A common criticism I hear about management, is that they often announce important decisions with little or no explanation, rationale, or indication of the precise results they hope to achieve. Moreover, these complaints often come from line managers who say they are often required to explain senior management decisions to their workforce, with only the [...]
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CAN ALL OF US BE RIGHT?
July 21, 2011
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In a discussion where the parties have strongly held views, can everybody be right? Of course not, many of you will quickly respond. There is only one right view on the matter at hand some will say, and if you do not agree with it, then you are wrong. But what if the real problem [...]
Read moreHOW WELL DO YOU WRITE?
May 30, 2011
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On many occasions in this series of articles, I have addressed the topic of verbal communication. Since almost everything you do as a manager involves some type of communication with somebody else, your ability to convey a clear, accurate message is directly related to your prospects for getting the result you desire. Moreover, because the [...]
Read morePROCRASTINATION: A TRUE ORGANIZATION KILLER
January 26, 2011
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Over a decade ago, authors Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton published a splendid book about organizational procrastination entitled “The Knowing Doing Gap”. Although some of its corporate examples are a little dated, its central message about the difference between organizations who simply talk about the things they know and those who turn knowledge into action is [...]
Read moreTHE CARDINAL SINS OF MANAGEMENT: 4. PADDING YOUR RESUME
January 6, 2011
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My last cardinal sin for managers post — takeing credit for the accomplishments, ideas, and successes of others — involves misrepresenting yourself as the author of real things. Cardinal sin number 4 for managers, involves creating fiction. Specifically, the invention of accomplishments, experiences, and successes never had. Over the years I have seen some spectacular examples [...]
Read moreTHE CARDINAL SINS OF MANAGEMENT: 3. TAKING CREDIT FOR THE WORK OF OTHERS
January 5, 2011
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As I write this series of articles I entitled the Cardinal Sins of Management, I find myself unable to decide which of them is more irritating, infuriating, frustrating, or just plain unacceptable from the standpoint of a subordinate. Suffice to say this one — taking credit for the work of others — is right up [...]
Read more2010 in review
January 2, 2011
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The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!. Crunchy numbers A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats. A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. [...]
Read moreTHE COST OF UNNECESSARY ORGANIZATIONAL SECRECY
December 3, 2010
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You wonder what’s going on at work? Things just don’t seem right. You called your friend top-side who works with the boss and they told you there have been a lot of behind-closed-door discussions among the managers of late but they are being quite tight-lipped. Your friend also told you they had heard rumors about [...]
Read moreBE SPECIFIC, EMPHASIZE BEHAVIOR
September 15, 2010
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One of the down sides of mixing the richness of language, and the intelligence and creativity generally represented by successful managers, is the jargon, acronyms, and occasional gobble-de-gook that passes for effective manager communication in many organizations. Especially in most large organizations, there are so many alphabetical acronyms that it is almost impossible to keep up as each [...]
Read moreDON’T CHOOSE SIDES, BRIDGE THE GAP
September 13, 2010
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Most managers with a sizeable span of control are likely to encounter a variety of generations to engage on a daily basis. One is probably your generation, the others will often represent younger and older employees, each representing a world view, set of life experiences, attitudes toward work and play, and sense of what career-progression and success actually [...]
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