Category: Corporate Games

One really nice thing
about being a contract employee
is not having to go
to useless meetings
or ‘staying in the loop’
about things that don’t touch me.

I’m a much more productive person
for this
which gets me thinking…
why do full time employees
attend these meetings?
Is a bigger attendance at meetings
better for performance?

Ahhh… no.
Not usually.

So not usually that there’s a law
around this principle.
Brooks’ Law states
“Adding people to a late project
tends to make it run later still.”

The new people have to catch up.
The rest of the team
has to include them
in communication.
They have to ask for their feedback.
In other words,
they’re a time suck.

If you want a project
to launch on time,
keep the decision makers to a minimum.
Invite only these decision makers
to meetings.
Have them inform their staff.

My current manager
likes to do group projects
where we all work together
but no one is in charge.

These don’t work.

Either someone ends up in charge
(usually me if the project is a priority)
or the projects fail.

Everyone can work on a project
but someone is needed
to co-ordinate all the pieces
and to do the filler tasks
that aren’t glamorous
but need to be done.

Assign ONE person
to be in charge
(assign two people
and each will assume the other person
is truly in charge).
You can rotate that responsibility
but please, do assign it.

We talk a lot here
about giving our employees feedback
and positive reinforcement
but what about our managers?
Don’t they need love too?

The answer is…
yes
and odds are,
if you pat your manager on her back,
you’ll likely be the only employee doing so.

We were working on a major project.
We had to all come in
on our day off.
My manager asked if she was needed.
She stated that she didn’t want to get in our way.

I was surprised.
Of course she was needed.
Of course she would add value.

But then I realized
that what was ‘of course’ for me,
was in question for her.

So at the end of that really, really long day,
I made a point of telling her
that we couldn’t have done it without her.
That was the truth
but not a truth that everyone knew.

Thank your manager.
If she does a great job at supporting you,
tell her she did
and that you appreciate it.

Great Leadership
has a wonderful series
of quick tips to make you a better leader.

My favorite tip
is to ask and LISTEN to feedback
by using four little words
“What do you think?”

What makes this a great question
is that it doesn’t intimidate.
You’re not asking people
to solve a tough problem
or figure out the solution to world peace.
You’re asking them
for their opinion.

Even if their opinion
doesn’t help with the problem at hand,
it will help you
to understand the answerer’s thought processes.
It also gives you feedback
on whether you’re communicating properly.

Try it.
Ask “What do you think?”
today and listen to the answers you receive.

A buddy and I were talking about
great employees we have managed
(or worked with).

Their personalities,
intelligence levels,
education,
job experiences
were diverse.

There was only one thing
they all had in common.

They cared.

Give me an employee
who cares about her job
and I’ll happily manage her.

If an employee cares,
any repeated failure she has
is likely due to me as her manager.
Perhaps I have her in the wrong role
or I’m not explaining duties
in a way that she understands.

Employees who care
are, unfortunately, rare.
If you are lucky enough
to manage one,
feel fortunate.

My manager gets into the office
at 9:30 am every morning.
She stays until 9 pm.

I, personally, like to
work the same hours but earlier.
However, I know that part of my job
is to support my manager.
I work the same hours she does.

My coworker insists on working the early hours.
She is seen as a slacker.
Her coworkers are forced to cover for her,
completing those last minute requests
all managers have.
Because I’m there to answer questions
about her role
and she isn’t,
I am, like it or not, gradually becoming her boss.

If you care about progressing in your career
(and I don’t think my coworker does),
work the same hours as your boss.

When I was a lower case k,
I would participate in the drama.
I would listen to gossip
(though I wouldn’t pass it along).
I would sprout off an opinion.
I would get heated about things like
that poorly written memo
on appropriate casual Friday wear.

Then I realized…

Drama is a time suck.

It is also a passion suck
and ultimately a success suck.
Look at the people
actively participating in drama.
What have they last accomplished?

Be aware of what the drama is
(because it might interfere
with your project or team)
but don’t participate
or follow it too closely.
Allocate that time to doing.

In a Forbes interview
with older women starting over
in the corporate world,
a former Wall Street executive says
“The hardest part
is that the man working next to me
does not know that I had another career,
that I was president of a division.
He only knows me
as a junior financial advisor.”

This is something I,
as a hired gun,
deal with every day.
The person hiring me
may know my rather impressive resume
but no one else on my team does.

So I have to prove it
with every single contract gig.

There are tricks to accomplishing this.
I wear suits.
I act professionally.
I take charge of emergency situations.
I don’t get emotional.
I add insight as to
what other companies have tried.
Most of all, I achieve
and I achieve quickly.

I like this environment.
I can’t rest on my laurels
or my glorious past.
I have to bring my A game
to every assignment.

Don’t wait until you’re a consultant
or start a new career to do this.
Prove your worth every single day.

I’m working in the General Ledger section
of a finance department.
GL does a lot of things.
We post the unusual journal entries.
We track fixed assets.
We file commodity taxes.
We complete reconciliations.

With all these tasks to do,
however,
we only truly have one job…
to ensure that the financial statements
reflect the state of the business.
In other words…
our numbers have to be strong enough
to pass audit.

If my company passes audit,
I’ve done my job.
If my company doesn’t pass audit,
I should be fired.

To live to play another day
in the corporate world,
you should figure out what your core job is.
Ensure that this is covered
(with buffer, preferably)
THEN work on all the superstar projects.

One of the first things you should do
as a new hire
is do a walkaround.
You go from desk to desk,
introducing yourself
to as many people as you can.

Ideally you’re accompanied by your manager
or some other person
but if no one offers,
you should do it yourself.

Why?

Because clerks, managers, the guy in the mail room,
they all will contribute to your success
at the company.

Actually the guy in the mailroom,
along with the employee at main reception,
are some of the FIRST people you should meet.

If they don’t remember you work there
(and putting a name to the face
helps people to remember),
you’re not getting your mail OR your calls.

Do the walkaround.
It doesn’t matter if,
after meeting a thousand people,
you don’t remember THEIR names,
as long as they remember yours.