Month: May 2010

One of my co-workers approached me
on Friday.
She’s worried because she heard
via the gossip mill
that she may be reporting
to a new boss
(btw… I immediately verified this gossip.
It is true).

What is the number one thing
on her boss wish list?

That her boss sticks up for her.

That’s it.
That’s all.

If you want loyal, hard working employees,
you have to be a loyal, hard working boss.
Defend your people.
Fight to get them
the perks and raises they deserve.
When explaining mistakes,
remind others of your employee’s successes.
Give them credit
for what they do FOR YOU every day.

Be a great boss
and great people will want to work for you.
It IS that simple.

When I was pitching new products or systems
at a major quick service restaurant chain,
we always pitched to
the biggest franchisee first.

We would approach him,
ask his feedback early on in the process,
and give him the option
of testing the system or products first.

Why did we do this?

Because we knew
that as the biggest, most successful franchisee,
he had influence over the others.
If he didn’t like something,
the others were less likely to like it.
If he liked something,
he’d use his clout to push it through.

We also knew
that if we pitched the idea
to someone else first,
he’d find out
and get in a snit.

Everyone wants to be first
(or at least have the option
of being first).
Woo your key partners first.

For my last two weeks
on the business gig,
I don’t have a network friendly computer.
It is driving me crazy.
I can’t check email.
I can’t pitch in to help.
I can’t answer special requests.

All I can do
is train my replacement.

Which is, of course, my sole goal.

I’m a doer.
If I had the tools,
I’d be helping her, not training her.
By taking away my tools
and giving them to my replacement,
I am FORCED to train
the ENTIRE time I’m in the office.
If I want anything done
(and as a doer, getting things done is a priority),
I have to teach her to do it.

If you need to force a doer to train,
give her tools to the trainee.

Whether I agree
with the fight or not,
I admire people
who take a stand.

I, however,
sometimes take offense
at
WHEN people take a stand.

I was in a meeting yesterday.
There were major problems
that had to be resolved
around a new commodity tax.
One of the participants
somehow swung the discussion
into whether or not
same sex couples should have full benefits.

He was passionate.
He cared.
He completely derailed
an until then productive meeting.

Key stakeholders walked out.
I eventually did the same.
I was there to advise
on commodity taxes,
not debate same sex rights.

Take a stand
but choose the right battlefield.
Don’t hijack another person’s meeting.

Disasters (i.e. mistakes) happen.
It is important to learn from them
so we don’t repeat
the same mistakes.

The time for learning,
however,
is AFTER the fires have been put out
(or in BP’s case,
after the oil leaks have been plugged).

During a disaster,
ALL resources should be allocated
toward fixing that disaster.
That’s it.

You tell auditors to come back later.
You let environment groups
and government driven witch hunts
know that you’ll happily deal with them
after you’ve stopped the bleeding.

Fix the current disaster first.
Talk about how to prevent
the next disaster
later.

The most challenging part
of any bridge position
is training my replacement.

I am a doer.
I am not a teacher.
To sit back
and teach someone to do
is painful.

It has to be done
because
all my progress during the placement
will be undone
if that knowledge is not transferred.

I’ve had some great transitions.
I’ve trained 12 hour days
with some super keen new hires.
It was a complete brain drain
but at the end of my days,
a superstar had filled my shoes.
She knew everything I did.

I’ve had some less than stellar transitions.
My current trainee
has no interest in learning the job.
We finally had a talk on Friday.
I told her I’d be available
24/7 for training
until the 4th.
She was responsible
for how long training sessions went.
She left at noon on Friday.

Training has no real benefit
for the trainer.
If you don’t give a rat’s ass
about learning,
we won’t give a rat’s ass
about teaching.