The Cranky Middle Manager Show #311 Serial Innovators Claudio Feser
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #290 Why Does HR Hate Us The Evil HR Lady
Posted on 23. Jul, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel visits with The Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas. We find out once and for all, why does HR hate managers? We also talk unintended consequences and general foolishness.
If you’re going to use WebEx, GoToMeeting or any of those tools, don’t you want to use them well? At GreatWebMeetings.com we teach you the skills to present, sell, train or manage your team using web presentation tools. We offer programs in How to Create and Manage Remote Teams, Web Presentation Basics and Leading Effective Virtual Meetings. Drop us a line for pricing and more information.
Cranky listeners get a 10% discount on this webinar workshop: “How to Lead Effective Virtual Meetings”, September 29th. Register on the site or drop me aline for discounts and details.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome everyone to the show. Today we talk about why HR hates managers. What do we do that drive these nice people crazy? A lot of it has to do with unintended consequences which brings us to Lieutenant General Henry Shrapnel. Sometimes you solve one problem only to create another. Kind of like what HR does….
3:12 Watch for our new TheConnectedManager blog which will replace our BNET column starting next month. Please follow it and tell your friends.
5:29 Every once in a while you need a little Friedrich Nietzsche in your life. Madness is rare in individuals..but inlarge organizations it’s the rule. Live with it. Maybe even get a little evil.
6:15 Okay, why does HR hate us? Suzanne Lucas is better known to many as The Evil HR Lady. Everyone talks about why we hate HR, but in the dark night of their souls, why does HR seem to hate managers? Are you just a lawsuit waiting to happen?
10:10 Managers often make poor decisions that reflect on the company. We hear a couple of horror stories, including a pregant sales person whose main defense was: someone else is worse. Does it feel like everything you want to do seem to violate some other rule? Suzanne never wants to work in California, but then nobody works in California these days…
13:03 For international companies, HR is a swirling nightmare of regulations.
14:45 One of the big challenges for managers is hiring the right person. We make decisions that take 30 seconds and then suffer the consequences for years. Hell, if not for bad snap judgments I’d have never been hired. We talk hiring.
20:00 Okay, let’s get down to performance reviews and why they are painful for all involved. Suzanne defends them as the only way some managers (not you of course) give any kind of documented feedback. Beware of “malicious compliance”.
25:00 What about training and developing your people and yourselves? Companies tend to perform task experts to management jobs. Communication and coaching skills are critical. Can you actually create SMART objectives? How’s your project management skills?
29:20 How does remote working change how we think about management? Results Oriented Work Environments (ROWE) are the answer in her mind.
Suzanne’s Links
Her BNET Blog, The Evil HR Lady
Jon Hyman Ohioemployerslawblog.com
Donna Ballman at screwyouguysimgoinghome
Allison Green Askamanager.org
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #289 Handling Information Overload Jonathan Spira
Posted on 16. Jul, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to author Jonathan Spira about his book , “Overload! How Too Much Information is Hurting Your Organization”. Hopefully we’ll give you just the right amount of detail. Also we talk sifting through too many gospels and a little poetry to bemoan your email load. Never say we ain’t classy.
If you’re going to use WebEx, GoToMeeting or any of those tools, don’t you want to use them well? At GreatWebMeetings.com we teach you the skills to present, sell, train or manage your team using web presentation tools. We offer programs in How to Create and Manage Remote Teams, Web Presentation Basics and Leading Effective Virtual Meetings. Drop us a line for pricing and more information.
Cranky listeners get a 10% discount on this webinar workshop: “How to Lead Effective Virtual Meetings”, September 29th. Register on the site or drop me aline for discounts and details.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show. Today we’re talking information overload, something every one of us suffers from. We dedicate this episode to someone who knew how to get his arms around all that information (Emperor Constantine 1 and the Council of Nicaea) as well as some of the unfortunate results of compromising on solutions (quick, when’s Easter?).
5:00 TS Eliot is our quote of the week, and he sums up the problem exactly. Too much information and not enough knowledge.
5:45 Do you know anyone who isn’t suffering from information overload? Maybe it’s too much of a good thing, but it takes up to 25% of our day and costs companies in the US 997 Billion Dollars a year. If you can’t figure out what’s really in front of you, you can’t make decision or take good actions.
9:09 What are the kinds of things that result from overload? Wasted search time, interruptions, correcting mistakes, rework….the list is long and would be too much information.
11:30 The problem isn’t not enough information, it’s too much and no way to tell good from bad. How do you sort information effectively? We get tips for getting better search results.
16:50 People resort to some crazy solutions to handle the overload. One company actually removed the “reply all” button from its email…..
20:50 how the heck do we actually regain our ability to focus? We only leave ourselves 5% of our day to think and reflect.
23:00 What are some of the tips for overcoming information overload? Get a handle on your email and you’ll go a long way to getting some of your life back. Value your colleague’s time and think before sending anything.
27:35 If you want to contribute your own stories and tips, visit Jonathan at OverloadStories.com.
Try reading something that has nothing to do with work for once.
Watch a trailer for the book on YouTube
The Information Overload Research Group (which includes Dave Crenshaw.You can hear his cranky show here)
Do you like the quote of the week? Buy this book and support the show!
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #288 Why Excellent Performance Isn’t Enough Colin Price
Posted on 07. Jul, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to author Colin Price about his new book, “Beyond Performance- How Great Organizations Build Ultimate Competitive Advantage”. Basically, we learn why being good at your job isn’t enough to keep your job. As proof we bring you a great inventor who got beat out by a PR machine, a quote from a Roman and I do my best to keep Byron the Cockatiel under control.
If you’re going to use WebEx, GoToMeeting or any of those tools, don’t you want to use them well? At GreatWebMeetings.com we teach you the skills to present, sell, train or manage your team using web presentation tools. We offer programs in How to Create and Manage Remote Teams, Web Presentation Basics and Leading Effective Virtual Meetings. Drop us a line for pricing and more information.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to episode 288. Today we’re going to tackle an uncomfortable subject–why being the best at something doesn’t guarantee success. It takes a lot of work and things other than great execution. As proof we offer our dedication this week to Nikola Tesla. Being right and having the best product or solution doesn’t mean you’ll win. Edison won, even if it took executing kittens to do so.
4:45 Today’s quote is from the Roman poet Horace. We’re not saying excellent performance isn’t important, it’s just not the only thing. You still have to be kind of good at what you do.
5:15 Welcome Colin Price to the show. He and Scott Keller have written a book that says plenty of companies are good at what they do and still crash and burn. What’ probably more important is “organizational wellness” which includes things like Alignment, Execution (speed) and Renewal.
10:05 A good example of a company that was doing really well is Atari. Remember them?
11:23 Alignment is really tough. The problem , it would appear, is human beings. Ask the people in your company the company’s 10 top priorities. The results might be enlightening….and terrifying.
13:22 When we talk about company “mindset”, exactly what the heck are we talking about. Some people call it belief, paradigms, culture. It’s just the way stuff works in your organization. They are both liberating and dangerous.
15:45 The 4 “levers” to adjust company mindset are: a compelling story, consistent systems and processes, skills and capabilities, and the behavior of the leaders.
19:45 It turns out that of those 4, the role modeling of desired behaviors has the strongest correlation to results. In other words, leaders have to walk the talk. If you do that, you’re well on your way. 3 times more likely to succeed in fact.
22:27 This might sound self-serving, but learning, development and training really matters to organizational success. Colin breaks it into two parts: “training” and things you learn on the job itself. On the job training and does it allow you to get smarter as you go has twice the impact of sitting in a classroom. Do both and you are 6X more likely to succeed.
25:24 This is a fascinating discussion about how organization health reflects stock price and long-term success.
Colin’s resources
Bob Sutton (you can hear his Cranky interview here)