The Cranky Middle Manager Show #311 Serial Innovators Claudio Feser
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #281 Why Good People Leave M A Masarech
Posted on 27. Apr, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Hello and once again welcome to the madness that is The Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today we talk about why good, engaged employees leave. Mary Ann Masarech joins us to talk engagement. We also look at when rich kids bail on their parent’s business and a quote from Emerson. We’re nothing if not classy here on the show.
Don’t forget our world-class webinar workshops. Discounts available for Cranky Listeners.
How to Create and Manage Remote Teams May 27
Web Presentation Basics May 16 and 18
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 for the 281st time. Today we’re talking why perfectly good, seemingly happy employees up and quit on us. For that reason we salute St Francis of Assisi.... seemed perfectly happy spending daddy’s money, fighting and whoring in France. Why did he quit to become a friar.?…and he wound up in management anyway. Sometimes there’s no escaping your fate.
3:50 The quote of the week is from Ralph Waldo Emerson.… when one thing changes, something else has to give. That applies to careers as well.
4:33 Welcome MaryAnn Masarech to the show. She’s at BlessingWhite. Why are we still talking engagement? Because it matters. But what is it? It’s not just employee satisfaction and it’s not just commitment. Are you coming to work enthused, proud of your work, and contributing to the max?
7:45 Why are the engagement numbers so different in different cultures? We look at India vs. China, for example. What explains the difference?
9:28 Is a 100% engaged workforce even realistic? It seems like if 1/3 are really into it that’s about what you can expect but i’m a cynic. It’s the actively disengaged that you need to worry about.
13:50 Her research shows that we’ve always thought managers were the biggest reason people stayed or left an organization, but it turns out that there’s something else at work….and it’s the work. If people dig it, they’ll stay. If they’re bored or looking to do something else they’re at risk.
17:05 How does this play out in a world where so many people are short-term or contract employees? What role does the manager play in getting them on board?
20:17 How do you create personal relationships without getting too personal? It’s amazing how many people think personal info has no place at all at work and get really freaked out about it. What are the concrete things a manager needs to do to ensure priorities are in alignment?
25:00 Have you actually checked in with your people about their priorities? Odds are you’re not on the same page.
27:02 If the future is so important to your employees, do you have the foggiest idea what they want? Just asking.
Click here to get the Employee Engagement report Mary ann is talking about
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #280 5 Tips for Green PM
Posted on 13. Apr, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel revisits the idea of “green” project management with the dual brains behind the EarthPM blog, David Shirley and Rich Maltzman. We also discuss nuclear bombs and Winnie the Pooh. How’s that for a full day’s work?
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 to the Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today we dedicate this episode to General Leslie Groves, the project head on the Manhattan Project. If you think you have some picky stakeholders……
4:30 The quote of the week is from Winnie the Pooh (okay, AA Milne). The obvious is sometimes important to pay attention to.
5:21 Welcome Rich Maltzman and David Shirley to the show. We’re going to examine 5 tips to green project management but first, what is Green PM and why should we care? It’s actually about sustainability and the “triple bottom line” more than just do-gooderism.
8:44 The first tip is to accept that you are a change agent. Yes, you. Projects inherently change things, so you can do whatever you need to do.
11:08 tip 2 is to link your company’s environmental goals and policies to your project. Of course,that presumes your organization has one. You can find ideas at www.climatechallenge.org
15:55 Thing 3 is thinking beyond the scope of the project. But aren’t we supposed to limit scope???? Dave gives us a great example of Green Mountain Coffee and their single serve plans. Whooops.
20:00 Understanding the project sponsors is critical. Who is the real sponsor and what’s our responsibility? Isn’t our job to do as we’re asked?
22:55 The jargon can fly pretty thick. “Greenality” is one such word, although swapping it for “sustainability” sometimes makes it more palatable depending where you are on the Hummer vs Hugger debate.
26:49 How can one become certified in green project management? ISIS-PM is one such body . It helps to be politically correct by accident.
Resources
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #279 Weasel-free Career Advice Patty Azzarello
Posted on 05. Apr, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Greetings everyone. Today we talk careers and how to consciously plan them… to be “visible but not annoying”, in the words of Patty Azzarello. She’s the author of “Rise: How to be really successful at work AND love your life”. A little me-time for managers today. Also we get some words of wisdom from Mark Twain, a very smart guy.
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 to the show everyone. A long show today so no dedication. As you know, there are 4 competencies on this show. We call them the 4 Disciplines of Highly Effective, Leadership Exhibiting, Project Nailing, Cheese Moving Managers.
Too often,though, we are so busy doing the job we don’t stopand think about where we are going and why. That’s why today’s show is all about you and your career.
2:00 The quote of the week is from Mark Twain. The great want you to be great as well. The weasels want you to fail. Screw’em.
4:17 Welcome Patty Azzarello to the show and we ask the question: why doesn’t our work speak for itself? Shouldn’t it? Hardly seems fair. Still, nobody cares about your career but you.
7:32 She breaks her career advice into 3 categories: Do better, look better and connect better. Let’s start with the difference between working really hard and getting ahead? You have to decide where you burn up your time. How much value do you really add? You have to understand the business to get ahead in it. All those tasks you’re asked to do…do you know WHY they want you to do them?
12:00 Being knowledgable about your job is not the major thing in life. Every time you step up a level, you become knowingly less expert. Deal with it.
14:12 Looking better shouldn’t matter should it? I confess to having learned some very hard lessons in this department. The important thing is to be visible without being annoying. Where is the line between authenticity and fitting in?
20:45 Yes, I was once taken aside and chastised about how I dressed. What should it matter? It doesn’t make me any better or smarter than I ever was…. it was a hard lesson to learn.
23:45 Do eccentricities help or hurt you? As long as they don’t distract people from your message, they’re fine and sometimes add value. Does a beard really mean you can’t do a job?
26:30 Successful people know how to get help when they need it. You don’t have to do it all yourself, and frankly you shouldn’t try. Patty gives us her personal secrets. Just remember that networking has 2 parts: meet new people and reaching out to the people you already know. There’s a deep dark secret that Patty shares. It sounds simple, but it works. Our gift to you….
Visit Patty at AzzarelloGroup.com