Lisa Haneberg retruns for yet more good conversation and laughs.

Don’t forget to get a copy of the Cranky Middle Manager book of quotes for your team or the manager who needs a laugh!

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show, gang. This is the show if you ever feel like you used to be good at the job and were once the smartest and/or youngest person in the room. Lisa Haneberg has a book for what ails you. Also, we dedicate the show to King George III of England.  Give him a little love this July 4th.

3:06 The quote of the week is from Voltaire. Are you wiser, or just too old and  tired to scandalize anyone?

4:50 You can join the Cranky Middle Manager family any number of ways. The word for this kind of contact by the way is tweetfacelinkblogging. It’s a verb. Look it up.  Here’s how to reach me on ,Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, by the way.

5:30 Welcome back Lisa Haneberg, author of Hip and Sage: Staying Smart, Cool and Competitive in the Workplace. Ever feel like everyone knows stuff you don’t? You’re not alone. Getting old isn’t great, but there’s only one alternative and let’s assume that’s not an option. The biggest thing most of us have to deal with is how we communicate. Do we need to train the kids to communicate and tolerate meetings like us or do we have to think about what and how we talk to them?

8:47 What is hip? What is sage? Hip is being open to the possibilities of the new. Sage is the wisdom as a leader and how we use all that stuff we try.  Here’s the good news, not everyone needs to Twitter. You all need to know what the heck it is. That’s the difference. Here’s my take on Twitter: watching what was going on with Iran was cool. There are also morons who don’t deserve to be part of the conversation.

12:57 Is texting and the rest dumbing down the language or evolving it? Should we complain about the bad spelling or concentrate on the content and speed? Should we teach people to endure bad meetings or quit holding useless meetings?

16:04 You can worry so much about not “wasting time” that we lose the human connections that make relationships work.  One of the things that helps is sites like Ning. Two Ning sites you should check out:

The Employee Engagement Network

Management Central

Seriously, check them out and learn the potential. If the company won’t pay for collaboration tools, these are free and they work.

Lisa says to ignore the IT department. She said it. I don’t want the lawsuits.

22:10 I wouldn’t admit it to Lisa but she’s my hero on this stuff. She tells us about a couple of other tools including RSS feeds and a cool site called  Wetpaint.

Resources

Check out Tavis Smiley for his ability to ask great questions.

The topic of remote management is becoming more and more prevalent, and i believe that it will be the number one new challenge (the old challenges haven’t changed since Adam and Eve met “did not meet expectations” on their first performance reviews) for managers.

Please check out the article here. I’d appreciate comments on the post, but more importantly let me know what topics you’d like to read about. What are YOUR challenges? What tools do you like? I’d especially like to know, what are the problems you see that your company just doesn’t seem to get but will bite them in the tush if they don’t get a grip on it?

The first is from my buddy and Cranky Middle Manager guest Vince Thompson (hear his interview here) who interviewed me for the cool business site Smart Planet. (Click here to read the Cranky/Greatwebmeetings interview). Thanks Vince, and you have a great blog, although Pure Genius might be a tad overboard. I mean, if it’s about me it’s wildly inaccurate and if it’s about you, well seems a tad immodest, but what do I know?

The second is a recommendation on the Web Conferencing Council blog, where my book, 6 Weeks to a Great Webinar was named Book of the Month. Much thanks!

Dan Bobinski makes another visit to the show. Read his column on Management Issues if you haven’t yet.

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show. Today we dedicate the show to Andrew Jackson, Old Hickory, 7th president of the Unites States. Small motivated teams can accomplish great things against odds. It helps if the enemy is arrogant, dressed in red and standing in a straight line.

3:04 the quote of the week is from one of my heroes, Michel de Montaigne. The more certain someone is of something, the odds are he’s a blithering idiot. I paraphrase of course……

4:00 Welcome Dan Bobinski back to the show. How do you create “passion driven teams”. This is a team that is motivated by the work at hand, everyone wants to accomplish the same task. Are they working out of momentum or because the manager pushes. One of these works better. Oh, and Dan has dogs :-)

10:00 Why do good people become micro-managers? When you’re a subject expert but unsure how to manage people, you try to control everything.

15:00 What is motivation and how the heck do you get it without manipulation? Is it really motivation, or is it just removing the things that get in the way of successfully doing the task? Dan takes us through an example with sales people.

20:00 I get to give you my definition of the difference between “innovation” and “change”. Getting people’s buy-in to a change is one of the hardest things you can do.  To move people to change you need three things:

• focus
• expectation of the “aha”
• attention density

Oh, and dishes of candy do wonders. Really.

26:00 Over the years are the complaints about management changing? Dan has noticed, and Management Issues agrees, that people are concentrating more on human than organizational issues. Is this a permanent change?

Dan can be reached on Twitter by the way @danbobinski. While you’re at it, you can find me there at @greatwebmeeting

Google Reader is a great tool for finding blogs

You can find him on Facebook as well

Morten Hansen looking like the happiest Norwegian ever.

Don’t forget our “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams” webinar workshops on June 26th. Learn why it’s critical we create human relationships even when we’re not close by, and free and low-cost tools to accomplish that lofty goal.

For Europe and North America, click here to learn more and register.

For India/Asia/Australia, click here to learn more and register.

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show. Today we’re talking about collaboration and overcoming silos- and when we shouldn’t bother. Something you haven’t heard before I’m sure. We dedicate this show to one of history’s great collaborations, The Underground Railroad. Stop whining about slow bandwidth and just get on with it….

2:55 The quote of the week is from Oliver Wendell Holmes- ideas often work best when transplanted from brain to brain… I just hope you have more luck with that tranplant than I had with The Duchess’ geraniums.

3:45 Welcome Dr Morten Hansen. What the heck is collaboration anyway? It’s to work across boundaries to achieve goals and results. That means sometimes it’s the right thing to do and sometimes you shouldn’t do it.  Research shows sometimes you’re worse off playing nicely.

6:11 Does collaboration always get better results? Nope. There are three rules for deciding when to collaborate:

1. Be very picky
2. Identify the barriers to collaboration
3. Put in place a stated, explicit, compelling common goal

9:19 How do you quantify the opportunity to collaborate and how do you have the conversation without sounding like you’re not a team player? This is an important discussion if you want to keep your life your own.

13:30 There are two barriers to collaboration- willingness and ability. Mostly we have the ability which means people are inventing reasons not to collaborate.

18:35 We don’t spend nearly enough time on setting long-term goals and making them explicit. Who does what and why would they bother?  Set a goal, whether it’s landing a man on the moon or just getting that %@%%ing code finished.

20:00 One of the really great concepts in the book is “T-Shaped” management…that a manager needs to be both expert in their niche as well as able to span departments and functions well. Me, I’m a butterfly..
…. but if that’s how you’re measured, that’s what’s going to happen. How about asking the other teams what they’re working on so you know what’s working against your project?

Morten’s Resources

<—–Jeff Carlisi today      Jeff Carlisi 30 years ago when I was digging the band (Southern Rock ruled, even in Canada!). There’s hope for everyone to move from show biz to business……. I hope. Anyway……>

Don’t forget our “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams” webinar workshops on June 26th. Learn why it’s critical we create human relationships even when we’re not close by, and free and low-cost tools to accomplish that.

For Europe and North America, click here to learn more and register.

For India/Asia/Australia, click here to learn more and register.

Show Notes

0:00 Hello everyone and welcome to the show. Today we’re talking Rock and Roll and team building. Hey, at least it’s not another lecture on leadership. We dedicate the show to Johannes Tinctoris knowledge capture with a goose feather….and you can’t make your people use SharePoint. Who’s the real leader here, huh?

3:20 Our quote of the week is from Thomas Fuller, and if you’re looking for a way to stop people in their tracks when they demand faster project updates, this one will do it. it’s so good i can’t believe it didn’t get into the Cranky Middle Manager Book, 125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels…which you can buy HERE.

4:05 Welcome Jeff Carlisi, rock guitarist and the founder of a couple of business Rock Star CEO and Camp Jam. LIke me, he made the move from show business to business-business. Unlike me, he’s been hugely successful at both.  He gives us a quick recap of his career….and why working with other musicians is such a great model for team building.

10:47 How did the band, 38 Special, get together and what can we learn? It helps that everyone had known each other for years. What about when the team is put together and you don’t know anyone? You have to make sure everyone know what they’re doing there. Preach the plan and convince them it’s going to work.

14:55 It’s important that even if you are all brilliant at what you do, you have to pay attention to the business environment you’re working in. You also have to constantly monitor your progress and find a way to differentiate yourself in the market. It’s pretty cool when you can write a song that inspires speakers like Joe Heuer, the Rock and Roll Guru (who you can hear on the Cranky Show here)

19:00 The lead singer isn’t always the leader…. roles are crucial. you can’t force people to like roles they don’t like…put the right people in the role. There’s a good story about finding a songwriter outside the band, that changed things for good. Who could you be learning from?

28:52 Jeff has one of the coolest gigs in the world. He’s in the house band at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Working with high powered “superstar” teams isn’t easy but it is rewarding.

31:50 Jeff’s biggest struggle in business is communication. The idea of human contact seems to have taken a beating…. join the team, Jeff. He’s blown away by Zappos.com and its CEO Tony Hsieh as a great company to work for.

Jeff’s Resources

His own book , Jam

Ted Turner’s book, Call Me Ted

Hey, don’t forget My Book since you’re buying.

Bob Rosen comes back for more. Nice to have’im

Don’t forget our “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams” webinar workshops on June 26th. Learn why it’s critical we create human relationships even when we’re not close by, and free and low-cost tools to accomplish that.

For Europe and North America, click here to learn more and register.

For India/Asia/Australia, click here to learn more and register.

Show Notes

0:00 Today we are talking about becoming a catalyst- a true change agent to help drive growth in your company. It’s from a book Bob has co-authored called, “The Catalyst-How You Can Become an Extraordinary Growth Leader”. Oh, and speaking of catalysts, how about we dedicate the show to Peter the I of Russia? There was a catalyst. A badass, but a catalyst.

3:00 The quote of the week is from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. You’re not an insomniac, you’re a catalyst. Repeat as necessary.

4:00 Welcome back Bob Rosen (sorry about the sibilance…blame his phone). What is the role of middle managers in growing companies. Isn’t that the CEO’s job?  Catalysts have 3 things in common:

• They think differently
• They see things differently
• They act differently

7:00 Catalysts are risk takers, chronic learners and have a bias for action.

10:26 The monkey is not on your back…it’s in your head. Are you observing yourself while you act? Are you acting like an entrepeneur or an employee?

13:14 How do you develop the confidence to take something like this on? Growth leaders think of their business as a hypothesis: place small bets fast, do experiments, and kill the project if it ain’t working. They also view constraints as opportunities not road blocks. Really.

17:14 How do you teach someone to see opportunities?  It won’t involve traditional market research, that’s for sure. Part of the confusion is that managers are usually hired for their ability to follow the rules, not break them.

21:50 Did we mention their bias for action? Just get out there and do it… small experiments, act fact, kill bad ideas faster. There is no security anyway….. go for it. And you gotta be tough.

Bob’s Resources

Jason Jennings talks about hitting the ground running……

Don’t forget our “How To Create and Manage Remote Teams” Webinar Workshops on June 26th. Register by June 12th and save 20%.

For Europe and North America click here for more information and to register

For India/Asia/Australia, click here for more information and to register

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show. I start by groveling for forgiveness to Mike for jumping on him for his post when we WANT YOU TO POST. I was just grumpy. Not as grumpy as Ottoman Emperor Mehmed 1, though. Most brothers just give each other noogies.

3:28 The quote of the week is from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who compares new beginnings to a chess match. I’m a lousy chess player but checkers lacks a certain je ne sai quoi.

4:09 Jason Jennings was referred to us by Vince Thompson (hear his interview here) plus he’s a pretty famous guy even before he talked to us.  With all the reorgs and chaos in our workplace, odds are you’re about to take over a new team (you didn’t get the memo yet?).What do most successful CEOS  do first?

7:20 Here’s a bold statement- “conventional wisdom sucks”.  I love when guests trash people by name, don’t you? Still, it’s a great example of companies that get it and companies that don’t.

12:00 How do leaders create connection and help their new team get engaged? Do you know what the strategy is and do you buy in? You’d better find out early- like when you interview for the job.

15:00 How do you help fix broken trust in a team and get them to overcome cynicism? A great story about the power of asking if they believe….

18:40 All great leaders are willing to put a stake in the ground and hold people (including themselves) accountable. It doesn’t matter if your’e the CEO or leading an Agile scrum.

21:10 Accountability is not designed to be a punishment- although taking your punishment can be part of it. Sepuku is not condoned….but it is understood.

Jason’s Resources

Is everything you think you know about brain science telling you that you’re managing in the wrong way? Listen to Charlie here and make up your own mind.

Don’t forget our “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams” webinar workshops on June 26th. Learn why it’s critical we create human relationships even when we’re not close by, and free and low-cost tools to accomplish that.

For Europe and North America, click here to learn more and register.

For India/Asia/Australia, click here to learn more and register.

Show notes

0:00 Welcome to the show. Maybe it’s not “what are they thinking?” but “What are they thinking with?”. Do our brains resist most management techniques? Well find out with Charles Jacobs, author of “Management Rewired”. Oh and we salute the Roman Emperor Claudius for his great management techniques… his downsizing style, not so much.

2:45 The quote of the week is from Thomas Huxley- are you learning as a child? It’s probably how your brain wants to work…….

3:30 Welcome Charlie Jacobs who is here to talk about some surprising brain research and why management tries to go against the natural order of things. Problem number one- none of us see the world the same way. Anyone who’s ever had a bad 360 knows that….. and our idea of seeking pleasure and pain maybe isn’t what we think it is.

7:00 Why isn’t money more of a motivator for us?  The problem is that none of us look at it the same way. Why are you rewarding your people is actually more important than how you reward them.

10:10 Maybe the most controversial point in his book- feedback as most managers give it doesn’t work, even the most constructive feedback can cause a backlash. If it conflicts with your self image, you’ll reject it.

14:42 A lot of this research has been known for years, why is it so controversial? It causes cognitive dissonance. If what we do as managers isn’t important, what do they need us for and we discount it.

16:32 Cool brain science… Mirror Neurons are extremely cool things, but they not only apply to how we do things, but why…. it’s easy to ascribe motivations to behavior that might not be there. This is what allows us to have empathy… or not.

20:00 The best example of team management in the animal kingdom- slime mold. That’s right, slime mold. it’s actually a cool analogy if you’re not eating while you listen.

25:00 If you don’t walk it like you talk it, people are realllllly good at noticing that. Of coure, the opposite is also true. It is possible to learn leadership, but it takes discipline.

Charlie’s Resources

Management Rewired

The First Tycoon

Don't let the weasels get you down!

Picture two visions of how we can communicate in the future- actually it’s possible this very second but let’s leave time for committee decision making.

The first is from one of the big, famous consultancies. They just invested millions of dollars in giant state-of-the-art video conferencing facilities in their main offices around the world. Very cool stuff, as you can see.

Killer high-definition, very classy and a marvel of IT engineering.  I’m impressed, and as that great sage Jesse “The Body” Ventura always said, “I don’t impress easy, McMahon”.

There’s just one little snag. In order to access this electronic communication marvel you have to be in one of the offices that have the capability. I’ll let the idea of traveling  somewhere to avoid travel expenses marinate.

On the other hand, over coffee this morning, Oprah was doing a whole show on Skype, and how it allows mere mortals to talk to each other anywhere in the world with perfectly functional video and sound for free. Let me repeat that: For. Free. Anywhere. Anytime.

For most of us, what we need is instant communication that allows us to connect to the people we’re talking to in all the ways that matter- verbal, vocal and visual communication. It doesn’t need to be state of the art, it doesn’t need to be impressive, it needs to be there.

There are all kinds of reasons to use the big facilities- scale, audience, branding, IT ego, and I’m not saying if you can afford it you shouldn’t use it. What I am saying is that while companies continue to look for hte biggest hammer they can find to fix a problem, there are plenty of other solutions out there that are cheap, easy and would allow managers to get on with the job.

It’s not just video conferencing, you can see the same things at work in knowledge capture (a giant inhouse networked system vs. Google docs) Social networking (Sharepoint vs. Ning) and pretty much everywhere you look individuals can find solutions to solve their communication challenges if the “experts” will just get the hell out of their way.

The major problem is that these low-tech, low-cost solutions are implemented at the individual level. Empowered managers and team leaders can use them immediately.. For reasons too numerous to mention, this gives IT people and the funders who love them fits.

Here’s the question at the heart of this debate: do you trust your people to do what they need to do to get the job done? Yes or no. It’s a closed ended question.

So while the CEO might beam with pride at their new system, Oprah is teaching housewives how to talk to anyone in the world from the comfort of their home for free. One of these is world changing.

If you must use one of these social media thingies, you have several options. Please know i’m happy to connect, but think about how I can add value to your network. You’ll be able to follow show updates (news coming, i suspect) my Management Issues column and other work when it appears around the world.

LinkedIn is my preferred method http://www.linkedin.com/in/wayneturmel

You can also find me on twitter @greatwebmeeting

and on Facebook Wayne Turmel

Is it just me or did we used to just pick up the @#%#@%@^ phone?????

A very relaxed Karl Albrecht

Don’t forget our webinar workshop: “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams” . Register by June 12th and save 20%

For India/Asia and Australia click here for information and to register

For Europe/North America click here for information and to register

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to our 191st Show. Today we’re talking about being able to develop your social skills and common sense. This show is dedicated to Demosthenes, who knew a thing or two about developing yourself and having people overcome their first impression of you.

4:14 The quote of the week is from Marcel Proust, ( who is a great example of the kind of folks we’re talking about) but smart as he was he had no idea why the #$@%** people did what they do.

5:00 Welcome Karl Albrecht. Yes it’s another discussion of Multiple Intelligences but Karl explains it pretty well.  Anyone who refers to the brain as the bio-computer is probably going to geek out but be worth listening to.

8:54 So not only are there multiple intelligences, but then along comes Emotional Intelligence (listen to a cool Cranky interview about this here). I love when smart people disagree about stuff. How is Emotional Intelligence different from Social Intelligence…or is it?  EI is what’s going on with you, Social Intelligence is how you deal with the external world.

13:03 If multiple intelligences plays to strengths, can you develop your weaker intelligences? For the sake of humanity we hope so. We all have defaults but we can function in the others. What does this mean when we are managing others, especially in the tech fields?

16:47 Practically, how can you change your stripes?  Karl says we have to develop an air of humility, rather than assume our way is best. Language is a key to understanding how people work. By using the language of the other person you can activate your brain and activate the pattern.

20:29 I know we can grow our social intelligence (or I would still be  a highschool nerd). Can you develop common sense though? NOTE: he’s WAY more optimistic than I am. Here’s a question: are you a finished product or are you work in progress?

24:11 An example of developing common sense: defeat group think.  It’s all about divergent thinking vs. convergent thinking.  Even the simple act of asking a question can break a logjam and get thinking moving in a divergent direction again.

Karl’s Resources

Don't let the weasels get you down

Of course, that’s also why when I see things that aren’t so swell, it makes me crazy. Moreover when it involves my daughter it makes me even crazier. Check out my Management Issues column this month to see why she’s got a distrust of the Nice Lady in HR, even before she starts her first job.

Ahhhh yes, my daughter has her first real job…I’m torn… on the one hand she’s growing up and away from us, on the other I have my own little lab rat to test work theories on and see the new employee in her natural environment. Does that make me a bad father???

How to Create and Manage Remote Teams ( Asia/Pacific) June 26 4 AM GMT,  9:30am Mumbai, 2PM Sydney  Click here to register

How to Create and Manage Remote Teams (Europe/North America) June 26th 16:00 GMT,       10 AM Central Time US Click here to register

Managers today have direct reports or team members who are located somewhere else- another location or another country. The basics of good team management haven’t changed, but how does a manager or organization maintain peak performance and keep employees engaged when separated by miles, timezones and culture?

Join Wayne Turmel, The Cranky Middle Manager, for this 90 minute interactive workshop which includes assessment tools, worksheets and an action plan.

Course Objectives:

At the end of this program, participants will apply tools and techniques     learned in the class to assess their team’s connections in three areas: Team Relationships, Information Flow and Task Performance to reduce rework and barriers to effectiuve performance and team cohesion.

Topics include:

• What makes a great team?
• Why working virtually makes engagement and teamwork harder
• Assessing team relationships and and what to do about it immediately (low-cost tools, action steps)
• Assessing Information Flow and what to do about it
• Assessing team task Performance and what to do about it today
• Next Steps

If you are a manager with remote team members, about to become a manager or responsible for leadership development in your organization, don’t miss this program.

Take a look at some of the comments from past participants:

“The support materials, assessments, and after webinar follow up are outstanding! This was NOT a “hit and run” webinar!”  Class participant from Singapore

“The supporting research on reaching out to virtual teams was great”

“Every manager in our organization should take this program”

All participants will receive a PDF Packet of prework and course worksheets as well as a FREE half-hour coaching conversation, no matter where in the world they are!

Please note the time on your ticket is for the presenter.
]]> http://cmm.thepodcastnetwork.com/2009/05/10/webinar-workshop-how-to-create-and-manage-remote-teams/feed/ http://cmm.thepodcastnetwork.com/2009/05/09/the-cranky-middle-manager-show-190-being-strategic-with-erika-andersen/ http://cmm.thepodcastnetwork.com/2009/05/09/the-cranky-middle-manager-show-190-being-strategic-with-erika-andersen/#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 20:17:41 +0000 Wayne http://cmm.thepodcastnetwork.com/?p=829 The Cranky Middle Manager, Wayne Turmel, talks to returning guest Erika Andersen about her new book, Being Strategic, the difference between strategy and tactics, and how a Welsh king figured this out a long time ago. Also, if you manage remote teams you will not want to miss our next webinar!

Erika Andersen comes back for more- glutton for punishment isn't she?

Don’t forget to join us for our next webinar: “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams”.

If you’re in Australia/Asia/India click here to learn more and register

If you’re in Europe or North America, click here to learn more and register

Take a look at some of the comments from past participants:

“The support materials, assessments, and after webinar follow up are outstanding! This was NOT a “hit and run” webinar!”

“The supporting research on reaching out to virtual teams was great”

“Every manager in our organization should take this program”

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show. Last show we talked about Erika Andersen’s new book, “Being Strategic- Plan for Success;Out-think your competitors; Stay ahead of change”. (Listen to Erika’s first conversation with us here). Well she uses Llewellyn the Great as a starting point, why shouldn’t we? Would you want YOUR nickname on your business card?

2:43 The quote of the week is from Anatole France. Are you acting or dreaming? One will keep you mired in the tactical, brothers and sisters.

3:15 Welcome Erika back to the show. Let’s start with a simple question- what’s the difference between strategic and tactical? If you’re confused you’re not alone and there is no common definition but here’s one:  “Being strategic means to consistently focus on those core directional choices that will best move you towards your hoped-for future”.

7:27 Does strategic thinking happen at higher levels or do middle managers have a role in all this? It’s important for middle managers because it’s how you can train your bosses. It’s also important for us to look at our own careers strategically.

11:00 What do Welsh castles have to do with thinking strategically? Our dedicatee built a bunch of castles for strategic purposes and it inspired this book. She reminds us (she said this last time too, but it’s worth repeating) that we need to “pull the camera back”.

18:20 Are there warning signs that you’re looking at the tactical, rather than the strategic? If you’re hung up on the paperwork, you’re probably not paying attention to the big picture. Don’t forget, your job as manager is to help people see the strategic context for the tactical stuff they are dealing with.

21:41 You can learn to be strategic…the steps are: define the challenge, get clear about the current state, clarify your hope, look at the obstacles, think strategically how to get there, then work on the tactics. There, now go and sin no more.

Erika’s Resources:

100 Best Business Books of All Time (she’s in it!)

Her book- Being Strategic

Stephen M R Covey’s “The Speed of Trust”

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Don’t let the weasels get you down!

Check out the whole list

Kevin Eikenberry. You can get a month of his teleseminars FREE by using this link to register! Who loves you like we do?

We are holding another webinar class on “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams”. For information and to register no matter where you are in the world we make it easy:

If you are in Europe or North America, Click Here

If you are in India, Asia or Australian time zones, Click Here

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show, gang. We tell truth to power, because let’s face it, Power will never find us here. We dedicate this show to Hamurabi, king of Babylon and model for all of us to document, document, document.

3:40 our quote of the week is from Machiavelli, but having a bad reputation doesn’t make it wrong. Do you surround yourself with smart people?

4:30 Welcome back Kevin Eikenberry, author of Remarkable Leadership and a good egg. This is an on the record version of conversations we’ve had off line for a while. Why doesn’t leadership development training seem to work?  Okay, one more time… training is an event. Learning is a process.

9:00 There’s nothing necessarily wrong with your training or your trainer, it’s about linking it and using it your real world. It’s hard to show you’re now better than you were when you came in. How do we turn it into a process?

11:21 How do we turn learning into action? Kevin holds us accountable. Oh thanks, we need more of THAT. He does give me a good tip about giving yourself processing time.

14:33 Despite what they tell us in consultant school, this will never happen on an organizational basis. it starts with us.

17:30 Leadership is made up of a bunch of competencies (pick your own model at your leisure) but one big one is be a learner, and encourage learning on your team. Are you helping them apply what they learn when they learn it? Are you even sharing THIS show with your team and why the heck not?

25:00 Kevin tells us about his teleseminars. You can get the month of May for free by signing up and using the link here. or you can reach him at www.kevineikenberry.com

Kevin’s Resources

Erika Andersen’s new book ( she’s an upcoming guest!)

How the States Got Their Shapes

Don't let the weasels get you down

Author Kate Lister emerges from her teleworking hibernation long enough for this picture. She saw her shadow so it’s 6 more weeks of project work.

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show. Misery loves company, we’ll provide the love and the company, your misery is your responsibility. Today we talk Teleworking with Kate Lister, and since distance makes communication tough even when you try to do what you should, we present as proof, Menelik I, king of the Falashas, Emperor of Ethiopia and more Jewish than many Jews if separated by time and distance.

3:00 I bring you the quote of the week from Marcel Proust, which I shouldn’t have done since no one can give you wisdom, you have to get it on your own.

4:14 Today we’re talking to Kate Lister, co author of Undress for Success.  How is working from home making things easier or more difficult for managers and companies?  Well the world is changing and US companies could save over half a BILLION dollars a year if more people teleworked. How do you determine whether your job could be done at home?

6:54 Federal employees in the US are mandated now to work at home if they can…which is no big surprise, a lot of them have been phoning it in for years….. the cost of setting up a telecommuter can be $300-$2500 dollars versus the costs of keeping an office for them.

10:30 If you’re not crazy about the idea of being out of the office, here’s a question for you- Do you see your boss everyday now? Probably not.  There are real concerns though. What are the things companies and individuals need to think about. Fundamental to this is very precise metrics for success. Once you’ve set the metrics, get the heck out of their way.

14:00 Home Shopping Network learned they can increase customer satisfaction and reduce turnover by having people work from home.

15:50 Okay, if you are a people person, it’s hard to work from home. Kate is a nice person but apparently highly anti-social…. some of us need to get out of our 4 walls. MySQL is an amazing example of the entire company working remotely. I also feel better about going to Caribou Coffee just to sip coffee and stare at my laptop even though that’s what I do at home. I’m still around people.

21:40 Developing a routine is important. What works for you works for you. I need to put on my big boy clothes…. others don’t. You also need to manage the family- Kate tells a story about a mom and a tiara that will leave some serious scars on those kids.

23:48 The dark side of working from home is overworking. How do you set limits and what’s the role of the manager in helping their people set limits that make sense, even while benefitting from the extra work? And what are the legalities?

27:40 It takes planning for a company to put together a teleworking program. Security is frequently over-analyzed but it’s important….  remember, if you’re a moron at work, you’re not going to get smarter working from home.

Kate’s Resources

Her book

Her website check it out

Managing Telework by Jack Nilles

Free Agent Nation  Daniel Pink

The Future of Work- Thomas Malone

Don't let the weasels get you down!

The one and only Steve Farber makes his return visit to the show.

Don’t forget to visit www.crankymiddlemanager.com and sign up for our newsletter and www.greatwebmeetings.com to help your team use web presentations more effectively.

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the 187th episode of the show. Today we talk about the part of the job we all appreciated from our managers and seldom get to do for our folks…. mentoring and helping them become “greater than ourselves”. We dedicate this show to an amazing streak, Socrates to Plato to Aristotle to Alexander the Great and then it all comes to a screeching halt.

3:05 The quote of the week is from Edward Bulwer Lytton, godawful novelist but a smart guy. How are you inspiring your team to learn and excel???

4:00 Welcome Steve Farber back to the show. (Hear his first interview here) His new book “Greater Than Yourself” is a good excuse to have him back.  Check out the website to see how fact and fiction blend, but the deal is that coaching is not nearly enough. Can we help people be greater than we are? Why don’t we spend more time on mentoring and coaching? Our job is to help people be better at whatever they do than we are.

8:10 The system is called GTY…. which is not GTD but it’s pretty darned good on its own. The system has three tenets:

• Expand yourself
• Give yourself
• Replicate yourself

10:30 What do we have that others want to surpass? When we tell ourselves that we aren’t worthy, it’s a convenient lie to relieve us of responsibility. This whole process starts with taking stock of your resources. What do you do better than most people…and be honest.

14:40 Your ability to grow and expand your knowledge is critical to helping others. The more resources you have, the greater your competitive advantage. The purpose of expanding your knowledge is to give it away.

17:43 “Replicate yourself”, does not mean creating clones and make everyone do things the way you do. Everyone should have a GTY project and they should have one and so on and so on.

20:07 You can watch Steve’s GTY project in real time on his website, which is very cool.  The beneficiary is Tommy Spaulding.  Pat Lencioni (hear his Cranky interview here)  and Matthew Kelly (his show is here) are part of this process as well.

24:30 How is this different than traditional mentoring? Mentoring has limitations built in since it’s a “program” or “system”. It’s also more than the Golden Rule.

Don’t let the weasels get you down!!

Check out the April Carnival of Leadership here.

There are so many people out there who care about making the workplace better. The weasels are on the run!

Bruce Tulgan, looking like he’s about 12. Oh I’m getting old in a hurry.

Don’t forget about our Cranky Middle Manager book:  “125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks from the Cranky Middle Manager Show  ”

Thanks to everyone who participated in our webinar.. we’ll be offering it again in June!

Show Notes:

0:00 Welcome back to a safe haven brothers and sisters. We are going to talk about those darned kids…. so it’s only right we dedicate this to King Josiah, youngest king of Judah and nobody could tell him anything either.

2:13 The quote of the week is from Hesiod- and it’s nice to know that in 2800 years nobody’s gotten any better at understanding the next generation……Oh, and thank you for attending our webinar on  How to Create and Manage Remote Teams- we’ll be offering it again soon.

4:01 Welcome Bruce Tulgan. A lot of what we’ve heard about the new generation is that we need to be empathetic and basically treat them as strange alien creatures. According to him most of the so-called experts are just wrong, they don’t need a trophy just for showing up. How do we put this delicately, self-esteem is not this generation’s biggest problem.

8:04 If they’re driving you crazy, it’s kind of our fault and they frequently think their way is as valid as anyone else’s. They have a bit of a reality check coming. Oh and heaven help my daughter’s first boss.

9:30 What are some of the myths about these folks? One is that they’re not loyal. We have a bit of a discussion about what loyalty means. “Transactional Loyalty” sounds a bit like “Serial Monogamy” to me.  If they realize they can’t earn what they want and need they’re out of here.

13:23 Second myth- they won’t do the grunt work. They will, they just want to make an impact right away and make the world a better place. They just want to prove themselves. They won’t do it for vague promises, and they want credit for everything they do. It’s about teaching them how you win by teaching you how you keep score and set expectations.

19:12 There is a lot more conscious work involved in managing Gen Y than you’re used to. they are super high maintenance, but the rewards are worth it. Right?

21:00 The third myth- they don’t know much. They know how to get the answers you need. They’ve never known an unanswerable question. Oh and they can multitask better than you. Deal with it. Call it Multiple Focus if it makes you feel better.

23:20 We discuss “Little Emperor” syndrome. As parents we planted these land mines. Ever try to give feedback to one of these humans without crushing their souls? Don’t soft-pedal authority, don’t lie and say they’re doing better than they are, but you have to be very clear about the metrics. Don’t try sink-or-swim approaches either, they don’t do so well that way.

26:38 Who is the most effective employer of young people? Bruce uses the US Marine Corps as a model for guidance, direction, support and leadership.

Resources:

Rainmaker Thinking. Bruce has a video newsletter that’s kinda cool, check it out.

Check out my newest book: 6  Weeks to a Great Webinar

Don’t let the weasels get you down!

John Blackwell, international man of mystery

Don’t forget our webinar workshop: “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams” For more information click the links below:

For March 30th, 2009 Europe and North America click here

For March 31st, India, Asia and Australia click here

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to show 185. Today we’re talking about building trust and connections with your remote team. Our poster child is Hapargus, takes a lot of trust to trade horses for camels, especially when your peers think you’re the enemy.

3:22 Another (and final) shameless plug for our webinar on How to Create and Manage Remote Teams. Check us out, the links are above.

4:00 The quote of the week is from Cardinal De Retz. If you can’t trust yourself, how are you going to trust your team- and trust me they’re probably better at this than you are so let it go.

4:50 Welcome back John Blackwell. Okay, I apologize for the quality of the call, blame Skype and get off my back. (hear John’s other CMM interviews by clicking here and the second show here. The economy has only sped up our working remotely and virtually.Some good research here. We will be spending less than 5% of our time on the same project in the same place as the rest of our colleagues.

10:20 John and i disagree on the definition of remote and virtual team but that doesn’t make me right. In a perfect world, it’s all about incenting, inspiring and creating connections with people you don’t see very often if at all. It’s all about what he calls “trust-based workplaces”.

Trust is composed of 3 components:

1. The capacity to trust
2. The perception of competence (yours and theirs)
3. The perception of intentions

14:30 We say we trust our team, but do we manage them like we really do trust them? If you need to check in on them, you might be fundamentally insecure…… okay, so I’m fundamentally insecure. I confess. But don’t we sometimes have to check in without checking up on them?

19:20 How are companies helping build trust between team members who might not know each other as well as you know them. You’ve got to tap into social networking and other ways of sharing information. Those darned Gen Y kids do it better than most older folks.

23:20 How can we ensure that our intentions are clear and people are onboard with them? Do big companies get it or are they still preaching out of date concepts like “management by walking around” when it’s a long walk to Bangalore? Here are some of the mistakes companies make.

28:00 The obligatory Google management story but could YOU pass this test? Would you include your family on your 360 review? God forbid…..

Check out John’s research library. Lots of good stuff here.

Don’t forget our latest Cranky Book: 125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels, Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky Middle Manager Show

not to mention our latest book available on Amazon:

This is a huge step for both this show and www.greatwebmeetings.com. Please tell your friends, your colleagues and the nice lady in HR who approves your training. Here’s what we’ll learn:

How to Create and Manage Remote Teams

Managers today have direct reports or team members who are located somewhere else- another location or another country. The basics of good team management haven’t changed, but how does a manager or organization maintain peak performance and keep employees engaged when separated by miles, timezones and culture?

Join Wayne Turmel, The Cranky Middle Manager, for this 90 minute interactive workshop which includes assessment tools, worksheets and an action plan.

Course Objectives:

At the end of this program, participants will apply tools and techniques learned in the class to assess their team’s connections in three areas: Team Relationships, Information Flow and Task Performance to reduce rework and barriers to effectiuve performance and team cohesion. You’ll also develop an action plan to use free and low-cost tools into your management arsenal starting tomorrow.

Topics include:

• What makes a great team?
• Why working virtually makes engagement and teamwork harder
• Assessing team relationships and and what to do about it immediately (low-cost tools, action steps)
• Assessing Infomration Flow and what to do about it
• Assessing team task Performance and what to do about it today
• Next Steps

If you are a manager with remote team members, about to become a manager or responsible for leadership development in your organization, don’t miss this program.

Click here to register for the March 30, 2009 11 AM Eastern Time (US/Europe) webinar

Click here for March March 31st, 9:00 AM Bangalore, 2:30 PM Sydney)

All participants will receive a PDF Packet of prework and course worksheets as well as a FREE half-hour coaching conversation, no matter where in the world they are!

Thanks to the Erik Samdahl and his Productivity Blog. So many people doing good stuff to help us keep the weasels at bay.
.

Steve Zaffron, author of 3 Laws of Performance

Don’t forget our webinar “How to Create and Manage a Remote Team” we’ll be doing it twice:

March 30th For the UK and North America, click here to learn more and register

March 31st For India, Asia and Austrlia click here to learn more and register.

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show. Remember hands off is both the best way to manage AND avoid an HR writeup. This show is dedicated to Stephen of Cloyes, the brains (?) behind the Children’s Crusade. Yeah a mess, but no worse than most SAP implementations.

2:30 Don’t forget to help support the Podcast Network Pledge Drive to help keep us on the air and free. Oh, and the quote of the week is from Aristotle… if you have to have a habit, excellence is a good one to have.

3:00 Welcome to Steve Zaffron, one of the authors of The 3 Laws of Performance, Rewriting the Future of Your Organization And Your Life. Oh, those three laws are:

1. How people perform correlates to how situations occur to them
2. How a situation occurs arises in language
3. Future based language transforms how situations occur to people

9:31 Sometimes resistance to change isn’t necessarily anti-change it’s not being involved. He tells a great story about a Japanese example. You can be the shogun in your own life. Cool line and I look great in a kimono.

12:00 Even in top secret engineering projects we can change how we talk and think.

16:35 What are some of the signs that things are occurring differently to different people? Complaining is a symptom. Leading is a conversation and guess what, you’re just the person to have it.

19:20 Management controls the flow of information. Remember what they know they’ll make up. How do you manage this when we’re all working remotely????

24:48 What’s the difference between Future Based language and what normally happens. If it contains the words “we hope” it’s not going to make it. It stems from integrity and he gives us a tough definition.

28:30 Based on this, here’s the lesson. Very few performance problems come from people being bad at their jobs- it’s the human communication.

Steve’s Resources

The Vanto Group

Don't let the weasels get you down!

1) Former guest Anita Bruzzese has given me a “Premio Dardas” award… along with some other folks. You can read her blog post here.

2) Blogger and past visitor here Nick McCormick has interviewed me for the second time for his Management Tips podcast. This time it’s about managing remote teams. Check it out here

Speaking of managing remote teams, there are still plenty of seats for our webinar(s): How to Create and Manage Remote Teams. We’ll be offering it twice:

March 30th, Europe and North American time zones. Click here to learn more and register

March 31st India, Asia and Australian time zones. Click here to learn more and register

4 MORE DAYS TO REGISTER AT THE EARLY REGISTRATION RATE- SAVE $25

Don’t forget our upcoming webinar(s) “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams”. Learn more by clicking on the link below:

For North America, March 30th 9 AM Central, 14:00 GMT

For India, Asia and Australia March 31st 3:30 AM GMT

Show Notes

0:00 Our show is dedicated to Heinrick Schliemann, discoverer of the city of Troy. If you can cut through the myths, there is plenty about leadership that is eternal, just like the management guru biz. Today’s guest is a true classic in leadership studies.

3:27 how do you do what you know to be classic management in a technology world? Join our webinar workshop. Click the links beside Ms. Hasselbein’s picture.

4:21 The quote of the week is from Lao Tzu.... why do we work so hard if we’re supposed to be invisible????

5:00 Frances Hesselbein is the chairman and founding president of the Leader To Leader Institute for Nonprofit Management and a legend in leadership circles. You’ll have to listen carefully but it’s worth it, trust me. How did the institute start and what does it have to do with Drucker???

8:31 Why does the “Social Sector” hold the best hope for us to learn about leadership? Mainly it has to do with being led by purpose and a sense of mission. Amen….

12:11 Frances has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work, she tells us about that experience.

16:07 How has the study and thinking about leadership changed during her career? Because of how weird things are out there it’s more important than ever. It’s how to BE not how to DO. What does the think we need more of right now?  It’s living the mission and bring people together.

24:00 Over 27 books later and all her work with the military and she’s still vital and working. What does the Organization of the Future hold for us? Turns out the collaboration, partnerships and alliances are the key to survival. Check out the Leader to Leader Institute

30:00 This conversation really affected me. If you can’t stand the job of manager, you shouldn’t be doing it. Once you’ve made that decision, then we have to get on with it. How can we help? I want your feedback. What are we doing well, what should we be doing less of? Drop me a line, attend our webinars and tell your colleagues and friends.

Don’t let the weasels get you down!

Jon Ingham of the Strategic Human Capital blog

Join us for our webinar course: “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams”.  You’ll learn to assess and address your team’s relationships, communcation and task performance. If you’re in Europe and North America, learn more here.

If you’re in India, Asia or Australia, click here

Show Notes

0:00 No matter how you say it, welcome to the show. Today we finally tackle one of my least favorite terms, Human Capital with a very smart guy who uses it a lot, Jon Ingham. This episode is dedicated to Khosrow 1 of Persia... all the traits a manager should have….delegation, communication and the restraint to only kill the family members that really have it coming. Oh, and a shameless plug for our upcoming webinar course on How To Create and Manage a Remote Team.

4:03 The quote of the week is from my boy Michel de Montaigne . Poverty of mind…. open up your mental wallets and let us pour the smarts in, gang.

4:50 Jon doesn’t get out much if this is exciting for him but we’ll take it. Elephant in the room time: the term Human Capital makes me crazy. Why shouldn’t we hate it? Even Jon doesn’t use it in front of civilians. Basically, Human Capital is the OUTPUT people create from their work.

11:11 What’s the difference between organizations that look at human capital vs organizations that just use them as resources? HR tends to rely on best practices, HCM starts to lead organizations to more innovative solutions.

15:05 What does this all mean to us as managers? People management becomes even more critical- oh thanks a lot.

18:06 I go on a bit of a rant about how the manager’s job is getting tougher and no one seems to have it figured out. Is it easier to think differently in other countries where there isn’t an established way of doing things or is everyone flailing about equally?

25:41 Jon has his own international podcast on BlogTalk radio. Listen to Talking HR here

Other Resources

Don’t let the weasels get you down!

Click here to view the 55 minute recording

Don’t forget that on March 30th (Europe and North America) and March 31 (Australia, Asia, India) we will be holding our first Cranky Middle Manager Webinar workshop on “How to Create and Manage a Remote Team” Register before March 16th and save $25 US off the registration fee.

For Europe/North America Click Here for class info and registration

For Asia/Pacific timezones, Click Here for class info and registration

Agile is great but for those of you working in that environment…how are your managers measured? Is it simply by tasks accomplished or are “management” behaviors like team building and human connections measured as well?

I’m already hearing from ticked of Agile folks…. such a cranky breed…… maybe that’s why I like them.

Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter @greatwebmeeting

Terry Brake of TMA World joins us today. He’s the author of “Where in the World is My Team”

Join us for our first Cranky Middle Manager training webinar: “How to Create and Manage Remote Teams”  There are sessions for North America/Europe AND Asia/Pacific. Click here to learn more.

Show Notes:

0:00 Welcome to the 181st edition of the show. Today we talk about managing virtual teams and bridging gaps of all kinds with author Terence Brake. We dedicate this episode to the first, but not the last, manager who tried to lose himself in the Hotel’s watering hole: Claude Chappe.

2:45 Big announcement: The first actual training course webinar on creating and managing remote teams. This one will require budget approval but well worth paying attention to. You asked for courses that were available online, were timed for various parts of the planet and were affordable. You speak and my fingers have wings……

5:05 The quote of the week is from another Frenchman, Francois la Rochefoucauld. If people don’t trust you it doesn’t matter if you mean well. How much tougher is it when people are on the other side of the world and can’t see the cute pictures in your cubicle to know you’re a good person.

6:00 We are talking to Terry Brake, author of “Where in the World is My Team-Making a success of Your Virtual Global Workplace” You can buy it here…and probably should. I really enjoyed it.

9:00 Why is managing virtually different than managing on-site?  We need to pay attention to the environment we work in. It’s more than just “not being allowed to travel”. There are opportunities here.

The 6 Cs of managing virtual teams:

• Cooperation
• Convergence
• Coordination
• Capability
• Communication
• Cultural Intelligence

14:45 Getting everyone on the same page is critical….what are some of the practical things a manager can do to get everyone heading in the same direction? There is a leadership task here… and things need to be explicit.

17:15 Little things like sharing the pain of time zones can go a long way to building trust and respect. We also need to balance the mix of technologies. The darned French, apparently, don’t care for email.

22:00 What’s the difference between stereotype and observation when working between cultures? Why does it matter? A great story about French and Japanese managers ensues.

26:27 If you are putting together a remote team, what are the things you need to do right away to get off on the right foot? Get to know your team as people. Move slower into tasks AFTER you get to know each other.

Terry’s Resources

His blog….

Virtual Leadership blog

Uniting the Virtual Workforce

Don’t let the weasels get you down!

This is a huge step for both this show and www.greatwebmeetings.com. Please tell your friends, your colleagues and the nice lady in HR who approves your training. Here’s what we’ll learn:

How to Create and Manage Remote Teams

Managers today have direct reports or team members who are located somewhere else- another location or another country. The basics of good team management haven’t changed, but how does a manager or organization maintain peak performance and keep employees engaged when separated by miles, timezones and culture?

Join Wayne Turmel, The Cranky Middle Manager, for this 90 minute interactive workshop which includes assessment tools, worksheets and an action plan.

Course Objectives:

At the end of this program, participants will apply tools and techniques learned in the class to assess their team’s connections in three areas: Team Relationships, Information Flow and Task Performance to reduce rework and barriers to effectiuve performance and team cohesion. You’ll also develop an action plan to use free and low-cost tools into your management arsenal starting tomorrow.

Topics include:

• What makes a great team?
• Why working virtually makes engagement and teamwork harder
• Assessing team relationships and and what to do about it immediately (low-cost tools, action steps)
• Assessing Infomration Flow and what to do about it
• Assessing team task Performance and what to do about it today
• Next Steps

If you are a manager with remote team members, about to become a manager or responsible for leadership development in your organization, don’t miss this program.

Click here to register for the March 30, 2009 11 AM Eastern Time (US/Europe) webinar

Click here for March March 31st,   9:00 AM Bangalore, 2:30 PM Sydney)

All participants will receive a PDF Packet of prework and course worksheets as well as a FREE half-hour coaching conversation, no matter where in the world they are!

On Tuesday, February 24th I’ll be leading a FREE webinar: “4 Reasons speakers hate webinars- and why they need to get over it”. It will be fun. It’s cosponsored by Caryn Terradas and the fine folks at Youspeakeasy.com.

Click here to find out more

Don’t forget for your twitter geeks out there, I’m now tweeting at @greatwebmeeting!

Marshall Goldsmith makes his 3rd appearance on the show.

Don’t forget to register for our FREE Webinar” Managing Remote Teams, Using Webmeetings to Keep Them Engaged.

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 Today we mark Marshall Goldsmith’s third appearance on the show to talk about succession, which brings us to our dedication- Philip V of Spain. When your taking the new job sparks the Spanish War of Succession, you know someone didn’t plan very well.

2:43 Lots of learning opportunities coming  up. Of course there’s our FREE webinar, but starting next show you’ll hear about “How To Create and Manage a Remote Team”- a webinar course on, well, the tools and techniques necessary to manage a remote team. Watch this site for details or drop me a line to learn more. And yes, there will be an Asia/Pacific-friendly schedule.

4:27 The quote of the week is from Lord Chesterfield, although it could as easily be David Allen.

5:20 Welcome Marshall Goldsmith back to the show. (You can hear his other interviews here and here). Why should managers who are just trying to keep their jobs think about succession planning? It’s important for you AND your team. We first talk about those about to retire. There are 3 thigns you need to think about:

• Running the business
• Choosing your successor
• What are you going to do with the rest of your life?

12:00 Marshall talks about the mistakes people make when they retire. Not as glamorous as it sounds, to be sure.

16:11 What about those of us not retiring? Don’t leave til you have somewhere to go.  The best boss you ever had took time to talk about your career and learn about you. Why aren’t we doing that for our teams? The one-on-one is crucial. Marshall gives us a very specific recipe for a successful coaching conversation.

1. Where are we going? (as a business)
2. Where are YOU going? (the other person)
3. As a manager, here’s what I see you doing well. “What do YOU think you’re doing well?”
4. Suggestions for improvement. Ask them:  “If you were your coach, what suggestions would you have for you?”
5. How can I, as your manager, help?
6. What suggestions might you have for me as your manager?

You can find out more at the Marshall Goldsmith Library

23:00 What is the role of the mentee in all of this? It’s not easy being the chosen one.

25:20 Strong medicine alert: if you don’t promote yourself no one will do it for you.  Deal with it.

Marshall’s Resources:

Frances Hesselbein (who just happens to be his co-author on The Organization of the Future 2 and I’m still on her to be on the show).

Jim Kouzes (hear our 2 conversations with Jim here and here)

www.realclearmarkets.com

Don’t let the weasels get you down!

On March 20th, 2009 I will be hosting a webinar/training event called “6 Weeks to a Great Webinar”. In this session you’ll learn:

• What it takes to put on a great marketing webinar
• The roles and responsibilities
• The most common mistakes webinar presenters make
• Online presentation tips
• How to use the workbook’s tools, templates and checklists to lower your blood pressure

Additionally, each attendee will receive a PDF copy of my new workbook, “6 Weeks to a Great Webinar- Generate Leads and Tell Your Story to the World”.

Registration is $99, ($78 if you’re one of the lucky ones who already possess the book) and you can get more information here: www.6weekswebinar.eventbrite.com

The book will be available on Amazon in hard copy in about 3 weeks, and you can buy a PDF copy at the Cranky Middle Manager Store for $29.

Don’t forget the FREE Cranky Middle Manager webinar: Managing Remote Teams- Using Webmeetings to Keep Them Engaged still time to register but we’re filling up fast.

about Agile software development and managing in an Agile environment. Oh, and we look at Gaius Marius who helped the Roman army reorganize and talk about an upcoming webinar for managers with remote teams.

Don’t forget that we have an upcoming FREE webinar: “Managing Remote Teams- Using Webmeetings To Keep Them  Engaged”. click here for more details.

If you’re interested in the more in-depth version, at a reasonable price, drop me a line and get more details before anyone else.

Chris Sims and friends

Don't let the weasels get you down

Carmen Van Kerckhove, president of diversity education firm New Demographic, is launching a one-time-only, 5-part tele-course starting on February 5th called…

Diversity Career Success:
How to Take Your Organization From Culturally Clueless to Diversity Dynamo (and Skyrocket Your Own Career While You’re At It)

It’s designed to help professionals who are in charge of diversity at their organizations bring their skills to the next level and quickly position themselves as a driving force to help their organizations thrive and excel in an increasingly diverse world.

The first 36 people who register will get a 4-CD set of interviews Carmen has conducted with some of the nation’s top experts on race and diversity. The 4-CD set is worth $197, but you would get it as a free gift! Carmen will even personalize it for you.

Learn more and reserve your spot now! Click Here

BRIEF BIO OF CARMEN

Carmen Van Kerckhove, president of the diversity education firm New Demographic, specializes in working with corporations to facilitate relaxed, authentic, and productive conversations about race. She has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and has visited as a guest lecturer at Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, among many other colleges and universities across the country.

“Managers must start with their own thinking in order to change the thinking of their people and get new behavior” (David Rock, “Quiet Leadership”).

Now that we’re connected via some amazing technology we need to leverage that ability to be in communication by improving our competencies in the area of relating or, as Bob Lauridsen says, interacting.  There is a great quote by Theodore Zeldin that speaks to this that goes,  “When will the way we relate to each other catch up with developments in technology?  For too long now we’ve lived with the mistaken notion that technology will solve our productivity problems.  People get things done via coordination of action, not technology.  Hence the focus on improving our interactions.

Here’s what Bob told me:
“My promise is that those who actively get involved will experience what I call transformation.  They will be thinking about their thinking and observing their observations. Participants will have a new perspective or frame of reference, literally a new place to look from regarding their work.   And, they’ll have proven tools to make this perspective work in their demanding role of producer.  Anything less than this is quite frankly a waste of time.  Simply adding the du jour ’silver bullet of the month’ won’t get us there.”

Join me in taking this 90 Day Leadership Challenge.

Jeffrey Krames takes us “Inside Drucker’s Brain”.  This takes you inside mine:

Show Notes

0:00 This is maybe the most important show we’ve done in ages. Why? Because you have to know where you came from in order to understand why things are what they are. Whether you’re a standup comic or a management geek. That’s why this show is dedicated to Ibn Abddel-Hakem. How did your company get where it is????

3:46 Join us for a free Cranky Middle Manager Webinar- “Managing Virtual Teams- Using Webmeetings to Keep Them Engaged” you’ll find the time well spent.

4:24 The quote of the week, of course, is from Peter Drucker. (It helps to imagine it said with a thick Austrian accent).

5:00 Management wouldn’t be management without Peter Drucker. Management as a business discipline didn’t exist until after the Second World War. The first modern management  book: The Concept of the Corporation…. save yourself the trouble….

8:00 The building of the pyramids was the greatest management feat ever- so what do  you mean management didn’t exist.? There was no literature on it until Drucker started to put it together. HP and GE are just two companies that really used his work to put their strategy together, but not at first. No one wanted to talk about management.

12:08 What was it about Drucker’s work that was so new? Really, it was the very idea of “management strategy”….but strategy was for war and politics. Most of what we think of as “strategic management” or “management by objectives” is pure Drucker. Remind me to circle back with Jeffrey and find out how HIS review went…. Jack Welch, Bill Gates and Andy Grove are all devotees.

16:23 The notion that “knowledge workers” are different than assembly line workers shouldn’t have been a surprise, but Drucker was the first to use the term. The idea that we can learn from education rather than apprenticeship was (believe it or not) radical.

19:43 Austrian accent aside, his work was really focused on the people side of business, as opposed to Skinner, Mayo and  and their ilk. He understood the decentralized workforce and knew if you empower people, they will do a better job.

22:30 Drucker was no fan of computers (The computer is a moron) but he understood and came to embrace IT….heavy on the “I”, light on the “T”. He was all about getting the right information into the hands of managers so they can make good decisions.

26:00 Here’s what managers need to know… Drucker was no fan of academic business learning, but he loved training and personal development. When you realize how much we take for granted that he was the first to say, it’s amazing. He was ahead of Marcus Buckingham and “Strengths” by about 30 years.

32:00 How often do I tell you to go out and buy a book? Well Inside Drucker’s Brain is one, the other is from Todd and Jack at 800 CEO Read’s “100 Best Business Books of All Time”. (Hear their interview here) You can click on the link and buy them:

You can read more in Jeffrey’s Blog as well.

Don’t let the weasels get you down!!!!

Future CMM guest Bob Laurisden is hosting a series of teleconferences called “The 90-Day Leadership Challenge… how to thrive in the downturn by producing on your commitments while simultaneously building a high-performance, accountability culture”. Read all about it here.

Not only is this a series of 6 calls at a reasonable price compared to going to a workshop, but CMM listeners and readers will receive a FREE copy of Bob’s book, “Boss Talk” .  Tell them the Cranky Middle Manager sent you……

Dave Crenshaw- how does someone who does everything he does decry multitasking?????

Don’t forget, if you want tools, templates and advice to run better meetings, order the ebook “Meet Like You Mean It- The Cranky Middle Manager’s Guide to Productive and Painless Meetings”. Only $7.99

Also there’s a FREE Cranky Middle Manager Webinar on February 26th, 2009 at 1 PM Eastern Time (US), brought to you in cooperation with Dimdim. Register here and get a free copy of my white paper “Team Communication and Training in the Workplace Diaspora”.

Show Notes-

0:00 Welcome to the show. This episode is dedicated to Macarius of Egypt. We’re not suggesting you become a hermit, but he was on to something. Also, when you can manage hermits you’ll understand how many middle managers feel.

3:52 The quote of the week is from Michael Farraday who suggests that the ability to concentrate is the first of many things a business person (or manager!) needs to be successful.

4:30 Welcome Dave Crenshaw to the show. Multitasking is in many of our job descriptions, so what’s the problem with multitasking? It doesn’t exist. I’ll let Dave explain…… we’re “switch tasking”.

9:15 You have to differentiate between “switch tasking” and “background tasking”. You can do multiple things at the same time if you are doing something mindless or mundane.

11:10 What is in our control? Technology is a great place to start and we’re starting with email…. check at a set time. He’s serious, stop laughing.

15:50 How do you handle interruptions???? That “quick question” she has can kill your day… plan one on one time…. don’t tell me you don’t have the time cause you wind up spending it anyway? Keeping a running list and training your people to do the same will save your sanity.

20:45 How do you distinguish between important and urgent? We blaspheme Stephen Covey’s work… i love doing that on this show…. priority is a matter of time, not definition.

23:00 Set up filters and get control of your life….which is great if you are functionally computer literate. I’m an idiot…..

27:00 Dave’s Resources:

Check out the Multitasking Assessment if you dare. Click here to take the assessment

Check out The Advenutes of Johnny Bunko by Dan Pink

Don’t let the weasels get you down!

You are invited to participate in an online survey on the workplace and negotiation.
This study is being supervised by Dr. Alice Stuhlmacher of DePaul University. They are looking for people to complete the survey who are age 18 or older, currently employed, and fluent in English.

If you have any questions, you may e-mail Dr. Stuhlmacher at astuhlma@depaul.edu.

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Steve Kerr, today’s guest

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show. Today we have a lot to cover, starting with our dedication to Cadmus- the founder of Thebes and kind of the poster child for trying to manage effectively, do what your told and still get bit in the rear by unintended consequences.

4:00 Lots of cool stuff going on with the show in the next little while. Check out our Cranky Middle Manager YouTube video- 71/2 Minutes to Better Email. Also, watch this blogsite for upcoming webinars, training and other learning events. The nice lady in HR has slashed your budget, let me help you find what you’re looking for.

5:22 The quote of the week is from Herman Melville, who was a lot like my mother- good work is its own reward and we sleep the sleep of the just. Steve Kerr might disagree.

6:07 Welcome Steve Kerr. He’s senior advisor on learning for Goldman Sachs and former CLO at GE so our careers have crossed even if we’ve never met.  We talked about him and his book in Episode 170 with the boys from 800 CEO READ. Why are reward systems so tough to design? First of all, we’re not taught to do it very well.

9:15 Rewards are the wrong thing to start with. First is what are you trying to achieve, then comes how you’re going to measure it, THEN figure out how to reward it. My own painful experience is that rewards and behavior aren’t always aligned.

11:10 Some dysfunctional behaviors include rewarding short term results if you’re looking for a long term solution. People will figure out how to game any system.

12:40 The components of a recognition system:

• The reward must be available
• People must be eligible (I go on a rant about President’s Club and letting the sales weasels have all the fun)
• Rewards should be scarce
• They should be visible
• They should be timely
• The should be reversible- they can be taken away

15:45 Should everyone know what everyone gets for a bonus? Jack Welch certainly thought so… Most people thing everyone is doing better than they are.

17:19 Jack Welch is identified as maybe the manager of the century, and I’m ambivalent. What did he do well and not so well? (Full disclosure, I taught at GE;s Crotonville facility as part of my old dreaded day job). What did their reward systems encourage and what were the downsides? We also discuss the GE policy of mandating the firing of the bottom 10% of the staff each year which has horrified me for years.

22:50 Rewards should be timely…. and this conflicts with the annual review. Yes, another discussion about the horrors of annual performance reviews. We also talk about reversibility of rewards- they should be able to be taken away

26:40 How does Steve approach learning at Goldman Sachs, a financial services firm dealing with chaos? Companies frequently slash training budgets when things get tight.

29:00 Are rewards universal? At GE did the same thing work in China as in the US? Middle managers can give great input here.

Steve’s resources:

Support the TPNPledge Drive

Don’t let the weasels get you down!

• Did you like it? Why or why not?
• Would you like to see more?
• What topics should I cover?
• If I did a whole bunch of these would anyone pay for them?

Post to the blog or drop me a line and let me know!

Look for the full Cranky Learning Center with special deals on webinars, live events and elearning coming soon!

If you enjoy the video and want me to come speak to your organization on this or other topics, check out the Speaking Section on Crankymiddlemanager.com !

Until then, here’s an event you’ll want to know about. If your eyes roll when you hear “diversity” it means two things. 1) odds are you’re a white guy 2) your company hasn’t been doing things right, because this stuff matters.

Deep down inside, you know there’s a better way to “do” diversity in 2009. You know the old approach is broken. You know that if your organization truly wants to recruit and retain top talent of color, it needs to overhaul the way it thinks about race and diversity.

But exactly which changes should your organization make? And what can you do personally to help?

Good news: Carmen Van Kerckhove, president of diversity education firm New Demographic, will share with you exactly what you need to know on this FREE CALL happening on Wednesday, January 21, 2009…

“The 3 Biggest Diversity Blunders
Your Organization Could Be Making Right Now (And How to Avoid Them)”

Reserve your line for this FREE teleseminar now!

On this 60-minute call, you’ll learn:

* Why your colleagues are right to scoff at diversity training — it actually doesn’t work! I’ll show you why not, and let you know what does work instead.
* Why your organization’s executives should never proclaim that they’re colorblind and that they “just don’t notice race,” unless they want to offend a lot of their employees.
* The one thing your organization must avoid at all costs unless you wants its diversity efforts to fail spectacularly.

This free call is chock-full of specific information that will show you exactly why your organization hasn’t become the leader in diversity it wants to be. Then, Carmen will give you the resources to change that around so that you can help your organization gain a crucial competitive edge by recruiting and retaining top diverse talent.

Just Click this link and join up. Share it with your friends, colleagues or the nice lady (or guy, if you had a decent diversity program you’d know that, of course).

Look for more event announcements like this, and the launch of the Cranky Middle Manager Learning Center soon.

Rom Brafman, probably wondering what your’e doing listening to the likes of me- a questionable decision but one for which I am truly grateful.

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to show 175. Today we’re talking to Rom Brafman about SWAY- The Irresistable Pull of Irrational Behavior. This is truly the curse of middle managers everywhere and answers a lot of questions. Plus, it fits my slightly cynical-but-romantic view of the world. So does Mozi (or Mo Tzu), to whom this show is dedicated… and I think it’s a rational choice but after this conversation who knows?

2:45 The quote of the week is from William Gladstone and it’s all about not confusing conviction with being right… arguing doesn’t make you right… unless you’re my wife then OF COURSE I’m wrong…… oh and don’t forget to visit www.crankymiddlemanager.com or support the TPN Pledge Drive

4:24 Welcome Rom Brafman, who with his brother Ori wrote SWAY. Yes, Darwin was an optimist, but what does that mean to managers? It’s critical to understand why we make the decisions we do. There are 4 traps that people fall into:

1. Loss Aversion
2. The Diagnosis Bias
3. Commitment
4. Group Dynamics

7:00 Why is “Loss Aversion” irrational?  We overreact to losses- and make poor decisions. A Harvard experiment involving $20 is a great example. This is also why marketing budgets get slashed when we need them most.

13:00 The “Diagnosis Bias” is maybe the most chilling thing in the book. What does the NBA draft have to do with hiring managers in Dubai? Only everything….. Hiring someone after one interview is completely irrational, as are most of the ways we identify contenders. Listen and blush.

18:25 Maybe I’m just anti-social but I don’t have much faith in group dynamics. The Russians sure don’t. Dissent is really hard but it’s a manager’s job to allow and encourage it.

25:25 To get the group going, call on the person who will hate your idea most…. talk about irrational but it makes sense. You have to listen to your inner voice. If you feel like something’s wrong- you probably are.

30:00 Rom’s resources:

Don’t let the weasels get you down!

Of course, you could be really nice and order the Cranky MIddle Manager Book, “125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky  Middle Manager”

Russ Edelman, nice guy

Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show. Thanks to all of you nice people who helped rebuild our archives. We have successfully dug up every past episode! Too bad we couldn’t find a single leader form the past on Google using “nice” and “leadership” as key words. Don’t despair. Maybe nice people CAN get the top job, we just usually don’t want to do what it takes to achieve it.

3:17 Quotes with the word “nice” are a scarcity, but gracious will work in a pinch. Are you a continent or an island? Francis Bacon wants to know….

4:35 Welcome Russ Edelman. Guys does not necessarily mean men.  Therapy for Wayne- being a “nice guy” is not always a compliment. On the positive side, Nice is positive, caring, ethical… on the downside it can mean you’re a doormat.

7:40 You have to define boundaries if you’re not going to get walked on…. of course you can do it nicely. And you can learn from the jerks. Really.

10:39 We want to work for nice people…do we want to vote for them too???  Russ tells a great story about the culture at Price Waterhouse Coopers.

12:11 You need to be self aware- and there are three things that make nice people unsuccessful:

Self delusion, Self Denial, Pattern UN-recognition

16:30 You have to actually DO things in order to change your behavior. Defining boundaries, for example.

21:04 Are you nice or just conflict averse? Can you learn to step up and be assertive?

25:23 Russ’ resources:

Made to Stick by the Heath Brothers

Blue Ocean Strategy (newsflash, we’re working on getting the author but it is a tortuous path)

Hey, i’m on Twitter now…. if you care to follow me I’m at www.twitter.com/greatwebmeeting

Don't let the weasels get you down!

Now I have to figure out how to use the darned thing.

The Johari Window
Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show and kiss 2008 and some of my hair goodbye. Today we talk about the Johari Window and leading change. Some changes are more welcome than others to be sure. We dedicate the show to Father Time.

By the way…if you have episodes 2, 39, 46,59, 86,109,112, 116,118 or 121 on your hard drive somewhere i’m looking for copies. Don’t forget to support the show by either buying something at our Store or contributing to the TPN Pledge Drive.

4:45 The quote of the week is from Hector Berlioz and remember gang, what doesn’t kill you will still leave you with a nasty limp and a good story.

5:48 Today we are talking change and the Johari Window. What the heck is a Johari window and why do we care?

Here you go… we promised

12:00 Rick walks us through a practical application we can all relate to. There’s a reorg coming…buckle up.

16:45 Once you know a change is coming you use Kurt Lewin’s model.. unfreeze, change, freeze. Amazing how many people forget the freeze part.

24:21 Filling in your blind spot is where it all falls apart. I pass the test and if I can get it, then you all can too.

27:31 You can do an online assessment using the Johari Window, check it out here.

Rick’s Resources

Ram Charan’s “Leaders at all levels”

Sun Tzu’s Art of War

My intrepid listeners were able to provide me 164 of the shows from past years. We’re only missing a few. If you have the following shows on your computer or ipod somewhere, can you let me know and we’ll make arrangements for me to get them from you…. here are the shows i’m missing….and some of them were among my favorites…..

Show 2- Telecommuting

Show 39 Managing in India with Naveen Lakkur

Show 46 Engaging Employees- George Reavis

Show 59 Emotional Intelligence with Dr. Ben Palmer

show 86 What Good Training Looks Like- Steve Farber

show 109 Kiss Theory Goodbye… Bob Prosen

show 111 3 Signs of a Miserable Job, Patrick Lencioni

show 112 Leadership Around the World  Jim Kouzes (the second show)

show 113 special productivity tools edition

show 116 The Personal MBA Josh Kaufmann

show 118 We are Smarter Than Me… Barry Libert

show 121 Working Undercover Alex Frankel

show 122  Webmeetings with D D Ganguly

If you have any of these recorded, please drop me a line wayne@crankymiddlemanager.com and let me know….. THANKS. There’s a new show on the way I promise……

Huge thanks to STEVE (who had 112 shows proving he had more hard drive space than good sense) Matt, Carlos and Chris for saving my tail! A thousand blessings on your homes and camels.

Whatever you believe, whatever this time of year means to you (even if it’s just a couple of days down time and a chance to stretch out of your fetal position), the Turmels wish you all the best and here’s to 2009 being weasel free!

Scott Halford, author of “Be a Shortcut- The Secret Fast Track to Business Success”

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to our 172nd show. Today we’re talking “being a shortcut”…becoming the kind of person people want to have around because you can get things done. We dedicate the show to Themistocles.... nothing says you know your stuff like getting hired by the competition… although it’s a bit tacky in wartime.

3:02 The quote of the week is from William Hazlitt once again- don’t undervalue yourself or people will agree with you. If you like quotes, check out “125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky Middle Manager Show”

4:17 Welcome Scott Halford, of CompleteIntelligence.com and Beashortcut.com to talk about, well, becoming a shortcut. This is all about you and your career today so listen up. These are what old folks like to call “parlous times” and if you become what we in Chicago like to call “the guy” it’s great for your career. Shortcut is NOT a bad thing.

9:02 Are you a shortcut or a bottleneck? It’s really about influence.Think of someone you go to for a specific reason, and they know it will get taken care of with no drama, on time and correctly. That could be you.

12:42 Three things make people utilize a shortcut- time, talent or desire. Then there’s  one more thing…do you have the emotional intelligence to complete the equation?

15:32 How do you make it known that you could be a shortcut for people without being seen as grandstanding or showing off?

21:47 Some of us make a shortcut out of helping connect other people and knowing where to go for what. John Naisbitt wrote about this in Megatrends. Your network is incredibly powerful if you utilize it. Of course, picking up dog poop is useful too.

25:38 One of Scott’s resources is Mark Sanborn

Also, there’s Barry Schwartz on the Paradox of Choice. Watch him speak about it here.

Don’t forget, if your company uses web meetings or is thinking about using webinars more, visit us at www.greatwebmeetings.com.

Don't let the weasels get you         down

Wally Bock, Dinosaur Egg Stomper

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show folks.. Tough times call for tough managers and that’s why we’re here.  Yes, it’s layoff season…first they came for the hourly folks..then the sales weasels….then there was no one left to help us…such is the lot of middle management. This episode is dedicated to Henry Hudson, maybe the worst captain to ever also be a famous explorer. Oh, and for pure schadenfreude, try A Brief History of Mutiny. I guarantee you’ll feel better about yourself.

3:12 The quote of the week is from Horace... dying of natural causes was unique among famous Romans- the man new from survival.

Don’t forget to support the show by stopping by the CMM Store or supporting the TPN Pledge drive and help keep us on the air!

4:20 Welcome Wally Bock back to the show (hear his first visit with us here….) Wally knows his stuff, as evidenced by his blog where you can get his report on Managing in a Downturn which you can download here. Why is this downturn different than most? Because when you lay people off you’re getting rid of the people who know stuff. People are not interchangeable anymore, if they ever were. And it’s all about cash.

10:33 The idea of people as costs is outdated. We’re not an assembly line world any more. And we usually misjudge how many people we should have let go in the first place. So now you have fewer  people AND they’re not working at top form because of survivor guilt, fear and stress.

14:26 Wally has no sympathy for leaders who aren’t willing to take the same hit as the workers, as he put in this blog post. He talks about the Automakers who came to Congress to beg for money as leading examples.

17:26 Wally looked at companies that have never laid people off and talks about some of the possibilities- things like reassigning, work sharing and (gasp) starting the sacrifice at the top.

20:20 As managers, how do you manage the news and process of layoffs and other bad news. This is why they call us MIDDLE managers, kids. Don’t keep secrets if possible. Let them know what you know.Rumor will kill you.

26:48 Now it’s Monday morning and it’s time to get back to work with whoever’s left. Survivor guilt is normal and completely unproductive. You need to examine the work that needs to be done and find ways to reassign the work. Get your team involved. Morale and productivity are linked.

31:37 You probably have your own survivor guilt but your job, long as you have it, is to be the manager. That’s why we make the moderate bucks. Suck it  up, gang.

33:27 Don’t forget to request his report on Managing in a Downturn and a bunch of our guests have contributed.

So many great people out there and I’ll do my darnedest to turn you on to the ones that matter!

Couple of quick announcements: The Cranky Middle Manager Meetup will be Monday, December 15th at Shoeless Joe’s Sports Bar in Rosemont, IL at 7 PM. Listeners and past guests from the Chicago area are invited!

The first Cranky Middle Manager co-branded training event is December 15 and 16. “Management 2.0: Becoming the kind of leader you’d follow” is a coproduction of CMM and The Technical Management Institute. Click here for more details. Or drop me an email and I’ll give you all the details.

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome Jack and Todd from 800 Ceo Read I love this show, we’ve done it 3 times now and I get to geek out on books.  Today’s “death is not an option” question: Which is worse, not having a share of the company you work for or having stock in it?

2:22 The quote of the week is from Maxim Gorky. Books are just books….. but they’re kinda cool, right?

3:24 Todd and Jack tell us their faves. Todd goes first cause he’s the  newbie.

Tribes by Seth Godin Yes, I know I kid Seth but i’m actually going to try and get him on the show this year, if only to kick his ass for Purple Cow and longtime listeners know why.

The Breakthrough Imperative It ain’t an airplane read

7:13 Their blog has the books of the year, and Jack’s specialty is Biography.

The Orange Code- How ING Direct Succeeded in Being a Rebel With a Cause.

The “Inside ____ Brain” series from Portfolio

9:13 It keeps coming back, but Purpose from Nikos Mourkogiannis may be the best book I’ve read since I started the show. It’s also one of the best interviews and it changed my life and career. Listen to the interview here. Hard to believe it’s almost 100 shows ago!

And of course Made to Stick by the Heath Brothers over The Tipping Point

12:03 Was it a great year for books? Not really…. Strengths Finder 2.0 continues to sell as well as Now Discover Your Strengths still sells insane numbers of books.

The 4 Hour Workweek was a monster too.  We learn a bit about how publishers work.

17:19 Lesser known books are shining a bit, like High Altitude Leadership. We spoke to Don (not Dan, sorry) Schmincke. You can hear that interview here. Another little book was The Adventures of Johnny Bunko by Dan Pink.

22:20 We go into a big discussion on Inside Drucker’s Brain… by Jeffrey Krames. This is the one I’m ordering soon as I’m done here. Todd really digs the “Memo to the CEO Series”. PREVIEW: Steve Kerr’s Reward Systems is coming up in about 2-3 shows.

25:20 Jack put his credibility on the line to say something nice about 125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky Middle Manager Show. (the link goes to my website….. i’m allowed). But I can bet it won’t be in their list of the 100 Best Business Books of All Time, coming out February 4th.

Check out the archives and visit Crankymiddlemanager.com and subscribe to the newsletter.

Don't let the weasels get you down!

Support the Podcast Network, click here to pledge

Nick Jefferson    And don’t forget our latest book!

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to The Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today we’re talking 360 degree feedback, why some people love it, why some hate it and why it matters. We’re talking to Nick Jefferson of Couraud.com in the UK. We dedicate this episode to King John of England who didn’t really understand the whole idea of feedback and could have used a visit from the nice lady in HR.

3:30 Our quote of the week is from Socrates: your reputation matters, and it’s like a fire, easy to build, but once it’s extinguished…. well you know the drill.

4:30 Okay 360 feedback is something that is badly done most of the time but is valuable when it is done correctly. He did a cool experiment by asking for 360 feedback on the three party leaders in the UK. You can get the full report here along with a sample of a good 360. What is 360, why does it matter and why should you need to get drunk and sing karaoke before you get honest feedback?

8:45 Feedback is most useful when you actually do something about your weaknesses-  and a cool new thing called Johari Window. I love new stuff.

10:30 Where did the idea of getting feedback on politicians come from and what did he find out? He used Jack Welch’s 6 Traits of Leadership as a base. Download the reports from us and learn more.

16:45 Why is it that when you’re out of power for a while you tend to surround yourself by more passionate, visionary people? What does that mean for people who’ve been in the job for a while and what does it mean for David Cameron and the Tories?

20:11 What are the things that a company needs to do to ensure a good, positive 360? Keep it simple. We don’t want to pick on HR folks….but it’s so darned easy. It’s about performance, not personality. “Stop, Start, Continue” is a great format.

John Ingham’s Strategic Human Capital blog

Dan O’Shea at Couraud’s blog

Life’s a Pitch

Don’t let the weasels get you down!

Help keep Cranky Middle Manager free to listen and on the air! Please help The Podcast Network Pledge Drive or go to the Cranky Middle Manager Store.

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the 168th episode. Today we talk to Joel Spolsky as well as dedicate this show to Cyrus the Great of Persia, who gave us the cool job title Satrap. Beats Middle Manager doesn’t it (even if that’s basically what it is)?

A couple of quick announcements:

• Don’t forget the TPN Pledge Drive. If you haven’t heard the explanation, you can listen here.
• We are doing the pilot test of our new training program “Management 2.0: Become the kind of leader you’d follow” on December 15 and 16 in Chicago. Click here for more details.

3:34 The quote of the week is from that barrel of laughs Albert Camus who said that all great ideas have ridiculous beginnings… everyone who works at a startup, especially the founders, know that’s true.

4:45 Welcome Joel Spolsky of Joel on Software and about a dozen other things, including Fog Creek Software.  He has finally come to the conclusion that managers are important, but it came slowly.  he prefers management to be administration and not authority (and the word is connote.) His own management style was formed between the Israeli army and Microsoft.

9:45 His management style was formed in the Israeli Army and by Microsoft. The military is NO help whatsoever when managing software geeks. Still, running through a minefield while shooting is a metaphor we won’t dwell on.

15:50 A couple of columns ago, Joel wrote that he finally has come to conclude he needs managers... blame Fast Company for that (read the article here). Still, what kind of management is he looking to create? How is Seth Godin to blame and what is a Purple Cow?

20:00 Even when senior management has an open door policy, people want someone a bit lower to be the mediator. Joel tells the story of what happened at Fog Creek.

24:45 “Career Path” is a strange thing at software companies because being a manager and being a great programmer aren’t the same thing. How do you increase pay and rewards without making people managers who shouldn’t be managers? Listen to Joel squirm while explaining not all programmers have great people skills…. just say it, Joel, we’ve been saying it for years on this show. And by the way, I’m not crazy about the term “wetware”.

28:28 What does Joel read? Pretty much everything…

Seth Godin’s blog (with or without a purple cow).

Read everything and become “literarily promiscuous” (copyright pending on the term, thank you)

Don’t forget to join us at www.crankymiddlemanager.com and get our newsletter!

Don’t let the weasels get you down!

I don’t want to be melodramatic or manipulative, and I’m embarrassed to have to share this with you. We are trying to find ways to keep the show going, but if TPN goes away before we restructure the show’s business model, this podcast will go with it. Please listen and see how you can help keep TPN and this program going.

The Podcast Network Pledge Drive will allow you to financially support the show in ways big and small. Please consider  a small donation in exchange for any way we’ve made your worklife better and the weasels at bay. Please mention you’re a CMM listener when you donate.

http://tpn.thepodcastnetwork.com/pledge

Thank you,

Wayne

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome wherever you are in the world to the wonderful world of being overhead expenses. Today we talk about integrity and (although it’s a corny word) honor. Managers live and die by their word. There was a time that was literally true so we  dedicate this show to Watanabe Kazan. Sepuku might be extreme but nothing says, ” I really mean it” than being willing to die rather than be embarrassed.

A couple of quick announcements:

1. There will be a Cranky Middle Manager Meetup at Shoeless Joe’s Sports Bar in Rosemont (near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport) on Monday, December 15th at 7:30 PM. Drop on by and say hello to other listeners and past guests from the Chicago area. I’ll also have copies of 125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels if you’re interested…
2. The pilot for our new training program: Management 2.0- Becoming the leader you want to follow will be held Monday and Tuesday, December 15 and 16th. If you’d like to participate in the pilot and help us perfect it, you can attend for less than half price ($450 for 2 full days). Get more information here and register online. We need a few more people…..thanks to Dennis and Adam for being first in line.

3:25 Today’s quote is from the Roman poet Ovid: when integrity costs us something to keep THEN it’s valuable….remember that when you’re walking through the office with all your stuff in a cardboard box.

5:30 Welcome Tony Simons, author of The Integrity Dividend,  Leading by the Power of Your Word. Turns out there are bottom-line results you can quantify.

8:34 Integrity is important but what does it mean? Are you consistent and aligned with accepted moral values? Are you seamless? Do people know who’s coming through the door on any given day?

12:00 How is the integrity culture in your organization? How can you rebuild it once it’s gone? It’s slow to build and quick to drop. What about middle managers when you’re representing yourself AND the organization over whom they don’t have direct control?

19:00 How does a manager walk the line between themselves and the organization? You have to ask the hard questions of YOUR manager. Don’t be afraid to surface concerns at the very beginning.

25:00 We get ourselves in trouble by making promises that aren’t ours to make. What are you actually able to say with confidence? A great story about overpromising we can all relate to.

Resources

Integrity Dividend

Transparency  Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman and others

Good to Great- Jim Collins

Ten Thousand Horses

Recently two listeners shared their stories with me and I’ve documented it in a new white paper (doesn’t that sound arrogant? How about big-ass article?) called “Training and Team Communication in the Workplace Diaspora”. Basically it’s about keeping your team motivated and intact when you can’t always get together.

You can download it for free here. Find all kinds of free articles and cool stuff at www.crankymiddlemanger.com/freestuff.

While you’re there, check out our store including my newest book, 125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky Middle Manager Show

Let me know what you think of it.

Don Schmincke, author of High Altitude Leadership

And don’t forget our new book:

Show Notes:

0:00 Welcome to the 166th episode of the show. Today we’re talking about scaling the heights of more than the org chart. Don Schmincke is co-author of an exciting book, High Altitude Leadership- What the World’s Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us About Success and the brains behind the SAGA Leadership Institute. We also talk about the mountaineer and physics genius Jean Buridan and the genius behind the Theory of Impetus and Buridan’s Ass… remember if you don’t write it down, it’s your …….

2:24 Our quote of the week is from Victor Hugo- anything truly mountainous has a “sacred horror” to it.

2 Quick Announcements:

1) The first Cranky Middle Manager Course is in pilot stages and will be held December 15 and 16. Read more about it here or drop me a line.

2) Since a bunch of us will be together on December 15th, we’re thinking of holding a meetup at Shoeless Joe’s Sports Bar near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Want to attend? Drop me a line for more details... local listeners and guests will get together to meet and just hoist a frosty beverage together. It’ll be fun!

5:09 Today we’re talking mountains. How did a consultant meet a mountain climber and what did they learn from each other? By the way, co-author Chris Warner is a very cool guy in his own right. I’m not usually a big fan of drawing equations between sports and the real world we all face, but this is frickin’ amazing!.

9:49 He didn’t discover new principles, but he did discover leadership DANGERS that can create havoc at best, and violent plummeting death at worst. This is no time to flip through a book. The death-to- summit ratio on K2 is 1 to 7… don’t whine about your job ever again.

12:32 The first danger is Fear. Watching your guide drop 20,000 feet will put your reptilian brain in charge.

15:00 Don’t get caught up in “tool seduction”… technology is no replacement for common sense.

19:39 Since we run on instinct why do trainers and consultants even bother? 90% of training doesn’t work worth a darn.

26:00 Don describes the Gravity Effect …. stuff will happen no matter what you do. Some things are out of your control. Get comfortable with that.

Don’s Resources

The Halo Effect and 8 Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers

Read outside your discipline… anthropology, history, biology tell us as much as Tom Peters can.

Don’t let the weasels get you down!!!

Managing Engineers: Become the Manager You Always Wanted to Have

Date December 15, 16 2008

Place Best Western O’Hare, Des Plaines (Chicago) IL

Time 9-4 each day

Price: This is the cool part- ordinarily this will be $1,000 for 2 days but during this pilot program you can attend for $450.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

Participants will learn and practice specific skills vital to the success of the technical manager, including:

Delegation and Assigning Tasks
You will learn how to delegate assignments to get buy-in and maximum results. One of the most important things is deciding what tasks to do and which to let go of. How do you define/assign them to your team to get max buy-in and ultimately peak performance.

One on Ones
Give your direct reports your time and attention, and they will go to the wall for you. We will discuss the elements of effective one-on-ones, including what should be on the agenda, how to schedule them, and where to have them, then put these ideas into practice via role-playing exercises.

Performance Reviews
End-of-year performance reviews can become an empty ritual, or a source of needless angst. Learn how to design and implement an ongoing review process that will provide your employees with useful, actionable feedback throughout the year.

SWOT Analysis
You’ll learn a structured technique for identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for any given project. SWOT is an excellent tool for evaluating business opportunities such as starting a new line of business, entering a new market, pursuing a new development project, or allocating resources.

Delivering Effective Feedback
Giving feedback to direct reports is one of the most important parts of a manager’s job, yet many managers feel uncomfortable talking to individuals about their performance, be it positive or negative. You’ll learn a simple system for giving effective and efficient feedback.

Active Listening
Managers who listen well are trusted more, experience less conflict, and are listened to in return. Active listening techniques can increase your own clarity of understanding and improve the quality of your team’s overall communication.

Develop an action plan for your own success

Becoming a great manager is an on-going process. You will leave this course with personalized action plan for taking your management skills to the next level. Build on the momentum… You will identify strengths and weaknesses… Take the course experience.. So that you can apply the course experience immediately….

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Paul’s company, Exemplary Performance, is presenting one of the gurus in the field of Performance Consulting, Dana Gaines Robinson in the first of a series of webinars on Performance Consulting Tips: From Tactical Solutions to Strategic Results. Dana Gaines Robinson and one of my favorite folks, Nancy Q Smith, will take you through an introduction to the topic including:

• The differences between a tactical and strategic approach to your work
• The 5 criteria that determine whether you’re working tactically or strategically-and the answers will surprise you
• The 4 needs in the Needs Hierarchy and why aligning these four needs is critical to delivering strategic results
• A tool to assess how much of your work is strategic, rather than tactical
• 3 techniques you can use to transition your discussions with managers from a tactical to a strategic focus

I’m hosting/producing this event and i’ve seen the content. It’s well worth your time. Plus, if you attend and fill out the post-webcast evaluation you’ll get a free copy of the Robinson’s book, Performance Consulting- Second Edition. Everyone with training or performance improvement responsibilities should read it.

The event is Wednesday, November 12th at 1 PM Eastern Time (US). Click here to Register.

Rowan Manahan looking unusually serious… do not expect this from this conversation.

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the Cranky Middle Manager. Today we talk to Irishman Rowan Manahan, the author of “Where’s My Oasis?” about the importance of good presentation skills for managers, specifically how to get your story across. This episode is dedicated to Ogmias, or Ogma (depending on where you’re from). a chain from your tongue to your team’s ears might sound appealing sometimes…..

1:59 The quote of the week is from a German, Heinrich Heine. Eloquence and talking are not the same thing at all……..and eloquence seldom uses PowerPoint.

3:00 Welcome Rowan Manahan- a certified (and certifiable) madman. What is his problem with managers and their presentation skills in general? We have been telling stories for eons, but we have lost the ability to do that in professional environments.

9:29 Okay, so what do we do about it? (And the doughnuts are yummy) You have to determine your message or messages before you launch into your presentation. This sounds simple but it’s not. Part of the problem is the attitude of the audience… we spend a lot of time playing defense unnecessarily.

13:42 Don’t we need numbers, data and flow charts? We don’t spend enough time thinking about the concepts we want to get across in the best way. Once you’ve reduced your message down you can think about sequence and structure… not before that.

18:32 Before you start to create your PowerPoint slides… you have to know what you’re going to say and that way you support the visuals that support it…. but what about time? That takes too long- right?

23:21 We don’t all (okay ain’t NONE of us got) Rowan’s energy and showmanship. But you can get your message across if you think of your audience as individuals and identify with what they need.

For Rowan’s version of Cinderella by PowerPoint… take a look here.

For Lincoln’s Ghettysburg Address in PowerPoint….

Eric Feng’s blog

Presentation Zen (Garr Reynolds)

Slide:ology, the Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations

Don’t let the weasels get you down!!!

I was writing to Jim Kouzes of The Leadership Challenge yesterday and asked him what he knew about the leadership styles of people like Stephen Harper, Gordon  Brown and others…and the answer was a resounding “I dunno”. This isn’t a knock on Jim, it’s just that if you’re not there you don’t know- so help us out… post here or drop me a line…. what are you seeing out there about the ways leaders work in your country? We have listeners in 27 different countries by my count…. help us get smarter!

Admittedly, political leadership is only one kind of leadership and half the time it’s not real leadership at all (Big L Leaders vs. small l leaders and all that.) Still, they are on display and often make great case studies. What’s going on out there?

John McCain and Barack Obama have very different leadership styles… just sayin’

Check out the article…. let me know what you think…..

Michael Gurian

My new book- a great gift for your team

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show. A long show today so no dedication. We are talking about differences between how men and women lead and what their brains tell us. Joke all you want, we are talking science here. The book is by Michael Gurian and Barbara Annis. Don’t draw any conclusions just cause I’m talking to the guy.

1:37 The quote of the week is from Plato… a simple enough premise, but do men and women receive the same education? What about the stuff we KNOW but were never TAUGHT? Hmmmmmmm?   If you dig quotes, don’t forget my new book, “125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky Middle Manager Show”. Oh it’s now available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. If you like it, leave a review. Heck leave a review and pretend you read it…..

By the way, if you’re in the Chicago area in Mid-December, you might want to take part in the stealth beta-version of our new manager program. Drop me a line for more details.

3:15 Michael Gurian is the head of the Gurian Institute . Longtime listeners know I”m a brain geek. Today we talk brain science and the differences between the sexes based on neurons and the like. There are over 100 physical differences between the sexes. Turns out a lot of these things are set before you dress them in pink or blue.

7:45 Is a male/female brain a binary thing or is it a sliding scale?  About 20% of people are “bridge-brains”. Oh, and computer geeks have more male brains than most people…regardless of what the guys who beat you up in highschool told you.

13:00 IBM has done a big old study… really this matters in things like how you run meetings, how people communicate, how you market and how you handle conflict among other things. Cross-gender mentoring was a big part of their response… it helps to understand how people work.

17:25 This is a hard conversation to have. Why is it so difficult to talk about our differences?

20:48 Here are some tips for getting a new team to help understand each other and have those conversations. There are some great meeting tips here too. It’s amazing what an agenda can accomplish for both female brains and male brains….but for different reasons.

29:35 Schools in the US are currently great places to be if you’re a girl…for boys not so much. check out Michael’s books The Minds of Boys… and the Wonder of Girls

Other Resources

Genderleadership.com

Michaelgurian.com Research Page

The Female Brain

Greatwebmeetings.com is growing fast- and a big thanks to all the CMM listeners who help us by referring their friends and coworkers to us.

PMPodcast host Cornelius Fichtner

Don’t forget our new book, 125Quotes for Whacking Weasels…. a great gift for your team!

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today we’re talking Project Management with the host of one of the best PM podcasts out there, the PMPodcast. It’s only taken us two years to make this happen. I was on his podcast earlier last month, you can hear that conversation here. Also we salute Aulus Platorius Nepos. Keeping everyone in a blue face and skirt out of England involved a major project and the usual cost overruns.

2:50 I have been stoically silent about the US election this year, and will continue that policy, tough though it is. However, since Canada, the US and the UK are all in election cycles, the quote of the week is a little nugget to chew on from my boy Francis Bacon.

Big News. In conjunction with the Technical Management Institute, we’re putting together the first Cranky Middle Manager program- “Becoming the Kind of Manager You Always Wanted to Have”. It’s for technical folks who are moving into management. More details to come, but we’re doing a stealth pilot of the program in the Chicao area the week of December 15th. If you’re interested in being part of that pilot group, drop me a line. More details to follow….

5:15 Welcome our guest Cornelius Fichtner. What are the biggest challenges for project managers….it’s the “diversity” of what we’re doing…which is a nice way of saying there’s too much going on at once.

9:30 What happens when a Project Manager loses sight of the needs of the organization as a whole? You’re doing the project for the sake of the company’s larger purpose.. of course it helps if you actually know you’re the project manager.

13:20 How is managing a project different from managing people? The main thing is that when you’re managing a partner, you have a direct reporting relationship. In a PM role, you are in a matrix.

17:18 One of the most critical things a PM has to know, is who are the stakeholders? You need to know everyone who’s going to stick their nose in.

18:59 What is the importance of good project management in the overall economy of countries? No pressure, gang.

25:09 Working across divisions and functions is going to be critical to the success of your project and lowering of your blood pressure. Everyone needs to know the overall goals.

Resources

Max Wideman’s site

The PM411 Podcast

Controlling Chaos

Tor was made a Knight First Class of the Norwegian Royal Order of Merit the day he spoke to me. Drop us a line…it might be good luck!

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today we talk productivity and bold steps with Tor Dahl. Dr. Dahl was with us last year and he’s way too smart to hang with the likes of me but he spoke to us anyway. Also we dedicate the show to the Roman Emperor Constantine. No small steps. Love it or hate it, that’s how you change the world.

2:15 We have dueling quotes of the week. Should we remember that all good change is slow or do we get fired up and just go for it? If you love quotes, don’t forget to support the show by getting a copy or ten of my new book, “125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky Middle Manager Show”. It will be available on Amazon in the US and UK in mid-October but you can get your signed copy today! And while we’re doing shameless plugs, if your company does webinars or web demos, check out www.greatwebmeetings.com and get $200 off a webinar review.

5:00 Tor Dahl is throwing around the word incrementalism… what the heck is it and why do we care? American productivity grows at about 2% per person per year. How do you take what