Category: Corporate Games

Zane Safrit writes that “38.8% of companies
with more than 20,000 employees
employ staff to read and analyze
outgoing email content.” 

The subordinate of a friend of mine
went on vacation for a week. 
He forwarded his email and voicemail
to my friend (his manager). 

During that week,
his inbox was filled with personal email
including a conversation by a competitor
about his interview the week before
(If you think competitors don’t talk,
you’d be wrong). 

My friend is glad to see the back of this employee. 

In the era of cellphones
and throwaway email addresses,
using the company’s resources
for personal use is simply stupid.

Bill Balderaz has a great post
on fighting bad PR. 
Included in his moves are
being proactive
(reaching out to the possible sources of bad PR,
establishing a relationship
before an incident happens)
and then reacting immediately. 

These tips apply to employees also.  
I always make work buddies aware
that I want to hear any rumors
about me, good or bad
(no shooting the messenger, rather reward her)
and then I go directly to the source,
addressing the situation. 

It’s like a scene out of an old Western,
the boss walks into a boardroom,
seats herself at the end of the table,
facing the door, 
so she can keep an eye on others. 

Potential troublemakers are positioned at her right,
her gun hand. 
Brownnosing friendlies? 
At the opposite side of the table. 

According to
Sharon Livingston, a clinical psychologist,
seating at meetings indicates company standing. 

A wise woman uses this to her advantage.

When many people think strategy,
they think boardroom strategy,
executives sitting around dreaming up
the big vision for the company.  

So unless you’re in that select group,
you have nothing to do with strategy, right? 

Wrong. 
Vince Thompson, author of Ignited,
points out that 94% of strategy is
in reaction to the marketplace. 

The lower in the hierarchy you are,
the more likely you are to be close to that marketplace,
the bigger the opportunity you have to suggest strategy changes. 

Having trouble getting through to the top? 
My most effective means has been
a typed letter, hand addressed and
mailed (externally) to the President.

Everyone has their off days. 
When they deliver substandard product. 

So what to do when its your vendor or employee? 
In The Power Of Nice,
Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval
suggest saying
“You do such great work. 
I’m not sure this is up to your caliber.” 

I’ve used this same technique
(though without the first sentence)
with solid success. 

Many people use a lawyer after
they’ve gotten themselves into trouble. 
Me, I use a lawyer to avoid trouble. 

Some people prey on the weak,
the employee least likely to sue,
the neighbor with no idea of her rights. 

I’d rather not be that person so
what I do is subtly let people know
that I have legal counsel. 
I’ll make jokes every once in a while
about “how my lawyer’d like that”
or how I drive my lawyer crazy.
I ALWAYS take legal documents
home before signing,
stating that I’ll have my lawyer look over it 
(whether I do or don’t). 

The best lawsuit is the prevented lawsuit. 

Ursula Bauer,
author of the hot eBook Immortal Protector,
recently shared her tips on
how she juggled a corporate career,
family, blogging, and writing. 

“It was all a matter of perspective,
I think, and perseverance,
along with a willingness
to reduce without mercy:
I wanted to write,
I wanted to publish,
I only had so many hours in my day.
What would contribute to that,
and what took away from that?” 

Its all about focus and commitment. 

When I hear an honest, semi-unflattering answer
in an interview,
I sit up and take notice. 

Why? 

Because this signals one of two possibilities. 

One is that the person is an idiot. 
In which case,
my candidate screening process should be tightened. 

The other is that the person is so damn good
that she can be honest
and still expect to land the job. 
These are the candidates I love. 

Larry Winget in his book “It’s Called Work For A Reason”
points out one bit of interview honesty he loves. 

“When someone says
“I don’t really like working with others,”
hire her and give her an office with a door and
a lot of work to do and then watch it get done.”

According to communications professor Ray Hull,
the average adult talks about
170 to 190 words per minute. 

The average central nervous system
processes information at about
120 to 124 words per minute. 

This ability to process decreases after age 36. 

The average age of a CEO is 56. 

What does this mean? 
Your boss is hearing only a fraction
of what you’re saying. 

Slow it down. 

A Opinion Research USA’s study
revealed
that the number one meeting pet peeve
is “disorganized, rambling meetings”.

The distant second
was
“peers that interrupt
and try to dominate meetings”.
Are these peers
the same folks
dealing with the first?

You may not have time
but invest a little up front
to plan the meeting
and avoid wasting mine.

Get to the point,
get agreement,
and then
get out.