The Cranky Middle Manager Show #311 Serial Innovators Claudio Feser
The Cranky Middle Manager Show # 213 The Lazy Project Manager- Peter Taylor
Posted on 31. Oct, 2009 by Wayne in General
Today the Cranky Middle Manager talks to the Lazy Project Manager and between them actually get something done! Peter Taylor joins us to talk project management efficiency, we look at a Roman Caesar who talked a good game and a Greek engineer. Such a classy show…….
Peter Taylor, the Lazy Project Manager.
This was the first picture I found, couldn’t be bothered to look any further. Probably an example of bad laziness but what are you gonna do?
Show Notes
0:00 Thanks for stopping by the show. Today we are talking laziness. There’s good laziness and bad laziness and a man who knew the difference was Archimedes….who did NOT invent the lever but did figure out how to get the job done right the first time. Something to be said for that.
3:15 The quote of the week is from Marcus Aurelius whose work I really like even though he didn’t really walk it like he talked it. At some point just reading and claiming to do research is really being lazy (bad lazy) so get on with it already!
4:14 Welcome Peter Taylor, the Lazy Project Manager to the show. Project Management is one of the 4 Disciplines of Highly Effective, Leadership Exhibiting, Project Nailing, Cheese Moving Managers. Can you be lazy and still get the job done? Well according to Peter (And Robert Heinlein) laziness is responsible for most of the progress in the world. Here’s another guy who understood that the lazy and smart make the best leaders: Field Marshal von Moltke
8:51 Delegation is hard and it’s a discipline to be learned. Sometimes we get dragged in to do the job but mostly we need to know the boundaries. Give yourself space and time… close the door on occasion and give yourself time to THINK.
10:24 This is probably the only management concept ever inspired by Monty Python’s Anne Elk character. Does this show have a dinosaur fetish? Check out Wally Bock and his Dinosaur Egg Theory.
12:24 Projects are thick at the beginning and end, thin in the middle. Trust me, this makes sense, but how you start is vital to how you finish. You can’t get lazy yet and you don’t want to finish lazy. Lots of time to read the paper in the middle.
14:44 A special bonus dinosaur theory: You don’t want to carry a dinosaur, you want to ride it. And if you can’t do that, then eat it. When you have to establish your leadership of a project, don’t be afraid to look like it. Dress for success.
17:00 Yeah, I know but communication is important and listen to this: 70% of your time on a project is spent communicating and there’s a difference between communication and reports. Lots of reports don’t communicate much of anything.
20:55 The other thick part of a project is at the end- you have to finish strong. Debriefs and consultation with stake holders is really important to making sure the next project goes well.
24:24 Peter’s Resources
Hey you can also hear John Warshawsky’s Cranky Interview Here
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #212 Awesomely Simple with John Spence
Posted on 24. Oct, 2009 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to author John Spence about his book “Awesomely Simple- Essential Business Strategies for tiurning Ideas Into Action”. We also look at austrian philosophers and cavalry generals with a fear of horses. All just another day at the virtual office…..
John Spence joins us to talk about his new book, how to tell when you’re ready to start a business and why he’s the “human Cliff Notes” guy.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome in whatever language you choose, pull up a rolling chair and make yourself at home. This is a darn fine edition of the show, which we dedicate to Col Benjamin Grierson a grand example to middle managers who didn’t have the advantages of family connections or the right schools, took the lousy projects and still managed to have fine careers.
3:13 The quote of the week is from Ludwig Wittgenstein. The simple is often hiding in plain sight, or we pretend it is so we don’t have to do what we know we should.
3:45 A shameless commercial for www.greatwebmeetings.com. check out all the free resources as well as our Course Offerings. Tell the training people at your company about us, no matter where you are in the world.
4:55 Welcome John Spence to the show… so what’s the difference between simple and easy? Simple is easy to UNDERSTAND but that doesn’t mean the DOING isn’t going to be a real bear.
6:45 Business owners constantly claim they want their employees and managers to have an “ownership” mentality. We expose one or two basic flaws with that approach.
9:00 How is having a “vivid vision” different than having a fancy vision statement? Can you state it simply? Do you know what it means? After 200 shows my tolerance for consultant speak is about zero so I hold his feet to the fire.
13:15 It’s not every show that will quote Charlie Daniels and Steven Covey in the same conversation, but that’s why you listen to us….what’s the difference between having a “sense of urgency” and losing sense of what’s important instead of urgent? Oh, and I finally tell a story that has changed my training and speaking career, not to mention how I tackle emergencies.
21:00 John is the Executive in Residence at the University of Central Florida’s Technology Incubator. How do you know if you should stay gainfully employed and what’s the litmus test for going out on your own?
Here’s the answer: How do you feel Monday morning? How obsessed are you with your idea and where you want to go?
John’s Resources
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #211 Don’t be THAT boss- Mark Wiskup
Posted on 18. Oct, 2009 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to Mark Wiskup about his new book-“Don’t Be That Boss- How Great Communicators Get the Most Out of Their Employees and Their Careers”. We also look at someone who shouldn’t have been THAT king, and quote Turks about listening skills. Not just another training workshop today boys and girls…..
The incredibly energetic Mark Wiskup talks to us about good bosses communicate, and bad ones just give orders…
Show Notes
0:00 Hello everyone, a bit late but still hanging in here. Today we talk to Mark Wiskup about the communication skills managers need to be effective, and typically we dedicate this show to Raynald of Chatillon who knew absolutely nothing about that and lost his head as a result. We also revisit an old vaudeville joke with a point… you know what bad bosses do, DON’T DO THAT.
3:50 The quote of the week is from the Turks…or so I’m told but I’m always suspicious. It was probably Seth Godin, he claims credit for everything these days. What is your listening/pondering/speaking ratio?
4:15 Welcome to Mark…. so what boss do you NOT want to be? A boss who totally leaves out of the equation that you have to connect with your employees. They don’t have to love you but they do have to be willing to listen to you.
7:00 Here’s a hard lesson for all of us… being right has very little to do with being a boss. It’s your ability to influence and convince others. That’s not data, that’s communication. Oh, and communication is more than just transmission of messages.
10:46 Good heavens something we haven’t talked about before- managers dealing with vendors and why good communication is so critical in that relationship.
14:11 We often believe in if/then… IF I nag enough people WILL do whatever the heck it is I want. Yeah, how’s that working for ya?
17:40 How do we maintain communication that works when we aren’t around…it’s simple. Ask them personal questions and at least pretend to care about the answer. Seriously. If you’re not willing to put in the effort, don’t complain when you can’t connect.
22:50 When you’re talking to an employee or vendor and they’re complaining… spend some time to find out what they want in place? Drop the business speak and define what you want.
Mark’s Resources
Execution, by Larry Bossidy
Anything by John LeCarre
Join Me Live on Friday with Kevin Eikenberry
Posted on 15. Oct, 2009 by Wayne in General
On Friday the 16th, Kevin Eikenberry of Remarkable Leadership is holding an on-line Sweet 16 party. He’s celebrating 16 years of being one of the best voices in the blogosphere on leadership and management.
He’s kindly invited me to join him via webcam at 1:20 Eastern (US) time. You can sign up here.
Comeon you’re working from home on Friday anyway, right?