The Cranky Middle Manager Show #316 The Final Cranky Show and the Future of Work with John Blackwell
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #164 Leadership and the Sexes- Michael Gurian
Posted on 15. Oct, 2008 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel steps into the tricky waters of gender science to see how male and female brains differ and what that means to business. Our guest is Michael Gurian, co-author of Leadership and the Sexes- Using Gender Scient to Create Success in Business. 
Michael Gurian
My new book- a great gift for your team
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show. A long show today so no dedication. We are talking about differences between how men and women lead and what their brains tell us. Joke all you want, we are talking science here. The book is by Michael Gurian and Barbara Annis. Don’t draw any conclusions just cause I’m talking to the guy.
1:37 The quote of the week is from Plato… a simple enough premise, but do men and women receive the same education? What about the stuff we KNOW but were never TAUGHT? Hmmmmmmm?  If you dig quotes, don’t forget my new book, “125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky Middle Manager Show”. Oh it’s now available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. If you like it, leave a review. Heck leave a review and pretend you read it…..
By the way, if you’re in the Chicago area in Mid-December, you might want to take part in the stealth beta-version of our new manager program. Drop me a line for more details.
3:15 Michael Gurian is the head of the Gurian Institute . Longtime listeners know I”m a brain geek. Today we talk brain science and the differences between the sexes based on neurons and the like. There are over 100 physical differences between the sexes. Turns out a lot of these things are set before you dress them in pink or blue.
7:45 Is a male/female brain a binary thing or is it a sliding scale? About 20% of people are “bridge-brains”. Oh, and computer geeks have more male brains than most people…regardless of what the guys who beat you up in highschool told you.
13:00 IBM has done a big old study… really this matters in things like how you run meetings, how people communicate, how you market and how you handle conflict among other things. Cross-gender mentoring was a big part of their response… it helps to understand how people work.
17:25 This is a hard conversation to have. Why is it so difficult to talk about our differences?
20:48 Here are some tips for getting a new team to help understand each other and have those conversations. There are some great meeting tips here too. It’s amazing what an agenda can accomplish for both female brains and male brains….but for different reasons.
29:35 Schools in the US are currently great places to be if you’re a girl…for boys not so much. check out Michael’s books The Minds of Boys… and the Wonder of Girls
Other Resources
I Am an Entrepeur Story… Who Knew?
Posted on 10. Oct, 2008 by Wayne in General
Ken Gaebler has a terrific site for people looking to start their own business. Recently he started collecting stories of people starting companies…. and I was one of them. You can read the full interview here.
Greatwebmeetings.com is growing fast- and a big thanks to all the CMM listeners who help us by referring their friends and coworkers to us.
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #163 The PMPodcast – Cornelius Fichtner
Posted on 08. Oct, 2008 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Wayne Turmel talks to PMPodcast host Cornelius Fichtner about project management and keeping your project aligned with the larger needs of your company. Also a project manager whose job was to keep the Picts out of England….   Oh, and if you want to take part in a stealth project in December, let me know…….details in the show.
PMPodcast host Cornelius Fichtner
Don’t forget our new book, 125Quotes for Whacking Weasels…. a great gift for your team!
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today we’re talking Project Management with the host of one of the best PM podcasts out there, the PMPodcast. It’s only taken us two years to make this happen. I was on his podcast earlier last month, you can hear that conversation here. Also we salute Aulus Platorius Nepos. Keeping everyone in a blue face and skirt out of England involved a major project and the usual cost overruns.
2:50 I have been stoically silent about the US election this year, and will continue that policy, tough though it is. However, since Canada, the US and the UK are all in election cycles, the quote of the week is a little nugget to chew on from my boy Francis Bacon.
Big News. In conjunction with the Technical Management Institute, we’re putting together the first Cranky Middle Manager program- “Becoming the Kind of Manager You Always Wanted to Have”. It’s for technical folks who are moving into management. More details to come, but we’re doing a stealth pilot of the program in the Chicao area the week of December 15th. If you’re interested in being part of that pilot group, drop me a line. More details to follow….
5:15 Welcome our guest Cornelius Fichtner. What are the biggest challenges for project managers….it’s the “diversity” of what we’re doing…which is a nice way of saying there’s too much going on at once.
9:30 What happens when a Project Manager loses sight of the needs of the organization as a whole? You’re doing the project for the sake of the company’s larger purpose.. of course it helps if you actually know you’re the project manager.
13:20 How is managing a project different from managing people? The main thing is that when you’re managing a partner, you have a direct reporting relationship. In a PM role, you are in a matrix.
17:18 One of the most critical things a PM has to know, is who are the stakeholders? You need to know everyone who’s going to stick their nose in.
18:59 What is the importance of good project management in the overall economy of countries? No pressure, gang.
25:09 Working across divisions and functions is going to be critical to the success of your project and lowering of your blood pressure. Everyone needs to know the overall goals.
Resources
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #162 No More Incrementalism- Tor Dahl
Posted on 01. Oct, 2008 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Wayne Turmel dives in way over his head to talk to Dr. Tor Dahl for the second time. Sir Tor talks about how nothing great can be established with baby steps. No more incrementalism! Also, a look at the emperor Constantine and how he can help your next product launch.
Tor was made a Knight First Class of the Norwegian Royal Order of Merit the day he spoke to me. Drop us a line…it might be good luck!
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today we talk productivity and bold steps with Tor Dahl. Dr. Dahl was with us last year and he’s way too smart to hang with the likes of me but he spoke to us anyway. Also we dedicate the show to the Roman Emperor Constantine. No small steps. Love it or hate it, that’s how you change the world.
2:15 We have dueling quotes of the week. Should we remember that all good change is slow or do we get fired up and just go for it? If you love quotes, don’t forget to support the show by getting a copy or ten of my new book, “125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky Middle Manager Show”. It will be available on Amazon in the US and UK in mid-October but you can get your signed copy today! And while we’re doing shameless plugs, if your company does webinars or web demos, check out www.greatwebmeetings.com and get $200 off a webinar review.
5:00 Tor Dahl is throwing around the word incrementalism… what the heck is it and why do we care? American productivity grows at about 2% per person per year. How do you take what’s in Old Joe’s head and implant it in the next person? You need to ask a lot of questions but the results are exponential.
8:30 Some simple questions… what do you do that no one on earth should be doing? What causes delays? What do you do that could have been planned better? Answer those and you’re on your way.
12:33 Is it easier to take big leaps when you’re starting from scratch? Doesn’t matter if you’re a country or a corporation….
16:13 If you can’t measure or guarantee success, which is more dangerous- to take a risk or to do nothing? Tor is no big fan of Six Sigma… variation is what drives progress. Warning, we are going seriously into the weeds and you may need to listen twice.
20:37 At what point do you realize you can’t operate any better and you have to change WHAT it is you do? Can you pull a Kennedy-to-the-moon project in your company?
26:45 Can countries or companies do this when they are democracies? Sure China can do it, but what about Western countries?
For more information you have got to check out Tor’s newsletters
Don’t let the weasels get you down!!!