The Cranky Middle Manager Show #316 The Final Cranky Show and the Future of Work with John Blackwell
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #316 The Final Cranky Show and the Future of Work with John Blackwell
Posted on 16. Mar, 2012 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Welcome to the final edition of the Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today we talk about the future of work with John Blackwell. He’s got a new research report worth talking about. We also talk about why this is the final Cranky show after 316 episodes.
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.
If you’d like a copy of our latest white paper, “The 1 Thing That Will Make or Break Your Online Meetings” you can click here and register or just drop me an email and I’ll send it to you.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show. Today we’re talking to John Blackwell, who has shared his research with us before. If you’re interested in his research, sign up for his next webinar on March 20th and get the report for free.
1:50 The quote of the week is from Marcus Aurelius- the future shouldn’t be disturbing… I mean you hung in this long right? What are the odds you won’t? Kind of apropos for today’s topic in a number of ways.
2:50 John’ s new research report is “Meeting the Future of Work” but it’s not a futurist thing. If he could do that he’d be at the track making the really big bucks. Most research on the world of work is awfully self serving. I mean, what do you think Cisco is going to tell you?
6:57 But if futurism is useless, what’s the point of doing research? History helps, anything forward is prophecy and it’s notoriously unreliable. The first thing is that every support function needs to be working with the others. No more silos!
11:50 There are a lot of myths about what’s going on out there. Is Gen Y going to change the way things work? Not so much. Turns out that opportunity and career still matter more than technology, social responsibility or anything else. Gender will continue to be a huge deal. There are a lot more women workers than their percentage of management indicates. That’s gotta change.
21:50 So what? What does this mean if you can’t bank on the future? Well you have to have a context for making decisions and models that enable you to make informed decisions…knowing that you might have to change them at any moment. HR, for example, has to focus on cultivating creative leaders. Leadership isn’t a position, it’s a way of behaving.
26:00 It needs to be able to measure and express the value of what they do to the business. This one ain’t easy but it’s vital. Same thing with property people. Does an office mean everyone has a desk?? Does it mean people can do what they need to do when the size of the project team shifts overnight?
32:00 In John’s opinion the biggest thing that will happen next will be successfully using analytics and metrics. Oh goody, more numbers.
36:00 This is the last Cranky Middle Manager podcast, at least as far as I can tell. After almost 160 hours of great conversations I’m pooped. It’s time.
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The Cranky Middle Manager Show #315 Increase Your Business Acumen Kevin Cope
Posted on 08. Mar, 2012 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel welcomes Kevin Cope, author of “Seeing the Big Picture-Business Acumen to Build your Credibility, Career and Company”. Too often managers know their role and their job but don’t know enough about what drives the actual business. We’re here to help. We also offer words of wisdom from Ben Franklin and thank those who feed Wayne when he’s on the road. Ignore the signs, feed him!
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.
If you’d like a copy of our latest white paper, “The 1 Thing That Will Make or Break Your Online Meetings” you can click here and register or just drop me an email and I’ll send it to you.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to show 315. No dedication this week, but Wayne explains his absence for the last couple of weeks and greets everyone. Oh and a completely arbitrary Stephen Hawking reference, just to try and sound smart. Being busy is a mixed blessing and not much of an excuse.
4:15 The quote of the week comes from Benjamin (Ben to his friends and mistresses) Franklin. Are you driving your business or is it driving you? Knowing the basics will help, I promise.
5:00 Welcome Kevin Cope to the show. He’s the president of Acumen Learning and since Business Acumen is one of our four pillars of highly effective, leadership exhibiting, project nailing, cheese moving managers it seemed right to talk to him. Why is business acumen so important? If you don’t have that big picture, you might do right by your department but not effectively help the company. Oh, and it can stunt your career so listen up.
8:42 Politics is an ugly word but knowing what drives the business helps you understand what drives the people you work with. Ignoring it damages your credibility, sometimes irreparably.
10:00 What is the biggest knowledge gap for most functional or project managers? Turns out most people don’t have a sense of how their metrics impact the overall profit margins of the company. How does what you do impact your profit margin and stock price? Is there some magical equation (and notice my use of the word algorithm like I have the foggiest clue).
13:00 The five components of business acumen are: Cash, Profits, Assets, Growth and People. Let’s start with Cash… do you actually know what that means to the bean counters?
15:20 Growth is an interesting topic, and is often the cause of a disconnect between what’s good for the business and the shareholders. Kevin talks me off the ledge. I”m still never working for a publicly traded company again.
19:45 What does a manager do when they see that there’s a clash between business goals and reality or quality? The reality is that you need to describe your challenge or solution in financial terms or it will fall on deaf ears.
22:30 If the rest of this is all data driven, how do people fit in. This also takes us down a rabbit hole about productivity and Wayne gets on his soap box a bit…..
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #314 Lean Learning and Knowledge Capture with Todd Hudson
Posted on 17. Feb, 2012 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to Todd Hudson of The Maverick Institute about one of the big challenges of the modern workplace: learning what you need to do your job in a timely manner, and capturing what your team knows so others can get just as smart, just as fast. We also salute other bloggers and podcasters, and a quote from Teddy Roosevelt. Bully for us.
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 Since this show is all about learning in as many ways as possible, we salute some of our fellow bloggers and podcasters: Dan McCarthy, Lisa Haneberg, Kevin Eikenberry, Guy Harris, The boys at Manager Tools and, of course Management-Issues.com and TheConnectedManager.com
5:18 The quote of the week is from Teddy Roosevelt. Always say yes, you can learn how as you go… just ask your sales people, they’ve been doing it for years.
6:00 Welcome my new buddy Todd Hudson to the show. Knowledge Transfer sounds geeky but it’s really simple- how do you learn what you need to know to do your job and how do you take what’s in others’ heads and capture that so others can get smarter too? It’s a process that can be leaner and better.
7:41 The whole concept of “on-boarding” people has changed from the way it’s been done in the past. People come and go, contractors and part timers join for a short time and leave… it’s not going to get any better.
11:30 The way training is done doesn’t work for most teams. Learning is built into the way we work. Todd explains the process and why it’s not so dependent on human beings. Learning is a delivery problem…not a content problem per se.
15:10 What’s the manager’s role in all this? You need to think about what people actually need to do to do their job. Learning is also mostly self-guided.
20:20 Screen captures and demos are some of the most powerful tools at your disposal, and it’s mostly free.
21:25 Who do we learn most from, a peer or an “expert” from another department. People come to learning with their own beliefs…ignore that at your peril.
23:00 Most of us don’t suffer from a lack of information, how can you help people find what they need when you need it?
26:30 Of course, none of this matters if your best people don’t capture the information in the first place. Tips for having that conversation. The big tip- make it a performance expectation. Try to position it as useful…and if your’e asking people to train the people who want their job you’ll have a problem.
29:00 One of the best tools out there is your smartphone. Camtasia is also really cool, although not free.
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #313 Top Human Capital Needs for 2012 Jay Jamrog
Posted on 09. Feb, 2012 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today we look at the top five Human Capital Issues of 2012- in other words, what keeps companies up at night when it comes to their people. We talk to Jay Jamrog of I4CP about his latest research on the top Human Capital issues for 2012. We also discuss the meaning of Realpolitik, who invented it and why you should care. You have to know what the boss is thinking or you’re in for some ugly surprises. Just sayin’….
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 the show. Today we look at the first of our 4 Disciplines of Highly Effective, Leadership Exhibiting, Project Nailing, Cheese Moving Managers. In an effort to improve our business acumen, we dedicate this episode to Ludwig von Rochau. He invented the term Realpolitik which should be a mandatory part of any leader’s education. The law of the strong is the same as the law of gravity….. it’s immutable and ignoring it leads to bumps and bruises.
5:00 The quote of the week is from James Russell Lowell, who understood that you can’t argue with the wind, you just have to button the hell up.
5:55 Welcome Jay Jamrog to the show. Whether you like the term “human capital” or not, it’s really important to understand what the people with the checkbook think is important. Turns out there are 5 of them: Leadership development, managing/coping with change, talent management, managing organizational change, succession planning.
8:50 86% of companies say leadership development is critical, but only 26% actually do it very well. What the heck is that about? Notice that low performing companies worry about things like getting people engaged and managing performance. Coincidence? Don’t think so….
14:27 Knowledge retention is a huge issue…if people are coming and going, how do you capture what they know so it doesn’t walk out the door with them? 43% of the civilian workforce in the US is ready to retire. Worried yet?
19:20 How has the move to virtual and remote workers impacted the approach to human capital? The biggest change is in how do you lead a virtual team? (Yes, we can help). People in the office don’t trust the people who are remote, and vice versa.
23:25 What about HR? Jay says they should be measuring effectiveness rather than efficiency. HUH??
26:09 Everyone is talking about innovation, but what are good companies doing about it? The better companies say it’s important and only getting moreso. It also usually doesn’t work. The 5 key things are: know what you mean by innovation (the type), you have to have leaders who will accept a creative workforce and take risks, you have to have the right talent, you have to have a culture that supports change and welcomes it, and you have to have an external focus to keep tabs on the customer.
Check out I4CP and their reports here or drop me a line and ask for a copy of the report.
Read TheConnectedManager.com blog