:40 How did the Jack’s business evolve these rules and processes? It starts with the human connections of a small family business. Here’s one, treat everyone equally but not the same.
22:01What’s the power of being nice to a successful business? Jack shares a story about being on an airplane that changed his thinking. It’s not that complicated.
25:00 That’s great if you’re in retail, but coders don’t face the customer so why does nice matter?
27:00 Jack’s Resources:
Blueprint to a Billion- 7 Essentials to Achieve Exponential Growth
That’s it gang. Don’t let the weasels get you down!
A New Carnival of Leadership
Posted on 07. Sep, 2008 by Wayne in General
You’ll notice that from time to time I contribute to a Carnival of writers on HR issues… it floats from blog to blog and is a great way to find terrific writers on HR matters. Well, there’s a new carnival in town and this one is dedicated to leadership. Great writers like Wally (Dinosaur Eggs) Bock, and Rich Maltzman.
Check out the third carnival here. Big thanks to Dan McCarthy, I know what a huge job this is and I appreciate his including Episode 158 in the carnival.
Support the show and check out our new book!
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #158 Management Heretics- Art Kleiner
Posted on 01. Sep, 2008 by Wayne in Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to heavyweight Art Kleiner. Not only is he the editor of Strategy + Business Magazine, but he’s the author of “The Age of Heretics- A History of the Radical Thinkers Who Reinvented Corporate Management”. A couple of times a year we get heavy and this is one of them. Oh, and we learn a bit about heretics in general…..
Art Kleiner
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to a show that’s a bit meatier than most, but once or twice a year I find a book that inspires that kind of conversation. It’s about heresy…. we all have our share of it in our souls but can we tell heresy from insanity? That’s why we’re dedicating this show to Tomas de Torquemada.
4:25 The quote of the week is from Henry David Thoreau, who knew a bit about heresy. What used to be some raving insanity becomes conventional wisdom given time. If you like quotes there’s a shameless plug for my new book as well, “125 quotes for Whacking Weasels”. Check it out here.
5:20 Welcome Art Kleiner. His book, “The Age of Heretics- A History of the Radical Thinkers Who Reinvented Corporate Management” is one of the better books I’ve picked up this year, even if it is a second edition. What is a heretic and what do we mean by management heretics? How about someone who wants to bring the personal into work instead of just managing by the numbers?
Art gives an example from his book, “Who Really Matters” but it’s the story of the Ford Taurus and a guy named Lou Veraldi.
12:37 Heretics aren’t out to destroy the company they’re part of… but the heresy is disruptive. He talks about his role at Business + Strategy which is part of Booz and company.
14:30 Here’s a realization… all prophets are heretics but not all heretics are prophets. How does the company discern which this person is?  He tells the story of AG Lafley at Proctor and Gamble and the idea of open innovation.
19:00 Even the flipchart was heretical at the time it was introduced? It starts with Kurt Lewin and his crew who realized that you have to let people and it builds and alters group dynamics. Peter Senge talks about how every organization is the result of how its people work and interact.
24:01 Someone in the pantheon and a name we’ve heard a lot is Warren Bennis. His story- the good bad and ugly is discussed in a way that lets Art keep his job. Even gurus learn the hard way.
30:00 I subscribe to the Pelagian heresy even if I am a bit of a cynic.
32:00 What are the new heresies? It will involve neuroscience and brain chemistry to be sure. Check out www.neuroleadership.org
Art’s Resources
Make or break- how manufacturers can leap from decline to revitalization
Niall Ferguson’s book Empire (YES>>> if only he’d come on this show to discuss it but it’s a really polite rejection note)
Microserfs by Douglas Coupland
Don’t let the weasels get you down!