The Cranky Middle Manager Show #312 The Future of the MBA Ken Starkey
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #169 360 Degree Feedback and Politics Nick Jefferson
Posted on 24. Nov, 2008 by Wayne in Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to Nick Jefferson about 360 degree feedback, how people rated leaders in Britain, and King John, one Brit who didn’t take the feedback as well as he might have.
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Nick Jefferson   
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Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to The Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today we’re talking 360 degree feedback, why some people love it, why some hate it and why it matters. We’re talking to Nick Jefferson of Couraud.com in the UK. We dedicate this episode to King John of England who didn’t really understand the whole idea of feedback and could have used a visit from the nice lady in HR.
3:30 Our quote of the week is from Socrates: your reputation matters, and it’s like a fire, easy to build, but once it’s extinguished…. well you know the drill.
4:30 Okay 360 feedback is something that is badly done most of the time but is valuable when it is done correctly. He did a cool experiment by asking for 360 feedback on the three party leaders in the UK. You can get the full report here along with a sample of a good 360. What is 360, why does it matter and why should you need to get drunk and sing karaoke before you get honest feedback?
8:45 Feedback is most useful when you actually do something about your weaknesses-Â and a cool new thing called Johari Window. I love new stuff.
10:30 Where did the idea of getting feedback on politicians come from and what did he find out? He used Jack Welch’s 6 Traits of Leadership as a base. Download the reports from us and learn more.
16:45 Why is it that when you’re out of power for a while you tend to surround yourself by more passionate, visionary people? What does that mean for people who’ve been in the job for a while and what does it mean for David Cameron and the Tories?
20:11 What are the things that a company needs to do to ensure a good, positive 360? Keep it simple. We don’t want to pick on HR folks….but it’s so darned easy. It’s about performance, not personality. “Stop, Start, Continue” is a great format.
John Ingham’s Strategic Human Capital blog
Don’t let the weasels get you down!
The Cranky Middle Manager Show # 168 How Hard Can It Be- Joel Spolsky
Posted on 18. Nov, 2008 by Wayne in Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks software and creating middle management from scratch with Inc. Magazine columnist and Fog Creek’s President, Joel Spolsky. We also ask how the title of Satrap would look on your resume.
Help keep Cranky Middle Manager free to listen and on the air! Please help The Podcast Network Pledge Drive or go to the Cranky Middle Manager Store.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the 168th episode. Today we talk to Joel Spolsky as well as dedicate this show to Cyrus the Great of Persia, who gave us the cool job title Satrap. Beats Middle Manager doesn’t it (even if that’s basically what it is)?
A couple of quick announcements:
- Don’t forget the TPN Pledge Drive. If you haven’t heard the explanation, you can listen here.
- We are doing the pilot test of our new training program “Management 2.0: Become the kind of leader you’d follow” on December 15 and 16 in Chicago. Click here for more details.
3:34 The quote of the week is from that barrel of laughs Albert Camus who said that all great ideas have ridiculous beginnings… everyone who works at a startup, especially the founders, know that’s true.
4:45 Welcome Joel Spolsky of Joel on Software and about a dozen other things, including Fog Creek Software. He has finally come to the conclusion that managers are important, but it came slowly. he prefers management to be administration and not authority (and the word is connote.) His own management style was formed between the Israeli army and Microsoft.
9:45 His management style was formed in the Israeli Army and by Microsoft. The military is NO help whatsoever when managing software geeks. Still, running through a minefield while shooting is a metaphor we won’t dwell on.
15:50 A couple of columns ago, Joel wrote that he finally has come to conclude he needs managers... blame Fast Company for that (read the article here). Still, what kind of management is he looking to create? How is Seth Godin to blame and what is a Purple Cow?
20:00 Even when senior management has an open door policy, people want someone a bit lower to be the mediator. Joel tells the story of what happened at Fog Creek.
24:45 “Career Path” is a strange thing at software companies because being a manager and being a great programmer aren’t the same thing. How do you increase pay and rewards without making people managers who shouldn’t be managers? Listen to Joel squirm while explaining not all programmers have great people skills…. just say it, Joel, we’ve been saying it for years on this show. And by the way, I’m not crazy about the term “wetware”.
28:28 What does Joel read? Pretty much everything…
Seth Godin’s blog (with or without a purple cow).
Read everything and become “literarily promiscuous” (copyright pending on the term, thank you)
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Don’t let the weasels get you down!
No Joke-We Need Your Help to Stay On The Air
Posted on 16. Nov, 2008 by Wayne in General, Podcast
If you enjoy the Cranky Middle Manager Show and think we bring value to your working life, please listen to this special podcast. Our home for the past 4 years, The Podcast Network, is in very real danger of going off the air or whatever it is podcasts are on.
I don’t want to be melodramatic or manipulative, and I’m embarrassed to have to share this with you. We are trying to find ways to keep the show going, but if TPN goes away before we restructure the show’s business model, this podcast will go with it. Please listen and see how you can help keep TPN and this program going.
The Podcast Network Pledge Drive will allow you to financially support the show in ways big and small. Please consider a small donation in exchange for any way we’ve made your worklife better and the weasels at bay. Please mention you’re a CMM listener when you donate.
http://tpn.thepodcastnetwork.com/pledge
Thank you,
Wayne
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #167 The Integrity Dividend- Tony Simons
Posted on 11. Nov, 2008 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks about a middle manager’s integrity and how critical it is to business success. Tony Simons will talk about his book, “The Integrity Dividend- Leading by the Power of Your Word”. We also talk about ritual disemboweling as taking it to extremes.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome wherever you are in the world to the wonderful world of being overhead expenses. Today we talk about integrity and (although it’s a corny word) honor. Managers live and die by their word. There was a time that was literally true so we dedicate this show to Watanabe Kazan. Sepuku might be extreme but nothing says, ” I really mean it” than being willing to die rather than be embarrassed.
A couple of quick announcements:
- There will be a Cranky Middle Manager Meetup at Shoeless Joe’s Sports Bar in Rosemont (near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport) on Monday, December 15th at 7:30 PM. Drop on by and say hello to other listeners and past guests from the Chicago area. I’ll also have copies of 125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels if you’re interested…
- The pilot for our new training program: Management 2.0- Becoming the leader you want to follow will be held Monday and Tuesday, December 15 and 16th. If you’d like to participate in the pilot and help us perfect it, you can attend for less than half price ($450 for 2 full days). Get more information here and register online. We need a few more people…..thanks to Dennis and Adam for being first in line.
3:25 Today’s quote is from the Roman poet Ovid: when integrity costs us something to keep THEN it’s valuable….remember that when you’re walking through the office with all your stuff in a cardboard box.
5:30 Welcome Tony Simons, author of The Integrity Dividend, Leading by the Power of Your Word. Turns out there are bottom-line results you can quantify.
8:34 Integrity is important but what does it mean? Are you consistent and aligned with accepted moral values? Are you seamless? Do people know who’s coming through the door on any given day?
12:00 How is the integrity culture in your organization? How can you rebuild it once it’s gone? It’s slow to build and quick to drop. What about middle managers when you’re representing yourself AND the organization over whom they don’t have direct control?
19:00 How does a manager walk the line between themselves and the organization? You have to ask the hard questions of YOUR manager. Don’t be afraid to surface concerns at the very beginning.
25:00 We get ourselves in trouble by making promises that aren’t ours to make. What are you actually able to say with confidence? A great story about overpromising we can all relate to.
Resources
Integrity Dividend