Rothacker Reviews

Holiday Break

I am going to take a break from writing here until after the holidays.  I'll be checking and replying to comments so please feel free to engage. 

From Rosemary, Victoria, Carla and myself - a very warm holiday wish to you! 

Dave

Why Should I Work For You?

I am one chapter short of smoking and signing Mavericks at Work by William C. Taylor & Polly LaBarre.  Bill and Polly present insights and case studies on companies and people who are today, running the companies of tomorrow.

As I read about these present day mavericks who build on purpose and fuse character with innovation to make a difference for their employees and customers, I couldn't help but to think of a theme that the authors weave throughout their work:  Why should great people join your organization?

I work in an industry that is starved for technical people.  And I don't mean hungry, I mean Ethiopia.  As a manager who hires these folks, I myself need to be able to articulate this answer with crisp clearness (which I've never satisfactorily done).  In tune with some words I wrote the other day about working in transparency, I'd like to answer this question with a public statement about why folks should work with my team.  I probably will have to return and tweak this - which is the point.

Once we've established that a candidate fits our culture of:

• The need to develop personally
• Respect for each other and our customers
• Loyalty to each other
• The desire for excellence
• The desire to move forward

...then I can say with confidence:

You should work with my team because:  We are going to dial you into a world of learning, a world where we channel your strengths toward finding solutions for our customers...(in progress)

Management: My View

I have been employed, as in contributing to social security, for thirty-four years.  Approximately twenty-nine of those years have been spent in management.  I've often said my official position has been that of fire hydrant...as in those above me use it and those I manage use it...as a dog uses it.  But this is the glass half empty view of management.  When looking at the position through the lens of it's all good, it can be so much more.

Out of sheer necessity, the largest portion of my career* has been spent providing air cover for those who report to me.  While the thrill of seeing an associate excel and succeed at something because you've isolated him from upper management danger is exhilerating, it isn't what I enjoy the most about management.  For me, the best part of this position has been the outcome of connecting an associate with resources, channeling their strengths toward the appropriate role and customer and then allowing them to do their work.  That outcome?  An evangelistic customer! 

To be sure, one can provide resources, channel strengths and get out of the way and not create evangelistic customers.  I believe a manager must first get the right people on the bus.  It has been my experience that once the team understands what you are doing, it has a tendency to shed members not going in this direction.  My analogy to this involves pirana, the fish.  Your team is a school of pirana.  New members are an animal carcass.  Dip the carcass into the pirana.  If it comes back devoid of meat, toss the bones and go find another carcass.

Creating an evanglistic customer with engaged associates - that's it for me.  Nothing less complicated.  Nothing more complicated.

* I presently have the good fortune, the most excellent fortune, of working for a company that doesn't require my skill as a pilot.

Core Products and Service

A friend of mine had recently joined a new company and visited with me to talk about product and services that he had to offer.  I had dealt with his new company for many years....as little as possible.  You see, this company offered a core product.  The problem was they couldn't keep the product in stock, couldn't ship the correct product and conducted business in an arrogant, customer service-less manner.  My friend wanted to break out all of these estoteric products when his company couldn't even deliver upon their core product and what they did deliver was akin to steaming clumps of brown substance found in cow pastures.

My point - Deliver your core products and services with stone cold excellence; deliver them with friendlieness and care.

From Start to Finish

Please watch this and then come back here.  (You can stop at the fridge)

Thanks!  (Stop!  Use your napkin before touching that keyboard)

Is it necessary to show your customers, employees, vendors, readers or audience the evolution of your product or service?  Is it necessary to show yourself?  In both cases, could it be helpful? 

If you knew that your entire process of creation would be exposed for all the world to see, would you build it differently?

What layers beneath the finished product or service could be fortified for further enhancement?

Random Examples

The American Chopper TV Show - Watching a customized motorcycle built frame up.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Ty Pennington and his buddies perform home makeovers on TV.

Good to Great - Jim Collins provides meticulous details on information and research in the book's appendix, note and index section.  Additional info can be found at Jim's Website. 

Restaurants that present a view of the kitchen to customers.

Websites that aren't quite ready to launch but do so anyway, building and creating as they evolve.

Just a few ideas to get you thinking

The link for the above drawing came from Andy Rutledge's Design View site.

How to Kill Meetings

From Business Week Online: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_50/b4013008.htm

Hope you had a pleasant Monday at work :-)

Strands

Sometimes ya just can't be too predictable...

Life is built from fragments of time. Stay in the moment.  Live.  Remember.  Cherish.

How to Succeed in Business Today

Carleen Hawn, Susanna Hamner and Erick Schonfeld write a How to Succeed in 2007 piece for Business 2.0.  (Might require subscription)  They query fifty of today's leading biz people with how they have become successful.  With the utmost of respect for Carleen, Susanna and Erick, along with photographer Marc Simon, and the diligent work they've completed in putting together this most interesting feature, I will glean and paraphrase the comments of those leaders who resonate with me.

The link out to each company that I list here will take you to its About page or Company information.

Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt of Google - Keep it simple.  Make it simple.  Focus on features not products.  I find Google's home page clean and refreshing.

Howard Schultz of Starbucks - Trust is the foundation of the emotional connection they seek with customers and employees.  Exceed the expectations of employees first. 

Michael Dell of Dell Computers - Transform economies and improve lives with increased digital access. 

I Got Tagged

Tony got me!

I've been watching this game of tag in the blogosphere for the past few weeks and... hiding behind trees, behind garages and under brush.  I almost went too far when I jumped in the drainage ditch with a hollow reed and laid beneath the water, quiet as a church mouse. 

The Drill - write five items on your site that most people do not know about you.  Here's my shot at it:

• I had Lasek surgery on my eyes in 2004 after wearing contacts since 1973.

• My first car was a 1966 Chevy Caprice.  It was a beater.

• Rosemary and I met in 1974.  We started dating in April of 1975.  I asked her to marry me in June of 75 (I'm not sure anyone knew this)  We got married in May of 1977.

• I had long hair.  I blew dried my hair everyday from 1973 to 1992.  I have no hair.

• I once owned a 1969 Dodge "hippie' van.  (to this day, it's the reason I love strawberry incense)  If you were to close your eyes, lay down on the bed and then open them, you would have thought that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was the lawyer who handled the  Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore and Dupont merger...which actually took place in this love mobile.

Rules of this game dictate that I tag five people to carry on the game.  Here are my choices:

Deb Estep - Deb's my sister.  She's also an Air Force Mom...a most proud Air Force Mom and Mom-in-law!

Christine Kane - Christine is a soulful, talented singer-songwriter and writer.  She's good!

Andrea Learned - Andrea is an author who delves into the language of marketing to women and delivers compelling insight via one of the most human voices on the Internet!

Verna Wilder - Verna's orchestration of the English language is laureate worthy.  Combine that with her escape of cubical nation, her life's experiences and her heart and, you'll find yourself hypnotized by soul-warming music.

Wayne Hurlbert - You've reached business-blog-resource heaven when visiting Wayne's site.  Clear and concise info, tips and ideas on how to deliver a better blog...outstanding!

Finding Your Tune

Please read this  Download SSRN-id229931.pdf and then come back.

Thank you!

This paper was written by Robert F. Bruner, Dean of the Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia.  Is the anecdote that Robert leads his paper with precious or what?  To those of you who are not teachers, I bet you couldn't help but to substitute your present position for that of teacher.  I couldn't. 

Here are a few words extracted from Robert's work:

That teaching should be the hidden dimension in a summary of professional work is curious.

Finding the tune in teaching should be a matter for both individual candidates and institutions. 

An excellent vehicle for this is the teaching portfolio...

It surveys teaching assignments, philosophy, style, accomplishments, innovations, and evidence of teaching effectiveness.

...and perhaps argues for better work to come.

So, what is your tune?  What is that internal tune, when deployed, makes you most effective?

Robert's blog
Robert's home page
Robert's teaching portfolio paper: Download SSRN-id230099.pdf
Robert's paper are logged with the:  Social Science Research Network  (more resource info than you can use)

Robert's home page is a blueprint (or most excellent idea) for personal branding.  If you have an opportunity, scope out the information contained in his Resource section.  And, if you are not a teacher, pretend that it is directed to you, a biz coach, a marketer, a manager, a designer.

I attempted with this post to move away from our biz-as-usual world. That Robert is Dean of the Darden Graduate School of Business, keeps us in the same solar system but offers an alternative perspective.