The Cranky Middle Manager Show #311 Serial Innovators Claudio Feser
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #278 The Accidental Manager- Hank Gilman
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Welcome back, one and all. Today we talk to Fortune magazine editor Hank Gilman about his new book, “You Can’t Fire Everyone- and Other Lessons From an Accidental Manager”. Few of us told our high school guidance counselor this is what we wanted….and fewer of them warned us. Meanwhile we also talk King George VI and Samuel Johnson among other things today.
Don’t forget our world-class webinar workshops. Discounts available for Cranky Listeners.
How to Create and Manage Remote Teams April 29
Web Presentation Basics April 25 and 27
Are you a PMI Certified PMP looking for PDUs? Check this out.
Download our new white paper, 3 Reasons Virtual Teams Fail, and how to see it coming….
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome everyone. Today we’re talking waking up one morning and finding yourself a middle manager. No, you can’t sue your guidance counselor for malpractice. We dedicate this episode to King George VI. For you Americans, that’s the guy Colin Firth played in The King’s Speech. A fine role model for all of us.
3:30 The quote of the week is from Samuel Johnson (allegedly, but we’ve had that discussion before). He basically said that you have to expect mistakes, and don’t assume that mistakes mean someone’s useless. Forgive yourself. Heck, forgive YOUR manager while you’re at it.
4:00 Welcome Hank Gilman to the show. He’s a bigshot at Fortune Magazine. Like so many of us, he was an Accidental Manager.
6:00 Writing is like coding and a lot of other jobs. The job is solitary and you’re pretty much left alone. Now you’re the boss and NOONE leaves you alone. Hank talks about managing his friends.
8:45 There’s a moment when we all appreciate our bosses more when we have the job ourselves. As hank points out, it helps when you aren’t too much of a jerk to start with.
11:18 What about the first time you have to fire someone…especially a former colleague? It’s important and unavoidable.
14:00 Does working at a business magazine attract a different type of writer and culture?
16:25 How does coaching work in a highly creative situation like a high-profile magazine? It’s mostly about putting the right people in the right position.
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #277 Practice Safe Stress- Sylvia Lafair
Posted on 22. Mar, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel is joined by Sylvia Lafair, author of Don’t Bring it to Work- Breaking the Family Patterns That Limit Success. We’re talking stress, whether your job includes walking into a live nuclear reactor or just dealing with budgets, it’s how we handle it that makes the difference.
Don’t forget great webinar workshops available from GreatWebMeetings.com each month!
How to Create and Manage Remote Teams March 25
How to Create and Manage Remote Teams April 29
Web Presentation Basics April 25 and 27
Are you a PMI Certified PMP looking for PDUs? Check this out.
Download our new white paper, 3 Reasons Virtual Teams Fail, and how to see it coming….
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show, gang. Today we’re talking stress. For that reason we take a step over to the serious side of town and dedicate this show to the Fukishima 50. If you ever needed some perspective about the relative stress of your job, here’s that dose of reality you needed.
4:00 Today’s quote of the week is from Leonardo da Vinci. You can’t find someone smarter to listen to than that.
4:45 Welcome Sylvia Lafair to the show. No job is without stress, but what is it? There’s only so much we can take, despite what we tell ourselves.
6:45 Since the stress keeps on coming, we get to determine how to deal with it and how much to take. How we handled it as kids is pretty much how we handle it now. Do you stamp your feet? Go away and pout? Basically you head for Zombieland or Freakoutville.
10:38 What’s actually going on when we’re under stress? How do we make ourselves stop and see what’s going on with us? Small physical changes like standing up or moving seats actually help more than you’d think. It’s all neuroscience and stuff.
13:45 Okay, so stress happens. Once you give yourself permission to just pause and understand what’s going on, the next step is to consciously choose your next action. You can trick your brain… for some of us that’s easier than others. As long as you don’t “awfulize” things. Oh and I go into therapy for a few minutes.
19:41 The phrase “failure is not an option” is not helping. It’s always an option, just not the one you want. According to Sylvia, failure is just feedback from the universe.
24:00 When is venting healthy and when are you just perpetuating the cycle?
29:00 One of the reasons we struggle is because we don’t think emotions have anything to do with the workplace. They don’t belong there. Yeah, how’s that working for ya?
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #276 Gutsy Leadership with Bob Herbold
Posted on 13. Mar, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Join Wayne Turmel as he speaks to former Microsoft COO Bob Herbold about his new book, What’s Holding You Back: 10 Bold Steps That Define Gutsy Leaders. And on that vein, we talk leprous kings, why gutsy is better than ballsy, shy Scottish authors and how to get PDUs by taking GreatWebMeetings workshops. A full day at the earbuds, gang.
Don’t forget great webinar workshops available from GreatWebMeetings.com each month!
How to Create and Manage Remote Teams March 25
Web Presentation Basics March 28 and 30
Are you a PMI Certified PMP looking for PDUs? Check this out.
Download our new white paper, 3 Reasons Virtual Teams Fail, and how to see it coming….
Show Notes:
0:00 Welcome to the show, gang. Today we are talking gutsy leadership. Not ballsy- that term has always confused me. We dedicate this episode to King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem. Fending off Saladin, internal weasels and leprosy all at once takes some serious guts.
3:45 Are you interested in being part of a pilot webinar course on How to Run Great Virtual Meetings? If so, drop me a line and let me know you’re interested. No date’s been set yet.
4:05 The quote of the week is from Robert Louis Stevenson....why do I love hack Edwardian writers so? Anyway, he told us how to suck it up.
5:00 Welcome Bob Herbold to the show. His new book is all about gutsy leadership. Is this all some kind of crazy, macho nonsense? It’s not so much brave stands as on a daily basis not dodging tough questions and decisions. So why do we so often not make the gutsy decision?
6:50 When is conflict avoidance the right thing to do and when are you just being a whuss? The trick is not to pose tough issues as problems to be solved. Bob gives us specific language to use.
9:21 Let’s be honest, a lot of managers get pretty high in the organization by protecting turf and avoiding conflict. It’s not that you’d be like that, but your boss and colleagues might be and that, my friends, is a drag. Is there a process for deciding which hills to die on?
11:33 Bob has 10 steps to prove courage,but the first is to Confront Reality. Having a plan helps. Leadership is not a style issue, it’s a behavior issue.
14:45 Ahhh, managing our managers is one ofthe biggest challenges we face. When bringing something to them you need to explain the situation, why they should care and what you think they should do…. get a reading on their mood before going too far.
16:30 Courage is also something you want to develop in your people. You have to set expectations about proactivity, behavior, quality and all that good stuff. Just don’t forget that because you’re the boss your people have a healthy (or unhealthy) amount of fear about dealing with you. You need to model the skills and reach out to them.
19:50 Can you hire for guts? You have to look at their history, even as far back as high school. Really.He also tells a story about Bill Gates and a gutsy move.
Bob’s Resources
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #275 Leading the Virtual Workforce Karen Sobel Lojeski
Posted on 06. Mar, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel speaks to Dr. Karen Sobel Lojeski, author of “Leading the Virtual Worksforce”, and it’s a great conversation. How big a deal is it that we often work remotely from our teammates? Not a big deal if the person at the next cube only communicates by email anyway….. distance is relative. Happiness is distance from your relatives but that’s another topic. We also look at a unique Russian nobleman and a short quote from the longwinded Victor Hugo. Eclecticism, thy name is Cranky Middle Manager….
Don’t forget great webinar workshops available from GreatWebMeetings.com each month!
How to Create and Manage Remote Teams March 25
Web Presentation Basics March 28 and 30
Are you a PMI Certified PMP looking for PDUs? Check this out.
Download our new white paper, 3 Reasons Virtual Teams Fail, and how to see it coming….
Show Notes:
0:00 Welcome to the show. Today we talk virtual teams and how distance makes a difference in how we work…or doe sit make as much difference as we think? As evidence we dedicate this show to Abram Petrovich Gannibal. Even distant, he was closer to Tsar Peter that Great than Peter’s own kid. What can we learn from that?
4:45 The quote of the week from Victor Hugo. Distance isn’t bad in and of itself… it has its charms and its drawbacks, but we have to learn to cope with it.
5:20 Welcome Dr. Karen Sobel Lojeski to the show. She’s obsessed with what she calls “virtual distance” which can even happen when you’re at the next cubicle to someone. Always good to know there’s an actual term for something you know exists but didn’t know what to call it. Virtual Distance is a perception of remoteness due to reliance on electronic communication.
9:52 What is the impact of virtual distance on people and businesses? You want numbers? She’s got your numbers…. Innovation suffers the most from virtual distance… a 90% drop. Don’t even get her started on project delivery
14:05 What are the components of “Virtual Distance”? It’s made up of 3 things: physical distance, operational distance and affinity distance. The last 2 are the big problems because they create lack of context.
16:26 If you don’t have context, you make it up and we seldom make up the best case scenario. There’s a word for it- “same as me bias”. Never let it be said you don’t learn anything here, folks.
19:15 There are plenty of tools to help overcome physical distance, which leaves us up to the operational distance…which is using the right tools in the right way…. but also the affinity distance which is only overcome by trying really, really hard. Managers have to pay attention to the mix of technology they use.
26:01 There are plenty of unintended things that impact affinity distance. Time zone fatigue, for example, or feeling like you don’t matter because you’re not at home office is a great example. There’s a chilling example from the United Nations…. is any conference call worth taking a bullet for? Try asking THAT before scheduling.
29:21 Visit her website to see how you can measure Virtual Distance.
Karen’s Resources