The Cranky Middle Manager Show #316 The Final Cranky Show and the Future of Work with John Blackwell
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #176 Reward Systems with Steve Kerr
Posted on 20. Jan, 2009 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks with Steve Kerr of Goldman Sachs ( and formerly of GE) about his book, Reward Systems- Does Yours Measure Up? How do you design rewards that get the behavior you want and not dysfunction? Also we look at unintended consequences in Greek mythology and there’s a Cranky Middle Manager e-learning course for you to check out on YouTube.
Steve Kerr, today’s guest
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show. Today we have a lot to cover, starting with our dedication to Cadmus- the founder of Thebes and kind of the poster child for trying to manage effectively, do what your told and still get bit in the rear by unintended consequences.
4:00 Lots of cool stuff going on with the show in the next little while. Check out our Cranky Middle Manager YouTube video- 71/2 Minutes to Better Email. Also, watch this blogsite for upcoming webinars, training and other learning events. The nice lady in HR has slashed your budget, let me help you find what you’re looking for.
5:22 The quote of the week is from Herman Melville, who was a lot like my mother- good work is its own reward and we sleep the sleep of the just. Steve Kerr might disagree.
6:07 Welcome Steve Kerr. He’s senior advisor on learning for Goldman Sachs and former CLO at GE so our careers have crossed even if we’ve never met. We talked about him and his book in Episode 170 with the boys from 800 CEO READ. Why are reward systems so tough to design? First of all, we’re not taught to do it very well.
9:15 Rewards are the wrong thing to start with. First is what are you trying to achieve, then comes how you’re going to measure it, THEN figure out how to reward it. My own painful experience is that rewards and behavior aren’t always aligned.
11:10 Some dysfunctional behaviors include rewarding short term results if you’re looking for a long term solution. People will figure out how to game any system.
12:40 The components of a recognition system:
- The reward must be available
- People must be eligible (I go on a rant about President’s Club and letting the sales weasels have all the fun)
- Rewards should be scarce
- They should be visible
- They should be timely
- The should be reversible- they can be taken away
15:45 Should everyone know what everyone gets for a bonus? Jack Welch certainly thought so… Most people thing everyone is doing better than they are.
17:19 Jack Welch is identified as maybe the manager of the century, and I’m ambivalent. What did he do well and not so well? (Full disclosure, I taught at GE;s Crotonville facility as part of my old dreaded day job). What did their reward systems encourage and what were the downsides? We also discuss the GE policy of mandating the firing of the bottom 10% of the staff each year which has horrified me for years.
22:50 Rewards should be timely…. and this conflicts with the annual review. Yes, another discussion about the horrors of annual performance reviews. We also talk about reversibility of rewards- they should be able to be taken away
26:40 How does Steve approach learning at Goldman Sachs, a financial services firm dealing with chaos? Companies frequently slash training budgets when things get tight.
29:00 Are rewards universal? At GE did the same thing work in China as in the US? Middle managers can give great input here.
Steve’s resources:
Don’t let the weasels get you down!
Cranky Middle Manager on YouTube- 71/2 Minutes to Better Email
Posted on 19. Jan, 2009 by Wayne in General
Hey gang, check out the first ever Cranky Middle Manager e-learning piece. I need feedback on it:
- Did you like it? Why or why not?
- Would you like to see more?
- What topics should I cover?
- If I did a whole bunch of these would anyone pay for them?
Post to the blog or drop me a line and let me know!
Look for the full Cranky Learning Center with special deals on webinars, live events and elearning coming soon!
If you enjoy the video and want me to come speak to your organization on this or other topics, check out the Speaking Section on Crankymiddlemanager.com !
Free Teleseminar on the 3 Biggest Diversity Mistakes
Posted on 18. Jan, 2009 by Wayne in General
Folks, one of the things we are going to do in 2009 is let you know about lots of learning you can find on your own, since odds are the nice lady in HR has no budget for training. Eventually I’ll have a spot on Crankymiddlemanager.com that will be a one-stop shop for CMM approved training opportunities like webinars, teleseminars like the one I’m going to tell you about, live events and more.
Until then, here’s an event you’ll want to know about. If your eyes roll when you hear “diversity” it means two things. 1) odds are you’re a white guy 2) your company hasn’t been doing things right, because this stuff matters.
Deep down inside, you know there’s a better way to “do” diversity in 2009. You know the old approach is broken. You know that if your organization truly wants to recruit and retain top talent of color, it needs to overhaul the way it thinks about race and diversity.
But exactly which changes should your organization make? And what can you do personally to help?
Good news: Carmen Van Kerckhove, president of diversity education firm New Demographic, will share with you exactly what you need to know on this FREE CALL happening on Wednesday, January 21, 2009…
“The 3 Biggest Diversity Blunders
Your Organization Could Be Making Right Now (And How to Avoid Them)”
Reserve your line for this FREE teleseminar now!
On this 60-minute call, you’ll learn:
* Why your colleagues are right to scoff at diversity training — it actually doesn’t work! I’ll show you why not, and let you know what does work instead.
* Why your organization’s executives should never proclaim that they’re colorblind and that they “just don’t notice race,” unless they want to offend a lot of their employees.
* The one thing your organization must avoid at all costs unless you wants its diversity efforts to fail spectacularly.
This free call is chock-full of specific information that will show you exactly why your organization hasn’t become the leader in diversity it wants to be. Then, Carmen will give you the resources to change that around so that you can help your organization gain a crucial competitive edge by recruiting and retaining top diverse talent.
Just Click this link and join up. Share it with your friends, colleagues or the nice lady (or guy, if you had a decent diversity program you’d know that, of course).
Look for more event announcements like this, and the launch of the Cranky Middle Manager Learning Center soon.
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #175 Why Good Managers Do Stupid Things Rom Brafman
Posted on 14. Jan, 2009 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks about the curse of middle management- why smart people do irrational things with Rom Brafman, co-author of Sway- the Irresistable Pull of Irrational Behavior. Oh and Mozi (Mo Tzu) and William Gladstone. Irrationality knows no borders or eras……
Rom Brafman, probably wondering what your’e doing listening to the likes of me- a questionable decision but one for which I am truly grateful.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to show 175. Today we’re talking to Rom Brafman about SWAY- The Irresistable Pull of Irrational Behavior. This is truly the curse of middle managers everywhere and answers a lot of questions. Plus, it fits my slightly cynical-but-romantic view of the world. So does Mozi (or Mo Tzu), to whom this show is dedicated… and I think it’s a rational choice but after this conversation who knows?
2:45 The quote of the week is from William Gladstone and it’s all about not confusing conviction with being right… arguing doesn’t make you right… unless you’re my wife then OF COURSE I’m wrong…… oh and don’t forget to visit www.crankymiddlemanager.com or support the TPN Pledge Drive
4:24 Welcome Rom Brafman, who with his brother Ori wrote SWAY. Yes, Darwin was an optimist, but what does that mean to managers? It’s critical to understand why we make the decisions we do. There are 4 traps that people fall into:
- Loss Aversion
- The Diagnosis Bias
- Commitment
- Group Dynamics
7:00 Why is “Loss Aversion” irrational? We overreact to losses- and make poor decisions. A Harvard experiment involving $20 is a great example. This is also why marketing budgets get slashed when we need them most.
13:00 The “Diagnosis Bias” is maybe the most chilling thing in the book. What does the NBA draft have to do with hiring managers in Dubai? Only everything….. Hiring someone after one interview is completely irrational, as are most of the ways we identify contenders. Listen and blush.
18:25 Maybe I’m just anti-social but I don’t have much faith in group dynamics. The Russians sure don’t. Dissent is really hard but it’s a manager’s job to allow and encourage it.
25:25 To get the group going, call on the person who will hate your idea most…. talk about irrational but it makes sense. You have to listen to your inner voice. If you feel like something’s wrong- you probably are.
30:00 Rom’s resources:
Don’t let the weasels get you down!