Mindset (part 1): They’re Not Out to Get You
It’s so easy to think that the people on our team must be screwing up on purpose. C’mon, admit it — you’ve had similar thoughts at least once.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve told him about ___________, and he still got it wrong. He’s got to be doing this intentionally.”
I’ve known a few people who have set out to mess with the boss, but it’s extremely rare. I still believe that most people want to do the right thing and will make their best effort if given the opportunity.
As I’ve written about managers, it’s the same with other staff members: About 5% are …
read moreKids and Working: We Need to Get to Them Earlier
Most managers look at the generation coming out of school with a fair degree of skepticism that they’ll be able to make a serious contribution early on.
To a large extent, this view is accurate. Most young women and men aren’t adequately prepared to deliver even minimum wage value. Often times it’s a lack of basic skills but, too frequently, it’s the attitude toward work.
A lot of kids want money and know they have to work to get it, but they don’t care much for actually doing it. Work looks boring, tedious, repetitive, uninspiring, and generally uncool. Maybe this is because we’ve…
read moreHow to Leverage Training (Part 2): Our Initial Results
In my last post I discussed the concept of making training — rather the followup to training — something that the entire staff can take part in. If you missed it, you’ll benefit from getting the background with How to Leverage Training (Pt. 1) — How to Make it a Whole Team Activity. This sets the stage for what’s in this segment.
We’ll report on our progress incrementally
When I decided to write about our shared training experience I figured I would let it all play out, and then report on the outcome. That changed when I…
read moreHow to Leverage Training (Pt. 1): Make It a Whole Team Activity
Imagine if you could multiply the benefits of training, easily and in a way that produces greater value for all involved. That’s what I’m going to give you in this post.
Our story
We recently closed our company for a full day — mid-week — so that each member of our team could attend a leadership teleconference; 10 world class speakers and thought leaders, who deliver exceptional value that touches attendees in many ways.
For a small company this is no small undertaking. It would mean that work would pile up that had to be done the next day, and no sales calls would be made. It was a zero revenue day, and we had projects with deadlines.
Our manager felt that it would be a good time for the whole team to have a shared learning experience. I trust her judgment and during the course I began to think of a way to not just leverage the training benefit, but to…
read moreStop Pigeonholing Workers — Learn More
How many managers hire someone for a specific set of tasks and then forget that they hired a whole human being who is full of undocumented skills and capabilities?
Answer: Too many.
And we lose a big advantage as a result.
Why do we pigeonhole people?
When we hire people we conduct the interview(s) and scan the resumé for red flags, but we probably don’t go very much in depth with them, learning what else they can do. I think this is fumbling…
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