Category: Corporate Games

A survey by CareerBuilder
found that 43% of workers 35 and older
are currently working for a younger boss.

This can be jarring, at first, for
a career employee
as it feels like
you’ve been leapfrogged.
After a couple of months however,
you realize that she’s a boss
just like any other.

That means boss rules apply.
You adapt to HER management style,
not the other way around.

Because if upper management
wanted the same ol’, same ol’,
they would have hired
an older worker like…
well… you.

They didn’t want someone
with 20 years of company history.
They wanted someone
who would do things differently.
That means YOU are expected
to do things differently also.

Age is simply another factor.
I’ve had great younger bosses
and I’ve had sucky younger bosses.
All these bosses, however,
were just that… my boss.

My last day at the business gig
is tomorrow.
I received a huge new project
yesterday.

Unless you plan
to extend the temporary employee’s contract,
don’t do this.
She won’t get the project done.
As she’ll be rushing to finish it
(and she won’t finish it),
she won’t have time to document the process.
She’ll leave the project in a big mess.

If the project has to be finished,
the new employee won’t know
what has been done.
He will have to start from zero.
He’ll toss what the contractor has done.

If the project doesn’t have to be finished,
it won’t be.
The contractor will have rushed around
for no reason.
She could spend that time
transitioning and wrapping up
other projects.

No project manager
wants to start a project
and not finish it.

No project manager
wants to finish a project
another manager has started.

Assign a project manager
who might be there
for the duration.

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.

A loved one is a very independent,
highly skilled
project manager.
He’s been suffering lately
because his executive
is interfering in key projects.

‘Why is she doing this?’
he asked.
‘She hired me for my skills.
Why is she now questioning them?’

She isn’t questioning his skills.
She’s questioning HER worth.
Managers like to manage.
They want to add value.
If you don’t give them an outlet
for this urge,
they will manage in ways
you won’t be happy with.

So I advised him
to, every once in a while
send her an email,
asking for her advice.

For example:
He recently came back
from a conference.
At this conference,
he found out a key piece of information
about a prospective customer.

So he sent her an email,
telling her about the information
and asking her whom else
he should share it with.
‘Should I send this information
to the entire project team
or only share it
with the sales rep?’

Yes, the answer is politically important
but it isn’t going to interfere
with his project launch.

She’s happy because she’s managing.
She’s also reassured
that if he needed advice,
he would come to her.
My loved one is happy
because she isn’t interfering
in more critical decisions.

Manager management
is as important as project management.

My replacement at the business gig
started yesterday.
Spending the day with her
showed me how telling
those first day questions are.

What were her questions?

What are the standard working hours?
What are the tasks
I absolutely have to do?
How many coffee breaks can we have?
How long is lunch?

All of them communicated
that she was a 9 to 5’er
and that she would do
only the bare minimum in the job.

Which is fine
if that’s the same story
she communicated
in her interview
(I didn’t interview her).

Pay attention to your new hire’s questions.
They reflect her true concerns.